The Macintosh is a family of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Inc. since January 1984.
Prompted by the returning Steve Jobs' belief that the Macintosh line had become too complex, Apple consolidated nearly twenty models in mid-1997 (including models made for specific regions) down to four in mid-1999: The Power Macintosh G3, iMac, 14.1" PowerBook G3PowerBook G3, and 12" iBook. All four products were critically and commercially successful due to their high performance, competitive prices and aesthetic designs, and helped return Apple to profitability.