The iMac had shown that computers no longer needed to be dull slabs of beige and Apple catered for those users who needed more flexibility than the iMac offered by releasing the Power Mac G3 Blue & White. Technically the iMac and the B&W G3 were very similar, both using Motorola's G3 processor. Both dropped the floppy disk drive, and both offered more 'contemporary' connections such as Firewire and USB - whether this made up for the lack of SCSI though was another matter. Unlike the iMac though, the B&W did offer some concessions to upgrading users by including a single ADB socket.

With the iMac being 'closed' (in that it wasn't designed to be easily opened) the B&W offered users far more options to upgrade, enhance and expand their machines. The fold out motherboard idea may have been borrowed from the PowerMac 9X00 series but it gave very easy access to the B&W's 4 PCI slots and 4 memory slots. Apple had opted for a PCI graphics approach rather than onboard and, while this did take up a PCI slot, it did allow upgrades to be far simpler. This upgrade approach was further embraced when it came to the processor and the motherboard used a ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) socket which allowed the processor to be switched simply by unclipping a lever and replacing the whole CPU!

Despite being an impressive machine, Apple quickly released an updated model which featured a faster motherboard, a faster graphics card, and an updated IDE controller - even more bang for your bucks. Along with the proliferation of processor upgrades from 3rd party manufacturers (allowing the machine to go all the way up to a 1GHz G4 at time of writing).

Sadly not everything was perfect with the B&W and Apple bundled the machine with the same keyboard and mouse that had shipped with the iMac. Yes they were perfectly in keeping with the look of the machine, but the keyboard lacked certain keys and the 'puck' mouse was annoying and frustrating to many users. The machine's name was also cause for concern as, aside from the 'Blue&White' subname, the machine was very easy to confuse with the beige G3 Poweracs that had been available for several years.

With its stunning looks and (then) blistering performance, the B&W once again put Apple in the driving seat and proved that the iMac had been more than just a flash in pan. With it's vast expansion possibilities, the B&W G3 was destined to be seen on desks and in offices for many years to come.

With 68k based Macs becoming rarer and rarer (not in terms of availability or price, but in terms of machines that aren't actually in the museum) it was inevitable that one or two 'later' machines would creep in. Of course when those machines look like the Blue and White G3 then there are certainly no objections.

I'd loved the look of the B&W G3 for a very long time so when a 300MHz version came my way at a reasonable price, I was more than happy to find space for it. Admittedly my machine is the slowest spec available and is running the slower version one of the motherboard (boo) but it still blows just about everything else in the museum out of the water (and it's not going to get used anyway) so what does it matter? Unlike many instances, my machine was unblemished and all four of the handles/feet were intact with no chips, cracks or damage. Not that this meant the machine didn't need a good clean and it was carefully stripped down. Once you get past the plastic casing then it's just a metal case but you kind of expect this.

The case is fantastic to look at but the fold out motherboard is just a delight - no fiddly screws or complicated fastenings, just pull on the combined handle/clip and everything folds neatly out. Inside everything is slightly more from the PC world than we were used to but the IDE drives, while slower, will also be a whole lot easier to upgrade and replace (there's already a DVD-ROM/CDRW on order), and memory becomes a lot easier to source. As it stands, my machine already boasts 256Mb and still has a slot free.

The lack of a floppy drive is a little worrying but, given Apple's direction, it's understandable and the array of 'modern' connectors on the back gets around this problem neatly - of course a lack of SCSI is another negative but not enough to spoil my day. On the plus side (for me anyway) was the use of a 'standard' VGA monitor connection instead of the usual Apple monitor connector - stand by for the 17" flat panel!

Running OS 8.6 the B&W G3 sprints along and, while it'll never be up to playing DVDs, it certainly feels reponsive and speedy. What it'll be like running OS X might be a different story but it's not something that's on the horizon at the moment.