Macintosh Plus at the Museo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología in Spain | |
Also known as | M0001A |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Apple Computer, Inc. |
Product family | Compact Macintosh |
Release date | January 16, 1986; 35 years ago |
Introductory price | US$2,599 (equivalent to $6,060 in 2019) |
Discontinued | October 15, 1990 |
Operating system | System 3.0 - 7.5.5 (except 7.5.2) |
CPU | Motorola 68000 @ 8 MHz |
Memory | 1 MB RAM, expandable to 4 MB (150 ns 30-pin SIMM) |
Display | 9 in (23 cm) monochrome, 512 × 342 |
Graphics | 72 ppi |
Dimensions | Height: 13.6 in (35 cm) Width: 9.6 in (24 cm) Depth: 10.9 in (28 cm) |
Mass | 16.5 lb (7.5 kg) |
Predecessor | Macintosh 512K Macintosh XL |
Successor | Macintosh SE Macintosh Classic |
- A massive success, the iMac stood out from traditional PCs with its revolutionary design by Jonathan Ive. The enclosure for its 15-inch cathode ray tube housed all the computer's other components, along with a CD-ROM reader. And in a move seen as surprising at the time, Apple decided not to equip the machine with a floppy disk reader.
- Cathode Ray Sunshine. Note: If you get a game over, hit the reset button to try again. This is a short horror game that I developed for Fantasy Console Game Jam #3 using the Pico-8 fantasy console. This game is not suited for children or those who are easily.
Package includes: Operating System: 1 x Optical Bluetooth mouse 1 x Charge cable 1 x User manual Windows 2000/XP Windows Vista Windows 7/8/10 Mac OS X Main Features: -3 levels of DPI 800/1200/1600 -Built-in software with interface that is compatible with Bluetooth 2.0/3.0 -Frequency band: 2.4-2.4835GHz unlicensed ISM band -Receiving sensitivity: -75bm (Standard) -RF output power. It differs from more traditional Unix systems like BSD and Linux, though, in that it runs Apple's proprietary graphical API and GUI. Native OS X programs don't use the X11 API, but OS X can also run X11-based programs. See Section 7.20, “Remote Graphics” for instructions on enabling X11 for Mac. Cathode Ray Sunshine Tab by Dark Tranquillity with free online tab player. One accurate version. Recommended by The Wall Street Journal.
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.
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+1⁄2-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.
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.
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.
Cathode Ray Sunshine Mac Os 7
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. Fishbowl (erika verkaaik) mac os.
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.
![Cathode Cathode](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/macvectorsqr.png?w=600&h=600)
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]
- ^'The 25 Greatest PCs of All Time'. PCWorld. August 11, 2006. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^'History of computer design: Apple Macintosh'. Landsnail.com. May 17, 1998. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^'History of computer design: Macintosh Plus'. Landsnail.com. May 17, 1998. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^Webster, Bruce (December 1985). 'Microcomputer Color Graphics-Observations'. BYTE. p. 405. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
- ^Knight, Dan. 'ScuzzyGraph and ScuzzyGraph II'. Low End Mac. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- ^'Macintosh Plus: Technical Specifications'. Apple.
- ^'Mac Plus'. Low End Mac. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^[1]
- ^'Classic Mac Repair Notes'(PDF). 68kmla.org. Archived from the original(PDF) on June 6, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^Still Useful after All These Years -- The Mac Plus
- ^'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'
Dear Low End Mac Friends:
It’s been a while. Life and other typical duties keep one busy, but when something extraordinary comes up, there’s always time to talk about it with our community. In this article, I will be discussing an interesting piece of hardware (a display to be precise) – the RCA MM36100.
RCA MM36100 General Facts
Here’s some general facts on this 190 lb beast from the official brochure from RCA:
Take a look at the inputs on the back:
As you can see, there are 2 VGA inputs (one with standard L/R RCA stereo audio inputs and another with line-in 3.5mm stereo audio mini-jack input) on the RCA MM36100 in addition to multiple S-Video, Component Video (480i/240p), audio outputs (including speakers) as well as RF antenna and even a built-in USB hub. This monitor truly has it all!
RCA MM36100 in Action
The most amazing part of this display is how it will handle RGB video from a proper system. Here, I have my Titanium PowerBook 1.0 GHz connected to the display starting up Mac OS 9 and then playing some Doom II.
Why is the RCA MM36100 Significant?
1. Advanced menu options and adjustments without digging into special hidden modes
The RCA MM36100 allows you to perform all kinds of adjustments right out of the available menus and then have your preferences then saved as a user preset. It even has additional options on the PC VGA input to have the image be optimized for text or video. Optimized for video selected seems to be slightly sharper, but both options look impressive. Being able to make some quick adjustments to really center the Mac OS operating environment come in handy immediately.
2. I’ve never seen such a razor-sharp images for text and the OS interface on a CRT of this size before!
At 930 lines of horizontal resolution, there are Sony PVMs (Professional Video Monitors) and Sony BVMs (Broadcast Video Monitors – truly the ultimate CRT monitor) from the early 2000s that this display tends to fall between in terms of overall image quality. This RCA MM36100 is maybe right on par or dare I say – even a touch better than the average PVM, but not quite as good as a BVM. You are truly getting amazing, top-notch visuals on this display when devices of the era this display was produced are connected to it.
Where this display really wins hands-down is with its size. Only a couple PVM or BVM models were produced in this size or greater and the odds of finding a large PVM or BVM are extremely low. At 36″ on a “prosumer” (professional line consumer) display, it allowed a high quality, large size professional grade monitor to be delivered to consumers at a fairly reasonable price, which leads me to my next point.
3. It’s a far better value than Sony’s PVMs and BVMs
Besides size, the biggest differences between the PVM/BVM and the RCA MM36100 is price. Those PVMs and BVMs cost $1000s more when new. A high end 20″ PVM for example ran around $10,000, while BVMs could easily cost several times more (in excess of $30k). At an original retail of $2200, the RCA MM36100 was a fraction of the price of a 20″ PVM when it hit store shelves in the early 2000s, which leads me to my final point.
4. The RCA MM36100 is historically significant
This display was one of the very first high-definition monitors sold in the Western Hemisphere.
HDTV was available in Japan/Asia starting as early as the late-80s/early-90s, but the infrastructure to support these great new displays was not largely ready in North America (in particular the United States) until the early 00s. Many television stations and cable companies in the United States had to do a significant amount of preparation for transitioning from Analog to Digital broadcast (analog broadcast officially ended on 6/12/09), so at the time when the RCA MM36100 was being marketed and produced, not too many TV manufacturers were jumping in masses on the HD bandwagon, coupled with the fact that HD content simply was not yet being widely available yet. However, pioneering satellite company, DirectTV decided to partner with RCA and offer a solution to accompany the RCA MM36100 – the DTC100 HD satellite and over-air HD receiver. There is a very good read on this device here.
What Else Works Great with the RCA MM36100?
Going back to the fact that there are 2 VGA inputs on the back on the RCA MM36100 and one of those has a simple L/R RCA audio and VGA input meant for 480p video, there is one device that was a perfect match.
None other than the Sega Dreamcast!
The Sega Dreamcast was way ahead of its time when it released a little over 20 years ago, quite famously on 9/9/99:
What made the Dreamcast significant was a number of technological advances including being the first dedicated game console to come standard with a 56k modem and had an optional broadband adapter as well as being able to output 640x480p over VGA. A number of options exist to output VGA with the Dreamcast such as the “VGA box” that has both VGA and S-Video output using Sega’s high bandwidth video output interface on the Dreamcast to handle both options, but recent third party solutions have been able to simplify the design to a single VGA cable with L/R RCA stereo audio. Nothing could be more meant for a monitor such as the RCA MM36100 such as these cables paired with the Dreamcast:
Here’s the result when playing Dreamcast paired with the VGA cable with audio from Retro Cast and using Marvel vs Capcom 2 as a test subject:
The quality of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 over VGA on the Dreamcast on the RCA MM36100 is absolutely amazing!
I want one too! Where can I find one??
That’s the tricky part with these things. PVMs, BVMs and even presentation monitors that catered to “prosumers” like the RCA MM36100 were expensive (even though a fraction of PVM/BVM prices). At $2200, not a lot of people were willing to plunk down that kind of cash when HDTV was such a new concept and the fact that most consumer grade components that could actually take advantage of Progressive Scan video (initially 640x480p at 4:3 aspect or 720x480p at 16:9 aspect) were being made to work with Pb/Pr/Y Component Video and not VGA like the RCA MM36100 (the RCA MM36100’s Component Video input is 240p/480i capable only). As a result of pricing and limitations at the time, not a lot of these units likely sold. In fact, when I began to investigate the listing for this display, it was the first one I had ever seen. They are extremely rare. You may very well run into an ad for a PVM or BVM before you see an ad for an RCA MM36100. My advice is to look every week though on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, garage sales, e-Waste centers and maybe even the curb (I found an iMac G3 that way once).
Any other advice?
Given how rare these are, avoid any haphazard DIY repairs as you could damage internal components easily and then be completely out of luck for replacement parts if anything proprietary is damaged/destroyed. Leave repairs of these devices to professionals unless you have the proper training.
SAFETY FIRST!!
Large CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) displays can be very heavy – the RCA MM36100 weighs around 190 lbs. My 36″ Sony Trinitron KV-36HS420 weighs a whopping 235 lbs.! Always have a friend or two help you when moving up or down a flight of stairs or get a moving company to assist if you are worried about navigating it to where it needs to go. It’s not worth risking severe injury or even death over any object you have control over from a safety standpoint. Club neon mac os.
Cathode Ray Sunshine Mac Os X
In addition – never open these displays yourself without proper training. These devices need to be properly discharged. Even when unplugged, a CRT display can carry a lethal amount of electricity. Again – leave it to the professionals unless you know what you are doing and are able to follow the correct procedures.
Cathode Ray Sunshine Mac Os Catalina
GOOD LUCK ON YOUR QUEST FOR TRADITIONAL CRT COMPUTING/GAMING! It really gives you the look and feel designed for the era the technology was meant for and continues to gain steam these days for retro gaming. Supply is limited, so do your research to determine what model CRT makes the most sense for how it will be utilized with your gear!