The IMac G3 Tray Loading Original Bondi-Blue 333MHz

The original iMac G3 which came out in 1998 and marked the return of Steve Jobs to apple after a 12 year hiatus, may have saved Apple. Apple sold millions of iMac G3's and saved it self from bankruptcy and a time when the company was not doing good, and many of these iMac G3s are upgraded and still in use today. The all in one computer is still a favorite among computer hobbyist or just people looking for a cheap computer that will do basic computing for them.

The original iMac G3 or the Bondi Blue version was called Revision A. or Rev.A, the Rev.A iMac had a 333 MHz G3 processor with 32MB of ram. Funny considering that most computers these days have at least over 1GB of ram or 1,000 megabytes. The computer shipped with OS 8.1, anyone remember that? This was a purely consumer model, although it did pop up in many school districts and I used one of these through out my high school years. Fond memories of games like Snood, and Internet Explorer 5.17 are what I think about when I remember this computer.

But that was long ago and for the iMac G3 Bondi Blue Rev.A Tray loading machine to be relevant these days it needs serious upgrades. Upgrades to the processor are available as well as upgrading the ram to 384 MB although some people say you can upgrade to 512 MB. Upgrading to as high as OS X 10.4.11 Tiger have been reported. If you wanna go the cheap route you can just pop in a 128MB chip and have 160MB ram on OS 9.2 and run iCab 3 for your web browsing. It wouldn't be too bad and you could check your email and use it for basic computing.

This computer saved Apple and will probably become a collectors item eventually. One reason a lot of these models fail is because it is an "all-in one computer" and the monitor fails and that basically means that this computer is done one that happens. The CRT monitor dying is the main reason why many iMacs hit the dumpster earlier then many should have. Some people harvest the insides and use a PC case and use an iMac that way. That is an interesting way of "saving" a unit once the CRT dies.

In conclusion, the iMac G3 Bondi Blue Rev.A Tray loading Apple computer saved Apple from bankruptcy and brought style into the computer world. It was a radical shift from the other computers of the time. A great machine, with an even greater company that produced it.