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Vintage G3 mac all in one?

M

minesgeek

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 25, 2005
70
0
LA
i have been looking for a mac that i remember seeing in my old college bookstore but i haven't seen it at www.apple-history.com or www.everymac.com. i am sure of four things about this phantom mac in my memory:
-it was a g3
-it was all in one
-it was in a clear/transluscent case (not gray)
-it is not in this picture!

please help jog my memory a little...
 

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Yeah, my high school had a bunch of these, I believe they were pretty much limited to educational institutes and were referred to as the "molar G3" by some because of their general shape of the top which had a clear plastic over the grey with many small holes in it.
 
If memory serves those things were actually a really good deal for the short time they were available, albeit pretty much education only (and they really do look like a molar for some reason). I have a relative who was using one until just a few months ago.
 
Hmm... entirely clear cases are rare, there was never a Mac with just a translucent case... well, the original iMac, but it wasn't clear. Clear cases were for final working prototypes I think, so it's possible it was a prototype? Also I believe they made a limited edition run of translucent Color Classics... I've seen them on eBay from time to time...
 
They aren't protoypes, ans you should find alot on ebay since no one wants them, and they're extremely heavy to ship. Your best bet it to pick one up locally.
 
so does anyone have a pic of one of these? or a line on purchasing one?

thanks for all of your responses
 
I've got one. That's a surprisingly great machine for a 233mhz G3. It's got PCI slots so you can get USB and FireWire onto the computer. It takes IDE hard drives & at least 700MB of RAM--and it'll run 10.2.8--decently too. If you need to bridge the old and new Mac worlds that's the perfect computer.

The picture you posted is correct. The top is clear-ish but the rest of it is beige.

I used to see them on Ebay all the time, but they're heavy as hell so I don't think I'd want to pay the shipping on one. Even if you got it for free the shipping costs would probably be more than the computer is worth.
 
Guys, pay attention:

minesgeek said:
-it was in a clear/transluscent case (not gray)
-it is not in this picture!
Click to expand...

He's saying that it's NOT the G3 AIO. Otherwise, if he already knew what it was, why would he have posted a picture of it??
 
paulwhannel said:
Guys, pay attention:



He's saying that it's NOT the G3 AIO. Otherwise, if he already knew what it was, why would he have posted a picture of it??
Click to expand...
Well if it isnt the AIO, nor is it the imac, then it doesnt exist, or only a couple were produced that I've never heard of...
 
Ok, thats a G3 AIO, educational only. It uses the Gossamer G3 board. Very upgradeable. This was the first mac I used to any extent.

I have one, a stock 266mhz, with the AV inputs. I have not done much with it. I also have 2 for parts, both 233mhz machines. I am sure there are plenty of specs out there, so I won't bore you with those. I upgraded one of mine to the max, using a 600mhz G4 zif, scsi drives and card, I even hacked a PCI 9100 into the internal monitor. I used PCI Extreme, and even had quartz extreme. lol

At the time, it was neat, plus fun. Now, not hardly worth it, I have a nice mini, for less than the upgrades, and its much faster.

But it was my intro to macs. And they are very upgradeable, the only AIO that I am aware of that is, before the Imacs became what they were.

If ya need any more info, feel free to hit me up, but i don't check pm's, so reply here.
 
so do bill, do you have a pic of this thing so my eyes can prove to me and the rest of the responders in this thread that i am not crazy? thanks for helping me out...
 
minesgeek said:
so do bill, do you have a pic of this thing so my eyes can prove to me and the rest of the responders in this thread that i am not crazy? thanks for helping me out...
Click to expand...

Well, actually, you have one above. However, they dont look alot like the pic, they are translucent plastic on the top, with translucent apples ion the sides. That pic makes it look beige. Its not.

But that is the beast. They came out right before iMacs. Interesting computers, the monitor is very bright, crisp and clear (of course, its an Apple product ;)). However, 15" is limiting, and OS X support on these is SPOTTY at best. If you want the gory details, they are all yours, just email me: billharrison7@SPAMMEANDDIE!@gmail.com

We can discuss further off list. I have alot of hard learned info on these, particularly with using and running panther (not supported, as there is no built in USB)

Bill
 
thanks for your help. i think i will leave the gory details alone. it would have been cool to have one around but i guess i will just leave it be.

thanks again
 
minesgeek said:
thanks for your help. i think i will leave the gory details alone. it would have been cool to have one around but i guess i will just leave it be.

thanks again
Click to expand...

I work at a highschool and we have a TON (at least 50) of those things. I bet you could offer your IT director a hundred bucks for one of them. Let me know.
 
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