On May 6, 1998, Steve Jobs took the stage and announced the iMac G3, a consumer counterpart to the G3-powered PowerMac and PowerBook, the only remaining computers in Apple’s lineup after he had slashed all other machines, including the popular Performa line. “The back of our computer,” he said, “looks better than the front of the other guys’. It looks like it’s from another planet. A good planet. A planet with better designers.” August 1998: The Bondi-Colored Savior The original iMac was introduced in 1998.
In typical Jobs style, “iMac comes from the marriage of the excitement of the Internet with the simplicity of Macintosh,” he said. Internet usage was “the number one use” consumers wanted, and the iMac was built to make that easy. The iMac started the “i” revolution. Jobs said the i stood for:. internet.
individual. instruct. inform. inspire In addition to the consumer, Apple aimed the iMac at the education market, one of the company’s few remaining strongholds in the market at the time. With the iMac, Apple returned to Jobs’ vision of an all-in-one computer, with all of the guts in the same case as the display. In a world of messy PCs, the iMac stood out as a simple, elegant computing solution. While most of the computers at the time were beige boxes — including Apple’s other desktops — the iMac G3 was bondi blue, curvy and translucent.
The iMac G3 was built around its 1024×768, 15-inch CRT. The shape of the CRT defined the machine, with a slightly curved front. The original iMac featured a 233 Mhz G3 processor, with a 512KB backside cache, coupled with 32 MB RAM, a 4 GB hard drive and a 24x tray-loading CD-ROM drive.
The big news with the original iMac, however, was the I/O. Apple stripped away all of its previously-used ports, including SCSI, ADB Behind the door on the side, Apple had a 100 Mb Ethernet port, modem and up front an IR port. Aaaand a pair of USB ports, which made the old-timers light their hairs on fire, but paved the way for easy, plug-n-play support for loads of peripherals like cameras, scanners, floppy drives and more. January 1999: The Five Flavors The original iMac shipped in August 1998. In January 1999, These machines shipped with a more powerful 266 Mhz G3 processor, coupled with a ATI Rage Pro Turbo graphics card with 6 MB SGRAM. The IR port was scrapped, as was the internal mezzanine slot. The colors were as follows, clockwise:.
Tangerine. Lime. Strawberry. Blueberry. Grape These machines followed a mostly-silent “Rev. B” upgrade that happened just two months after the initial iMacs shipped.
This upgrade featured Mac OS 8.5 and a ATI Rage Pro graphics card with 6 MB of SGRAM. The Five Flavor iMacs sold for $100 less than Rev. A & B machines, at just $1199. The Five Flavors got a spec bump to 333 Mhz in April 1999, and were replaced in October 1999, when Apple released the iMac (Slot Loading) line. October 1999: Slot-Loading iMacs In October 1999, Apple started shipping a slot-loading optical drive in the iMac, marking the start of the second batch of updates to the machine. These machines shipped with 8 MB of video RAM, thanks to a new ATI Rage 128 VR card.
The Slot-Loading line also shipped with a base of 64 MB RAM, up for the first time since the original iMac (with a maximum capacity of 1 GB of RAM). With this update, Apple split out the line in to “Good, Better and Best” models. At the base, a 350 Mhz model sold at the elusive $999 price point, and was available only in Blueberry.
The 400 Mhz models included FireWire support, and wore the “DV” badge. These machines shipped in Blueberry, Grape, Strawberry, Tangerine and Lime, as the “Five Flavor” iMacs before them.
The “DV SE” was the same machine, but in Graphite, which, in my opinion, is the best-looking of all the iMac colors. All of the slot-loading iMacs weigh in at 34.7 pounds / 15.7 kg, with dimensions of 15.0 x 15.0 x 17.1 inches / 38,1 x 38,1 x 43,5 cm.
The previous tray-loading iMacs were slightly larger at 38.1 pounds / 17.2 kg and 15.8 x 15.2 x 17.6 inches / 40,1 x 38,6 x 44,7 cm. July 2000: Summer 2000 iMacs In July 2000, Apple revved the iMac G3 line once again. These machines got new processor and hard drive options, and added support for Apple’s new AirPort cards.
These iMacs required Mac OS 9.0.4, and support up to OS X 10.4 Tiger, except for the base model, due to its lack of FireWire 400 ports. Gone were the Five Flavor colors. At an all new $799 level, Apple had an all-new Indigo iMac running at 350 Mhz, with no FireWire and no AirPort support. At 400 Mhz and $999, the iMac DV (Summer 2000) was available in Indigo and Ruby. These were the first iMacs to ship with Apple’s Pro Keyboard and Mouse, in black. The iMac DV+ (Summer 2000) was the only iMac to ship at 450 MHz.
It was available in Indigo, Ruby, and Sage. A slot-loading DVD-ROM was standard. This generation of iMac also had a “DV SE” option, in the previously-used Graphite, as well as a new Snow color. February 2001: Early 2001 iMacs Welcome to what I call the “WTF Phase” of the iMac G3. With this generation, all models gained FireWire 400 ports. Apple dropped Sage and Ruby in favor of “Blue Dalmatian” and “Flower Power”, two new patterns that were molded into the iMac’s case using a technique which took Apple 18 months to perfect. The low-end option was basically a “DV (Summer 2000) with a 400 Mhz processor at $899.
On the high-end, the new iMac picked up a CD-RW drive, leading to the These machines came with 20 GB hard drives and 500 Mhz G3 processors, as well as new video cards. These machines required OS 9.1 July 2001: Summer 2001 iMacs In July 2001, Apple revved the iMac G3 for the last time. Thankfully, Flower Power and Dalmatian didn’t make it past that single generation. At the low end, running at 500 Mhz, Apple had an iMac in Indigo and Snow, with and ATI Rage 128 Ultra (AGP 2X) graphics card with 16 MB of VRAM, an an optional CD-RW drive. This machine sold for $999, an increase over previous low-end machines.
At 600 Mhz, the middle of the road iMac came with a 40 GB hard drive, CD-RW drive and the same video card as the low-end model. It sold in Graphite and Snow for $1299. A 700 Mhz model was also for sale for a short time, making it the fastest CRT-based iMac of all time. In Graphite and Snow, it came with a 60 GB hard drive, but otherwise was the same as the mid-range model. This machine came with Mac OS 9.1 and Mac OS X 10.0.4, the only original iMac G3 to come with OS X.
The Final Chapter In January 2002, with the release of the iMac G4, Apple re-arranged the iMac G3 line, keeping it for sale for a short time. The low-end $799 model had its RAM bumped to 128 MB, and shipped with Mac OS X 10.2 as the default OS. The G3/600 saw a price drop to $999. The G3/700 was discontinued. Conclusion It’s hard to overstate the importance of the iMac G3.
The iMac G3 ushered Apple in to the future, and on its translucent back, Steve Jobs rebuilt the company. While it was already under early development when Jobs returned to Apple, he took the project and made it the single machine he would re-launch the Macintosh family with. Before the iMac G3, Apple had numerous, conflicting product lines, and afterwards, just a handful of complementary ones. Image via Post navigation.
Contents. History reduced the company's large product lines immediately upon becoming Apple's interim CEO in 1997. Toward the end of the year, Apple trimmed its line of desktop Macs down from ten distinct models to four models of the, which included the iMac's immediate predecessor, an educational market exclusive called the Power Macintosh G3 All-In-One. Having discontinued the consumer-targeted series, Apple needed a replacement for the Performa's price point. The company announced the on May 6, 1998 and began shipping the iMac G3 on August 15, 1998. Internally, the iMac was a combination of the and (CHRP).
Although the promise of CHRP has never been fully realized, the work that Apple had done on CHRP significantly helped in the designing of the iMac. One change from CHRP for example was to boot classic Mac OS using a 4MB Mac OS ROM file stored on disk.
The original iMac used a (PowerPC 750) processor, which also ran in Apple's high-end line at the time, though at higher speeds. It sold for US$1,299, and shipped with, which was soon upgraded to Mac OS 8.5. The iMac was continually updated after its initial release. Aside from increasing specifications (processor speed, video RAM and hard-disk capacity), Apple replaced Bondi Blue with new colors. Throughout its lifespan, the iMac was released in a total of thirteen colors.
A later hardware update created a sleeker design. This second-generation iMac featured a slot-loading optical drive, 'fanless' operation (through cooling), a slightly updated shape, and the option of. Apple continued to sell this line of iMacs until March 2003, mainly to customers who wanted the ability to run the older Mac OS 9 operating system. USB and FireWire support, and support for, and (via and ) soon became standard across Apple's entire product line. The addition of high-speed FireWire corrected the deficiencies of the earlier iMacs. The iMac CRT model, now targeted at the education market, was the iMac G3, and kept in production alongside its successor until the was released. As Apple continued to release new versions of its computers, the term iMac continued to be used to refer to machines in its consumer desktop line.
Design. The thirteen 'flavors' of the iMac G3.
The iMac was dramatically different from any previous mainstream computer. It was made of translucent 'Bondi Blue'-colored plastic, and was egg-shaped around a 15-inch (38.1 cm). The case included a handle, and the peripheral connectors were hidden behind a door on the right-hand side of the machine.
Dual headphone jacks in the front complemented the built-in stereo speakers., currently Chief Design Officer at Apple, is credited with the industrial design. Its unique shape and color options helped ingrain itself into late 1990s. The iMac was the first computer to exclusively offer ports as standard, including as the connector for its new keyboard and mouse, thus abandoning previous Macintosh peripheral connections, such as the, and serial ports. A further radical step was to abandon the 3½-inch which had been present in every Macintosh since the first in 1984. Apple argued that, the Internet, and office networks were quickly making diskettes obsolete, however, Apple's omission generated controversy. At the time of iMac's introduction, third-party manufacturers offered external USB floppy disk drives, often in translucent plastic to match the iMac's enclosure.
Apple had initially announced the internal in the iMac would operate at only 33.6 kbit/s rather than the new 56 kbit/s speed, but was forced by consumer pressure to adopt the faster standard. Components such as the front-mounted port and the tray-loading drive were borrowed from the Apple laptops. Although the iMac did not officially have an, the first versions had a slot dubbed the 'mezzanine slot'. It was only for internal use by Apple, although a few third-party expansion cards were released for it, such as a Voodoo II video card upgrade from and /SCSI- cards (iProRAID and iProRAID TV) from the German company Formac. The mezzanine slot was removed from later iMacs, though according to an article in the German computer magazine, the socket can be retrofitted on revision C iMacs.
The keyboard and were redesigned for the iMac with translucent plastics and a Bondi Blue trim. The Apple USB Keyboard was smaller than Apple's previous keyboards, with white characters on black keys, both features that attracted debate. The Apple USB Mouse was mechanical, of a round, ' design which was derided as being unnecessarily difficult for users with larger hands. Apple continued shipping the round mouse, adding a divot to the button in later versions so that users could distinguish proper orientation by feel. Eventually, a new capsule-shaped optical mouse, known as the (formerly 'Apple Pro Mouse'), replaced the round mouse across all of Apple's hardware offerings. Apple updated the iMac over time to feature different colors.
January 1999 saw the launch of Blueberry, Grape, Tangerine, Lime and Strawberry. Graphite was shortly thereafter made available as a Special Edition colour.
The five fruit colours were later replaced with Ruby, Sage, Indigo and Snow. Ruby and Sage were later replaced by two limited-edition designs, 'Blue ' and 'Flower Power' patterns. The final lineup consisted uniquely of Indigo, Snow and Graphite, later limited to Snow only before being discontinued. A closer look at the iMac G3. Revision history Tray-loading model iMac G3 (tray loading) Developer Type Release date August 15, 1998, up to Mac OS X 10.4.11, 233-333 MHz The first iteration of the iMac G3 featured a 15-inch (13.8-inch viewable) CRT display, 233 MHz processor, ATI Rage IIc graphics, 4 GB hard drive, tray-loading CD-ROM drive, two USB ports, a 56 kbit/s Modem, built-in Ethernet, infrared port, built-in stereo speakers, and two headphone ports. The CPU and memory were located on the same 'Daughter Card', which installed directly onto the motherboard.
It came exclusively in a translucent 'Bondi Blue' plastic, and was known as Revision A. On October 17, the iMac was updated with ATI Rage Pro graphics. This updated Revision B model maintained its predecessor's original price of $1299. The iMac had its infrared and mezzanine features removed with the introduction of the Revision C model on January 5, 1999, dropping in price to US$1199. Hard drive capacity increased and a faster processor was added. The Bondi Blue color was discontinued and replaced by five new colors: Strawberry, Blueberry, Lime, Grape, and Tangerine. A final update, Revision D, was released on April 14, 1999, which maintained its previous specifications save a faster processor.
In some cases, it is possible to interchange parts between different revisions or install third-party internal parts. For example, the iMac G3 in Bondi Blue shown below had its motherboard replaced with one from a 266 MHz Grape model, while the drive was replaced with a that is running. Slot-loading model iMac G3 (slot loading) Developer Type Release date October 5, 1999, up to Mac OS X 10.4.11 PowerPC G3, 350-700MHz On October 5, 1999, Apple discontinued the tray-loading iMac. The new iMac built upon the Revision D's success with a faster processor, double the RAM, improvements to the built-in speaker system, a slot-loading optical drive, faster ATI Rage 128 VR graphics, a slightly updated case, and support for Apple's 802.11b wireless networking card.
The iMac was joined by two additional standard configurations, the iMac DV ('digital video') and iMac DV Special Edition. Designed to support home movie editing, the iMac DV had a more powerful processor, a VGA-out port, drive, larger hard drive, and two ports for US$1299, in new shades of all five Revision D colors. The iMac DV Special Edition doubled the RAM again and increased hard drive capacity to 13 GB at US$1499, and was available in an exclusive Graphite color. All iMac (slot-loading) models featured convection cooling, keeping them nearly silent during operation. On July 19, 2000, Apple reduced the price of the entry-level iMac to US$799. Hardware changes were minimal; the AirPort card slot was removed (for the base configuration), the USB Mouse was replaced with an, the ATI Rage 128 VR graphics were upgraded to an ATI Rage 128 Pro version, and it was made available in a darker shade of blue called Indigo, replacing Blueberry.
G3/500 Ok For Macbook
The iMac DV was reduced to US$999, dispensing with the DVD-ROM replaced by a CD-ROM drive, and was available in Indigo and Ruby. At the former price point of the iMac DV, the iMac DV+ was introduced, sporting faster processor and larger hard drive than its predecessor in Indigo, Ruby, and the exclusive Sage. The iMac DV Special Edition remained at the same price but gained a 500 MHz processor, 30 GB hard drive, and was available in Graphite and the exclusive Snow. On February 22, 2001, Apple consolidated its configurations to three. The iMac DV was renamed iMac and made the base-entry configuration; it was available only in Indigo at US$899. A second entry-level configuration was introduced with a 500 MHz processor, new ATI Rage 128 Ultra graphics, and 20 GB hard drive in Indigo, along with two patterns: Flower Power and Blue Dalmatian that were molded into the plastic exterior. The iMac DV Special Edition was renamed iMac Special Edition and was available in Graphite and the two new patterns, with a faster processor, double the RAM, and a 40 GB hard drive at the same US$1499 price.
The final revision, released July 18, 2001, kept the three model line now with a 500, 600, or 700 MHz processor, available in Indigo, Graphite, and Snow. Following the introduction of the faster in January 2002, the 700 MHz model was discontinued.
The 500 MHz Indigo and 600 MHz Graphite models were subsequently discontinued later in 2002, leaving only the 600 MHz Snow model available for sale until March 2003, when the release of the low-cost replaced it. Paul Thurrott (May 6, 1998). Windows IT Pro. Retrieved February 26, 2006. January 10, 2010, at the. Retrieved March 8, 2007., Apple iMac G3/233 Original – Bondi (Rev.
A & B) Specs (M6709LL/A.)., Apple iMac G3/266 (Fruit Colors) Specs (M7345LL/A.). Apple, Inc (Feb 20, 2012). Retrieved January 21, 2014., Apple iMac G3/400 DV (Slot Loading – Fruit) Specs (M7493LL/A.)., Apple Specifications, October 15, 1999. Kanellos, Michael (August 19, 1999).
Archived from on July 14, 2012., Launched in 1997, DC02 Clear pioneered the use of translucent plastic in a household product - even before the Apple iMac. April 27, 1999. Retrieved February 26, 2007. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to.