1997 – Surprising to many, the first Macs didn’t have SCSI. The Apple design team created a compact, closed box with a disk drive, CPU, monitor, 128 KB of RAM, keyboard and mouse ports, a floppy drive port, and two serial ports. The serial ports were the secret – they could support a 230.4 Kbps […]
Author Archives: Daniel Knight
Apple has done some remarkable things with its third generation Power Mac, the Beige G3s. (The first generation Power Macs used NuBus, and the second switched to PCI.) The motherboard is smaller than in earlier Power Macs, leaving room for one more drive in the same type of desktop case used for the 7200-7600.
1997: Three months ago I wrote an editorial, “Why Macs Need Parallel Ports.” It struck a nerve. In response to “To Print or Not To Print” by JM Pierce, I present an updated version.
Apple introduced the first G3-based Macintosh on November 10, 1997. The PowerBook G3, also called the 3500 or Kanga, took the proven Power Mac 3400 design and put it on overdrive.
I’m a 35mm photographer from way back. I got my first camera in ninth grade, my first SLR system in tenth, and my first new 35mm SLR less than a year later. I’ve owned and used Miranda, Minolta, and Olympus cameras, before settling on an autofocus Nikon last year.
April 1998 – The following editorial was written some months after the explosion caused by a letter from Dan Updegrove, Director of Information Technology at Yale, advising incoming students to buy Windows computers instead of Macs. In light of an article in Rumpus (no longer online), the Yale student newspaper, Low End Mac reprints the […]
1997: This is what we all want to do: Buy a new computer. The key is to remember that, compared with any 680×0-based Mac, the slowest PowerPC (PPC) Mac absolutely rocks.
Rhapsody was Apple’s code name for what eventually became Mac OS X. Yellow Box became the OS X interface, and Blue Box became the Classic Environment, which allowed OS X users to continue to use Classic Mac OS software on their PowerPC Macs through Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. Red Box, the planned PC Environment […]
1997: My, but we live in interesting times! Apple, consistently the most innovative vendor of personal computers and operating systems, has twice changed CPU platforms (from 6502-based Apple 1, II, and III to 680×0-based Lisa and Macintosh, to PowerPC-based Power Macintosh) and is on the verge of introducing a new (to Mac users) operating system […]
1997: The entire Mac world has been on a roller coaster ride for the last year. Good news: Power Computing, Motorola, Umax, Daystar, and others were making Mac OS computers. They were offering performance, features, and prices that made them a legitimate alternative to Apple’s own hardware. They seemed to be growing the Mac market […]
You’ve decided to keep your old Mac and increase its capabilities. It’s users like you that keep the add-on manufacturers in business. Modems and CD-ROMs are usually external and can easily move from one Mac to another, so I won’t be addressing them.
Since you’re here, I’ll assume you have a low-end Mac (any Mac or clone that doesn’t have a G3). There are many factors to consider in deciding whether you’re better off upgrading your current Mac or buying a newer computer.
1997 – I’ve been using Macs since 1986, when I designed a 54-page booklet on a friend’s newly upgraded Macintosh (upgraded to a Plus with 1 MB RAM!) with Aldus PageMaker 1.0 and a LaserWriter printer. I sold Macs from 1987 to 1991, seeing the introduction of the first expandable Macs (SE and II in 1987), the […]
1997: The bad news is that my phone line at home doesn’t support a digital connection. 🙁 The good news is that a 34 kbps connection is much, much faster than a 14.4 kbps one. 🙂
1997: Can You Plug All Types of People into One Type of Computer? That’s what Microsoft asks in its current print ads. Their answer: No.
1997: There’s been a whole lot written in the past week about Gil Amelio’s resignation. Most of it is a mixture of a few facts and a lot of speculation. From my perspective, these are the facts:
After 12 years making Macs using the Motorola 680×0 family of processors (and one year with Lisa before that), Apple discontinued that last 680×0-based Mac in 1996, marking the end of the Vintage Mac era.
The Village Tronic MacPicasso 320 card is a 7″ NuBus card compatible with 680×0- and PowerPC-based Macs running Mac OS 7.5 up to Mac OS 9.0.4. The MacPicasso 320 and 340 may be the only NuBus video cards to include a VGA port.
In early 1995, Apple announced that it had shipped one million Power Macs within one year of their introduction, showing an overwhelming acceptance of the new technology.
The Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS was a no compromise color laser printer with 600 dot-per-inch output, 110 lb. of weight, and gorgeous output. It uses four separate toner cartridges – black, cyan, yellow, and magenta.
1994 marked the 10th anniversary of the Macintosh, and in an unexpected development, Apple introduced its first DOS products that year.
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.
Apple addressed some little things with System 7.1, introduced in 1992. The biggest innovation was putting a Fonts folder inside the System Folder. An entire generation of Mac users has now grown up never having had to move fonts to or from the System file using Font/DA Mover.
After introducing the inexpensive Classic and LC, the workhorse IIsi, and the wicked fast IIfx in 1990, what could Apple do for an encore?
CPU-intensive applications really take off with the new Radius Rocket 68040 accelerator for NuBus machines.
SCSI Accelerator 7.0 is a set of extensions that work with a Mac Plus running System 7 and allows improved SCSI throughput. As a former Mac Plus owner, I will attest to the fact that they really do work. It’s been a few years, but I believe I had my hard drive interleaved at 2:1 […]
Apple took the “underwhelming” Mac Portable, replaced the non-backlit 9.8″ 1-bit 640 x 400 pixel active matrix screen with a backlit display, increased base RAM to 2 MB or 4 MB, lowered the memory ceiling to 8 MB, and replaced expensive the SRAM (static RAM) chips with less-expensive pseudo-SRAM.
I found this one mentioned in the July 1991 MacUser magazine, although the Dynamac IIsf had been announced in January 1991. Where the original Dynamac (1987) was essentially a portable Mac Plus, and the short-lived Dynamac SE/30 (1988) was an Mac SE/30 with a 640 x 480 8-bit video card that also supported the 1152 […]
In March 1990, Apple extended its warranty from 90 days to a full year, finally bringing it to parity with the majority of the computer industry.
The Macintosh Monochrome Display was Apple’s second 640 x 480 grayscale display for the Macintosh. It was introduced with the Mac IIsi and Mac LC in October 1990 and uses a 12″ grayscale CRT. The display was designed to perfectly match the width and curved front of the IIsi and LC.
The Macintosh 12″ RGB Display was Apple’s first lower-cost color display for the Macintosh. It was introduced with the Mac LC in October 1999 to make Apple’s first low-cost color Mac system more affordable
In January 1989 – January has always been one of Apple’s favorite months for new product releases – Apple unveiled the best ever compact Mac with a 9″ b&w display, the Macintosh SE/30.
SCSI Accelerator 2.1 is a set of INITs that work with a Mac Plus running a Mac OS earlier than System 7 and allows improved SCSI throughput. As a former Mac Plus owner, I will attest to the fact that SCSI Accelerator really does work. It’s been a few years, but I believe I had […]
The Macintosh Two-Page Monochrome Display was Apple’s first 2-page monitor for the Macintosh. The 21″ Two-Page Display was introduced with the Mac IIcx and the Macintosh Two-Page Monochrome Video Card in March 1989.
The Macintosh Portrait Display was Apple’s first full-page monitor for the Macintosh, a field Radius had pioneered with its Radius Full Page Display and matching video card in 1987.
