Vintage computer enthusiast Michael MJD takes a fascinating look back at a rarely seen touchscreen iMac G3 prototype from 1999. Some may still remember seeing them in stores around that time, as they were built by a company called Elo developed, developed specifically to be interactive kiosk machines sold though Apple’s Value Added Reseller program.
These touchscreen machines did not use a basic overlay over the original display, but rather Elo’s own proprietary touch-on-tube technology. Put simply, when a person touches the screen, it uses acoustic wave disruption patterns to detect where the panel was touched. Other companies, like the capacitive touchscreen specialists MicroTouch, also manufactured similar touchscreen iMac G3 machines, which retailed for around $2,085 USD ($3,842 in 2023). Unfortunately, these machines are quite rare today to say the least, although they may occasionally surface on eBay.
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