Are these rare?

Hi all, today when I went with my dad to his work, we were doing some work in the basement, and I noticed an imac g3 desktop computer sitting on one of the tables. They said I could keep it if I want, so I took it. I just wanted to know, are these good computers, are they rare, how do they hook up to the internet, and was it worth getting? One thing I noticed once I powered it up was it had mac OS 8.6. Once I get some money I am thinking of upgrading it to the highest OS it can handle. P.S I can't get any pictures, my camera doesn't work at the moment.

They are not rare i have one still in my attic, but they are not decent machines anymore. They are usually standard with an ethernet port for getting onto the internet

- Simon

They are NOT rare. Folks can buy these for as little as $10-$50 bucks depending in the model & condition...and sometimes like you...they can be gotten for free!

- Nick

p.s. And even if they were rare...there are VERY VERY few "old/rare" computers that are worth much money.

Well, would I be able to use them for browsing the internet? I just mainly got this so I could have a mac for use as my main computer.

IBOOKCLAMSHELL8 said:

Well, would I be able to use them for browsing the internet?

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Depends on:

- what version of the OS you're running.
- what browser version your running.
- what the specs are of the computer.

IBOOKCLAMSHELL8 said:

I just mainly got this so I could have a mac for use as my main computer.

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"Just mainly got this so I could have a mac for use as my main computer."

Not many people "just get" an 8-13 year-old outdated computer that's worth about $25 dollars (or less) to use as their "main computer"...unless before this...you had no computer. Most people "get" a computer like this as a computer to:

- have as a 2nd computer
- get their 1st Macintosh just to play around with
- as a 2nd Macintosh for another room in their house
- a Macintosh for "the kids"

...NOT as their "main computer"!

- Nick

I know, but my main computer might be on the verge of dying, so I just wanted some kind of computer to work with. Also, I have another laptop, (an apple ibook clamshell) but I cannot get it to connect. I think that needs a new airport card.

IBOOKCLAMSHELL8 said:

I know, but my main computer might be on the verge of dying, so I just wanted some kind of computer to work with.

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What I was trying to say earlier was...an 8-13 year-old iMac is not a good replacement as a "main" computer.

As a "back-up" computer yes...as a substitute "main" computer...probably not.

- Nick

Ok, cause I do plan on getting another one, this one is just temporary. I originally planned on cleaning it up and just keeping it for my collection of vintage apple products. Although if it will run, it's good enough for now.;D

IBOOKCLAMSHELL8 said:

I originally planned on cleaning it up and just keeping it for my collection of vintage apple products.

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I can TOTALLY understand that...and what I would have assumed after reading your initial post.

- Nick

Can you give us some specs please? That will help a lot. CPU Speed, RAM.

One last thing. I have been trying to install a linksys wireless adaptor on the imac, but when I put the CD in the tray and close it, about 20 seconds later it says that the disc cannot be read. I have checked the disc and it has some minor scratches on it, but with that being said, I recently tried it on my Ibook and it fired right up. Although it did not work on ethier ibook or imac. Do you know what's going on there?

-Dan

For the specs, it has 64 mb of ram. And has 266 mhz. I get back to you on how big of a hard drive it has. I'm pretty sure it has 10 gb of memory but have to check to be accurate.

pigoo3 said:

.they can be gotten for free!

- Nick

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Someone say Free! Got a may a Powermac desk top out of dumpsters. Forget the internet, All that flash stuff and Utube will not work. Ive a 9600 with a G3 card and email and eBay is about the limit. It has OS 9.1 with netscape 7. There better to use to type letters, light graphics for a publication , a print server to a postscript printer or something like that.

IBOOKCLAMSHELL8 said:

For the specs, it has 64 mb of ram. And has 266 mhz. I get back to you on how big of a hard drive it has. I'm pretty sure it has 10 gb of memory but have to check to be accurate.

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That is the one of the original tray loading iMac G3's from 1999. The ram maxes out at 512 MB, and the OS maxes out at 10.3. Even fully upgraded, it's not going to do much more than VERY basic web browsing. AKA Facebook is pushing it, and don't even think about Youtube. Their still cool to mess around with and play some classic games on, but as far as a main computer goes, it's just not gonna happen.

-Good Luck

I agree with everybody. Your gonna want to throw it out the window if you try to use it on the internet; modern internet is full of flash and javascript that will overwhelm that iMac.

This Mac is running 8.6? Wow... That sure brings back memories. I loved the old systems (started with system 6)... running Berkley screensavers, Kaleidoscope themes, and Appleworks! This computer is in no way suitable for internet though, my newer firewire Pismo is no longer suitable despite what the articles say... Just use it for a word processor and old graphics programs, if you can find them. I kinda envy you, I had the very first Bondi iMac (Rev A). A great machine. I do miss the old, TRUE MacAddict days.

IBOOKCLAMSHELL8 said:

and was it worth getting?

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It was free so YES ;-P

I must say, do not pour money into one of these with ram and the such, they don't get better and it ends up being a waste. If you want a cheap Mac to play as a main computer, get a 1.42ghz emac.

Well, I've decided to use this mac for display only, here's why. The other day my father talked to the guy who worked on this mac. He said, there was something wrong with it, so it never ran all that great when they had it. In fact, they had taken it to a shop to get it fixed, and they said start looking for a new computer. So, it's almost shot. I took out the ram stick, trying to find out where the memory is. I have been looking around, and found quite a few imac g4s for great prices. Would they be good computers to use for internet proposes? I have noticed they have a lot more memory than the g3s do. Would it be a good purchase to get one?

IBOOKCLAMSHELL8 said:

I have been looking around, and found quite a few imac g4s for great prices. Would they be good computers to use for internet proposes? I have noticed they have a lot more memory than the g3s do. Would it be a good purchase to get one?

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Depends on what the cpu speed is. They came in 700mhz-1.25ghz versions. Even so...I would still consider them (even the faster ones) "OK" for internet purposes...I don't know if I could say "good"...since you may still have trouble with internet video content (You Tube for example). But they certainly would be pretty good for most websites.

It would also depend on what you're paying for one. If you over-pay...you still might have been able to get something better.

- Nick