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Apple
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Computing becomes personal
Apple iBook G3
A portable Macintosh with a translucent enclosure.
MakerApple
Era1990s
TypePortable personal computing
About this object
The first iBook paired a carrying handle and rounded case with a portable Macintosh system. The photographs record the collection’s example and its exterior condition.
Inspect the original photograph
Technical record
Apple iBook
| Introduced | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Processor | PowerPC G3 at 300–466 MHz |
| Memory | 32 MB to 320 MB |
| Display | 12.1-inch, 800 × 600 |
| Networking | Optional AirPort, 802.11b |
| Operating system | Mac OS 8.6 and later |
Architecture
The first laptop sold to consumers with a slot for a wireless card and an antenna already built into the case. Wireless networking existed before it and was an expensive add-on for corporate buyers; putting it in a machine aimed at students, and demonstrating it by carrying one across a stage, is what made an untethered laptop an ordinary expectation rather than a novelty.
Record & provenance
The first iBook paired a carrying handle and rounded case with a portable Macintosh system. The photographs record the collection’s example and its exterior condition.
Reference: ATX-OBJ-057-IMG-5123
Source: collection inventory, photographs, and notes accompanying Serious Machines (Amir Husain, 2024).