Very Rare iBook G3 Clamshell Spotted

[z970]

So I was browsing around eBay recently, and I accidentally stumbled upon this thing, courtesy of Goodwill:

Vintage Mac Clamshell iMac ATI Gemini HD Very Rare Touch Screen iMac Prototype! | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage Mac Clamshell iMac ATI Gemini HD Very Rare Touch Screen iMac Prototype! at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

It appears to be some kind of custom-built graphite Clamshell made by a company called Gemini (that was perhaps subcontracted out for manufacturing to another company called Assistive Technology, Inc.), with an actual touch screen built into the surface of the top shell rather than the underside, with two speakers on the top corners. It seems to be more-so designed to serve as a kiosk unit than a portable.

I have no attachment to Clamshells, so I'm not very interested in this one. But it seems to be an exceedingly rare device, and I know that there are several folks here who are into that, so I figured I'd let you all know just in case anyone's interested.

Should anyone wish to throw a bid in for the purposes of hardware preservation (and potentially save it from the polka-dot guy - God forbid), I wish you good luck.

 

[wnlewis]

Who is the polka-dot guy? Forgive my ignorance.

 

[z970]

@wnlewis I'll just leave these here ...

Apple iBook Clamshell G3 S.E DVD 466MHz OS9 THE MOST BEAUTIFUL UNIQUE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple iBook Clamshell G3 S.E DVD 466MHz OS9 THE MOST BEAUTIFUL UNIQUE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Apple iBook Clamshell G3 366MHz Fire Wire . Mac OS 9 (Unique Laptop Collectible) | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple iBook Clamshell G3 366MHz Fire Wire . Mac OS 9 (Unique Laptop Collectible) at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Apple iBook Clamshell G3 "Special TOUCH SCREEN" UNIQUE + BUNDLE | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple iBook Clamshell G3 "Special TOUCH SCREEN" UNIQUE + BUNDLE at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[TheShortTimer]

@wnlewis I'll just leave these here ...

Apple iBook Clamshell G3 S.E DVD 466MHz OS9 THE MOST BEAUTIFUL UNIQUE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple iBook Clamshell G3 S.E DVD 466MHz OS9 THE MOST BEAUTIFUL UNIQUE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Apple iBook Clamshell G3 366MHz Fire Wire . Mac OS 9 (Unique Laptop Collectible) | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple iBook Clamshell G3 366MHz Fire Wire . Mac OS 9 (Unique Laptop Collectible) at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Apple iBook Clamshell G3 "Special TOUCH SCREEN" UNIQUE + BUNDLE | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple iBook Clamshell G3 "Special TOUCH SCREEN" UNIQUE + BUNDLE at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

A sentence from a Biggie Smalls track comes to mind. Contains profanity so click here at your peril.

Edit: fixed the XML issue, sorry!

 

[z970]

@TheShortTimer Nooo! Not XML!

The sight of raw code highly offends me; the mods will hear of this!

 

[TheShortTimer]

@z970mp I've made amends for my transgression!

 

[BronzeLight]

I think Hrutkay Mod's has a video on this machine...

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

That Hrutkay YT vid is worth a watch. I wonder what the auction will end at.

 

[swamprock]

@wnlewis I'll just leave these here ...

Apple iBook Clamshell G3 S.E DVD 466MHz OS9 THE MOST BEAUTIFUL UNIQUE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple iBook Clamshell G3 S.E DVD 466MHz OS9 THE MOST BEAUTIFUL UNIQUE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Apple iBook Clamshell G3 366MHz Fire Wire . Mac OS 9 (Unique Laptop Collectible) | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple iBook Clamshell G3 366MHz Fire Wire . Mac OS 9 (Unique Laptop Collectible) at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Apple iBook Clamshell G3 "Special TOUCH SCREEN" UNIQUE + BUNDLE | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple iBook Clamshell G3 "Special TOUCH SCREEN" UNIQUE + BUNDLE at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

WITH GIFTS!!!@#!@$#$%$^&

?

 

[retta283]

WITH GIFTS!!!@#!@$#$%$^&

?

I've seen these for long enough that it's hard to get mad at, just laughable. What does make me mad is seeing him begin to corner the market for some white iBooks and especially G4 minis.

 

[Amethyst1]

What does make me mad is seeing him begin to corner the market for some white iBooks and especially G4 minis.

Well, in 20 years from now, he might be selling beautified M1 Macs… with gifts!!!111oneoneeleven

Geez, that keyboard on the one linked to above… Where’s the next vomitorium?

 

[swamprock]

I've seen these for long enough that it's hard to get mad at, just laughable. What does make me mad is seeing him begin to corner the market for some white iBooks and especially G4 minis.

He can have all of the original Minis and white G3 iBooks that he wants. The former are pretty dull but somewhat usable; the latter... well... he can deal with the fallout when they start to croak.

I get the "Ooohh SHINY!" when it comes to simple people and the OG iBooks. FOMO, glazed eyes and all of that. Expanding that to less-cooler designs like the white iBooks and Minis? I just dont see it, personally. Then again, I haven't explored that guys' listings with any sort of close attention in years, so I'm not even sure what he's doing.

I wouldn't go near those white iBooks, G3 or otherwise, with a 64' 3/8" poooooooooooole, with that sort of market gimmick....

 

[retta283]

He can have all of the original Minis and white G3 iBooks that he wants. The former are pretty dull but somewhat usable; the latter... well... he can deal with the fallout when they start to croak.

I get the "Ooohh SHINY!" when it comes to simple people and the OG iBooks. FOMO, glazed eyes and all of that. Expanding that to less-cooler designs like the white iBooks and Minis? I just dont see it, personally. Then again, I haven't explored that guys' listings with any sort of close attention in years, so I'm not even sure what he's doing.

I wouldn't go near those white iBooks, G3 or otherwise, with a 64' 3/8" poooooooooooole, with that sort of market gimmick....

The old Minis are some of my favorite simple computer designs of all time, when they're new that is. All the ones he sells have yellowed so bad they aren't very presentable. It does really suck for me as someone who's been searching for a G4 Mini all year at a good price, even trying to get one on MR marketplace is going nowhere. I refuse to pay hundreds for something that already cost me $500 16 years ago...

Agreed on the iBooks though, too bad because again a brand new 'IceBook' looks really nice but are ticking time bombs due to the GPU.

 

[alex_free]

The old Minis are some of my favorite simple computer designs of all time, when they're new that is. All the ones he sells have yellowed so bad they aren't very presentable. It does really suck for me as someone who's been searching for a G4 Mini all year at a good price, even trying to get one on MR marketplace is going nowhere. I refuse to pay hundreds for something that already cost me $500 16 years ago...

Agreed on the iBooks though, too bad because again a brand new 'IceBook' looks really nice but are ticking time bombs due to the GPU.

Interesting, so you look for new minis?

I can’t believe this guy is still at it. Someone will buy this and never use it for anything except eye candy… maybe they will try to go to Facebook once. All while driving up the price for people like us.

The worst of it is every one he sells is less parts/cases to repair others.

 

[retta283]

Interesting, so you look for new minis?

I can’t believe this guy is still at it. Someone will buy this and never use it for anything except eye candy… maybe they will try to go to Facebook once. All while driving up the price for people like us.

The worst of it is every one he sells is less parts/cases to repair others.

The newer the better, but the tops can be restored somewhat via a lengthy process. Currently I'm just looking for one that is confirmed to work. I have only Intel minis and I really want a G4 for OS 9 and Tiger dual-booting on a small desktop. The only ones I've found under $300 are untested or have confirmed video issues.

 

[alex_free]

The newer the better, but the tops can be restored somewhat via a lengthy process. Currently I'm just looking for one that is confirmed to work. I have only Intel minis and I really want a G4 for OS 9 and Tiger dual-booting on a small desktop. The only ones I've found under $300 are untested or have confirmed video issues.

Wait what? I got my G4 mini in 2019 for $45. OS 9 FLIES on it, MPEG-4 480P 1.5MB/S via QuickTime 6.0 on Mac OS 9 is insane!

OMG, what happened to the prices on eBay? What did they do to my boy? That Mac mini has compiled every single PPCMC7 release, and it was cheaper then Intel minis when I bought it pre COVID. I literally used to recommend it as a budget OS 9 machine that could max out every game.

 

[alex_free]

@wnlewis I'll just leave these here ...

Apple iBook Clamshell G3 S.E DVD 466MHz OS9 THE MOST BEAUTIFUL UNIQUE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple iBook Clamshell G3 S.E DVD 466MHz OS9 THE MOST BEAUTIFUL UNIQUE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Apple iBook Clamshell G3 366MHz Fire Wire . Mac OS 9 (Unique Laptop Collectible) | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple iBook Clamshell G3 366MHz Fire Wire . Mac OS 9 (Unique Laptop Collectible) at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Apple iBook Clamshell G3 "Special TOUCH SCREEN" UNIQUE + BUNDLE | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple iBook Clamshell G3 "Special TOUCH SCREEN" UNIQUE + BUNDLE at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

+ 1 FREE Apple iBook Clamshell User’s Guide (FREE)
Sureeee

 

[retta283]

Wait what? I got my G4 mini in 2019 for $45. OS 9 FLIES on it, MPEG-4 480P 1.5MB/S via QuickTime 6.0 on Mac OS 9 is insane!

OMG, what happened to the prices on eBay? What did they do to my boy? That Mac mini has compiled every single PPCMC7 release, and it was cheaper then Intel minis when I bought it pre COVID. I literally used to recommend it as a budget OS 9 machine that could max out every game.

I really wished I had gotten one back in 2018-19 when I originally was thinking of it, because now it seems to be too late. This is part of why I bought my Quicksilver that I'm expecting to take delivery of. It's nowhere near as powerful, but it's something to play with in the meantime while I search.

 

[alex_free]

Wait what? I got my G4 mini in 2019 for $45. OS 9 FLIES on it, MPEG-4 480P 1.5MB/S via QuickTime 6.0 on Mac OS 9 is insane!

OMG, what happened to the prices on eBay? What did they do to my boy? That Mac mini has compiled every single PPCMC7 release, and it was cheaper then Intel minis when I bought it pre COVID. I literally used to recommend it as a budget OS 9 machine that could max out every game.

Worse condition and 10x the price I paid in 2019

 

[weckart]

If there weren't a healthy market for garish, overpriced yet obsolete Apple hardware, his creations wouldn't exist. I can't get too worked up about him or his switching his attentions to Mac Minis. There are tons of the latter everywhere and many more have been ewasted than he will ever buy.

I mean, this is overpriced but you can still get a working MacMini affordably:

Apple Mac Mini G4 | eBay

Mac Mini PowerPC G4 1.25Ghz.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[retta283]

If there weren't a healthy market for garish, overpriced yet obsolete Apple hardware, his creations wouldn't exist. I can't get too worked up about him or his switching his attentions to Mac Minis. There are tons of the latter everywhere and many more have been ewasted than he will ever buy.

I mean, this is overpriced but you can still get a working MacMini affordably:

Apple Mac Mini G4 | eBay

Mac Mini PowerPC G4 1.25Ghz.

www.ebay.co.uk

View attachment 1854568

Not in North America. They won’t post to here.

 

[Dronecatcher]

I mean, this is overpriced but you can still get a working MacMini affordably:

Hey, that's my auction

Overpriced? Well, considering what I paid for it plus having to buy the power supply and RAM - once eBay have taken their cut I'll make less than £5 profit - also, when I last looked, mine was the cheapest working Mini on there?

And sorry, @retta283 the reason I'm reluctant to post abroad is I've had terrible experiences doing so plus the cost to send to USA is an extra £70...and there still might be custom charges for the recipient on top of that!

 

[weckart]

Hey, that's my auction

Oops. ?

Actually, my comment was more directed at the the hardware rather than the sellers. I don't really care if they are asking £300+, as it is eBay after all and eBay takes its ever increasing cut. I just think for £50 there are better PPC options out there. Unless you absolutely must have a Mac Mini, that is.

 

[Dronecatcher]

I just think for £50 there are better PPC options out there.

There probably are but my only point was at £50 there's no profiteering going on - I'm just seeking a return on what I paid.

I haven't been looking constantly but it does appear Powermac G5s are hard to come by now at a bargain price (ie under £50)

 

[z970]

Unpopular opinion: If I may add to the conversation, I generally have no problem with things on eBay that are "overpriced" (but not grotesquely so, like $400 for a standalone Power Mac G4, for example). As I see it, if the buyer is satisfied that they got their item exactly as they imagined it, and the seller is satisfied because they made a healthy profit - and conversely if the buyer scores a really good deal, and the seller is just happy to offload the sold item, then where is the issue for either party involved?

Speaking as someone who has undertaken multiple large-scale projects and endeavors to provide to the general public free of charge - purely out of principle, I can still fully recognize that people need money to live. And in this economy, especially now, more than ever. So if some choose to attempt to convert their possessed solid assets (like Power Macs) into as much liquid asset as possible, then that's just efficient asset management in my eyes.

@Dronecatcher Forgive me if you are already aware, but eBay UK has a Global Shipping Programme, which is basically where you sell something internationally, send it to a local eBay distribution center instead of directly to a guy in the Congo (or U.S.), and then they deal with all the customs and extra charges for you, as well as protect you from most negative feedback should something go wrong throughout the process.

As an eBay seller, I nearly used it once, but did do the research required, and it's ... comparable to going to the airport and having someone else fly you to another country instead of just taking a hang glider there by yourself. If that makes any sense. It seems to be a much easier process, to say the least.

FYI for those interested, eBay US has the same thing.