Apple iMac G3/266 (Fruit Colors)
I have the main unit (Blueberry), Apple Pro keyboard and Apple Pro mouse.
type computer
country USA
year 1999
os Mac OS 8.5.1
cpu PowerPC 750 (G3)
speed 266 MHz
ram 32 MB
hd 6GB
cd 24x CD-ROM
graphic 13,8″ CRT screen 1024×768
sound stereo speakers SRS 3d
ports 2 x USB 1.1, modem, ethernet, PlainTalk, speakers, headphone
The Apple iMac G3/266 (Fruit Colors) — The Computer That Saved Apple
The Apple iMac G3, released in August 1998, is arguably the most important product in Apple’s history. Arriving when Apple was weeks from bankruptcy, the iMac’s colourful, futuristic design and accessible price transformed the company’s fortunes almost overnight. Designed by Jony Ive, the original Bondi Blue iMac was followed in 1999 by the ”Fruit Colors” range — Blueberry, Grape, Tangerine, Lime, and Strawberry — which turned the computer into a genuine cultural phenomenon and design icon. The iMac G3 single-handedly demonstrated that computers could be beautiful objects as well as functional tools.
Design Revolution
The iMac G3 was unlike any computer that had come before it. Where every other personal computer of the era was beige, boxy, and deliberately invisible, the iMac was translucent, colourful, organic in shape, and designed to be looked at. Jony Ive’s design integrated the CRT monitor and computer into a single teardrop-shaped unit — an approach Apple had pioneered with the original Macintosh in 1984 and now brought to the consumer market with spectacular results. The machine sold 800,000 units in its first 139 days and went on to sell 6 million units in its production life.
Technical Specifications
The 266 MHz PowerPC G3 processor delivered strong performance for consumer tasks of the era. The G3 architecture, with its large on-chip cache, ran significantly faster than comparably-clocked PowerPC 604e or Pentium II chips for many workloads. With 32 MB of RAM, a 4 GB hard drive, and a slot-loading CD-ROM drive, it was well-equipped for web browsing, email, digital photography, and the emerging world of internet-based computing that Apple positioned it for.
Legacy
The iMac G3 is one of the most collected and celebrated computers in history. The Fruit Colors range in particular — with Lime being among the rarest and most desirable — are sought after as much for their aesthetic beauty as their historical significance. They represent the moment Apple transformed itself from a company making computers into a company making cultural objects.