Apple iMac G3
1999
Hardware
Apple Computer, Inc.
Media Archaeology Lab, Boulder, CO
Label written by Rose Fanuzzi
In 1999, the Apple iMac G3 was the best selling Apple computer on the market. Its new egg-shaped aesthetic with a handle to pick the 40 lb device up was a great allure to casual computer users, such as students. The clear casing, which became a craze in the following years because of the G3, shows the internal hardware that creates a more human-to-computer connection. The blue mouse connected to this G3 would have originally been paired with a blue computer and keyboard, like this one at the Henry Ford Museum. The orange QWERTY keyboard matches the screen. This keyboard design is a classic that has been used for computers since their beginning. There is a place to put a tape into the computer, which shows the device’s age pre-DVD and pre-digital.
The new design of the G3 was such a success that Apple sold 800,000 in their first week of release. This computer was an aesthetic trend-setter in the tech industry. The orange iMac G3 seen above resides in the Media Archaeology lab in Colorado where visitors can still interact with it; a breakthrough piece of technology that has now become a dinosaur.
Image citation:
Media Archaeology Lab, Creative Commons: Attribution, Non-Commercial
Resources:
Palumbo, Jacqui. “‘A real stroke of genius.’ How Apple’s iMac G3 became an object of desire.” CNN Style. Last modified August 15, 2023. https://edition.cnn.com/style/apple-imac-g3-25th-anniversary/index.html.