subject: Macintosh 128k - Drilling Rig And Tool Manufacturer - Oilfield Auxiliary Equipment [print this page] Features Features
The Macintosh was designed to achieve adequate graphics performance, which had previously required hardware costing over $10,000 US, at a price accessible to the middle class. This narrow goal resulted in an elegant, efficient design which traded off expandability but met or exceeded the baseline performance of its competitors.
Processor and memory
The centerpiece of the machine is an 8MHz Motorola 68000 microprocessor connected to a 128KB DRAM by a 16-bit data bus. Lack of RAM proved to be a fatal constraint to much multimedia software, and although this baseline was similar to its competitors it could not be upgraded. A 64 KB ROM chip boosts the effective memory to 192 KB, but this is offset by the display's 22 KB framebuffer, which is shared with the DMA video controller.
Back case of an unaltered original Macintosh (sold from January 1984 to September 1984). Those made after September 10, 1984 have the label "Macintosh 128k" on the back of the case.
Peripherals
The built-in display is a one-bit black-and-white, 9-inch CRT with a resolution of 512342 pixels, establishing the desktop publishing standard of 72 PPI. Expansion and networking are achieved using two standard RS-422 DE-9 serial ports named "printer" and "modem", albeit they do not support hardware handshaking. An external floppy disk drive can be added using a proprietary connector. The keyboard and mouse use simple proprietary protocols, allowing some third-party upgrades. The keyboard has no arrow keys or numeric keypad although later, a numeric keypad could be purchased separately. As with the Apple Lisa before it, the mouse has only a single button. Standard headphones can also be connected to a monaural jack. Apple also offered their 300 and 1200 bit/s modems originally released for the Apple II line. Initially the only printer available was the Apple ImageWriter. Eventually, the LaserWriter and other printers were capable of being connected using AppleTalk, Apple's built-in networking system.
Storage
The Macintosh contains a 400 kB, single-sided 3.5-inch floppy disk drive and dedicates no space to other internal mechanical storage. The Mac OS was disk-based from the beginning, as RAM had to be conserved, but this "Startup Disk" can still be temporarily ejected. (Ejecting the root filesystem remained an unusual feature of the Classic Mac OS until System 7) One floppy disk could be sufficient to store the System Software, an application, and the data files created with the application. Indeed, the 400 kB drive capacity is larger than the PC XT's 360 kB 5.25-inch drive. However, more sophisticated work environments of the time required separate disks for documents and the system installation. The Macintosh External Disk Drive (mechanically identical to the internal one, piggybacking on the same controller) was a popular add-on at 495 US$. Third-party hard drives were considerably more expensive and connected to the slower serial port (as specified by Apple), though a few manufacturers chose to use the faster non-standard floppy port. The 128K can only use the original Macintosh File System for storage.
Macintosh motherboard
Cooling
The unit does not include a fan, but instead relies on convection cooling, which made it quiet while in operation. Steve Jobs insisted that the Macintosh ship without a fan, a marketing (not engineering) decision that persisted until the introduction of the Macintosh SE in 1987. This was the source of many common and very expensive component failures in the first four Macintosh models, so much so that Larry Pina wrote two very successful how-to repair manuals, The Dead Mac Scrolls and Macintosh Repair & Upgrade Secrets. The persistent overheating, and the design of the floppy disk drive, led to the nickname "The beige toaster". This led a number of third party manufacturers to offer very profitable, self-contained, add-on fans and combination power strips, which mounted in various configurations on the top of the Mac, drawing air up through the existing vents.
Software
The Macintosh shipped with the very first System and Finder application, known to the public as "System 1.0" (actually version 0.97 in the original release, followed by 1.1). The original Macintosh saw three upgrades to both before it was discontinued. Apple recommends System 2.0 and Finder 4.2, with System 3.2 and Finder 5.3 as the maximum. System 4.0 officially dropped support for the Macintosh 128K as evidenced by its distribution on 800K floppy disks, which the 128K could not use.
The applications MacPaint and MacWrite were bundled with the Mac. Other programs available included MacProject, MacTerminal and Microsoft's Word. Programming languages available at the time included MacBASIC, MacPascal, and the Macintosh 68000 Development System. The Macintosh also came with a manual and a unique guided tour cassette tape which worked together with the guided tour diskette as a tutorial for both the Macintosh itself and the bundled applications, since almost no one had ever used a mouse before, much less manipulated a graphical user interface.
Back case label of a Macintosh made after September 10, 1984
Models
Released in 1984 as simply the Apple Macintosh, following the release of the Macintosh 512K which expanded the memory from 128KB to 512 KB, the original Macintosh was re-branded Macintosh 128K and nicknamed the 'thin Mac', and the new 512K model the 'fat Mac'. While functionally the same, as closed systems, the Macintosh and Macintosh 128K were technically two different computers, with the re-badged 128K containing a completely redesigned logicboard to easily accommodate both 128K and 512K RAM configurations during manufacture. Though the RAM was still permanently soldered to the logicboard, the new design allowed for easier, though unsanctioned, third-party upgrades to 512K than the previous model had. In addition, most of the newer models contained the 1984 revision B of the ROM to accommodate changes in the 400K floppy disk drive.
The increased RAM was vitally important for the Macintosh as it finally allowed for powerful software applications such as the popular program Microsoft Multiplan (eventually replaced by Microsoft Excel.) However, Apple continued to market the 128K for over a year as an entry-level computer, to the mid-level 512K and high end Lisa (and claiming it could be easily expanded should the user ever need more RAM).
Expansion
The Macintosh 128K was severely limited by a lack of upgrades. With cost as the dominant driving force behind its engineering, there was no provision for an upgrade card. Improving on the hard-wired RAM thus required a motherboard replacement (which unfortunately was priced similarly to a new computer), or a third-party chip replacement upgrade, which was not only expensive but would void Apple's warranty. The difficulty of fitting software into its free memory discouraged software vendors from supporting it, leaving the 128K with a relatively small software library. Whereas the Macintosh Plus, and to a lesser extent the Macintosh 512K, are compatible with much later software, the 128K is limited to specially crafted programs. In fact due to the lack of memory, Apple intentionally chose to exclude the 128K from three of its most important early developments, effectively orphaning it from the rest of the Macintosh family: The Hard Disk 20 (Apple's first hard drive for the Macintosh), 800K floppy disk drive and AppleShare (Apple's built-in networking file sharing technology), all of which required the Hierarchical File System introduced in September 1985, which the 128K could not use with its limited RAM. This made it more of an appliance than the rest of the Macintosh series, to the chagrin of many customers who expected a well-rounded entry-level computer. As a result, the 128K generally "felt" like a hybrid between its 8-bit ancestors and more capable successors.
OEM upgrades
Apple did provide an expensive "official" upgrade path for the Macintosh 128K, which included a motherboard replacement effectively making it a Macintosh 512K, for the price of $995. Additionally, Apple offered an 800K floppy disk drive kit, including updated 128K ROMs, which required the 512K logic board upgrade, resulting in a Macintosh 512Ke. Finally, the upgraded 128K-to-512Ke could be upgraded to a Macintosh Plus by swapping the logicboard as well as the case back (to accommodate the slightly different port configuration) and optionally adding the Macintosh Plus extended keyboard. Any of the kits could be purchased alone or together at any time, to upgrade the Macintosh 128K piecemeal or all-at-once. All upgrades were required to be performed by professional Apple technicians.
Credits
The original Macintosh was unusual in that it included the signatures of the Macintosh Division as of early 1982 molded on the inside of the case. The names were Peggy Aleixo, Colette Askeland, Bill Atkinson, Steve Balog, Bob Belleville, Mike Boich, Bill Bull, Matt Carter, Berry Cash, Debbie Coleman, George Crow, Donn Denman, Christopher Espinosa, Bill Fernandez, Martin Haeberli, Andy Hertzfeld, Joanna Hoffman, Rod Holt, Bruce Horn, Hap Horn, Brian Howard, Steven Jobs, Larry Kenyon, Patti King, Daniel Kottke, Angeline Lo, Ivan Mach, Gerald Manock, Mary Ellen McCammon, Vicki Milledge, Mike Murray, Ron Nicholson Jr, Terry Oyama, Benjamin Pang, Jef Raskin, Brian Robertson, Dave Roots, Patricia Sharp, Burrell Smith, Bryan Stearns, Lynn Takahashi, Randy Wigginton, Linda Wilkin, Woz, Pamela Wyman, Laszlo Zidek, and two others.
Timeline of compact Macintosh models
See also: Timeline of Apple Macintosh models
See also: Compact Macintosh
See also
Mini vMac Macintosh 128k emulator
Technical information on the Mac 128K
1984 (television commercial)
References
^ a b Linzmayer, Owen W. (2004). [www.owenink.com Apple Confidential 2.0]. No Starch Press. pp.113. ISBN 1-59327-010-0. www.owenink.com.
^ "The Macintosh Product Introduction Plan". http://library.stanford.edu/mac/primary/docs/pip83.html.
^ Macintosh 128K: Technical Specifications
^ System Software: Configs for Mac 128K, XL, 512, & 512KE (7/94)
^ History of computer design: Apple Macintosh
^ a b Apple Shafts America; or, The Computer For the Rich of Us
^ Polsson, Ken (2009-07-29). "Chronology of Apple Computer Personal Computers". http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/applehis/appl1984.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-27. See May 3, 1984.
^ Chronology of IBM Personal Computers
^ More Mac Bits
^ What's Nu with VME for Mac?
^ Re: Power Supply Troubles?
^ Programs for the MAC
^ Apple policy on software developers
^ 400K Drive Problem/Cure: Fails to Read/Write or MacTest
^ Re: Mac Gripes
^ Cost of Macintosh 512K Upgrade
External links
Full Macintosh 128K specifications, Apple Computer
Macintosh 128K profile, Low End Mac.
Mac 128K Information page at Mac512.com
Original Review of the Macintosh by Lawrence J. Magid (January 29, 1984)
Mac Essentials,Lost 1984 Videos
The Vintage Mac Museum: Mac 128k Slideshows
Apple Macintosh before System 7 Macintosh 128K Hardware
Tips For the 128K Support For 128K Diehard Users
The M0001 Registry Owners of Vintage Macintosh
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Apple Model Navigation
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Apple hardware before 1998
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Lisa
Lisa Lisa 2 Macintosh XL
Compact Macintosh
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Macintosh II
II IIx IIcx IIci IIfx IIsi IIvi (Performa 600) IIvx
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Input devices
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Networking
Apple II Communications Card Apple Modems LocalTalk network adapter Comm slot cards GeoPort Telecom Adapters
Printers
Thermal (SilenType, Scribe Printer) Impact (Dot Matrix Printer, ImageWriter, ImageWriter II, ImageWriter LQ) LaserWriter (LaserWriter, Plus, IISC, IINT, IINTX, IIf, IIg, 4/600 PS, 16/600 PS, 12/640 PS, 8500) Personal LaserWriter (SC, LS, NT, NTR, 300, 320) LaserWriter Pro (600, 630, 810) LaserWriter Select (300, 310, 360) Color LaserWriter (12/600 PS, 12/660 PS) StyleWriter (StyleWriter, II, 1200, Portable) Color Printer Color StyleWriter (Pro, 2400, 2200, 1500, 2500, 4100, 4500, 6500)
