Apple
updated the iMac design in 1999 with the release of the "Kihei" iMacs. The tray-loading CD-ROM drive
in earlier iMac was replaced by a slot-loading CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or
CD-RW drive, depending on the model.
The slot-loading iMacs were smaller and lighter than their
predecessors - and quieter, as the new design had no cooling fan.
Apple also replaced the frosted colored plastics with transparent
ones (exceptions: snow white, flower power, and blue
Dalmatian).
The slot-loaders have a 100 MHz system bus and support up to
1 GB of RAM.
Most of the slot-loading iMacs have FireWire (exception: the 350
MHz iMacs), and they all support AirPort with an adapter.
Late 1999
Released in October 1999, the Kihei
iMac came in three versions. The base 350 MHz iMac had 64 MB of
RAM, a 6 GB hard drive, a 100 MHz system bus, and ATI Rage 128
video with 8 MB of dedicated video memory.
The 400 MHz iMac DV had a 10 GB hard drive and included two
FireWire ports. It was available in blueberry, strawberry, grape,
tangerine, and lime. The 400 MHz iMac DV SE had a 20 GB hard drive,
DVD-ROM, and came in graphite.
Summer 2000
The iMac took a big step forward in July 2000. The Summer 2000 iMacs topped out at 500 MHz and
included ATI Rage 128 Pro graphics. Available in four speeds, they
showed Apple's commitment to DVD-ROM.
The iMac 350 came in indigo and had a 7 GB hard drive. It and
the 400 MHz iMac DV had CD-ROM drive, while the 450 MHz and 500 MHz
iMacs had DVD-ROM. FireWire was standard on all models except the
350.
Early 2001
The iMac took another step forward in February 2000, when the
Early 2001 iMac reached 600 MHz.
There were four models: a 400 MHz CD-ROM iMac and three CD-RW iMacs
(replacing DVD-ROM, which was not even an option). Two of them, the
500 MHz North American model and the 600 MHz iMac used a new G3 CPU
with an on-chip cache. They also used the ATI Rage 128 Ultra video
and had 16 MB of dedicated video RAM. All models now had
FireWire.
We also saw the most bizarre color schemes ever: blue Dalmatian
and flower power. We're still not sure what Steve Jobs was
thinking....
Summer 2001
The final revision of the G3 iMac was the Summer 2001 model, which ranged from 500
MHz to 700 MHz. All models had the improved G3 CPU, and base memory
was boosted to 128 MB on most models, 256 MB on the 700 MHz
iMac.
The G3 iMac was replaced by the flat panel
iMac G4 in January 2002.
Mac OS X
While Apple claims early versions of OS X can run on 128 MB of
memory, we recommend you have at least 256 MB for OS X 10.1 or
10.2, 384 MB for 10.3, and 512 MB for 10.4. For best performance,
go to 1 GB of RAM and put in a 7200 rpm hard drive with an
8-16 MB buffer.
Models with 16 MB of video memory will have an advantage over
ones with 8 MB when running OS X.
