This index cover the Macintosh LC series, Apple’s first low-cost color Macs. (68040-based LCs are also listed on the Quadra page.) The LC series was one of the most popular in Apple’s history.
Yearly Archives: 1993
Hold on to your hat: 1993 was the wildest year for model introductions in Apple’s history. Apple also passed the 10 million Mac mark in February 1993.
The first cable-ready Macintosh! No, not ready for a cable modem – ready for cable TV.
First available in Canada (1993), and then Asia and Europe (and never sold in the home US market), the Colour Classic II (also known as the Performa 275) shares the motherboard design of the LC III. Running at a relatively fast 33 MHz, memory can be expanded as far as 36 MB.
Introduce in October 1993, the Duo 270c added an active matrix 640 x 480 pixel 256-color screen to the Duo 230. With the improved battery, this color Duo could still run for two hours per charge.
Introduced in October 1993, the PowerBook Duo 250 added an active matrix screen to the Duo mix.
Finding the market confused with five product lines (Mac II, Centris, Quadra, Performa, and PowerBook), Apple renamed the Centris models in October 1993. At the same time, the 68040 CPU in the Quadra 650 was boosted to 33 MHz.
Finding the market confused with five product lines (Mac II, Centris, Quadra, Performa, and PowerBook), Apple renamed the Centris models in October 1993.
At 33 MHz, the LC III+ (also known as the Performa 460) was the fastest 68030-based computer in the LC series.
The LC 550 replaced the LC 520, increasing CPU speed from 25 MHz to 33 MHz. It was released at the same time as the 68LC040-based LC 575.
What was the smallest desktop Mac prior to the Mac mini? Apple’s LC series, which measured just under 3″ tall, although it had as big a footprint as four Minis. And the Quadra 605 (also known as the LC 475 and Performa 475 or 476) was the most powerful model in this diminutive line.
The LaserWriter Pro 810 was a beast – 19.5″ tall, 81 lb., and with three paper trays, this one was designed for heavy use. It prints pages “sideways” compared to most laser printers, which also allows it to print on 11″ x 17″ paper.
Unlike the serial-only Personal LaserWriter 300 introduced earlier in 1993, the Personal LaserWriter 320 was an affordable laser printer with LocalTalk support.
The LaserWriter Select 360 was the only networkable model in the LaserWriter Select family. Unlike earlier LaserWriter Select models, the 360 uses a Fuji Xerox Pro printer engine, which is twice as fast and has 600 dot per inch resolution (vs. 300).
The PowerBook 165 was a grayscale version of the PowerBook 165c with a 4-bit, 16-shade passive matrix display.
Using the same case as the Quadra 800, the 840av incorporates the same AV circuitry as the Centris 660av. Running a 40 MHz CPU, this was Apple’s fastest 68040-based computer ever.
Initially introduced as the Centris 660av (the two models are identical except for the nameplate), the Quadra 660av shares the same case design as the Centris 610.
Take an LC III and graft on a 14″ Trinitron monitor along with stereo speakers. That’s what Apple did to create the 520.
The PowerBook 180c added an active matrix 256-color screen to the already popular PowerBook 180. The color screen took its toll on the battery, reducing usable life to aboone1 hour.
The PowerBook 145b replaced the PowerBook 145. It offered the same performance at a lower price. It was replaced by the 33 MHz PowerBook 150 in mid 1994.
If you want to get a real jump on performance, but you don’t want to have to buy new PowerPC ready applications, then the Turbo 040 is for you. Unlike a Power Macintosh, DayStar’s Turbo 040 radically accelerates all your current software and doesn’t require the purchase of new PowerPC versions of your applications. And […]
Earlier in 1993, Apple had introduced its low-end LaserWriter Select line, which seemed like a replacement for the Personal LaserWriter family – but here was the Personal LaserWriter 300, another low cost 4-page-per-minute serial-only QuickDraw printer similar to the Personal LaserWriter LS. Color me confused by two competing product lines!
This index covers the entire Macs II series, from the 68020-based Mac II of 1987 through the last 68030-based Mac II models. Models are listed by MacBench score, which approximates real world performance. Speedometer score is CPU rating relative to Classic (1.0 on Speedometer 3) and Quadra 605 (1.0 on Speedometer 4). model MacBench (v. SE) […]
This relatively rare variant of the LC 630 includes a DOS card with an Intel 486DX2/66 CPU, although some shipped with a Cyrix 486/70. The DOS Compatibility card can share Mac motherboard memory or use its own dedicated RAM.
Apple introduced a new case design with the Quadra 800, one later used by the Quadra 840av and two Power Macs, the 8100 and 8500. Perhaps the most frustrating case to work with, it has three front accessible drive bays. One is for the floppy drive; the others may hold CD-ROM, a DAT drive, a SyQuest mechanism, etc.
“With double its predecessor’s speed and more than triple the RAM capacity, the LC III is a significant entry into the low end of Apple’s line.” MacUser, April 1993
Essentially a PowerBook 180 with a color display, the 165c brought the first color screen to the PowerBook line. It was also the first notebook computer from any manufacturer with 256 colors on its internal display.
The end of the Classic line in the North American market, the Color Classic (a.k.a. Performa 250) shared the motherboard design of the LC II – equally limited in RAM expansion, constricted by a 16-bit data bus, and able to use 16-bit PDS cards designed for the LC. The only significant difference is the presence […]
Creating a midpoint between the Mac II line and the Quadra series, the short-lived Centris models were introduced in February 1993. The Centris 650 uses the same chassis as the IIvx, IIvi, and Performa 600.
Creating a midpoint between the Mac II line and the Quadra series, the short-lived Centris models were introduced in February 1993. The Centris 610 introduced a new case style, one that would later be used for the Centris 660av and Power Mac 6100.
