D.U.I. Drive Mac OS

broken image


Macintosh SE
Also known asMacintosh SE FDHD
Macintosh SE SuperDrive
ManufacturerApple Computer
Product familyCompact Macintosh
TypeAll-in-one
Release dateMarch 2, 1987; 34 years ago
Introductory priceUS$2900 (dual floppy)
US$3900 (with 20 MB hard drive)
DiscontinuedOctober 15, 1990
Operating systemSystem 4.0 - System 7.5.5
CPUMotorola 68000 @ 7.8 MHz
Memory1 MB RAM, expandable to 4 MB (150 ns 30-pin SIMM)
Display9 in (23 cm) monochrome, 512 × 342
DimensionsHeight: 13.6 in (35 cm)
Width: 9.69 in (24.6 cm)
Depth: 10.9 in (28 cm)
Mass17 lb (7.7 kg)
PredecessorMacintosh 512Ke
Macintosh Plus
SuccessorMacintosh SE/30
Macintosh Classic

The Macintosh SE is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, from March 1987[1] to October 1990. It marked a significant improvement on the Macintosh Plus design and was introduced by Apple at the same time as the Macintosh II.

The SE retains the same Compact Macintosh form factor as the original Macintosh computer introduced three years earlier and uses the same design language used by the Macintosh II. An enhanced model, the SE/30, was introduced in January 1989; sales of the original SE continued. The Macintosh SE was updated in August 1989 to include a SuperDrive, with this updated version being called the 'Macintosh SE FDHD' and later the 'Macintosh SE SuperDrive'. The Macintosh SE was replaced with the Macintosh Classic, a very similar model which retained the same central processing unit and form factor, but at a lower price point.

Nov 14, 2019 Connect your drive to the Mac. Quit all other applications on the Mac, especially those that may be trying to access the external drive (e.g. IPhoto, Words) Launch Disk Drill. Click on the external drive that you are trying to recover files from. If it has partitions, you will see all of them. When these are clipped or soldered onto the 68000 processor, a 32 MHz 68030 processor can be used, and up to 16 MB RAM. This allows it to run Mac OS 7.6.1. There is a program available called Mini vMac that can emulate a Mac Plus on a variety of platforms, including Unix, Windows, DOS, classic Mac OS, macOS, Pocket PC, iOS and even Nintendo DS. If your Mac is using a firmware password, you're prompted to enter the password. Option (⌥) or Alt: Start up to Startup Manager, which allows you to choose other available startup disks or volumes. If your Mac is using a firmware password, you're prompted to enter the password. Option-Command-P-R: Reset NVRAM or PRAM. Open Disk Utility. To open Disk Utility - Open Finder Applications Utilities Disk Utility. Click View in the upper left and select Show All Devices. Select the non-indented entry, you will see Media in the name. Click the button labeled Erase in the menu which will bring up this window.

Overview[edit]

The Macintosh SE was introduced at the AppleWorld conference in Los Angeles on March 2, 1987. The 'SE' is an acronym for 'System Expansion'.[2] Its notable new features, compared to its similar predecessor, the Macintosh Plus, were:

  • First compact Macintosh with an internal drive bay for a hard disk (originally 20 MB or 40 MB) or a second floppy drive.
  • First compact Macintosh that featured an expansion slot.
  • First Macintosh to support the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB), previously only available on the Apple IIGS, for keyboard and mouse connections.
  • Improved SCSI support with faster data throughput and a standard 50-pin internal SCSI connector.
  • Better reliability and longer life expectancy (15 years of continuous use)[3] due to the addition of a cooling fan.
  • Upgraded video circuitry that results in a lower percentage of CPU time being spent drawing the screen. In practice this results in a 10-20 percent performance improvement.[4]
  • Additional fonts and kerning routines in the Toolbox ROM[3]
  • Disk First Aid is included on the system disk

The SE and Macintosh II were the first Apple computers since the Apple I to be sold without a keyboard. Instead the customer was offered the choice of the new ADB Apple Keyboard or the Apple Extended Keyboard.

Apple produced ten SEs with transparent cases as prototypes for promotional shots and employees. They are extremely rare and command a premium price for collectors.[5]

Operating system[edit]

The Macintosh SE shipped with System 4.0 and Finder 5.4; this version is specific to this computer.[6] (The Macintosh II, which was announced at the same time but shipped a month later, includes System 4.1 and Finder 5.5.) The README file included with the installation disks for the SE and II is the first place Apple ever used the term 'Macintosh System Software', and after 1998 these two versions were retroactively given the name 'Macintosh System Software 2.0.1'.[7]

Hardware[edit]

Processor: Motorola 68000, 8 MHz, with an 8 MHz system bus and a 16-bit data path

RAM: The SE came with 1 MB of RAM as standard, and is expandable to 4 MB. The logic board has four 30-pin SIMM slots; memory must be installed in pairs and must be 150 ns or faster.

Video: The built-in 512 × 342 monochrome screen uses 21,888 bytes of main memory as video memory.

Storage: The SE can accommodate either one or two floppy drives, or a floppy drive and a hard drive. After-market brackets were designed to allow the SE to accommodate two floppy drives as well as a hard drive, however it was not a configuration supported by Apple. In addition an external floppy disk drive may also be connected, making the SE the only Macintosh besides the Macintosh Portable which could support three floppy drives, though its increased storage, RAM capacity and optional internal hard drive rendered the external drives less of a necessity than for its predecessors. Single-floppy SE models also featured a drive-access light in the spot where the second floppy drive would be. Monolith (itch) (skeletonmob) mac os. Hard-drive equipped models came with a 20 MB SCSI hard disk.

Battery: Soldered into the logic board is a 3.6 V 1/2AA lithium battery, which must be present in order for basic settings to persist between power cycles. Macintosh SE machines which have sat for a long time have experienced battery corrosion and leakage, resulting in a damaged case and logic board.

Expansion: A Processor Direct Slot on the logic board allows for expansion cards, such as accelerators, to be installed. The SE can be upgraded to 50 MHz and more than 5 MB with the MicroMac accelerators. In the past other accelerators were also available such as the Sonnet Allegro. Since installing a card required opening the computer's case and exposing the user to high voltages from the internal CRT, Apple recommended that only authorized Apple dealers install the cards; the case was sealed with then-uncommon Torx screws.

D.U.I. Drive Mac OS

Simple prototype skeleton mac os. Upgrades: After Apple introduced the Macintosh SE/30 in January, 1989, a logic board upgrade was sold by Apple dealers for US$1,699 as a high-cost upgrade for the SE, consisting of a new SE/30 motherboard, case front and internal chassis to accommodate the upgrade components.

ROM/Easter egg: The SE ROM size increased from 64 KB in the original Mac (and 128 KB in the Mac Plus) to 256 KB, which allowed the development team to include an Easter Egg hidden in the ROMs. By jumping to address 0x41D89A (or reading from the ROM chips), it is possible to display four images of the engineering team.[8][9]

Inside the Macintosh SE

D.u.i. Drive Mac Os X

The main PCB from a 1988 Macintosh SE

Models[edit]

Introduced March 2, 1987:

  • Macintosh SE[10] with 1 Mbyte RAM and two 800k drives
  • Macintosh SE with 1 Mbyte RAM, one 800k drive and 20 MB hard disk.

Introduced August 1, 1988:

  • Macintosh SE 1/40: The name of the Macintosh SE with a 40 MB hard disk in place of 20 MB.

Introduced August 1, 1989:

  • Macintosh SE FDHD: Includes the new SuperDrive, a floppy disk drive that can handle 1.4 MB High Density (HD) floppy disks. FDHD is an acronym for 'Floppy Disk High Density'; later some Macintosh SE FDHDs were labeled Macintosh SE SuperDrive, to conform to Apple's marketing change with respect to their new drive. High-density floppies would become the de facto standard on both the Macintosh and PC computers from then on. An upgrade kit was sold for the original Macintosh SE which included new ROM chips and a new disk controller chip, to replace the originals.[11]

Timeline of compact Macintosh models

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Joel West (March 2, 1987). 'Macintosh II and Macintosh SE announced'. Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac. Usenet:2790@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  2. ^Goodin, Sue; Wilson, Dave (April 1987). 'Programming the New Macs'. Vol. 3 no. 5. MacTech.Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  3. ^ ab'How the SE Really Differs'. MacWorld Magazine. May 1987. p. 116.
  4. ^'Vectronic's Macintosh SE'.
  5. ^'Transparent Macintosh SE'. Low End Mac. Retrieved February 8, 2007.
  6. ^'Macintosh hardware releases'. earlymacintosh.org.
  7. ^'Macintosh: System Software Version History'.
  8. ^'Macintosh Plus Easter Egg - Image of Designers in ROM'. September 12, 1999. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  9. ^Trammell Hudson (August 21, 2012). 'Ghosts in the ROM'. NYC Resistor. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  10. ^'Macintosh SE: Technical Specifications'. Apple.
  11. ^'Macintosh SE FDHD: Technical Specifications'. Apple.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Macintosh SE.
  • The Mac SE Support Pages Repair & upgrade advice.
  • Mac SE Low End Mac
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Macintosh_SE&oldid=1015315553'
Macintosh Plus
Macintosh Plus at the Museo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología in Spain
Also known asM0001A
ManufacturerApple Computer, Inc.
Product familyCompact Macintosh
Release dateJanuary 16, 1986; 35 years ago
Introductory priceUS$2,599 (equivalent to $6,060 in 2019)
DiscontinuedOctober 15, 1990
Operating systemSystem 3.0 - 7.5.5 (except 7.5.2)
CPUMotorola 68000 @ 8 MHz
Memory1 MB RAM, expandable to 4 MB (150 ns 30-pin SIMM)
Display9 in (23 cm) monochrome, 512 × 342
Graphics72 ppi
DimensionsHeight: 13.6 in (35 cm)
Width: 9.6 in (24 cm)
Depth: 10.9 in (28 cm)
Mass16.5 lb (7.5 kg)
PredecessorMacintosh 512K
Macintosh XL
SuccessorMacintosh SE
Macintosh Classic

The Macintosh Plus computer is the third model in the Macintosh line, introduced on January 16, 1986, two years after the original Macintosh and a little more than a year after the Macintosh 512K, with a price tag of US$2599.[1] As an evolutionary improvement over the 512K, it shipped with 1 MB of RAM standard, expandable to 4 MB, and an external SCSI peripheral bus, among smaller improvements. Originally, the computer's case was the same beige color as the original Macintosh, Pantone 453,[2] however in 1987, the case color was changed to the long-lived, warm gray 'Platinum' color.[3] It is the earliest Macintosh model able to run System 7.

Overview[edit]

Bruce Webster of BYTE reported a rumor in December 1985: 'Supposedly, Apple will be releasing a Big Mac by the time this column sees print: said Mac will reportedly come with 1 megabyte of RAM .. the new 128K-byte ROM .. and a double-sided (800K bytes) disk drive, all in the standard Mac box'.[4] Introduced as the Macintosh Plus, it was the first Macintosh model to include a SCSI port, which launched the popularity of external SCSI devices for Macs, including hard disks, tape drives, CD-ROM drives, printers, Zip Drives, and even monitors.[5] The SCSI implementation of the Plus was engineered shortly before the initial SCSI spec was finalized and, as such, is not 100% SCSI-compliant. SCSI ports remained standard equipment for all Macs until the introduction of the iMac in 1998.

D.u.i. Drive Mac Os Command Line

The Macintosh Plus was the last classic Mac to have a phone cord-like port on the front of the unit for the keyboard, as well as the DE-9 connector for the mouse; models released after the Macintosh Plus would use ADB ports.

The Mac Plus was the first Apple computer to utilize user-upgradable SIMM memory modules instead of single DIP DRAM chips. Four SIMM slots were provided and the computer shipped with four 256K SIMMs, for 1MB total RAM. By replacing them with 1MB SIMMs, it was possible to have 4MB of RAM. (Although 30-pin SIMMs could support up to 16MB total RAM, the Mac Plus motherboard had only 22 address lines connected, for a 4MB maximum.)

It has what was then a new 3+12-inch double-sided 800 KB floppy drive, offering double the capacity of floppy disks from previous Macs, along with backward compatibility. The then-new drive is controlled by the same IWM chip as in previous models, implementing variable speedGCR. The drive was still completely incompatible with PC drives. The 800 KB drive has two read/write heads, enabling it to simultaneously use both sides of the floppy disk and thereby double storage capacity. Like the 400 KB drive before it, a companion Macintosh 800K External Drive was an available option. However, with the increased disk storage capacity combined with 2-4x the available RAM, the external drive was less of a necessity than it had been with the 128K and 512K.

D.u.i. Drive Mac Os Download

The Mac Plus has 128 KB of ROM on the motherboard, which is double the amount of ROM in previous Macs; the ROMs included software to support SCSI, the then-new 800 KB floppy drive, and the Hierarchical File System (HFS), which uses a true directory structure on disks (as opposed to the earlier MFS, Macintosh File System in which all files were stored in a single directory, with one level of pseudo-folders overlaid on them). For programmers, the fourth Inside Macintosh volume details how to use HFS and the rest of the Mac Plus's new system software. The Plus still did not include provision for an internal hard drive and it would be over nine months before Apple would offer a SCSI drive replacement for the slow Hard Disk 20. It would be well over a year before Apple would offer the first internal hard disk drive in any Macintosh.

D.u.i. Drive Mac Os Catalina

A compact Mac, the Plus has a 9-inch (23 cm) 512 × 342 pixel monochrome display with a resolution of 72 PPI, identical to that of previous Macintosh models.[6] Unlike earlier Macs, the Mac Plus's keyboard includes a numeric keypad and directional arrow keys and, as with previous Macs, it has a one-button mouse and no fan, making it extremely quiet in operation. The lack of a cooling fan in the Mac Plus led to frequent problems with overheating and hardware malfunctions.

The applications MacPaint and MacWrite were bundled with the Mac Plus. After August 1987, HyperCard and MultiFinder were also bundled. Third-party software applications available included MacDraw, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as Aldus PageMaker. Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint (originally by Forethought) were actually developed and released first for the Macintosh, and similarly Microsoft Word 1 for Macintosh was the first time a GUI version of that software was introduced on any personal computer platform. For a time, the exclusive availability of Excel and PageMaker on the Macintosh were noticeable drivers of sales for the platform.

The Apple Macintosh Plus at the Design Museum in Gothenburg, Sweden

The case design is essentially identical to the original Macintosh. It debuted in beige and was labeled Macintosh Plus on the front, but Macintosh Plus 1 MB on the back, to denote the 1 MB RAM configuration with which it shipped. In January 1987 it transitioned to Apple's long-lived platinum-gray color with the rest of the Apple product line, and the keyboard's keycaps changed from brown to gray. In January 1988, with reduced RAM prices, Apple began shipping 2- and 4- MB configurations and rebranded it simply as 'Macintosh Plus.' Among other design changes, it included the same trademarked inlaid Apple logo and recessed port icons as the Apple IIc and IIGS before it, but it essentially retained the original design.

Inside a Macintosh Plus; the cathode-ray tube and its associated circuitry on its right side take up a considerable amount of interior space.

An upgrade kit was offered for the earlier Macintosh 128K and Macintosh 512K/enhanced, which includes a new motherboard, floppy disk drive and rear case. The owner retained the front case, monitor and analog board. Because of this, there is no 'Macintosh Plus' on the front of upgraded units, and the Apple logo is recessed and in the bottom left hand corner of the front case. However, the label on the back of the case reads 'Macintosh Plus 1MB'. The new extended Plus keyboard could also be purchased. Unfortunately, this upgrade cost almost as much as a new machine.

The Mac Plus itself can be upgraded further with the use of third-party accelerators. When these are clipped or soldered onto the 68000 processor, a 32 MHz 68030 processor can be used, and up to 16 MB RAM. This allows it to run Mac OS 7.6.1.[7]

There is a program available called Mini vMac that can emulate a Mac Plus on a variety of platforms, including Unix, Windows, DOS, classic Mac OS, macOS, Pocket PC, iOS and even Nintendo DS.

Long production life[edit]

D.u.i.

Simple prototype skeleton mac os. Upgrades: After Apple introduced the Macintosh SE/30 in January, 1989, a logic board upgrade was sold by Apple dealers for US$1,699 as a high-cost upgrade for the SE, consisting of a new SE/30 motherboard, case front and internal chassis to accommodate the upgrade components.

ROM/Easter egg: The SE ROM size increased from 64 KB in the original Mac (and 128 KB in the Mac Plus) to 256 KB, which allowed the development team to include an Easter Egg hidden in the ROMs. By jumping to address 0x41D89A (or reading from the ROM chips), it is possible to display four images of the engineering team.[8][9]

Inside the Macintosh SE

D.u.i. Drive Mac Os X

The main PCB from a 1988 Macintosh SE

Models[edit]

Introduced March 2, 1987:

  • Macintosh SE[10] with 1 Mbyte RAM and two 800k drives
  • Macintosh SE with 1 Mbyte RAM, one 800k drive and 20 MB hard disk.

Introduced August 1, 1988:

  • Macintosh SE 1/40: The name of the Macintosh SE with a 40 MB hard disk in place of 20 MB.

Introduced August 1, 1989:

  • Macintosh SE FDHD: Includes the new SuperDrive, a floppy disk drive that can handle 1.4 MB High Density (HD) floppy disks. FDHD is an acronym for 'Floppy Disk High Density'; later some Macintosh SE FDHDs were labeled Macintosh SE SuperDrive, to conform to Apple's marketing change with respect to their new drive. High-density floppies would become the de facto standard on both the Macintosh and PC computers from then on. An upgrade kit was sold for the original Macintosh SE which included new ROM chips and a new disk controller chip, to replace the originals.[11]

Timeline of compact Macintosh models

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Joel West (March 2, 1987). 'Macintosh II and Macintosh SE announced'. Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac. Usenet:2790@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  2. ^Goodin, Sue; Wilson, Dave (April 1987). 'Programming the New Macs'. Vol. 3 no. 5. MacTech.Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  3. ^ ab'How the SE Really Differs'. MacWorld Magazine. May 1987. p. 116.
  4. ^'Vectronic's Macintosh SE'.
  5. ^'Transparent Macintosh SE'. Low End Mac. Retrieved February 8, 2007.
  6. ^'Macintosh hardware releases'. earlymacintosh.org.
  7. ^'Macintosh: System Software Version History'.
  8. ^'Macintosh Plus Easter Egg - Image of Designers in ROM'. September 12, 1999. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  9. ^Trammell Hudson (August 21, 2012). 'Ghosts in the ROM'. NYC Resistor. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  10. ^'Macintosh SE: Technical Specifications'. Apple.
  11. ^'Macintosh SE FDHD: Technical Specifications'. Apple.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Macintosh SE.
  • The Mac SE Support Pages Repair & upgrade advice.
  • Mac SE Low End Mac
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Macintosh_SE&oldid=1015315553'
Macintosh Plus
Macintosh Plus at the Museo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología in Spain
Also known asM0001A
ManufacturerApple Computer, Inc.
Product familyCompact Macintosh
Release dateJanuary 16, 1986; 35 years ago
Introductory priceUS$2,599 (equivalent to $6,060 in 2019)
DiscontinuedOctober 15, 1990
Operating systemSystem 3.0 - 7.5.5 (except 7.5.2)
CPUMotorola 68000 @ 8 MHz
Memory1 MB RAM, expandable to 4 MB (150 ns 30-pin SIMM)
Display9 in (23 cm) monochrome, 512 × 342
Graphics72 ppi
DimensionsHeight: 13.6 in (35 cm)
Width: 9.6 in (24 cm)
Depth: 10.9 in (28 cm)
Mass16.5 lb (7.5 kg)
PredecessorMacintosh 512K
Macintosh XL
SuccessorMacintosh SE
Macintosh Classic

The Macintosh Plus computer is the third model in the Macintosh line, introduced on January 16, 1986, two years after the original Macintosh and a little more than a year after the Macintosh 512K, with a price tag of US$2599.[1] As an evolutionary improvement over the 512K, it shipped with 1 MB of RAM standard, expandable to 4 MB, and an external SCSI peripheral bus, among smaller improvements. Originally, the computer's case was the same beige color as the original Macintosh, Pantone 453,[2] however in 1987, the case color was changed to the long-lived, warm gray 'Platinum' color.[3] It is the earliest Macintosh model able to run System 7.

Overview[edit]

Bruce Webster of BYTE reported a rumor in December 1985: 'Supposedly, Apple will be releasing a Big Mac by the time this column sees print: said Mac will reportedly come with 1 megabyte of RAM .. the new 128K-byte ROM .. and a double-sided (800K bytes) disk drive, all in the standard Mac box'.[4] Introduced as the Macintosh Plus, it was the first Macintosh model to include a SCSI port, which launched the popularity of external SCSI devices for Macs, including hard disks, tape drives, CD-ROM drives, printers, Zip Drives, and even monitors.[5] The SCSI implementation of the Plus was engineered shortly before the initial SCSI spec was finalized and, as such, is not 100% SCSI-compliant. SCSI ports remained standard equipment for all Macs until the introduction of the iMac in 1998.

D.u.i. Drive Mac Os Command Line

The Macintosh Plus was the last classic Mac to have a phone cord-like port on the front of the unit for the keyboard, as well as the DE-9 connector for the mouse; models released after the Macintosh Plus would use ADB ports.

The Mac Plus was the first Apple computer to utilize user-upgradable SIMM memory modules instead of single DIP DRAM chips. Four SIMM slots were provided and the computer shipped with four 256K SIMMs, for 1MB total RAM. By replacing them with 1MB SIMMs, it was possible to have 4MB of RAM. (Although 30-pin SIMMs could support up to 16MB total RAM, the Mac Plus motherboard had only 22 address lines connected, for a 4MB maximum.)

It has what was then a new 3+12-inch double-sided 800 KB floppy drive, offering double the capacity of floppy disks from previous Macs, along with backward compatibility. The then-new drive is controlled by the same IWM chip as in previous models, implementing variable speedGCR. The drive was still completely incompatible with PC drives. The 800 KB drive has two read/write heads, enabling it to simultaneously use both sides of the floppy disk and thereby double storage capacity. Like the 400 KB drive before it, a companion Macintosh 800K External Drive was an available option. However, with the increased disk storage capacity combined with 2-4x the available RAM, the external drive was less of a necessity than it had been with the 128K and 512K.

D.u.i. Drive Mac Os Download

The Mac Plus has 128 KB of ROM on the motherboard, which is double the amount of ROM in previous Macs; the ROMs included software to support SCSI, the then-new 800 KB floppy drive, and the Hierarchical File System (HFS), which uses a true directory structure on disks (as opposed to the earlier MFS, Macintosh File System in which all files were stored in a single directory, with one level of pseudo-folders overlaid on them). For programmers, the fourth Inside Macintosh volume details how to use HFS and the rest of the Mac Plus's new system software. The Plus still did not include provision for an internal hard drive and it would be over nine months before Apple would offer a SCSI drive replacement for the slow Hard Disk 20. It would be well over a year before Apple would offer the first internal hard disk drive in any Macintosh.

D.u.i. Drive Mac Os Catalina

A compact Mac, the Plus has a 9-inch (23 cm) 512 × 342 pixel monochrome display with a resolution of 72 PPI, identical to that of previous Macintosh models.[6] Unlike earlier Macs, the Mac Plus's keyboard includes a numeric keypad and directional arrow keys and, as with previous Macs, it has a one-button mouse and no fan, making it extremely quiet in operation. The lack of a cooling fan in the Mac Plus led to frequent problems with overheating and hardware malfunctions.

The applications MacPaint and MacWrite were bundled with the Mac Plus. After August 1987, HyperCard and MultiFinder were also bundled. Third-party software applications available included MacDraw, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as Aldus PageMaker. Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint (originally by Forethought) were actually developed and released first for the Macintosh, and similarly Microsoft Word 1 for Macintosh was the first time a GUI version of that software was introduced on any personal computer platform. For a time, the exclusive availability of Excel and PageMaker on the Macintosh were noticeable drivers of sales for the platform.

The Apple Macintosh Plus at the Design Museum in Gothenburg, Sweden

The case design is essentially identical to the original Macintosh. It debuted in beige and was labeled Macintosh Plus on the front, but Macintosh Plus 1 MB on the back, to denote the 1 MB RAM configuration with which it shipped. In January 1987 it transitioned to Apple's long-lived platinum-gray color with the rest of the Apple product line, and the keyboard's keycaps changed from brown to gray. In January 1988, with reduced RAM prices, Apple began shipping 2- and 4- MB configurations and rebranded it simply as 'Macintosh Plus.' Among other design changes, it included the same trademarked inlaid Apple logo and recessed port icons as the Apple IIc and IIGS before it, but it essentially retained the original design.

Inside a Macintosh Plus; the cathode-ray tube and its associated circuitry on its right side take up a considerable amount of interior space.

An upgrade kit was offered for the earlier Macintosh 128K and Macintosh 512K/enhanced, which includes a new motherboard, floppy disk drive and rear case. The owner retained the front case, monitor and analog board. Because of this, there is no 'Macintosh Plus' on the front of upgraded units, and the Apple logo is recessed and in the bottom left hand corner of the front case. However, the label on the back of the case reads 'Macintosh Plus 1MB'. The new extended Plus keyboard could also be purchased. Unfortunately, this upgrade cost almost as much as a new machine.

The Mac Plus itself can be upgraded further with the use of third-party accelerators. When these are clipped or soldered onto the 68000 processor, a 32 MHz 68030 processor can be used, and up to 16 MB RAM. This allows it to run Mac OS 7.6.1.[7]

There is a program available called Mini vMac that can emulate a Mac Plus on a variety of platforms, including Unix, Windows, DOS, classic Mac OS, macOS, Pocket PC, iOS and even Nintendo DS.

Long production life[edit]

The 'ED' at the end of the model name indicates that this Macintosh was sold to the educational market.

Although the Macintosh Plus would become overshadowed by two new Macintoshes, the Macintosh SE and the Macintosh II in March 1987, it remained in production as a cheaper alternative until the introduction of the Macintosh Classic on October 15, 1990. This made the Macintosh Plus the longest-produced Macintosh ever, having been on sale unchanged for 1,734 days, until the 2nd generation Mac Pro, introduced on December 19, 2013, surpassed the record on September 18, 2018. (it would ultimately last for 2,182 days before being discontinued on December 10, 2019) (Second to the Mid 2012 13 inch (unibody) Macbook Pro that has been on sale from June,11,2012 to October,27,2016 spanning 4 years, 4 months, and 16 days this macbooks holds the title of the longest-produced MacBook Pro ever) It continued to be supported by versions of the classic Mac OS up to version 7.5.5, released in 1996. Additionally, during its period of general market relevance, it was heavily discounted like the 512K/512Ke before it and offered to the educational market badged as the 'Macintosh Plus ED'.[8] Due to its popularity, long life and its introduction of many features that would become mainstays of the Macintosh platform for years, the Plus was a common 'base model' for many software and hardware products.

Problems[edit]

The lack of fan could cause the life of a Macintosh Plus to end early for some users. As the power supply would heat up, solder joints inside it would fracture causing many problems, such as loss of deflection in the monitor or a complete loss of power. As in most early compact Macs, the problem was common in the yoke connector, flyback transformer, and horizontal drive coupling capacitor.[9] A fan was also often added to reduce heat when the machine was upgraded to its full RAM capacity of 4 MB.[10]

From the debut of the Macintosh 128K through the Macintosh Plus, various third-party cooling add-ons were available to help increase airflow through the unit. Apple reorganized the compact Macintosh case to accommodate a fan with the release of the Macintosh SE, which optionally included a heat-generating internal hard disk.

ROM revisions[edit]

The Plus went through two ROM revisions during its general market relevance. The initial ROM was replaced after the first two months as it had a serious bug which prevented the Mac from booting if an external SCSI device was powered off. The second revision fixed a problem with some SCSI devices that could send the Mac into an endless reset at POST.[11]

Emulators[edit]

Timeline of compact Macintosh models

References[edit]

  1. ^'The 25 Greatest PCs of All Time'. PCWorld. August 11, 2006. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  2. ^'History of computer design: Apple Macintosh'. Landsnail.com. May 17, 1998. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  3. ^'History of computer design: Macintosh Plus'. Landsnail.com. May 17, 1998. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  4. ^Webster, Bruce (December 1985). 'Microcomputer Color Graphics-Observations'. BYTE. p. 405. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  5. ^Knight, Dan. 'ScuzzyGraph and ScuzzyGraph II'. Low End Mac. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  6. ^'Macintosh Plus: Technical Specifications'. Apple.
  7. ^'Mac Plus'. Low End Mac. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  8. ^[1]
  9. ^'Classic Mac Repair Notes'(PDF). 68kmla.org. Archived from the original(PDF) on June 6, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  10. ^Still Useful after All These Years -- The Mac Plus
  11. ^'Technical Notes'. Developer.apple.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2004. Retrieved May 20, 2016.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Macintosh Plus.
  • Macintosh Plus technical specifications at apple.com
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Macintosh_Plus&oldid=1019150753'




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