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Finally added some Flower Power to the Retro Roadshow!

Huxley

Well-known member
I desperately wanted one of these "Flower Power" iMac G3's when they were new back in early 2001, but I was a broke college kid and it just never happened... until today! A local Craiglist ad popped up in a nearby area I needed to pass through anyway today, so I made a pit-stop and here we are. The machine is in fantastic shape for its age and boots nicely to an early edition of Mac OS X, but I'll likely wipe it and restore it to Mac OS 9.2, just how it would've been when shipped. This machine (along with it's similarly-wild companion model, "Blue Dalmation") was one of the final G3 iMacs Apple produced, so in addition to being visually awesome, it's also a notable entry in my collection for other reasons. 

Pics here: https://imgur.com/gallery/Uu6x5GR

:D  

Huxley

 

CC_333

Well-known member
I have pretty much all the iMac G3s I want, but I've been wanting a Flower Power for ages now!  And seeing this makes me want it more :)  

Nevertheless, congratulations on your find!  How were you able to get it, given the lockdown situation?

c

 
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EvilCapitalist

Well-known member
Nice score, Huxley!  I know when these were new our Apple rep apologized when we received one of these instead of the Indigos and Graphites we usually got, but once you see it in person it does grow on you quite a bit.  I've had three so far, two of which I sent on to new homes because I thought "this is silly, I have plenty of G3 machines, I don't need another one" but then every time I saw one pop up locally (you DON'T want to ship a G3 iMac.  Call it revenge of the Spindler plastics) I couldn't help but grab it.  The third machine now has a permanent home in my collection.

 

cheesestraws

Well-known member
These have always felt to me a bit like the last hurrah of the deliberately cheerful before Apple went all pompous on us.

 

demik

Well-known member
Really nice case! Great pick ! This one is one of my favourites with Lime and Blue Dalmatian

 

CC_333

Well-known member
These have always felt to me a bit like the last hurrah of the deliberately cheerful before Apple went all pompous on us.
Agreed.  I'm not super fond of the fairly drab color schemes Apple has used since then, though the Rose Gold iPhones look pretty sharp.  The iPhone 5c isn't too bad either. 

c

 

Huxley

Well-known member
These have always felt to me a bit like the last hurrah of the deliberately cheerful before Apple went all pompous on us.
Love how you said this! I think I have the same thought around one of my other all-time favorite designs: the Blue & White G3. Even as a top-of-the-line machine clearly aimed at a professional audience, the B&W had such a lovely sense of whimsy in the design and aesthetics, especially if paired with the "GIANT BLUE EGG FROM SPAAAACE!" matching CRT display (which I'd very much like to acquire someday). I think the more austere look that came in with the G4 machines and basically never left the desktop Mac hardware 20 years later is cool too, but I miss the sense of fun that pervaded the "colored plastics" era of Apple design.

H.

 

cheesestraws

Well-known member
though the Rose Gold iPhones look pretty sharp
Oh, they are neat, but they feel like they're trying to be Serious Devices For Serious People, not fun objects.

the B&W had such a lovely sense of whimsy in the design and aesthetics
Yes.  Apple feels like it has entered a kind of middle age, almost?  If it were a person it would have given up the tie-dyed shirts and swapped them for a job in marketing and a tailored suit that they got because it looks as expensive as it is.  I've known people who have done that.  It's a real shame when a person does it, and it was a real shame when Apple did it.

 

demik

Well-known member
Oh, they are neat, but they feel like they're trying to be Serious Devices For Serious People, not fun objects.


I don't know about this one. Sure they feel like it, but people react to my gold MacBook Air by joking and smiling. Maybe that's because it is rare sight in a world of gray ones

 

Franklinstein

Well-known member
I do find the Flower Power and Blue Dalmatian models visually interesting. One day I'll get them, but I fear they'll end up like the Key Lime iBooks and be well overpriced. Adding insult to injury I'll likely have to pay a huge sum in shipping on top of it, unlike the comparatively cheap shipping for iBooks.

I do wish Apple would offer more anodized aluminum cases for the MacBook line, maybe iMacs and iPads, at least for the non-Pro models. The gold and space gray are nice enough, but how about some color? Blue of any shade would probably work, but otherwise I feel darker shades of other colors, such as red or green, would a better match the newer hardware. Tangerine would probably just look way weird on a new iMac, but I'm sure you'd sell a good number of models in "Bordeaux" (deep red), "Brunswick green" (dark green with hint of blue), or "Sakura" (soft pink).

 

EvilCapitalist

Well-known member
Better to get one sooner than later, especially if shipping is involved, those gray plastic internal frames break just by looking at them wrong.  You can see it in the listing below, where a refreshingly honest seller points it out and doesn't just try and call them scratches:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133400064257

Darker shades / winter colors / whatever you want to call them almost always look classy.  I'm not sure how they would pull off an orange color, since if you try and darken it you just end up with brown.  The Zune pulled that off but I can't see Apple doing anything in that color family today.  Even if they did offer colors other than the standard ones I have to imagine they'd end up being BTO options.

 
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Carboy7

Well-known member
Oooh, another Flower Power joins the armada. My FP is still sitting because the CRT spindler frame is completely wrecked, somehow the BD is completely fine.

I think the Blue Dalmatian is slightly less "in your face" than the FP but both are absolutely gorgeous in person. Pics do them no justice.

 

dzog

Well-known member
Nice one! Beautiful condition. Local pickup for the win. 

Better to get one sooner than later, especially if shipping is involved, those gray plastic internal frames break just by looking at them wrong.  You can see it in the listing below, where a refreshingly honest seller points it out and doesn't just try and call them scratches:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133400064257


Shipping these sucks. I bought a Flower Power on eBay some 3-4 years ago, arrived with a smashed up case. Seller sent me another one he had in stock as a replacement. That one came OK except for the darn plastic internal frame which indeed developed a nice big crack. Oh well. I still need to do something with the smashed one sitting in my basement - probably best to gut it for parts, or maybe find an intact case to swap: everything still seems to work OK, including the CRT. My iMac acquisition fancy has turned to a Bondi Rev A/B if one pops up nearby :)

 
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