20 years ago Steve Jobs introduced the first iMac to the world and started the second coming of Apple. Horace Dediu from asymco.com has an interesting reflection on this particular piece of history.

To me the incredible aspect of the iMac’s entry is its uncanny timing. It came not only just in time to save Apple but exactly half-way between the first two ages of computing. In the following graph showing “share of computing” you can see it as launching precisely at “peak Windows”. In retrospect you have to wonder if Apple, with the iMac, was lucky to survive into this next era or if that era would have ever happened without the iMac. It’s a question of causality which quickly devolves into an un-winnable argument about stochastic vs. deterministic existence.

I don’t believe in luck. Go read the article. It’s full of historical insights.