{"id":23153,"date":"2026-01-09T18:09:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T23:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/?page_id=23153"},"modified":"2026-01-14T12:45:43","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T17:45:43","slug":"vin191","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin191\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple iMac G3"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Apple iMac G3<\/h2>\n<p>[Vin191]<\/p>\n<p>the Apple iMac G3 (introduced in 1998) is notable for re-establishing Apple\u2019s relevance by combining a consumer-friendly all-in-one design with bold, translucent industrial aesthetics that deliberately made the computer a visible cultural object rather than hidden office equipment. Its claim to fame was abandoning legacy technologies (like the floppy drive and serial ports) in favor of USB, signaling a decisive shift toward modern peripheral standards and accelerating their widespread adoption across the industry. Commercially, the iMac G3 was extremely popular, selling millions of units and becoming one of the best-selling personal computers of its era, making it a pivotal artifact for illustrating how design, usability, and standardization reshaped public engagement with computing at the turn of the millennium.<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260114_153142289-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-large wp-image-23235\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260114_153142289-400x300.jpg\" alt=\"Apple iMac G3\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260114_153142289-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260114_153142289-240x180.jpg 240w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260114_153142289-160x120.jpg 160w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260114_153142289-768x577.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260114_153142289-1536x1153.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260114_153142289-2048x1538.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260114_153142289-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260114_153142289-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Manufacturer<\/strong>: Apple Computer Inc.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Released<\/strong>: 1998<\/li>\n<li><strong>Type<\/strong>: All-in-One Personal Computer<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cost at release<\/strong>: ~$3,500 (adjusted for inflation)<\/li>\n<li><strong>MIPS<\/strong>: 100-150<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW169789978 BCX0\">Hardware Specifications<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>CPU<\/strong>: PowerPC 750 (G3) RISC CPU 233 MHz (later models ranged up to 700 MHz)\n<ul>\n<li>System Architecture: 32-bit PowerPC<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Memory<\/strong>: 32 MB\u00a0 expandable (typically up to 384 MB on early revisions)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Storage<\/strong>: 4\u20136 GB IDE hard drive (early models)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Optical Drive<\/strong>: 24\u00d7 CD-ROM (later models included CD-RW or DVD-ROM)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Display<\/strong>: Integrated 15-inch CRT, 1024 \u00d7 768 maximum resolution<\/li>\n<li><strong>Graphics<\/strong>: ATI Rage IIc or ATI Rage Pro Turbo, 2\u20136 MB VRAM (model-dependent)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ports &amp; Connectivity<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>2\u00d7 USB 1.1 (no legacy serial or ADB ports)<\/li>\n<li>10\/100 Ethernet<\/li>\n<li>56k modem<\/li>\n<li>Headphone output<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Apple USB keyboard<\/li>\n<li>Apple USB \u201chockey puck\u201d mouse<\/li>\n<li><strong>Case Design<\/strong>: Translucent colored polycarbonate shell<\/li>\n<li><strong>Weight<\/strong>: Approximately 38\u201339 lb (17\u201318 kg) depending on revision<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"TextRun SCXW50331614 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW50331614 BCX0\">Operating System &amp; Programming Languages<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>O\/S<\/strong>: Mac OS 8.1 (original 1998 Bondi Blue models)\n<ul>\n<li>Later Supported Operating Systems (model-dependent):\n<ul>\n<li>Mac OS 8.5, 8.6<\/li>\n<li>Mac OS 9.0 \u2013 9.2.2<\/li>\n<li>Mac OS X 10.0 \u2013 10.3 \u201cPanther\u201d (early versions officially supported on many G3 models)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Architecture: PowerPC (32-bit RISC)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/apple-imac-ad-1999.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-23161\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/apple-imac-ad-1999-240x329.jpg\" alt=\"Apple iMac G3\" width=\"240\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/apple-imac-ad-1999-240x329.jpg 240w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/apple-imac-ad-1999-400x549.jpg 400w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/apple-imac-ad-1999-160x220.jpg 160w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/apple-imac-ad-1999-360x494.jpg 360w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/apple-imac-ad-1999.jpg 656w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><\/a>Programming Languages<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Native &amp; Compiled Languages\n<ul>\n<li>C (MPW, CodeWarrior, later GCC under Mac OS X)<\/li>\n<li>C++ (widely used via Metrowerks CodeWarrior)<\/li>\n<li>Objective-C (primarily under Mac OS X via GCC)<\/li>\n<li>Pascal (historically significant on the Mac platform)<\/li>\n<li>Fortran (academic and scientific computing, via third-party compilers)<\/li>\n<li>Assembly (PowerPC assembly language)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Scripting &amp; Interpreted Languages\n<ul>\n<li>AppleScript (native Mac automation language)<\/li>\n<li>Perl (especially under Mac OS X)<\/li>\n<li>Python (early versions under Mac OS X)<\/li>\n<li>Tcl\/Tk<\/li>\n<li>Shell scripting (sh, bash, tcsh) under Mac OS X<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Educational &amp; Historical Languages\n<ul>\n<li>BASIC (various Mac implementations)<\/li>\n<li>HyperTalk (HyperCard stacks, important in multimedia and education)<\/li>\n<li>Logo (commonly used in educational settings)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Web &amp; Multimedia Languages\n<ul>\n<li>HTML<\/li>\n<li>Java (early Java 1.x runtimes available for Mac OS and Mac OS X)<\/li>\n<li>JavaScript (browser-based development)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Notables<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Widely credited with pulling Apple back from near-bankruptcy after Steve Jobs\u2019 return in 1997.<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cBondi Blue\u201d Icon<\/strong>: Named after Australia\u2019s Bondi Beach, its translucent blue case became one of the most recognizable computer designs ever.<\/li>\n<li>Its controversial removal of the floppy drive helped hasten the industry\u2019s shift to USB and optical media.<\/li>\n<li>One of the first mass-market computers to rely almost entirely on USB, accelerating its adoption across the PC industry.<\/li>\n<li>Internet Computer: Marketed explicitly as an \u201cout-of-the-box internet appliance\u201d at a time when home internet was still novel.<\/li>\n<li>Infamous round USB mouse: visually striking but ergonomically criticized; now a vintage favorite.<\/li>\n<li>Modernized the all-in-one form factor decades after early Macs and influenced later designs like the flat-panel iMacs.<\/li>\n<li>First mainstream computer where industrial design was a primary selling point, influencing consumer electronics broadly.<\/li>\n<li>Frequently featured in late-1990s advertising, films, and TV, reinforcing computing as colorful and approachable rather than technical.<\/li>\n<li>Sold millions of units within its first years, becoming one of the most successful personal computers of its era.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"content__video\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Apple iMac G3 Colours Commercial\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qtZHw5ZXbNY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><strong>Donated by<\/strong>: Dr. Arlen Michaels<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Apple iMac G3 [Vin191] the Apple iMac G3 (introduced in 1998) is notable for re-establishing Apple\u2019s relevance by combining a consumer-friendly all-in-one design with bold, translucent industrial aesthetics that deliberately made the computer a visible cultural object rather than hidden office equipment. Its claim to fame was abandoning legacy technologies (like the floppy drive and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":19704,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Apple iMac G3 - School of Computer Science<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Apple iMac G3 the Apple iMac G3 (introduced in 1998) is notable for re-establishing Apple\u2019s relevance by combining a consumer-friendly all-in-one design\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin191\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin191\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin191\/\",\"name\":\"Apple iMac G3 - 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