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126-692: The Power Macintosh G3 (also sold with additional software as the Macintosh Server G3 ) is a series of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from November 1997 to August 1999. It represented Apple's first step towards eliminating redundancy and complexity in the product line by replacing eight Power Macintosh models (and the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh ) with three: Desktop and Mini Tower models for professional and home use, and an all-in-one model for education. The introduction of

252-442: A TV set or an appropriately sized computer display , and is often used as a digital photo viewer, music and video player, TV receiver, and digital video recorder. HTPCs are also referred to as media center systems or media servers . The goal is to combine many or all components of a home theater setup into one box. HTPCs can also connect to services providing on-demand movies and TV shows. HTPCs can be purchased pre-configured with

378-418: A battery , a 3.5" floppy disk , a third-party Iomega Zip drive , or a third-party add-on hard drive. The right-hand bay is larger and can accommodate any of the above plus a 5.25" optical drive ( CD-ROM or DVD-ROM ). A small internal nickel–cadmium battery allowed swapping of the main batteries while the computer "slept". With a battery in each bay, battery life was doubled. DVDs can be displayed with

504-401: A kit form and in limited volumes, and were of interest mostly to hobbyists and technicians. Minimal programming was done with toggle switches to enter instructions, and output was provided by front panel lamps. Practical use required adding peripherals such as keyboards, computer displays , disk drives , and printers . Micral N was the earliest commercial, non-kit microcomputer based on

630-511: A multitasking operating system . Eventually, due to the influence of the IBM PC on the personal computer market , personal computers and home computers lost any technical distinction. Business computers acquired color graphics capability and sound, and home computers and game systems users used the same processors and operating systems as office workers. Mass-market computers had graphics capabilities and memory comparable to dedicated workstations of

756-553: A portable computer prototype called SCAMP (Special Computer APL Machine Portable) based on the IBM PALM processor with a Philips compact cassette drive, small CRT , and full function keyboard. SCAMP emulated an IBM 1130 minicomputer in order to run APL/1130. In 1973, APL was generally available only on mainframe computers, and most desktop sized microcomputers such as the Wang 2200 or HP 9800 offered only BASIC . Because SCAMP

882-469: A touchscreen display, which can be controlled using either a stylus pen or finger. Some tablets may use a hybrid or convertible design, offering a keyboard that can either be removed as an attachment, or a screen that can be rotated and folded directly over top the keyboard. Some tablets may use desktop-PC operating system such as Windows or Linux, or may run an operating system designed primarily for tablets. Many tablet computers have USB ports, to which

1008-835: A 4096-color palette, stereo sound, Motorola 68000 CPU, 256 KB RAM, and 880 KB 3.5-inch disk drive, for US$ 1,295. IBM's first PC was introduced on 12 August 1981 setting what became a mass market standard for PC architecture. In 1982 The Computer was named Machine of the Year by Time magazine. Somewhat larger and more expensive systems were aimed at office and small business use. These often featured 80-column text displays but might not have had graphics or sound capabilities. These microprocessor-based systems were still less costly than time-shared mainframes or minicomputers. Workstations were characterized by high-performance processors and graphics displays, with large-capacity local disk storage, networking capability, and running under

1134-508: A 433 MHz G4) are available for these PowerBooks. The fourth generation of PowerBook G3 (Pismo), was introduced in February 2000. It was code named "Pismo" after the City of Pismo Beach, California . For this generation Apple dropped "G3" from the name. The original Pismo was rumored to be a latchless design, akin to the iBook , which is similar in specification. Apple settled on fitting

1260-496: A 66.83 MHz system bus and PC66 SDRAM , and standard ATA hard disk drives instead of the SCSI drives used in most previous Apple systems. A Fast SCSI internal bus is still included with 10 MB/s speed, along with the proprietary out-of-spec DB-25 external SCSI bus which had a top speed of 5 MB/s. Each bus could support a maximum of 7 devices. Apple also developed a prototype G3-based six-slot full tower to be designated

1386-519: A CD-RW, DVD-ROM or DVD-RW drive, although care must be taken while purchasing the upgrade as the Mac is incompatible with some drives and may refuse to boot at all if an incompatible drive is installed. Also, many third-party optical drives cannot be used as boot devices with the G3, though they work correctly for normal use, and burning on many third party CD-RW and DVD-RW drives requires either commercial drivers or

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1512-595: A DVD-Video decoder daughtercard for the graphics card, allowing hardware-assisted DVD video playback. The Blue and White G3 uses a modified version of the memory/PCI controller, the Motorola MPC106 (codenamed "Grackle"); it used the MPC106 v4. The I/O "Heathrow" had been replaced by "Paddington" (adding 100 Mbit Ethernet and power save features), the audio chip "Screamer" (on the beige G3's "Whisper" and "Wings" personality cards) had been replaced by "Burgundy" (from

1638-569: A Kanga to continue using their interchangeable expansion bay modules, batteries, and other peripherals from the Powerbook 190, 5300 and 3400 models. The Kanga was also notably smaller in depth and width than the subsequent Wallstreet Powerbooks, and the Kanga remained the smallest-when-open G3 laptop until the debut of the Apple iBook some years later. The second generation of PowerBook G3s, now called

1764-595: A PCI Ultra Wide SCSI card and the 100BASE-T Ethernet PCI card. The 333 and the (canceled) 366 MHz model had only 6  MiB VRAM; the 300 MHz model shipped with a 128-bit iXMicro PCI video card with 8 MiB VRAM. The Macintosh Server G3 is identical to the Mini Tower model, but was sold with additional server software and different specifications. Software included AppleShare IP 5.0, Apple Network Administrator Toolkit, and SoftRAID. Introduced March 1998: Introduced September 1998: The All-In-One model

1890-625: A compact and versatile motherboard, the Gossamer board was originally designed to be able to support both the high-end PowerPC 604e and the new PowerPC G3, but when initial testing found that the cheaper G3 outperformed the 604e in many benchmarks, this functionality was removed and Apple's 604e-based systems were discontinued. Gossamer supports both onboard and external SCSI (from the custom MESH IC ), ADB , 10BASE-T Ethernet , two MiniDIN -8 serial ports, and onboard ATI graphics (originally II+ , later updated to Pro and then Rage Pro Turbo ) with

2016-410: A computer that could fit on a desk was remarkably small, leading to the desktop nomenclature. More recently, the phrase usually indicates a particular style of computer case . Desktop computers come in a variety of styles ranging from large vertical tower cases to small models which can be tucked behind or rest directly beneath (and support) LCD monitors . While the term desktop often refers to

2142-557: A computer with a vertically aligned computer tower case , these varieties often rest on the ground or underneath desks. Despite this seeming contradiction, the term desktop does typically refer to these vertical tower cases as well as the horizontally aligned models which are designed to literally rest on top of desks and are therefore more appropriate to the desktop term, although both types qualify for this desktop label in most practical situations aside from certain physical arrangement differences. Both styles of these computer cases hold

2268-510: A desk, including a keyboard, a small one-line display, and printer. The Wang 2200 microcomputer of 1973 had a full-size cathode ray tube (CRT) and cassette tape storage. These were generally expensive specialized computers sold for business or scientific uses. 1974 saw the introduction of what is considered by many to be the first true personal computer, the Altair 8800 created by Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) . Based on

2394-403: A different board) and processor cards for these models are interchangeable. Note that if a G3's firmware has been upgraded (a required update for installing Mac OS 9), it won't accept G4 CPUs until patched with a third-party replacement firmware. A Blue and White G3 that has been upgraded to a G4 is able to run Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. The blue and white G3's enclosure design was widely praised at

2520-415: A few years before. Even local area networking, originally a way to allow business computers to share expensive mass storage and peripherals, became a standard feature of personal computers used at home. An increasingly important set of uses for personal computers relied on the ability of the computer to communicate with other computer systems, allowing interchange of information. Experimental public access to

2646-540: A glowing Apple logo on the back. Internal hard drives for the Pismo, Lombard, and Wallstreet II can be used interchangeably. The expansion bay drives (DVD, CD, floppy, battery) are interchangeable on the Pismo and Lombard, but not on the Wallstreet. A DVD drive was optional on the 333 MHz model and standard on the 400 MHz version. The 400 MHz model included a hardware MPEG-2 decoder for DVD playback, while

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2772-432: A graphics card installed. For this reason, desktop computers are usually preferred over laptops for gaming purposes. Unlike desktop computers, only minor internal upgrades (such as memory and hard disk drive) are feasible owing to the limited space and power available. Laptops have the same input and output ports as desktops, for connecting to external displays, mice, cameras, storage devices and keyboards. Laptops are also

2898-527: A hardware specification called Handheld PC was later released by Microsoft that run the Windows CE operating system. PowerBook G3 The PowerBook G3 is a series of laptop Macintosh personal computers that was designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from 1997 to 2001. It was the first laptop to use the PowerPC G3 (PPC740/750) series of microprocessors, and was marketed as

3024-487: A hinged second panel containing a flat display screen. Closing the laptop protects the screen and keyboard during transportation. Laptops generally have a rechargeable battery , enhancing their portability. To save power, weight and space, laptop graphics chips are in many cases integrated into the CPU or chipset and use system RAM, resulting in reduced graphics performance when compared to desktop machines, that more typically have

3150-408: A keyboard or mouse can be connected. Smartphones are often similar to tablet computers , the difference being that smartphones always have cellular integration. They are generally smaller than tablets, and may not have a slate form factor. The ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) is a small tablet computer . It was developed by Microsoft , Intel and Samsung , among others. Current UMPCs typically feature

3276-467: A larger hard drive (up to 128 GB). Brighter screens and replacement batteries were also available. The left expansion bay, like the Lombard, could take only a battery, but the right bay was able to accommodate a tray-loading or slot-loading Combo Drive or SuperDrive , a Zip 100 drive, a Zip 250 drive, an LS-120 SuperDisk drive, a VST floppy disk drive, a second hard drive (with adapter, which

3402-540: A larger screen or use with video projectors. IBM PC-compatible suitcase format computers became available soon after the introduction of the PC, with the Compaq Portable being a leading example of the type. Later models included a hard drive to give roughly equivalent performance to contemporary desktop computers. The development of thin plasma display and LCD screens permitted a somewhat smaller form factor, called

3528-465: A little more expensive compared to desktops, as the miniaturized components for laptops themselves are expensive. Notebook computers such as the TRS-80 Model 100 and Epson HX-20 had roughly the plan dimensions of a sheet of typing paper ( ANSI A or ISO A4 ). These machines had a keyboard with slightly reduced dimensions compared to a desktop system, and a fixed LCD display screen coplanar with

3654-564: A lot of USB, ATA/IDE [or SATA] and FireWire cards). Common PCI card upgrades include FireWire cards, USB cards and FireWire/USB combo cards (especially after the release of the first generation iMac, which caused many vendors to start releasing USB peripherals for the Macintosh), 100BASE-TX or 1000BASE-T ( gigabit Ethernet ) network adapter, video cards (e.g. ATI Radeon 7000 and 9200), ATA/EIDE, Serial ATA and Ultra SCSI cards. Television tuner and radio cards are also often chosen to supplement

3780-435: A maximum memory limit of 192 MiB , but independent testers have reported being able to use 3x256 MiB SDRAM chips, for a total of 768 MiB . Incompatibility has been reported with some DIMM modules in certain configurations- for example, newer single-sided PC‑133 RAM modules will not be detected correctly if they will be detected at all and if the machine can boot with them in place, and the desktop and all-in-one units required

3906-739: A microprocessor, the Intel 8008 . It was built starting in 1972, and a few hundred units were sold. This had been preceded by the Datapoint 2200 in 1970, for which the Intel 8008 had been commissioned, though not accepted for use. The CPU design implemented in the Datapoint 2200 became the basis for x86 architecture used in the original IBM PC and its descendants. In 1973, the IBM Los Gatos Scientific Center developed

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4032-481: A new naming scheme: devices without an integrated phone are called Windows Mobile Classic instead of Pocket PC, while devices with an integrated phone and a touch screen are called Windows Mobile Professional. Palmtop PCs were miniature pocket-sized computers running DOS that first came about in the late 1980s, typically in a clamshell form factor with a keyboard. Non-x86 based devices were often called palmtop computers, examples being Psion Series 3 . In later years

4158-406: A preview of features that would later become staples of personal computers: e-mail , hypertext , word processing , video conferencing , and the mouse . The demonstration required technical support staff and a mainframe time-sharing computer that were far too costly for individual business use at the time. Early personal computers‍—‌generally called microcomputers‍—‌were often sold in

4284-615: A shared mainframe computer system was demonstrated as early as 1973 in the Community Memory project, but bulletin board systems and online service providers became more commonly available after 1978. Commercial Internet service providers emerged in the late 1980s, giving public access to the rapidly growing network. In 1991, the World Wide Web was made available for public use. The combination of powerful personal computers with high-resolution graphics and sound, with

4410-485: A slide-out tray for accessing the logic board, recessed rear I/O to make it easier to push the computer up against walls, and dual front headphone jacks for audio sharing. The G3 AIO was available in two basic configurations, a 233 MHz version with a floppy drive and a 4 GB hard drive, and a 266 MHz version with a built-in Zip drive , floppy drive, and either a "Whisper" personality card or an All-In-One version of

4536-532: A slightly updated version of the Rage 128 graphics card. The easiest way to tell if the unit is a Rev.2 is by looking at the CMD chip located on the logic board. The CMD chip on Rev. 1 logic boards is PCI646U2 and on Rev. 2 logic boards is 646U2-402. Revision 2 350, 400, and 450 MHz units use the same motherboard as the first "Yikes" version of Power Mac G4 systems at 350 and 400 MHz ("Sawtooth" AGP-based G4s used

4662-529: A slot for VRAM upgrades. An external serial port is included; this is the last Power Macintosh model to include one. Three 32-bit PCI slots and one internal modem slot are present, as well as three SDRAM slots. Early G3s with Revision A ROMs do not support slave devices on their IDE controllers, limiting them to one device per bus (normally one optical drive and one hard disk). Additionally, they came with onboard ATI Rage II+ video. G3s with Revision B ROMs support slave devices on their IDE controllers, and had

4788-655: A television already in the home as the computer display, with low-detail blocky graphics and a limited color range, and text about 40 characters wide by 25 characters tall. Sinclair Research , a UK company, produced the ZX Series‍—;‌the ZX80 (1980), ZX81 (1981), and the ZX Spectrum ; the latter was introduced in 1982, and totaled 8 million unit sold. Following came the Commodore 64 , totaled 17 million units sold,

4914-406: A time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems . Workstations are used for tasks such as computer-aided design , drafting and modeling, computation-intensive scientific and engineering calculations, image processing, architectural modeling, and computer graphics for animation and motion picture visual effects. Before the widespread use of PCs,

5040-601: A wide range of users, not just experienced electronics hobbyists who had the soldering skills to assemble a computer kit. The Apple I as delivered was still technically a kit computer, as it did not have a power supply, case, or keyboard when it was delivered to the Byte Shop. The first successfully mass-marketed personal computer to be announced was the Commodore PET after being revealed in January 1977. However, it

5166-542: Is a desktop computer that generally comprises a high-performance video card , processor and RAM, to improve the speed and responsiveness of demanding video games . An all-in-one computer (also known as single-unit PCs) is a desktop computer that combines the monitor and processor within a single unit. A separate keyboard and mouse are standard input devices, with some monitors including touchscreen capability. The processor and other working components are typically reduced in size relative to standard desktops, located behind

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5292-495: Is a portable computer that provides the full capabilities of a desktop computer . Such computers are currently large laptops. This class of computers usually includes more powerful components and a larger display than generally found in smaller portable computers, and may have limited battery capacity or no battery. Netbooks , also called mini notebooks or subnotebooks , were a subgroup of laptops suited for general computing tasks and accessing web-based applications . Initially,

5418-466: Is most often proprietary, or free and open-source software , which is provided in ready-to-run , or binary form. Software for personal computers is typically developed and distributed independently from the hardware or operating system manufacturers. Many personal computer users no longer need to write their programs to make any use of a personal computer, although end-user programming is still feasible. This contrasts with mobile systems, where software

5544-472: Is named for its third-generation PowerPC chip , and introduced a super fast and large Level 2 backside CPU cache , running at half processor speed. As a result, these machines benchmarked significantly faster than Intel PCs of similar CPU clock speed at launch, which prompted Apple to create the "Snail" and "Toasted Bunnies" television commercials. Magazine benchmarks showed the G3/266 CPU outperforming

5670-400: Is often available only through a manufacturer-supported channel, and end-user program development may be discouraged by lack of support by the manufacturer. Since the early 1990s, Microsoft operating systems (first with MS-DOS and then with Windows ) and Intel hardware – collectively called Wintel – have dominated the personal computer market, and today the term PC normally refers to

5796-506: Is the only G3 system that is not officially compatible with Mac OS X (though various methods not sanctioned by Apple can be used to install OS X). The Kanga was on the market for less than 5 months, and is largely regarded as a stopgap system that allowed Apple to ship G3 PowerBooks sooner, while Apple prepared its more revolutionary PowerBook G3 Series. As a result, the Kanga has the dubious distinction of being Apple's most quickly deprecated PowerBook. Nevertheless, many people chose to purchase

5922-560: Is unsupported even though reading and booting from the drive may still work. It is also capable of taking SCSI storage devices, and with the presence of the right PCI cards, SATA, USB and FireWire storage devices. SCSI : The presence of an onboard SCSI controller (the SCSI controller is codenamed MESH — M acintosh E nhanced S CSI H ardware) and connectors permits the use of Mac-enabled SCSI scanners and storage devices, though this runs at only 5 MB/s. Memory : Apple's spec sheets specify

6048-536: The Apple I computer circuit board, which was fully prepared and contained about 30 chips. The Apple I computer differed from the other kit-style hobby computers of era. At the request of Paul Terrell , owner of the Byte Shop , Jobs and Wozniak were given their first purchase order, for 50 Apple I computers, only if the computers were assembled and tested and not a kit computer. Terrell wanted to have computers to sell to

6174-590: The Bendix G15 and LGP-30 of 1956, and the Soviet MIR series of computers developed from 1965 to 1969. By the early 1970s, people in academic or research institutions had the opportunity for single-person use of a computer system in interactive mode for extended durations, although these systems would still have been too expensive to be owned by a single person. The personal computer was made possible by major advances in semiconductor technology. In 1959,

6300-656: The Galaksija (1983) introduced in Yugoslavia and the Amstrad CPC series (464–6128). In the same year, the NEC PC-98 was introduced, which was a very popular personal computer that sold in more than 18 million units. Another famous personal computer, the revolutionary Amiga 1000 , was unveiled by Commodore on 23 July 1985. The Amiga 1000 featured a multitasking, windowing operating system, color graphics with

6426-624: The IBM Personal Computer incorporated the designation into its model name, the term originally described personal computers of any brand. In some contexts, PC is used to contrast with Mac, an Apple Macintosh computer. Since none of these Apple products were mainframes or time-sharing systems, they were all personal computers but not PC (brand) computers. In 1995, a CBS segment on the growing popularity of PC reported: "For many newcomers PC stands for Pain and Confusion." The "brain" [computer] may one day come down to our level [of

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6552-545: The Power Macintosh 9700 . Despite demand from high-end users for more PCI slots in a G3-powered computer, Apple decided not to develop the prototype (dubbed "Power Express") into a shipping product, leaving the 9600 as the last six-slot Mac Apple would make for over two decades, until the 2019 Mac Pro which has eight. Initial units were shipped with Mac OS 8 . The G3 officially supports up to Mac OS X 10.2 , although some devices will not work under Mac OS X, such as

6678-405: The lunchbox computer. The screen formed one side of the enclosure, with a detachable keyboard and one or two half-height floppy disk drives, mounted facing the ends of the computer. Some variations included a battery, allowing operation away from AC outlets. A laptop computer is designed for portability with clamshell design, where the keyboard and computer components are on one panel, with

6804-460: The silicon integrated circuit (IC) chip was developed by Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor , and the metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) transistor was developed by Mohamed Atalla and Dawon Kahng at Bell Labs . The MOS integrated circuit was commercialized by RCA in 1964, and then the silicon-gate MOS integrated circuit was developed by Federico Faggin at Fairchild in 1968. Faggin later used silicon-gate MOS technology to develop

6930-661: The "1977 trinity". Mass-market, ready-assembled computers had arrived, and allowed a wider range of people to use computers, focusing more on software applications and less on development of the processor hardware. In 1977 the Heath company introduced personal computer kits known as Heathkits , starting with the Heathkit H8 , followed by the Heathkit H89 in late 1979. With the purchase of the Heathkit H8 you would obtain

7056-592: The "Bordeaux" personality card), and other controllers for Firewire (Texas Instruments PCI-Lynx), for USB etc. were added. This is also the first Power Macintosh with the "New World" architecture which contained a small (approximately 1 MB) boot ROM. When booting the Mac OS, the Mac OS Toolbox and any other ROM patches installed are loaded into RAM (the former Beige G3 however was the first Mac with this ROM-in-RAM capability). Initially, many buyers chose to buy

7182-453: The "Wings" personality card. It was the last Macintosh to ship with an internal floppy disk drive. The machine is also noted for its considerable 60 lb (27 kg) weight. It shipped with Mac OS 8.1 . When the iMac G3 was introduced, the G3 AIO and iMac were sold together to the education market until the G3 AIO was discontinued. The Power Mac G3 (Blue and White) (codenamed Yosemite)

7308-409: The 13.3" and 14.1" models were equipped with 4 MB VRAM allowing for 'millions of colors' at maximum resolution (1024×768 for both; the 13.3" having a higher pixel density). The 13.3" display came with a quick-to-fail ribbon cable that was produced too short, leading to a swath of warranty repairs that led Apple to remove the 13.3" model from the lineup after the initial production run. The Wallstreet

7434-500: The 300 MHz with a 6 GB drive, all at 5400 RPM. This model, sometimes referred to as an Outrigger Macintosh due to its ease of access, was the last horizontally-oriented desktop model offered by Apple until the introduction of the Mac mini in 2005. The Desktop model received an update in August 1998, with the 233 MHz model being discontinued. Unlike the Mini Tower model,

7560-499: The 333 MHz model was left without (except for the PC card one used by Wallstreet). Further DVD playback optimizations enabled both models to play back DVDs without use of hardware assistance. This model introduced USB ports to the PowerBook line while retaining SCSI support and eliminating ADB entirely (although the keyboard and touchpad still used an ADB interface internally). Graphics were provided by an ATi Rage LT Pro chipset on

7686-531: The 350 MHz PowerPC 604ev chip in the Power Macintosh 9600 as well. Two generations of the Power Macintosh G3 were released. The first generation, known colloquially as "Beige" was introduced at a special event on November 10, 1997. The second generation, known officially as "Blue and White", was introduced at MacWorld San Francisco on January 5, 1999. Its replacement, the Power Mac G4 ,

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7812-511: The 4 MB on the faster 14.1" models. The 13.3" display was removed from the line, owing to both the falling production costs of the larger TFT and the near-guaranteed failure of the 13.3" models' ribbon cable through the hinge; it was produced slightly too short, and many failed soon after purchase. Processor speeds were bumped on the faster two models, resulting in 233 MHz, 266 MHz, and 300 MHz models. The case has two docking bays, one on each side. The left-hand bay can accommodate

7938-555: The 8-bit Intel 8080 Microprocessor, the Altair is widely recognized as the spark that ignited the microcomputer revolution as the first commercially successful personal computer. The computer bus designed for the Altair was to become a de facto standard in the form of the S-100 bus , and the first programming language for the machine was Microsoft's founding product, Altair BASIC . In 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak sold

8064-458: The ATA/33 (33 MB/s) hard drive controller. The serial ports were replaced with USB 1.1 ports (12 Mbit/s), and the floppy disk drive was removed altogether. The ADB port remained, as did the option for an internal modem. 100BASE-TX Ethernet became standard, and audio was moved back to the logic board. A Zip Drive remained an option, and some configurations included a DVD-ROM drive and

8190-639: The AV features on a Wings personality card, or to provide A/V input for models with the Whisper personality card. The All-In-One can be modified to use a PCI video card with the internal monitor. Personality cards : Some users have upgraded the Whisper personality card with a "Wings" Personality card (which is plugged into the same PERCH slot), and some have upgraded the ROM to a newer version (Revision A boards to Revision B or Revision C boards). Hard drives : For storage,

8316-464: The Blue and White was a totally new design. It was the first new Power Mac model after the release of the iMac , and shared the iMac's blue-and-white color scheme. Inside the enclosure, the logic board is mounted on a folding "door", which swings down onto the desk for tool-free access to all the internal components. The same keyboard and mouse designs as those first introduced with the iMac were sold with

8442-533: The Desktop and Mini Tower models coincided with Apple starting to sell build-to-order Macs directly from its web site in an online store, which was unusual for the time as Dell was the only major computer manufacturer doing this. Apple's move to build-to-order sales of the Power Macintosh G3 also coincided with the acquisition of Power Computing Corporation , which had been providing telephone sales of Macintosh clones for more than two years. The Power Macintosh G3

8568-501: The Desktop model was not updated with 333 MHz or 366 MHz CPUs. Regardless, it was replaced by the Power Mac G4 Cube in 2000. The 233 MHz Mini Tower model's enclosure is similar to the Power Macintosh 8600 . It shipped with a 4 GB drive, the 266 MHz with a 6 GB drive, and the 300 MHz variant shipped with two 4 GB drives in a RAID configuration; all models were 5400 RPM. As with

8694-423: The Desktop model, the Mini Tower received an update in August 1998, with the CPU updated to 333 MHz and 366 MHz. These models shipped with a 9.1 GB 7200 RPM SCSI drive, attached to a SCSI/PCI card, as well as 100BASE-TX Ethernet (as opposed to the other models' 10BASE-T ), though this was in the form of a PCI card, which occupied another PCI slot. The Macintosh Server G3/300 MHz also shipped with

8820-442: The G3 is capable of taking any ATAPI/IDE hard disks, provided that the drive's size is within the 28-bit LBA limit. This means ATA hard disks of up to 137  GB (2 blocks of 512 bytes each) are supported. This limitation can be overcome by using an IDE or SATA PCI-compatible card (e.g. Acard or Sonnet) to enable the use of 2 drives over the 137 GB limit. Removable storage : The ATAPI/IDE CD-ROM drive can also be replaced with

8946-530: The Lombard were updated to an AGP -connected ATi Rage Mobility 128, though the video memory was kept at 8 MB, and could not be upgraded, and the screen's resolution was the same as well. A 6× DVD-ROM drive became standard. It was also the first PowerBook with AirPort networking as an official option (although it could be added to the earlier models via various third-party CardBus cards). The Pismo can be upgraded with additional RAM (officially 512 MB with then-available RAM, but it accepts 1 gigabyte ) and

9072-501: The PCI bus, to drive its 14.1-inch LCD at a maximum resolution of 1024×768. Mac OS 8.6–10.3.9 are supported by Apple, but 10.4 is not, although OS X will not install (except for 10.0) if both RAM slots are not occupied with identical size RAM. The use of XPostFacto 4 enables users to upgrade to Tiger, and it runs quite well for an unsupported machine. More RAM (up to 512 MB ), a greater hard drive (up to 128 GB), and CPU upgrades (up to

9198-426: The Pismo board into the form factor of the previous Lombard G3 PowerBook, but with many improvements. The Pismo was available at CPU speeds of 400 MHz or 500 MHz, with a front side bus speed of 100 MHz (one-third swifter than the Lombard's front side bus); it also implemented a unified motherboard architecture, and replaced SCSI with the newer FireWire interface (IEEE-1394). The PCI graphics used on

9324-538: The PowerBook G3 Series, was introduced in May 1998. The machine was completely redesigned with a new case that was lighter and more rounded than the previous PowerBook G3; however, it was still an Old World ROM Macintosh. The new PowerBooks, code-named Wallstreet, came in three screen sizes: a 12" passive matrix LCD, a 13.3-inch TFT LCD, and a 14.1-inch TFT LCD. The 12.1" models had 2 MB VRAM onboard, while

9450-561: The PowerBook series. The PDQ series was entirely produced in Taiwan, and the machine's manufacture labels (showing production in Ireland or Taiwan) on the underside of the machines can be used to identify between otherwise nearly identical Wallstreet and PDQ series for collectors and enthusiasts. The 12.1" and 13.3" Wallstreet I and PDQ series shared a more curved top case at all corners; the lid and its corners were flattened and squared off for

9576-549: The Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Linux operating system , and low-voltage Intel Atom or VIA C7-M processors. A pocket PC is a hardware specification for a handheld-sized computer ( personal digital assistant , PDA) that runs the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system . It may have the capability to run an alternative operating system like NetBSD or Linux . Pocket PCs have many of

9702-473: The ability to be programmed in both APL and BASIC for engineers, analysts, statisticians, and other business problem-solvers. In the late 1960s such a machine would have been nearly as large as two desks and would have weighed about half a ton. Another desktop portable APL machine, the MCM/70 , was demonstrated in 1973 and shipped in 1974. It used the Intel 8008 processor. A seminal step in personal computing

9828-477: The capabilities of desktop PCs . Numerous applications are available for handhelds adhering to the Microsoft Pocket PC specification, many of which are freeware . Microsoft-compliant Pocket PCs can also be used with many other add-ons like GPS receivers , barcode readers, RFID readers and cameras. In 2007, with the release of Windows Mobile 6, Microsoft dropped the name Pocket PC in favor of

9954-588: The case. There is room for four internal hard drives and an internal fan is positioned at the side of the case to blow cooling air over them. Removable drives are in a more conventional position at the top of the case. According to Apple, all of these models are obsolete. Personal computer Institutional or corporate computer owners in the 1960s had to write their own programs to do any useful work with computers. While personal computer users may develop their applications, usually these systems run commercial software , free-of-charge software (" freeware "), which

10080-577: The chassis and CPU card to assemble yourself, additional hardware such as the H8-1 memory board that contained 4k of RAM could also be purchased in order to run software. The Heathkit H11 model was released in 1978 and was one of the first 16-bit personal computers; however, due to its high retail cost of $ 1,295 was discontinued in 1982. During the early 1980s, home computers were further developed for household use, with software for personal productivity, programming and games. They typically could be used with

10206-673: The common people] and help with our income-tax and book-keeping calculations. But this is speculation and there is no sign of it so far. In the history of computing , early experimental machines could be operated by a single attendant. For example, ENIAC which became operational in 1946 could be run by a single, albeit highly trained, person. This mode pre-dated the batch programming, or time-sharing modes with multiple users connected through terminals to mainframe computers. Computers intended for laboratory, instrumentation, or engineering purposes were built, and could be operated by one person in an interactive fashion. Examples include such systems as

10332-523: The fastest laptop in the world for its entire production run. The PowerBook G3 was succeeded by the PowerBook G4 . The G3 was the first black Apple laptop, and was succeeded in this by the black MacBook in 2006. Previous PowerBooks were dark gray. The Wallstreet, Lombard, and Pismo models were praised for their straightforward upgrade options, not only for accessible drives and memory but also for their CPU daughtercards that could be detached from

10458-479: The first single-chip microprocessor , the Intel 4004 , in 1971. The first microcomputers , based on microprocessors, were developed during the early 1970s. Widespread commercial availability of microprocessors, from the mid-1970s onwards, made computers cheap enough for small businesses and individuals to own. In what was later to be called the Mother of All Demos , SRI researcher Douglas Engelbart in 1968 gave

10584-564: The fix would not be activated under Mac OS X when no slave drive was present. The "Revision 2" units fixed the hard drive controller problem with an improved (UDMA-33) IDE controller that supported the standard IDE master/slave two-drive arrangement. This controller worked flawlessly with any drive within the 28-bit LBA constraint. Most Rev. 2 units shipped with a hard disk bracket designed for two drives (in fact Rev. 1 can hold up to three drives side-by-side, while Rev. 2 can hold up to four drives in two stacks, each with two drives) and also included

10710-414: The floppy drive, the video features of the "Wings" personality card, and the 3D graphics acceleration functions of the onboard ATI Rage series video. Support for newer versions is possible with the use of third party software solutions such as XPostFacto . Mac OS X 10.5 can be run only if a G4 processor upgrade is installed. The Power Macintosh G3 was originally intended to be a midrange series, between

10836-473: The graphics card, an ATI Rage 128 with 16 MiB SGRAM . Four 100 MHz RAM slots accept PC100 SDRAM modules, allowing the installation of up to 1 GiB of RAM with the use of 256 MiB DIMMs. The onboard ATA was upgraded to Ultra ATA/33 (an extra UDMA-33 controller was also added), but SCSI was no longer present, having been replaced by 2 FireWire ports, a new standard (IEEE1394) running at 400  Mbit/s (50  MB/s ) — faster in theory than even

10962-556: The infrastructure provided by the Internet, and the standardization of access methods of the Web browsers , established the foundation for a significant fraction of modern life, from bus time tables through unlimited distribution of free videos through to online user-edited encyclopedias. A workstation is a high-end personal computer designed for technical, mathematical, or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at

11088-501: The introduction of the New World ROM in the Blue and White G3. These machines had no audio circuitry on the logic board; instead, a PERCH slot (a dedicated 182-pin microchannel connector; a superset of the PCI spec, but which does not accept PCI cards) was populated with a "personality card" which provided the audio circuitry. Several "personality cards" were available: CPU : The processor module (a PowerPC 750 plus L2 cache)

11214-519: The introduction of the IBM PC, portable computers consisting of a processor, display, disk drives and keyboard, in a suit-case style portable housing, allowed users to bring a computer home from the office or to take notes at a classroom. Examples include the Osborne 1 and Kaypro ; and the Commodore SX-64 . These machines were AC-powered and included a small CRT display screen. The form factor

11340-549: The keyboard. These displays were usually small, with 8 to 16 lines of text, sometimes only 40 columns line length. However, these machines could operate for extended times on disposable or rechargeable batteries. Although they did not usually include internal disk drives, this form factor often included a modem for telephone communication and often had provisions for external cassette or disk storage. Later, clamshell format laptop computers with similar small plan dimensions were also called notebooks . A desktop replacement computer

11466-406: The larger LCD of the 14.1" model resulting in a bulkier appearance. Many press releases and visual media at the time relied on the more 'attractive' curvature of the case on those smaller-display models, regardless of the 14.1" model's superior and more upmarket display. The third generation of PowerBook G3 (Lombard) was introduced in May 1999. It was much slimmer and lighter than its predecessor and

11592-475: The logic boards. This encouraged the aftermarket, including Sonnet, Powerlogix, Wegener Media, and others, to offer G3 CPU upgrades across various series. In some instances, they even provided G4 upgrades, allowing these machines to rival or exceed the performance of Apple's contemporary 'G4 Titanium' PowerBooks of that era. The first Macintosh PowerBook G3, code-named "Kanga", was introduced in November 1997. At

11718-497: The low-end Performa / LC models and the six- PCI slot Power Macintosh 9600 . It is the earliest Old World ROM Macintosh model officially able to boot into Mac OS X , and one of only two Old World ROM models officially able to boot into Mac OS X, the other model being the second-generation (Wallstreet I/II) PowerBook G3 . The Desktop model inherited its enclosure directly from the Power Macintosh 7300 . The 233 and 266 MHz desktop models shipped with 4 GB hard drives, and

11844-399: The monitor, and configured similarly to laptops. A nettop computer was introduced by Intel in February 2008, characterized by low cost and lean functionality. These were intended to be used with an Internet connection to run Web browsers and Internet applications. A Home theater PC (HTPC) combines the functions of a personal computer and a digital video recorder . It is connected to

11970-420: The motherboard included doubling the onboard RAM from 16  MB to 32 MB, and a faster version of the on-board Chips and Technologies graphics controller. The G3 made the Kanga more than twice as fast as a 3400c, and the improved graphics controller allowed it to refresh the screen 74 percent faster. This first PowerBook G3 shipped with a 250 MHz G3 processor and a 12.1-inch TFT SVGA LCD . It

12096-424: The older "Platinum" G3s instead, in order to maintain compatibility with existing peripherals. Early "Revision 1" units have IDE controller problems related to the ATA/33 hard drive controller that made it impossible to connect two hard drives and prevented the use of newer drives. Using newer ATA drives in those units resulted in data transmission errors if the drives were connected to the on-board ATA/33 controller,

12222-434: The onboard video upgraded to ATI Rage Pro. G3s with Revision C ROMs also support slave devices on their IDE controllers, but the most significant technical differences are the newer Open Firmware version than the previous two models (2.4 vs 2.0f1) and another onboard video upgrade, this time to ATI Rage Pro Turbo. The Beige G3 was the last Power Macintosh with a 4 MiB ROM. The trend of increasingly large ROMs ended after

12348-684: The other two in the lineup. The 250 MHz and 292 MHz models shipped with 1 MB of cache. Because of this large cache, as well as the swifter system bus, the Wallstreets were known to suffer from some heat issues. Many of the problems of the Wallstreet PowerBook G3s were fixed in the next revision, the Wallstreet II. The WallStreet I was the last PowerBook assembled by Apple in Cork, Ireland . The Wallstreet design

12474-464: The power of the Motorola versions clock for clock. The line ranged from 300 to 450 MHz. Despite its 100 MHz system bus and PC100 SDRAM, the 300 MHz B&W G3 performed worse than its 300 MHz Beige predecessor, because it has 512 KiB L2 cache, half of the 300 MHz Beige. The logic board has 4 PCI slots: 3 64-bit 33 MHz slots, and one 32-bit 66 MHz slot dedicated for

12600-503: The primary defining characteristic of netbooks was the lack of an optical disc drive, smaller size, and lower performance than full-size laptops. By mid-2009 netbooks had been offered to users "free of charge", with an extended service contract purchase of a cellular data plan. Ultrabooks and Chromebooks have since filled the gap left by Netbooks. Unlike the generic Netbook name, Ultrabook and Chromebook are technically both specifications by Intel and Google respectively. A tablet uses

12726-498: The required hardware and software needed to add television programming to the PC, or can be assembled from components. Keyboard computers are computers inside of keyboards, generally still designed to be connected to an external computer monitor or television . Examples include the Atari ST , Amstrad CPC , BBC Micro , Commodore 64 , MSX , Raspberry Pi 400 , and the ZX Spectrum . The potential utility of portable computers

12852-534: The round design, it's impossible to tell the top of the mouse from the bottom by touch." The Blue and White line was revised in June 1999; the 300 MHz model was dropped and a new 450 MHz model was introduced at a US$ 2,999 price point. Early Blue and White units shipped with Mac OS 8 .5.1, while later revisions shipped with 8.6. The latest version of Mac OS that can be run on this model is Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. The Beige G3 uses Apple's new "Gossamer" logic board. As

12978-489: The severity of the problem varying according to the particular make and model of the drive. Workarounds include replacing motherboards and employing the use of SCSI, Ultra ATA or SATA PCI controller cards. Stable operation can be achieved if the drive can be limited to Multi-Word DMA Mode 2 (disabling UDMA), although this limits throughput to 16 MB/s. Some hard drives support disabling UDMA in firmware through manufacturer-supplied utilities (generally DOS-based). Alternatively,

13104-462: The system bus limitations, which runs at 66.83 MHz unless overclocked. However, G4 chips running over 533 MHz do not allow the system bus to run faster than 66 MHz, so the bus cannot be overclocked if using one of these G4s. (G3s do allow it.) PCI cards : Gossamer has three full-length (12") PCI slots, making it capable of taking any PCI cards that have Macintosh drivers available for them (for example, some RealTek-based network adapters,

13230-551: The system. These featured the same slightly different shade of blue from that of the Bondi Blue iMac to match the new G3 enclosure. The keyboard was criticized in MacWorld's review of the G3 as feeling "cheap compared with the huge Apple keyboard of old" and the removal of several keys. The Apple USB Mouse , previously included with the iMac , was also reviewed poorly, noting that "many users will find it unacceptable: because of

13356-418: The systems hardware components such as the motherboard , processor chip and other internal operating parts. Desktop computers have an external monitor with a display screen and an external keyboard, which are plugged into ports on the back of the computer case. Desktop computers are popular for home and business computing applications as they leave space on the desk for multiple monitors . A gaming computer

13482-402: The time for being easy to open up and work on. The entire right side of the case is a door that hinges down by pulling a recessed latch at the top. No components need to be removed or unplugged, and the computer can remain running while opened. The logic board is positioned in the door, providing access to all components. Hard drives are mounted in a bracket affixed with one screw on the floor of

13608-625: The time of its introduction, the PowerBook G3 was advertised as the fastest notebook computer available (a title formerly held by its predecessor, the 240 MHz PPC-603ev -based PowerBook 3400c). This model was based on the PowerBook 3400c , and was unofficially known as the PowerBook 3500. It used the same case as the 3400c, and a very similar motherboard. The motherboard was upclocked from 40 MHz to 50 MHz, resulting in some incompatibility with older 3400 RAM modules. Other changes to

13734-656: The transfer mode can be limited to Multi-Word DMA Mode 2 through the use of third-party driver software such as FWB Hard Disk Toolkit. The secondary ATA channel has also been reported to have issues with respect to flash upgrading certain DVD burners. Otherwise, it is generally held to be relatively stable. Mac OS X attempts to avoid the UDMA issue by disabling UDMA on all affected G3 motherboards, but xlr8yourmac.com reported that reader Tim Seufert still found issues with single drives under Mac OS X. He reported that as of January 23, 2002,

13860-524: The ubiquitous Wintel platform. Alternatives to Windows occupy a minority share of the market; these include the Mac platform from Apple (running the macOS operating system), and free and open-source , Unix-like operating systems, such as Linux . Other notable platforms until the 1990s were the Amiga from Commodore , and the PC-98 from NEC . The term PC is an initialism for personal computer. While

13986-474: The use of a hardware decoder built into a CardBus (PCMCIA) card. The PowerBook G3 Series was Apple's first notebook offering that matched the build-to-order customization of the Power Mac G3 desktop line. It was discontinued in May 1999. It is the last Apple computer ever to bear the rainbow-colored Apple logo, and the last Mac to support Apple's SuperDrive . It was also the last Old World ROM model in

14112-513: The use of low-profile RAM due to space constraints. It should be able to take 168-pin SDRAM of any speed, though it will run at PC66 speeds. The onboard video RAM can be upgraded from 2 MiB to 6 MiB with a 4 MiB SGRAM module (which runs at 83 MHz on Rev. A machines, and 100 MHz on Rev. B and C machines). The faster models (not the 300 MHz model) use the new copper-based PowerPC G3 CPUs made by IBM , which use about 25% of

14238-508: Was apparent early on. Alan Kay described the Dynabook in 1972, but no hardware was developed. The Xerox NoteTaker was produced in a very small experimental batch around 1978. In 1975, the IBM 5100 could be fit into a transport case, making it a portable computer, but it weighed about 50 pounds. Such early portable computers were termed luggables by journalists owing to their heft. Before

14364-652: Was back-ordered and not available until later that year. Three months later (April), the Apple II (usually referred to as the Apple) was announced with the first units being shipped 10 June 1977, and the TRS-80 from Tandy Corporation / Tandy Radio Shack following in August 1977, which sold over 100,000 units during its lifetime. Together, especially in the North American market, these 3 machines were referred to as

14490-401: Was intended to allow these systems to be taken on board an airplane as carry-on baggage, though their high power demand meant that they could not be used in flight. The integrated CRT display made for a relatively heavy package, but these machines were more portable than their contemporary desktop equals. Some models had standard or optional connections to drive an external video monitor, allowing

14616-473: Was introduced in April 1998 as a replacement for the Power Macintosh 5400 and 5500 , and sold exclusively to the education market. The All-In-One model has a " molar "-like form factor, with its top and rear sections covered in a translucent plastic with machined holes (a design language reminiscent of the then-upcoming iMac ). The model has several design features oriented towards the education market, including

14742-412: Was introduced in August of the same year. Apple sold three beige Power Macintosh G3 models: a horizontally-oriented desktop, a mini tower enclosure, and a version with a built-in screen called All-In-One ("AIO"). The All-In-One model was shaped like a human tooth, and thus earned the moniker Molar Mac. Equipped with a 233, 266, 300, or 333 MHz PowerPC 750 (G3) CPU from Motorola , these machines use

14868-466: Was introduced in January 1999, replacing the Beige Mini Tower model, with which it shared the name and processor architecture but little else. It is the first Power Macintosh model to include the New World ROM , and the last with ADB port. 300 MHz , 350 MHz and 400 MHz models were introduced with a price range of US$ 1,599 – US$ 2,999. Though still based on the PowerPC G3 architecture,

14994-551: Was overclockable, i.e. 333 MHz and even 366 MHz or 375 MHz with an 83.3 MHz bus (uncommon). Upgrade kits were available from a number of companies, including Newer Technology, PowerLogix and XLR8, offering 400 MHz G3 processors in the US$ 1,500 – US$ 1,800 price range. CPU upgrades as high as a 1.0 GHz G4 or 1.1 GHz G3 would eventually become available, although the user would not see much practical difference in performance on chips faster than 733 MHz due to

15120-453: Was the 1973 Xerox Alto , developed at Xerox 's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) . It had a graphical user interface ( GUI ) which later served as inspiration for Apple's Macintosh , and Microsoft's Windows operating system. The Alto was a demonstration project, not commercialized, as the parts were too expensive to be affordable. Also in 1973 Hewlett Packard introduced fully BASIC programmable microcomputers that fit entirely on top of

15246-404: Was the first New World ROM PowerBook. It had longer battery life, and as with the Wallstreet II the user could double the duration to 10 hours by substituting a second battery for the optical drive in the expansion bay. The keyboard was also improved and now featured translucent bronze-tinted plastics, which is the origin of the "bronze keyboard" nickname. It was also the first Apple laptop to have

15372-437: Was the first PowerBook to use industry-standard ATA optical drives. This change meant that CD and DVD recorders designed for Wintel machines could more easily be used in this computer, often at a price far less than those manufactured by Apple. It also came in three CPU speeds: 233 MHz, 250 MHz, and 292 MHz. The 233 MHz model was sometimes nicknamed Mainstreet, as it lacked L2 cache, making it far slower than

15498-500: Was the first to emulate APL/1130 performance on a portable, single user computer, PC Magazine in 1983 designated SCAMP a "revolutionary concept" and "the world's first personal computer". This seminal, single user portable computer now resides in the Smithsonian Institution , Washington, D.C.. Successful demonstrations of the 1973 SCAMP prototype led to the IBM 5100 portable microcomputer launched in 1975 with

15624-731: Was the last of the G3 line. It was succeeded by the PowerBook G4 Titanium models. According to Apple, all of these models are obsolete. The PowerBook G3 was featured in many facets of popular culture from the late 1990s to the mid 2000s, including You've Got Mail , NewsRadio , Curb Your Enthusiasm , Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me , House on Haunted Hill , Mission: Impossible , Disney's The Kid , Dark Angel , What Women Want , The West Wing , Friends , The Lone Gunmen , The Core , Duplex , Saw , Sex and

15750-399: Was tough to find), or a second battery. Lombard and Pismo accept the same expansion bay devices. Versions of Mac OS from 9.0.2 through 10.4.11 are officially supported. For some time, G3 (750FX) CPU upgrades at speeds of up to 900 MHz and G4 (7410LE) upgrades up to 550 MHz were available. These upgrades are now out of production and must be purchased secondhand. The Pismo PowerBook

15876-420: Was updated in August 1998 (Wallstreet-II). It featured a 14.1-inch display on 266 MHz and 300 MHz models. The 233 MHz machine was now equipped with a vastly improved TFT panel (compared to the passive matrix of the 12.1" Wallstreet I series), as well as a 512 KB backside cache allowing for far superior performance at the same 233 MHz, though it was equipped with 2 MB onboard VRAM compared to

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