Posted on July 15, 2021
Apple iMac G3 (second generation)
The iMac G3 started it all, leading Apple away from near bancruptcy and making it the multi-billion dollar company it is today. Let’s look one the iMac, that left an imprint in computer history.
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Historic Overview
Wenn Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he made drastic cuts on the zoo of Mac computer variations. Killing off most product lines, Jobs saught on how to appeal to the masses, bringing both simplicity and the Internet home to everyone. And so the iMac G3 with their progressive translucent and colorful design came to be.
Offering an appealing all-in-one design which was unlike everything else seen to this day, the iMac G3 immediately caught fire, seeing many copycats to reproduce the look-and-feel on ordinary PCs and peripherals soon after.
The “i” in the name was said to be internet, individual, instruct, inform (informieren) and inspire, something that played and was eventually continued in later years for things like the iBook, iPod, iPhone, the iPad and even software applications were destined to get the “i” blessing in their names.
With the intial iMac coming still with Mac OS 8.1 in 1998, later models came with OS 9, and were even capable of running Mac OS X up to 10.4. Even 10.5 would be possible, if the CPU was swapped for a PowerPC 4G upgrade.
Seeing a transiton from a – from todays perspective – meagerly spec’ed 233 MHz PowerPC CPU, 32 MiB RAM and a 4 GiB hard drive, later revisions saw up to 700 MHz with 256 MiB RAM and 60 GiB hard drives before the second generation took over. The latter are considered the “second generation” iMac already, diffentiated frm the original mostly by the CD/DVD drive, changing from front-loading to slot-in mechanism. Otherwise they look pretty much idential from the outside. Another thing, that the second generation saw, was the inclusion of the Apple Pro Keyboard and the Apple Pro Mouse, doing away with the more cheaply looking earlier keyboard and the hockey-puck mouse.
Even with the third generation iMac (the “lamp” or “sunflower”) replacing it from 2002 onwards, the original iMac saw a continued existence as a model variation called the eMac, targeted at the educational market, throughout the following years up until 2005.
The iMac
Specs
The PHINTAGE Collection currently holds an iMac G3.
| Vendor | Apple Computer, Inc |
| Model | iMac G3 / mid 2000 (second generation) |
| Released | 2000 |
| Original Streetprice | 2999 D-Mark / 1299 US$ in 1998 (first generation) |
| Weight | 15.7 KG |
| Dimensions | 40.1 x 38.6 x 44.7 cm |
| Builtin Display | YES, 15″ CRT, 1024 x 768 @ 75 Hz |
| Builtin Battery | NO |
| CPU | PowerPC G3 @ 500 MHz |
| RAM | 256 MiB |
| Storage | – 20 GiB PATA HDD – CD-ROM Drive |
| Network Support | Built-in 100 Mbit/s FastEthernet, Built-in Modem, built-in Wifi |
| USB | 2 x USB 1.1 |
| Video Output | n/a |
| Other | 2x FireWire 400, 2 x Audio-In&Out 3.5mm (front and side-facing) Built-in stereo speaker |
| Operating System | |
| Overall Condition | very minor signs of use, near mint condition DVD-ROM drive has issues with inserting/ejecting drives, but works |
| Restoration Parts needed | Replacement slot-in DVD-ROM drive |
Gallery
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Downloads
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