of iMac sales went to new computer buyers, while nearly 20 percent were Windows PC users who had switched to the Mac. The quarter the iMac shipped was the first time since late 1995 that Mac sales had improved year-over-year, and saw the Mac grow its worldwide market share from 3 percent to 5 percent. Apple went from losing $878 million in 1997, to making its first profit in three years in 1998. The iMac continued to be a strong seller for Apple as it returned to profitability. It sold 3.7 million units by July 2000, and shipped its 5 millionth iMac in April 2001. Legacy The iMac G3 became a computing icon; Paul Atkinson wrote that while the original Macintosh had made a huge impact on computing, it had not affected how computers looked, and for decades personal computers were defined by unimaginative beige boxes. The iMac, in contrast, did not affect how consumers used computers, but its design changed the idea of what computers could look like. Apple defined itself in opposition to its competitors, who rushed to produce computers that followed the design language, adding similar translucent or colored plastic to their designs. The iMac mirrored contemporary design trends in using streamlining and curves; one designer suggested that the focus on rounding helped make objects more approachable and personal. Apple protected the distinctive iMac design with legal action against competing computer makers who attempted to imitate the iMac, such as eMachines' eOne. The iMac made computers something fashionable, as opposed to utilitarian, and helped introduce USB to the masses and speed the demise of the floppy disk. Following Apple's lead, other computer makers focused on "legacy-free" personal computers. The iMac's massive success helped buoy Apple while it released a modern operating system and refreshed the rest of the Mac lineup, as well as keeping Apple at the forefront of the emerging digital audio and video trends. It also established a formula of quickly polishing a new Apple product through rapid iterative updates. Macworld noted the iMac not only saved Apple financially, but proved Apple could still produce exciting and innovative products. The iMac also served as the public's introduction to Ive, instantly making him one of the most celebrated designers in the world. The product's name would influence a host of Apple's later product launches, from iPods and iLife to the iPhone, and for a time defined