by Jason Snell
‘Aqua and Bondi’
Stephen Hackett has published a book about the early days of OS X and the original iMac called “Aqua and Bondi.” It’s available in iBooks or as a PDF.
I got to read and comment on early drafts of this book, and I recommend it for anyone who’s looking to relive (or live for the first time!) a pivotal moment in Apple history. The return of Steve Jobs to Apple was big, but it’s bookended by two other major milestones. First, the purchase of NeXT wasn’t originally even about Jobs coming back to Apple—it was about buying a replacement for classic Mac OS. Second, the first major product release of Jobs’s tenure, the iMac, which really was the product that kept the lights on at Apple in a time of dire need.
Stephen’s book is full of photos from his collection of classic Mac products, including all the iMac colors. I recommend it. I hope he’ll consider doing a print-on-demand version, because “Aqua and Bondi” would make a great little paper book—and presumably it would be a lot cheaper than Apple’s!