PowerBook G3
Encyclopedia
The PowerBook G3 is a line of laptop Macintosh computers made by Apple Computer between 1997 and 2000. It was the first laptop to use the PowerPC G3
(PPC740/750) series of microprocessors. It was succeeded by the Titanium PowerBook G4
line in 2001, which used the PowerPC G4
(PPC74xx) series of microprocessors.
from 16 MB
to 32 MB, and a faster version of the on-board Chips and Technologies
graphics controller than the 3400 had. The G3 made the Kanga more than twice as fast as a 3400, 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" TFT SVGA LCD. It is the only G3 system that is not officially compatible with Mac OS X
(though various methods not sanctioned by Apple exist to do so.) 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 in a predexistent Apple design while Apple prepared its more revolutionary PowerBook G3 Series. As a result, the Kanga has the dubious distinction of being Apple's fastest depreciating PowerBook. Nevertheless, many people chose to purchase 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 following 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 the PowerBook G3 Series, was introduced in March 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" TFT LCD, and a 14.1" TFT LCD. It also came at 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 the other two in the lineup. The 250 MHz and 292 MHz models shipped with a full megabyte 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.
, a 3.5" floppy disk
, a third-party Iomega
Zip drive
, or a third-party add-on hard drive. The right hand bay was larger and could accommodate all of the above plus a 5-1/4" 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. DVD
s could be displayed with the use of a hardware decoder built into a CardBus (PCMCIA) card. The PowerBook G3 Series was Apple's first notebook offering to match the build-to-order customization of the Power Mac G3 desktop line. Discontinued in May 1999, this would be the last Apple computer ever to use the rainbow-colored Apple logo and the last Mac to support Apple's Superdrive
.
PowerBook. It had longer battery life, and 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. The Lombard was the second PowerBook (the Wallstreet being the first) 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. 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 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 a Rage LT Pro chipset on 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 there are issues when installing Mac OS X (above 10.0) if both RAM slots are not occupied with identical size RAM (i.e. OS X will not install). The use of XPostFacto
4 allows 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 a 433 MHz G4) are available for these PowerBooks.
.
The original Pismo was rumored to be a latchless design, akin to the iBook
, which is similar in specification. Apple settled on fitting the Pismo board into the form factor of the previous Lombard G3 PowerBook, but with many improvements. The Pismo was available at a CPU clock of 400 or 500 MHz, with a front side bus
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 the Lombard were updated to an AGP
-connected Rage Mobility 128, though the video memory was kept at 8 MB, and the screen's resolution was the same as well. A 2× DVD-ROM drive became standard for both speed grades. 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 (PCMCIA) cards). The Pismo can be upgraded with additional RAM (officially 512MB with then available RAM, but it accepts 1 gigabyte
), a larger hard drive (up to 120 GB). Brighter screens and replacement batteries are also available.
The left expansion bay, like the Lombard, could only take 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 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. Except for offerings from Daystar and Wegener Media, these upgrades are now out of production and must be purchased secondhand.
The Pismo PowerBook was the last of the G3 line. It was succeeded by the PowerBook G4
Titanium models.
PowerPC G3
The PowerPC 7xx is a family of third generation 32-bit PowerPC microprocessors designed and manufactured by IBM and Motorola . This family is called the PowerPC G3 by its well-known customer Apple Computer...
(PPC740/750) series of microprocessors. It was succeeded by the Titanium PowerBook G4
PowerBook G4
The PowerBook G4 are a series of notebook computers that were manufactured, marketed, and sold by Apple, Inc. between 2001 and 2006 as part of its PowerBook line. It uses the PowerPC G4 processor, initially produced by Motorola and later by Freescale, after Motorola spun off its semiconductor...
line in 2001, which used the PowerPC G4
PowerPC G4
PowerPC G4 is a designation used by Apple Computer to describe a fourth generation of 32-bit PowerPC microprocessors. Apple has applied this name to various processor models from Freescale, a former part of Motorola....
(PPC74xx) series of microprocessors.
PowerBook G3 (Kanga)
The first Macintosh PowerBook G3, codenamed "Kanga" was introduced in November 1997. At 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 3400c). This model was based on the PowerBook 3400, and was unofficially known as the PowerBook 3500. It uses the same case as a 3400, 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 the motherboard included doubling the on-board RAMRam
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
from 16 MB
Megabyte
The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...
to 32 MB, and a faster version of the on-board Chips and Technologies
Chips and Technologies
Chips and Technologies was the first fabless semiconductor company, a model developed by its founder Gordon Campbell. Founded by Dado Banatao.Its first product was an EGA IBM compatible graphics chip...
graphics controller than the 3400 had. The G3 made the Kanga more than twice as fast as a 3400, 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" TFT SVGA LCD. It is the only G3 system that is not officially compatible with Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
(though various methods not sanctioned by Apple exist to do so.) 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 in a predexistent Apple design while Apple prepared its more revolutionary PowerBook G3 Series. As a result, the Kanga has the dubious distinction of being Apple's fastest depreciating PowerBook. Nevertheless, many people chose to purchase 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 following Wallstreet Powerbooks and the Kanga remained the smallest-when-open G3 laptop until the debut of the Apple iBook some years later.
PowerBook G3 Series (Wallstreet Series I)
Old World ROM
Old World ROM Macintosh computers are the Macintosh models that use a Macintosh Toolbox ROM chip, usually in a socket . All Macs prior to the iMac use Old World ROM, while the iMac and all subsequent models until the introduction of the Intel-based EFI Models are New World ROM machines...
Macintosh. The new PowerBooks, code-named Wallstreet, came in three screen sizes: a 12" passive matrix LCD, a 13.3" TFT LCD, and a 14.1" TFT LCD. It also came at 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 the other two in the lineup. The 250 MHz and 292 MHz models shipped with a full megabyte 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.
PowerBook G3 Series (Wallstreet Series II, AKA PDQ)
The same design was updated on August 1998 (Wallstreet-II) and featured a 14.1" display on all models. Processors were bumped with 233 MHz, 266 MHz and 300 MHz models. The case contained two docking bays, one on each side. The left hand bay could accommodate a batteryBattery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
, a 3.5" floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
, a third-party Iomega
Iomega
Iomega is an American producer of consumer external, portable and networking storage hardware. Established in the 1980s, Iomega has sold more than 410 million digital storage drives and disks. On April 8, 2008, EMC Corporation announced its plans to acquire Iomega for a consideration of US $213M...
Zip drive
Zip drive
The Zip drive is a medium-capacity removable disk storage system that was introduced by Iomega in late 1994. Originally, Zip disks launched with capacities of 100 MB, but later versions increased this to first 250 MB and then 750 MB....
, or a third-party add-on hard drive. The right hand bay was larger and could accommodate all of the above plus a 5-1/4" optical drive
Optical disc
In computing and optical disc recording technologies, an optical disc is a flat, usually circular disc which encodes binary data in the form of pits and lands on a special material on one of its flat surfaces...
(CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
or DVD-ROM
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
). A small internal nickel-cadmium battery
Nickel-cadmium battery
The nickel–cadmium battery ' is a type of rechargeable battery using nickel oxide hydroxide and metallic cadmium as electrodes....
allowed swapping of the main batteries while the computer "slept". With a battery in each bay, battery life was doubled. DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s could be displayed with the use of a hardware decoder built into a CardBus (PCMCIA) card. The PowerBook G3 Series was Apple's first notebook offering to match the build-to-order customization of the Power Mac G3 desktop line. Discontinued in May 1999, this would be the last Apple computer ever to use the rainbow-colored Apple logo and the last Mac to support Apple's Superdrive
SuperDrive
SuperDrive is a trademark used by Apple Inc. for two different storage drives: from 1988–99 to refer to a high-density floppy disk drive capable of reading all major 3.5" disk formats; and from 2001 onwards to refer to a combined CD/DVD reader/writer....
.
PowerBook G3 Series (Bronze Keyboard)
The third generation of PowerBook G3 (Lombard) was introduced in May 1999. It was much slimmer and lighter than its predecessor and was the first New World ROMNew World ROM
New World ROM computers are Macintosh models that do not use a Macintosh Toolbox ROM on the logic board. Due to Mac OS X not requiring the availability of the Toolbox, this allowed ROM sizes to shrink dramatically , and facilitated the use of Flash memory for system firmware instead of the now more...
PowerBook. It had longer battery life, and 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. The Lombard was the second PowerBook (the Wallstreet being the first) to use industry-standard ATA
AT Attachment
Parallel ATA , originally ATA, is an interface standard for the connection of storage devices such as hard disks, solid-state drives, floppy drives, and optical disc drives in computers. The standard is maintained by X3/INCITS committee...
optical drives. This change meant that CD and DVD recorders designed for wintel
Wintel
Wintel is a portmanteau of Windows and Intel, referring to personal computers using Intel x86 compatible processors running Microsoft Windows...
machines could more easily be used in this computer, often at a price far less than those manufactured by Apple. 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 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 a Rage LT Pro chipset on 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 there are issues when installing Mac OS X (above 10.0) if both RAM slots are not occupied with identical size RAM (i.e. OS X will not install). The use of XPostFacto
XPostFacto
XPostFacto is an open source utility that enables the installation of PowerPC versions of Mac OS X up to Mac OS 10.4 , and Darwin on some PowerPC-based Apple Macintosh systems that are not officially supported for them by Apple....
4 allows users to upgrade to Tiger, and it runs quite well for an unsupported machine. More RAM (up to 512 MB
Megabyte
The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...
), a greater hard drive (up to 128 GB), and CPU upgrades (up to a 433 MHz G4) are available for these PowerBooks.
PowerBook G3 (FireWire)
A fourth generation of PowerBook G3 (Pismo), with the name PowerBook, was introduced in February 2000. It was code named "Pismo" after the City of Pismo Beach, CaliforniaPismo Beach, California
Pismo Beach is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 7,655 at the 2010 census, down from 8,551 at the 2000 census...
.
The original Pismo was rumored to be a latchless design, akin to the iBook
IBook
The iBook was a line of laptop computers sold by Apple Computer from 1999 to 2006. The line targeted the consumer and education markets, with lower specifications and prices than the PowerBook, Apple's higher-end line of laptop computers....
, which is similar in specification. Apple settled on fitting the Pismo board into the form factor of the previous Lombard G3 PowerBook, but with many improvements. The Pismo was available at a CPU clock of 400 or 500 MHz, with a front side bus
Front side bus
A front-side bus is a computer communication interface often used in computers during the 1990s and 2000s.It typically carries data between the central processing unit and a memory controller hub, known as the northbridge....
of 100 MHz, one-third swifter than the Lombard's front side bus; it also implemented a unified motherboard architecture, and replaced SCSI
SCSI
Small Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it...
with the newer FireWire interface (IEEE-1394). The PCI
Peripheral Component Interconnect
Conventional PCI is a computer bus for attaching hardware devices in a computer...
graphics used on the Lombard were updated to an AGP
Accelerated Graphics Port
The Accelerated Graphics Port is a high-speed point-to-point channel for attaching a video card to a computer's motherboard, primarily to assist in the acceleration of 3D computer graphics. Since 2004 AGP has been progressively phased out in favor of PCI Express...
-connected Rage Mobility 128, though the video memory was kept at 8 MB, and the screen's resolution was the same as well. A 2× DVD-ROM drive became standard for both speed grades. It was also the first PowerBook with AirPort networking
AirPort
AirPort and AirPort Extreme are local area wireless networking products from Apple Inc. based on the IEEE 802.11 standard ....
as an official option (although it could be added to the earlier models via various third-party CardBus (PCMCIA) cards). The Pismo can be upgraded with additional RAM (officially 512MB with then available RAM, but it accepts 1 gigabyte
Gigabyte
The gigabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage. The prefix giga means 109 in the International System of Units , therefore 1 gigabyte is...
), a larger hard drive (up to 120 GB). Brighter screens and replacement batteries are also available.
The left expansion bay, like the Lombard, could only take a battery, but the right bay was able to accommodate a tray-loading or slot-loading Combo Drive
Combo Drive
A Combo drive is a type of optical drive that combines CD-R/CD-RW recording capability with the ability to read DVD media. The term is used almost exclusively by Apple Inc. as a name for the low-end substitute for their high-end SuperDrive, which was designed to both read and write DVD and DVD...
or SuperDrive
SuperDrive
SuperDrive is a trademark used by Apple Inc. for two different storage drives: from 1988–99 to refer to a high-density floppy disk drive capable of reading all major 3.5" disk formats; and from 2001 onwards to refer to a combined CD/DVD reader/writer....
, a Zip
Zip drive
The Zip drive is a medium-capacity removable disk storage system that was introduced by Iomega in late 1994. Originally, Zip disks launched with capacities of 100 MB, but later versions increased this to first 250 MB and then 750 MB....
100 drive, a Zip 250 drive, an LS-120 SuperDisk
SuperDisk
The SuperDisk, sometimes marketed as LS-120 and a later variant LS-240, is a high-speed, high-capacity alternative to the 90 mm , 1.44 MB floppy disk. The Superdisk hardware was introduced by 3M's storage products group circa 1997...
drive, a VST floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
drive, a second hard drive (with adapter, which 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. Except for offerings from Daystar and Wegener Media, these upgrades are now out of production and must be purchased secondhand.
The Pismo PowerBook was the last of the G3 line. It was succeeded by the PowerBook G4
PowerBook G4
The PowerBook G4 are a series of notebook computers that were manufactured, marketed, and sold by Apple, Inc. between 2001 and 2006 as part of its PowerBook line. It uses the PowerPC G4 processor, initially produced by Motorola and later by Freescale, after Motorola spun off its semiconductor...
Titanium models.
Models
| Component | PowerPC 750 "G3" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | November 1997 | May 1998 | August 1998 | May 1999 | February 2000 |
| Codename | "Kanga" | "Mainstreet", "Wallstreet" | "PDQ" | "101", "Lombard" | "Pismo" |
| Display Display device A display device is an output device for presentation of information in visual or tactile form... |
15-bit 800×600, 12.1" TFT TFT -Games:*Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, an expansion to the video game Warcraft III*The Fantasy Trip, a role playing game designed by Steve Jackson*Task Force Talon, a faction from the video game Act of War: Direct Action-Electronics:... |
24-bit 800x600, 12.1" passive matrix or 1024x768 13.3/14.1" TFT TFT -Games:*Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, an expansion to the video game Warcraft III*The Fantasy Trip, a role playing game designed by Steve Jackson*Task Force Talon, a faction from the video game Act of War: Direct Action-Electronics:... |
24-bit 1024×768, 14.1" TFT TFT -Games:*Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, an expansion to the video game Warcraft III*The Fantasy Trip, a role playing game designed by Steve Jackson*Task Force Talon, a faction from the video game Act of War: Direct Action-Electronics:... |
24-bit 1024×768, 14.1" TFT TFT -Games:*Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, an expansion to the video game Warcraft III*The Fantasy Trip, a role playing game designed by Steve Jackson*Task Force Talon, a faction from the video game Act of War: Direct Action-Electronics:... |
24-bit 1024×768, 14.1" TFT TFT -Games:*Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, an expansion to the video game Warcraft III*The Fantasy Trip, a role playing game designed by Steve Jackson*Task Force Talon, a faction from the video game Act of War: Direct Action-Electronics:... |
| Processor Central processing unit The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in... |
PowerPC 750 "G3", 250 MHz | PowerPC 750 "G3", 233/250/292 MHz | PowerPC 750 "G3", 233/266/300 MHz | PowerPC 750 "G3", 333/400 MHz | PowerPC 750 "G3", 400/500 MHz |
| Hard drive | 5 GB | 2–8 GB | 4–6 GB | 6–18 GB | |
| Optical drive | 20× CD-ROM | 20× CD-ROM or 1x DVD-ROM | 24× CD-ROM or 2x DVD-ROM | 6× DVD-ROM | |
| Memory Ram -Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another... |
32 MB | 32 or 64 MB | 64 MB | 64 or 128 MB | |
| Dimensions | 2.4" H x 11.5" W x 9.5" D | 2.0" H x 12.7" W x 10.4" D | 1.7" H × 12.7" W × 10.4" D | ||
| Weight | 7.5 lbs. | 7.2, 7.6 or 7.8 lbs. | 7.8 lbs. | 6.1 lbs. | |
| Maximum Operating System Operating system An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system... |
Mac OS 9.1 Mac OS 9 Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as... (9.2 - 9.2.2 need OS9Helper http://www.os9forever.com/os9helper.html to install. Can also run Mac OS X Server Mac OS X Server Mac OS X Server is a Unix server operating system from Apple Inc. The server edition of Mac OS X is architecturally identical to its desktop counterpart, except that it includes work group management and administration software tools... 1.0-1.2 unsupported. |
Mac OS X 10.2.8 "Jaguar" and Mac OS 9.2.2 Mac OS 9 Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as... |
Mac OS X 10.3.9 "Panther" and Mac OS 9.2.2 Mac OS 9 Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as... |
Mac OS X 10.4.11 "Tiger" and Mac OS 9.2.2 Mac OS 9 Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as... |
|
The G3 in popular culture
- In the film Legally BlondeLegally BlondeLegally Blonde is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic, written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, and produced by Marc E. Platt...
, Elle Woods (Reese WitherspoonReese WitherspoonLaura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
) is in the library and carries a PowerBook G3 Box. - Meg Ryan used the "Kanga" model in the film You've Got MailYou've Got MailYou've Got Mail is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Nora Ephron, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. It was written by Nora and Delia Ephron based on the play Parfumerie by Miklós László. The film is about two letter-writing lovers who are completely unaware that their sweetheart is in...
(1998). - The PowerBook G3 was featured prominently on the hit series Sex and the CitySex and the CitySex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
, where it was used by Carrie BradshawCarrie BradshawCarrie Preston is the fictional narrator and lead character of the HBO sitcom/drama Sex and the City, portrayed by actress Sarah Jessica Parker. She is a semi-autobiographical character created by Candace Bushnell, who published the book Sex and the City, based on her own columns in the New York...
. The show's pilot first ran in June 1998, and in the episode "My Motherboard, My Self", Carrie identifies her PowerBook as her "98 laptop", but for most of the run a Lombard or Pismo was used, identifiable by the white Apple logo at the top of the screen. - In the fifth season of the sitcom NewsRadioNewsRadioNewsRadio is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from 1995 to 1999. The series was created by executive producer Paul Simms, and was filmed in front of a studio audience at CBS Studio Center and Sunset Gower Studios...
, all computers on the show were replaced with Wallstreet PowerBook G3s, except for Beth's computer which was replaced with an iMac. The only exception is the episode "Meet Max Louis", in which Joe's faulty computer network causes Y2K to come two years early and many laptops (all early 1990s PCs) explode. - In earlier episodes of the TV drama series CharmedCharmedCharmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
, Phoebe HalliwellPhoebe HalliwellPhoebe Halliwell is a fictional character from the television series Charmed. One of the featured leads, Phoebe is introduced in the series as a witch and, more specifically, a Charmed One one of the most powerful witches of all time. The character was portrayed by Lori Rom in the unaired pilot,...
is shown using a PowerBook G3. Similarly, in the first and second seasons of the NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
political drama The West Wing, the PowerBook G3 could be seen atop White House Communications DirectorWhite House Communications DirectorThe White House Director of Communications, also known as Assistant to the President for Communications, is part of the senior staff of the President of the United States, and is responsible for developing and promoting the agenda of the President and leading its media campaign...
Toby ZieglerToby ZieglerTobias Zachary 'Toby' Ziegler is played by Richard Schiff on the television serial drama The West Wing. For most of the series' duration he is White House Communications Director.-Creation and development:...
's desk. - The G3 has also been featured in the film What Women WantWhat Women WantWhat Women Want is a 2000 American romantic comedy film, directed by Nancy Meyers and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The movie was a box office success with a domestic gross of $182,811,707 and a worldwide gross of $374,111,707, against a budget of $70 million.-Plot:Nick Marshall, a Chicago...
(2000) as Nick Marshall's (Mel GibsonMel GibsonMel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
) personal laptop. Additionally, it was seen in the film DuplexDuplex (film)Duplex is a 2003 American black comedy film directed by Danny DeVito, and starring Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore.The film was called Our House for its release in the United Kingdom and Ireland.-Plot:...
(2003) as the laptop Alex Rose (Ben StillerBen StillerBenjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
) used to write his novel. In the sequel Mission Impossible 2 (2000), Anthony HopkinsAnthony HopkinsSir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
shows Ethan his mission on a Powerbook G3 Wallstreet. It also appeared briefly in the film House on Haunted HillHouse on Haunted Hill (1999 film)House on Haunted Hill is a 1999 American horror film, directed by William Malone and starring Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter and Jeffrey Combs. It also includes a cameo appearance by Peter Graves...
(1999) as the computer Price wrote the fake guest list on. - In the film Disney's The Kid (2000), Bruce WillisBruce WillisWalter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
's character has a Powerbook G3 Pismo when he is on the plane. - In the pilot episode of the sitcom How I Met Your MotherHow I Met Your MotherHow I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
, Marshall can be seen using either a Lombard or Pismo. - It was also used on many episodes of the children's sitcom That's So RavenThat's So RavenThat's So Raven is an American cable television teen sitcom/fantasy series. The show premiered on the Disney Channel on January 17, 2003, and ended on November 10, 2007. The show spawned Disney Channel's first spin-off series: Cory in the House...
- A G3 PowerBook (Lombard or Pismo) can be seen in some episodes of Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
in use by General Hammond, as well as a number of SGCStargate CommandThe Stargate Program is a fictional top-secret program that plays a key role in the Stargate franchise: it surrounds the operations of the Stargate on Earth. The core of the Stargate Program is Stargate Command , based at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station near Colorado Springs, Colorado...
personnel (including Samantha CarterSamantha CarterSamantha "Sam" Carter is a fictional character in the Canadian-American military science fiction Stargate franchise, appearing in television series Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe. SG-1 and Atlantis are both about a military team exploring the galaxy via a network of alien...
). In almost every case, the Apple logo on the computer's screen lid is covered by a black patch, and no shots of the logos or names are ever shown. However, the G3 Bronze series case design is highly distinctive. - A G3 PowerBook is shown on Chandler BingChandler BingChandler Muriel Bing is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television sitcom Friends, portrayed by Matthew Perry.-Background:Chandler Muriel Bing was born on April 8, 1968, the son of an erotic novelist mother and a cross-dressing Las Vegas star and is of Scottish ancestry. Chandler was Ross...
's desk in the sitcom FriendsFriendsFriends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
. Season 7, Episode, "The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding" - In the film Night at the MuseumNight at the MuseumNight at the Museum is a 2006 fantasy adventure-comedy film based on the 1993 children's book The Night at the Museum by Milan Trenc. It follows a divorced father trying to settle down, impress his son, and find his destiny...
(2006), Larry Daley uses a PowerBook G3 Wallstreet that ran LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
or Windows to learn more about history. - Langly is often seen using a Powerbook G3 in The Lone GunmenThe Lone Gunmen (TV series)The Lone Gunmen is a television show created by Chris Carter and broadcast on FOX. It was a spin-off of Carter's popular long-running television series The X-Files and a part of The X-Files franchise, starring several of the show's characters. The Lone Gunmen was first broadcast in March 2001 and,...
series. - In the sitcom Everybody Loves RaymondEverybody Loves RaymondEverybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
, Ray is seen several times using a PowerBook G3 in his living room. - In the sequel Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged MeAustin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged MeAustin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, released in 1999, is the second film in the Austin Powers series that began with 1997's Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and continued with Austin Powers in Goldmember. The film was directed by Jay Roach, co-written by Mike Myers and screenwriter...
(1999), a woman at Austin's photo shoot is using a Powerbook G3 Lombard. - In The CoreThe CoreThe Core is a 2003 American disaster film loosely based on the novel Core by Paul Preuss. It concerns a team that has to drill to the center of the Earth and set off a series of nuclear explosions in order to restart the rotation of Earth's core...
at the end of the film The 'Rat' is using a Powerbook G3 to hack other people's laptops. - In the (2004) film SawSawA saw is a tool that uses a hard blade or wire with an abrasive edge to cut through softer materials. The cutting edge of a saw is either a serrated blade or an abrasive...
when Dr. Lawrence Gordon is in his house he uses a Powerbook G3. There is no Apple logo on the front but viewers can tell that it is a Powerbook G3 from its shape.