iMac G3 - Business

(2207, 'History br Steve Jobs streamlined the company s large and confusing product lines immediately after becoming Apple s interim CEO in 1997 toward the end of the year Apple trimmed its line of desktop Macs down to the beige Power Macintosh G3 series which included the iMac s immediate predecessor the G3 All In One which featured nearly identical specifications and was sold only to the educational market Having discontinued the consumer targeted Performa series Apple needed a replacement for the Performa s price point The company announced the iMac on 6 May 1998 and started shipping it on 15 August 1998 br Aesthetically the iMac was dramatically different from any other mainstream computer ever released It was made of translucent Bondi Blue colored plastic and was egg shaped around a 15 inch 38 160 cm CRT There was a handle and the computer interfaces were hidden behind a door that opened on the right hand side of the machine Dual headphone jacks in the front complemen ted the built in stereo speakers Jonathan Ive currently Vice President of Industrial Design at Apple is credited with the industrial design br Canted side panel of an iMac G3 showing USB and other ports br The iMac was the first computer to exclusively offer USB ports as standard including the connector for its new keyboard and mouse thus abandoning previous Macintosh peripheral connections such as the ADB SCSI and GeoPort serial ports br The original iMac hockey puck mouse br A radical step was to abandon the 3 inch diskette drive which had been present in every Mac since the first one in 1984 Apple argued that recordable CDs the internet and office networks were quickly making diskettes obsolete Apple s move was considered ahead of its time and was hotly debated At the iMac s introduction third party manufacturers offered inexpensive external USB diskette drives br The keyboard and mouse were redesigned for the iMac with translucent plastics and a Bondi Blue trim Apple USB Keyboard and Apple USB Mouse The keyboard was smaller than Apple s previous keyboards with white letters on black keys both features that attracted debate The mouse was of a round hockey puck design which was instantly derided as being unnecessarily difficult for users with larger hands Apple continued shipping the round mouse adding a divot in later versions so that users could distinguish where the button was Eventually a new oblong optical mouse known as the Apple Mouse formerly Apple Pro Mouse replaced the round mouse across all of Apple s hardware offerings br Technical br Unusually shaped logic board with hard drive bay prominent br Internally the iMac was a combination of the MacNC project and Common Hardware Reference Platform CHRP citation needed 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 The original iMac had a 233 160 MHz PowerPC G3 PowerPC 750 chip with 512 160 KB L2 cache running at 116 6 160 MHz which also ran in Apple s high end Power Macintosh line at the time though at higher speeds with more expensive models shipping with 1 160 MB L2 cache It sold for US 1 299 and had a 4 160 GB hard drive 32 160 MB RAM 2 160 MB video RAM and shipped with Mac OS 8 1 which was soon upgraded to Mac OS 8 5 Parts such as the front mounted IrDA port and the tray loading CD ROM drive were borrowed from the Apple laptops Although the iMac did not officially have an expansion slot 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 3dfx and SCSI SCSI TV tuner cards iProRAID and iProRAID TV from the German company Formac this was removed from later iMacs According to an article in the German computer magazine c t the socket can be retrofitted on revision C iMacs citation needed The hard drive in the iMa c G3 was a Quantum Fireball br Updates br The thirteen flavors of the iMac G3 br The iMac line was continually updated after initial release Aside from increasing processor speed video RAM and hard disk capacity Apple replaced Bondi blue with new colorsnitially blueberry strawberry tangerine grape and lime later other colors such as graphite ruby sage snow and indigo and the Blue Dalmatian and Flower Power patterns A later hardware update created a sleeker design This second generation iMac featured a slot loading optical drive FireWire fanless operation through free convection cooling and the option of AirPort wireless networking 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 br USB and FireWire support and support for dial up Ethernet and wireless networking via 802 11b and Bluetooth soon became standard across Apple s entire product line In particular the high speed interfac e FireWire corrected the deficiencies of the earlier iMacs br The iMac CRT model now targeted at the education market was renamed the iMac G3 and kept in production alongside the iMac G4 successor until the eMac was released br 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 br Models br iMac tray loading br iMac G3 tray loading br The original iMac br Developer br Apple Inc br Type br Desktop br Release date br 15 August 1998 br Operating system br OS 8 6 Mac OS 8 6 up to Mac OS X 10 3 9 br CPU br PowerPC G3 233 333MHz br The tray loading iMac G3 featured a 15 CRT display with a 1024 x 768 resolution Its input and output ports included two USB 1 1 ports 56k Modem built in 10 100 BASE T Ethernet and 4Mbit s infrared port which was only included in Revision A models It included built in stereo speakers microphone audio line in audio line out and two headphone ports near the right speaker The iMac had a door covering the ports with a hole to manage cables The iMac also included a puck shaped Apple USB Mouse and a new compact Apple USB keyboard It was originally only available in Bondi Blue but this was discontinued in favor of new Strawberry Blueberry Lime Grape and Tangerine colors which were introduced shortly after the iMac was released The tray loading iMac was discontinued on October 5 1999 when the new slot loading iMac G3 was introduced br August 15 1998 iMac 233MHz Revision A M6709LL A 233MHz processor ATI Rage IIc graphics with 2MB SGRAM Available in Bondi Blue only reset hole on side panel One of only two iMac models to include an IrDA port br October 17 1998 iMac 233MHz Revision B M6709LL B Minor update featuring new Mac OS 8 5 ATI Rage Pro Graphics with 6MB of SGRAM Last hardware revision to include the IrDA port and internal mezzanine slot br January 5 1999 iMac 266MHz Revision C Five Flavors M7389LL A M7345LL A M7392LL A M7390LL A M7391L L A 266MHz processor IrDA port and mezzanine slot removed ATI Rage Pro Turbo graphics with 6MB SGRAM Available in Strawberry pink Blueberry blue Lime light green Grape purple and Tangerine orange Price reduced by US 100 br April 14 1999 iMac 333MHz Revision D 333MHz processor Updated mouse with indentation on the button br Model br iMac br iMac Revision B br iMac 266 160 MHz br iMac 333 160 MHz br Display br 15 inch 13 8 inch viewable shadow mask CRT screen with 1024 x 768 pixel resolution br Graphics br ATI Rage IIc graphics processor with 2MB of SGRAM memory br Expandable to 6MB of SGRAM memory br ATI Rage Pro graphics processor with 6MB of SGRAM memory br Hard drive br ATA 3 br 5400 rpm br 4GB br 6GB br Processor br 233MHz PowerPC G3 750 br 266MHz PowerPC G3 750 br 333MHz PowerPC 160 G3 160 750 br Memory br Two slots for br PC100 SDRAM br SO DIMM br 32MB br Expandable to 384MB 128MB supported by Apple br 32MB br Expandable to 512MB 256MB supported by Apple br Modem br Int egrated 56k br Optical drive br 24X tray loading CD ROM drive br Minimum operating system required br Mac OS 8 1 or 8 5 br Mac OS 8 5 1 br Weight br 38 1 pounds br Dimensions br 15 8 x 15 2 x 17 6 inches 401 x 386 x 447 160 mm br iMac slot loading br An iMac G3 slot loading box showing the multi colored Hockey Puck mice br iMac G3 slot loading br The iMac slot loading br Developer br Apple Inc br Type br Desktop br Release date br 5 October 1999 br CPU br PowerPC G3 350700MHz br October 5 1999 iMac iMac DV iMac DV SE First revision with FireWire support except for the 350MHz Blueberry model 350 or 400MHz processor slot loading optical drive same colors as rev C D iMac plus Special Edition in graphite color Used ATI Rage 128 VR Graphics with 8MB of VRAM Included internal slot for 802 11b AirPort card AirPort card adapter required br July 19 2000 iMac iMac DV iMac DV iMac DV SE DV and DV SE models upgrade slot loading CD ROM to slot loading DVD ROM drive 350 400 450 or 500MHz processor colors graphite grey ruby red snow white indigo dark blue and sage green Graphics updated to Rage 128 Pro but still with 8MB SGRAM 350MHz model Indigo lacked AirPort card slot and still lacked FireWire support br February 22 2001 patterns 400 500 PPC750CXe or 600 PPC750CXe MHz processor Available in Indigo Graphite and Blue Dalmatian or Flower Power patterns DVD ROM drive discontinued in favor of slot loading CD RW drive low end Indigo model has CD ROM 750CXe models features a new Pangea motherboard with a 16MB ATI Rage 128 Ultra graphics chip br July 18 2001 summer 2001 500 600 or 700MHz PPC750CXe processor Available in indigo graphite and snow 700MHz model discontinued in January 2002 after G4 iMacs were introduced 500 and 600MHz models discontinued March 2003 br Model br iMac Slot Loading br iMac Summer 2000 br iMac Early 2001 br iMac Summer 2001 br Display br 15 inch 13 8 inch viewable shadow mask CRT screen with 1024 x 768 pixel resolution plus VGA port for vi deo mirroring br Graphics br ATI Rage 128 VR graphics processor with 8MB of memory br ATI Rage 128 Pro graphics processor with 8MB of memory br ATI Rage 128 Pro graphics processor with 8MB of memory or ATI Rage 128 Ultra with 16MB of memory br ATI Rage 128 Ultra graphics processor with 16MB of memory br Hard drive br ATA 3 br 5400 rpm br 6GB 10GB or 13GB br 7GB 10GB 20 GB or 30GB br 10GB 20GB or 30GB br 20GB 40GB or 60GB br Processor br 350MHz or 400MHz PowerPC G3 750 br 350MHz 400MHz 450MHz or 500MHz PowerPC G3 750 br 400MHz PowerPC 160 G3 160 750 500MHz or 600MHz PowerPC G3 750CX br 500MHz PowerPC G3 755 600 or 700MHz PowerPC G3 750CXe br Memory br Two slots for br PC100 SDRAM br 64MB or 128MB br Expandable to 1GB 512MB supported by Apple br 64MB or 128MB br Expandable to 1GB br 64MB 128MB or 256MB br Expandable to 1GB br AirPort br Optional AirPort 802 11b card adapter required br Modem br Integrated 56k br Optical drive br 24x slot loading CD ROM drive or 4x slot loading DVD ROM drive br 24x slot loading CD ROM drive or 8x CD R and 4x CD RW recording and 32x CD Read slot loading CD RW drive br Minimum operating system required br Mac OS 8 6 br Mac OS 9 0 4 br Mac OS 9 1 br Mac OS 9 1 and Mac OS X 10 0 4 br Colors br Blueberry Grape Strawberry Tangerine Lime and Graphite br Indigo Ruby Sage Snow and Graphite br Indigo Graphite Blue Dalmatian and Flower Power br Indigo Graphite and Snow br Weight br 34 7 pounds br Dimensions br 15 0 x 15 0 x 17 1 inches 381 x 381 x 435 160 mm br Timeline of iMac models br See also Timeline of Macintosh models 160 and Timeline of Apple products br See also Power Macintosh G3 160 and Template Timeline of Old World ROM Power Macintosh models br In Popular Culture br The iMac G3 featured prominently in early 2000s pop culture It was featured on many different TV shows including King of the Hill Ned s Declassified School Survival Guide George Lopez My Family Malcolm in the Middle Queer as Folk and Lizzie McGuire i Macs were also featured in the films Zoolander Max Keeble s Big Move and Scooby Doo The Mystery Begins the syndicated comic strip FoxTrot Homestar Runner and BrainPOP br Legal action br Further information Notable litigation of Apple Inc Apple v eMachines and Trademark dispute over appleimac com br Apple protected the iMac design with legal action against computer makers who made imitations such as eMachines eOne Some manufacturers added translucent plastics to existing designs following the trend started by Apple In 1999 Apple obtained the registered domain name appleimac com from Abdul Traya after legal intervention The website now automatically redirects to Apple Inc s website br References br Paul Thurrott May 6 1998 Whooa Apple Announces the iMac Windows IT Pro http emea windowsitpro com articles print cfm articleid 17805 Retrieved 26 February 2006 160 br IBM The ins and outs of USB br iMac Technical Specification br Pinout info for the Revision A iMac s mezzanine aka P ERCH connector http www applefritter com node 4363 Retrieved 2007 03 08 160 br Everymac com Apple iMac G3 233 Original Bondi Rev A amp B Specs M6709LL A br Everymac com Apple iMac G3 266 Fruit Colors Specs M7345LL A br Apple com Apple Specifications October 17 1998 br Apple')

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