User's Manual

http://www.apple.com
A little background
Two decades ago, Apple made its name by bringing advanced technology to mainstream
users through extraordinarily easy-to-use products. In particular, we gained a reputation
for success in pioneering the educational use of computers and championing the advance-
ment of multimedia technology.
Although that reputation has remained remarkably unchanged through the years—
Apple is still regarded as the industry leader in both education and multimedia—the
technology behind it has been altered practically beyond recognition, as have customer
expectations. Today’s mainstream computer users want affordable high-performance
systems that provide outstanding communications and multimedia capabilities. The Power
Macintosh G3 series was developed to satisfy that need—and to exceed customer expecta-
tions about price/performance value.
The Power Macintosh G3 series product design
When you talk about overall system design, you are really talking about a number of
things—from the processor to the physical enclosure to the system software to the logic
board—whose interrelationships are central to the user experience. The Power Macintosh
G3 products were designed to meet the needs of our customers for performance, flexibil-
ity, and expandability through a streamlined development process in which a single logic
board design provides a variety of capabilities. This approach simplifies testing, speeding
development and increasing system reliability. In addition, the use of greater numbers of
industry-standard parts than in previous Apple systems makes Power Macintosh G3
computers even more affordable.
Logic board. A computer’s logic board design is the ultimate determinant of its
functionality, involving such key features as processor, memory setup (controller and
expansion capabilities), graphics support, and storage capabilities. The Power Macintosh G3
series systems use a mini-ATX board, which features, among other innovations, a faster system
bus (66 megahertz as opposed to 50 megahertz, with room for further growth as processor
speeds continue to increase) to support higher performance. This relatively tiny board,
roughly the size of this fact sheet, allows for outstanding expandability—for example, by
permitting the hard disk drive to fit within the base of the desktop model, so that it can also
easily accommodate a Zip drive. In addition, it features an easy-to-access audio/video card slot
that gives Apple the flexibility of offering a single product that provides a range of communi-
cations and multimedia capabilities to meet the varying needs of our users. For example, the
Power Macintosh G3 is currently available in two versions: one system with stereo-quality
audio capabilities and the other a full-featured, multimedia-optimized computer that also
provides video-input/output capabilities and is suitable for content authoring.
Enclosure. The board’s efficient use of space is also the key to our ability to use the
same logic board in two very different physical enclosures. The Power Macintosh G3 series
is currently available in a sleek, low-lying desktop model and a convenient, space-saving
minitower. Both enclosures reflect Apple’s tradition of user-centered design—offering
exceptionally easy access to the board for expansion and servicing.
System software.
These systems run Apple’s latest and already outstandingly
successful system software: Mac OS 8. Providing significant enhancements in the areas of
user interface (including true multitasking and virtual memory capabilities) and Internet
access and publishing (including integrated support for Java, and software tools that let
users easily publish information on the Internet or a local intranet), Mac OS 8 has quickly
gained a reputation for providing the industry’s best overall user experience.
The Power
Macintosh G3
Series: Innovative
Product Design for
Affordable High
Performance