Nearly three decades after the Power Mac G3 launched, a long-hidden easter egg has come to light. Doug Brown, a software engineer and vintage tech fan, uncovered a secret image embedded in the system’s ROM. The discovery applies to Power Mac G3 desktop, minitower, and all-in-one models released between 1997 and 1999.
Brown used tools like Hex Fiend and Ghidra to explore the ROM in detail. That’s when he spotted a resource labeled HPOE, which contained a JPEG file. Although this resource had been known since 2014, no one had successfully triggered the image using original hardware—until now.
Cracking the Secret Code
Digging deeper, Brown found more clues in the PowerPC SCSI Manager 4.3 file. Inside it, he noticed the phrase “secret ROM image” and references to “.EDisk” and “The Team.” After analyzing the code with Ghidra, he discovered a hidden routine. If a RAM disk named “secret ROM image” was created, the system would extract the JPEG and save it to the RAM disk as “The Team.”
Users could then open the file using SimpleText. Brown confirmed the trick works up to Mac OS 9.0.4, though it fails on later versions.
A Glimpse of Apple’s Engineers
The hidden image shows the Power Mac G3’s engineering team, posing for a group photo. Bill Saperstein, one of the engineers, responded to the discovery. He explained the image had replaced an earlier easter egg that featured Paula Abdul. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, he banned such easter eggs, so the team quietly added their own before the rule took effect.
