Macintosh 128K
The Macintosh, later rebranded as the Macintosh 128K, is the original Macintosh personal computer, from Apple. It is the first successful mass-market all-in-one desktop personal computer with a graphical user interface, built-in screen, and mouse. It was pivotal in establishing desktop publishing as a general office function. The motherboard, a 9 in (23 cm) CRT monochrome monitor, and a floppy drive are in a beige case with integrated carrying handle; it has a keyboard and single-button mouse. The Macintosh was introduced by a television commercial titled "1984" during Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984,[6] and directed by Ridley Scott. Sales were strong at its initial release on January 24, 1984, at $2,495 (equivalent to $7,300 in 2023), and reached 70,000 units on May 3, 1984.[7] Upon the release of its successor, the Macintosh 512K, it was rebranded as the Macintosh 128K. The computer's model number is M0001.[8]
For the Macintosh computer line as a whole, see Mac (computer).Also known as
Macintosh
US$2,495 (equivalent to $7,300 in 2023)
October 1, 1985[3]
Motorola 68000 @ 7.8336 MHz (6 MHz effectively)[5]
128 KB RAM
3+1⁄2 inch floppy disk
9 in (23 cm) monochrome, 512 × 342
Height: 13.6 in (35 cm)
Width: 9.6 in (24 cm)
Depth: 10.9 in (28 cm)
16.5 lb (7.5 kg)
Peripherals[edit]
The built-in display is a one-bit per pixel, black-and-white, 9 in/23 cm CRT with a fixed resolution of 512 × 342 pixels, using the Apple standard of 72 ppi (pixels per inch),[42] a standard that was quickly abandoned once higher resolution screens became available. Expansion and networking are achieved using two non-standard DE-9 serial ports named "Printer" and "Modem" that support the RS-422 standard, but do not support hardware handshaking. An external floppy disk drive can be added using a proprietary connector (19-pin D-sub).
The keyboard used a simple proprietary protocol, allowing some third-party upgrades. The mouse used standard quadrature signals for X and Y, and the single mouse button used a single wire (all signals were compatible with TTL and referenced to ground). The original keyboard had no arrow keys, numeric keypad or function keys. This was an intentional decision by Apple, as these keys were common on older platforms and it was thought that the addition of these keys would encourage software developers to simply port their existing applications to the Mac, rather than design new ones around the GUI paradigm.[43] Later, Apple made a numeric keypad available for the Macintosh 128K. The keyboard sold with the newer Macintosh Plus model included the numeric keypad and arrow keys, but still no function keys. Function keys eventually appeared in 1987 with the Extended Keyboard available for the Macintosh II and Macintosh SE. As with the Apple Lisa before it, the mouse has a single button.
Standard headphones can be connected to a monaural jack on the back of the computer. Apple also offered their 300 and 1200 baud modems originally released for the Apple II line. Initially, the only printer available was the Apple ImageWriter, a dot matrix printer which was designed to produce 144 dpi WYSIWYG output from the Mac's 72 dpi screen. Eventually, the LaserWriter and other printers were capable of being connected using AppleTalk, Apple's built-in networking system.
Cooling[edit]
The unit did not include a fan, relying instead on convective heat transfer, which made it quiet while in operation. Steve Jobs insisted that the Macintosh ship without a fan, which persisted until the introduction of the Macintosh SE in 1987. Jobs believed that computers equipped with fans tend to distract the user from completing work.[44] Unfortunately, this was allegedly a source of many common, costly component failures in the first four Macintosh models. This was enough of a problem to prompt the introduction of several third-party, external cooling fan solutions such as the MacFan, the Mac N Frost, the Fanny Mac and the Kensington System Saver. These units fitted inside the Macintosh's carrying-handle slot and produced a forced draft through the computer's existing ventilation holes.[45][46]
Models[edit]
The computer was released in January 1984 as simply the Apple Macintosh. Following the release of the Macintosh 512K in September, which expanded the memory from 128 KB to 512 KB, the original Macintosh was re-branded Macintosh 128K and nicknamed the "thin Mac". The new 512K model was nicknamed 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 logic board to easily accommodate both 128 KB and 512 KB RAM configurations during manufacturing. Though the RAM was still permanently soldered to the logic board, the new design allowed for easier (though unsanctioned) third-party upgrades to 512 KB. In addition, most of the newer models contained the 1984 revision B of the ROM to accommodate changes in the 400 KB floppy disk drive.[49] System software contains support for an unreleased Macintosh 256K.[50]
The increased RAM of the 512K was vitally important for the Macintosh as it finally allowed for more powerful software applications, such as the then-popular Microsoft Multiplan. However, Apple continued to market the Macintosh 128K for over a year as an entry-level computer, the mid-level Macintosh 512K and high-end Lisa (and claiming that it could be easily expanded should the user ever need more RAM).
The difficulty of fitting software into the Macintosh 128K's limited free memory, coupled with the new user interface and event-driven programming model, discouraged software vendors from supporting it. The Macintosh 128K was left with a relatively small software library, limited to a set of early and specially crafted programs. The later Macintosh 512K and Macintosh Plus are compatible with a wider range of software, with the Macintosh Plus maintaining compatibility with much later programs.
Expansion[edit]
Jobs stated that because "customization really is mostly software now ... most of the options in other computers are in Mac", unlike the Apple II the Macintosh 128K did not need slots; he described expansion slots as costly and requiring larger size and more power.[51] It was not officially upgradable by the user and only Apple service centers were permitted to open the case.[52] There were third parties that did offer RAM upgrades and even memory and CPU upgrades, allowing the original 128 KB Macintosh to be expanded to a 4 MB 32-bit data path, 68020 CPU (16 MHz), 68881 FPU (16 MHz), 68851 MMU (16 MHz) with an external SCSI port (with a ribbon cable out the clock battery door, internal SCSI hard drive (20 MB Rodime) and a piezo-electric fan for cooling. This upgrade was featured on a Macworld magazine cover titled "Faster than a Vax" in August 1986.[53]
All accessories were external, such as the MacCharlie that added IBM PC compatibility.[54] There was no provision for adding internal storage, more RAM or any upgrade cards; however, some of the Macintosh engineers objected to Jobs's ideas and secretly developed workarounds for them. As an example, the Macintosh was supposed to have only 17 address lines on the motherboard, enough to support 128 KB of system RAM, but the design team added two address lines without Jobs's knowledge, making it possible to expand the computer to 512 KB, although the actual act of upgrading system RAM was difficult and required piggybacking additional RAM chips atop the onboard 4164 chips.
In September 1984, after months of complaints over the Mac's inadequate RAM, Apple released an official 512 KB machine (The Macintosh 512K). Although this had always been planned from the beginning, Steve Jobs maintained if the user desired more RAM than the Mac 128 provided, he should simply pay extra money for a Mac 512 rather than upgrade the computer himself. When the Mac 512 was released, Apple rebranded the original model as "Macintosh 128k" and modified the motherboard to allow easier RAM upgrades. Improving on the hard-wired RAM thus required a motherboard replacement (which 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.
A stock Mac 128K with the original 64K ROM is incompatible with either Apple's external 800 KB drive with the Hierarchical File System or Apple's Hard Disk 20. A Mac 128K that has been upgraded with the newer 128 KB ROM (called a Macintosh 128Ke) can use internal and external 800 KB drives with HFS, as well as the HD20. Both can print on an AppleShare network, but neither can do file sharing because of their limited RAM.
OEM upgrades[edit]
By early 1985, much Macintosh software required 512K of memory. Apple sold an official memory upgrade for the Macintosh 128K, which included a motherboard replacement effectively making it a Macintosh 512K, for the price of US$995.[55][56][57] Additionally, Apple offered an 800 KB floppy disk drive kit, including updated 128K ROMs. Finally, a Mac 128K could be upgraded to a Macintosh Plus by swapping the logic board 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, for a partial or full upgrade for the Macintosh 128K. All upgrades were required to be performed by professional Apple technicians,[58] who reportedly refused to work on any Macintosh upgraded to 512K without Apple's official upgrade, which at US$700 was much more expensive than about US$300 for third-party versions.[59]
Reception[edit]
Erik Sandberg-Diment of The New York Times in January 1984 stated that Macintosh "presages a revolution in personal computing". Although preferring larger screens and calling the lack of color a "mistake", he praised the "refreshingly crisp and clear" display and lack of fan noise.[61] While unsure whether it would become "a second standard to Big Blue", Ronald Rosenberg of The Boston Globe wrote in February of "a euphoria that Macintosh will change how America computes. Anyone that tries the pint-size machine gets hooked by its features".[62] The computer was indeed so compelling to buyers that one dealer in March described it as "the first $2,500 impulse item".[63]
Gregg Williams of BYTE in February found the hardware and software design (which it predicted would be "imitated but not copied") impressive, but criticized the lack of a standard second disk drive. He predicted that the computer would popularize the 3½ in floppy disk drive standard, that the Macintosh would improve Apple's reputation, and that it "will delay IBM's domination of the personal computer market." Williams concluded that the Macintosh was "the most important development in computers in the last five years. [It] brings us one step closer to the ideal of computer as appliance."[52] In the May 1984 issue Williams added, "Initial reaction to the Macintosh has been strongly, but not overpoweringly, favorable. A few traditional computer users see the mouse, the windows, and the desktop metaphor as silly, useless frills, and others are outraged at the lack of color graphics, but most users are impressed by the machine and its capabilities. Still, some people have expressed concern about the relatively small 128K-byte RAM size, the lack of any computer language sent as part of the basic unit, and the inconvenience of the single disk drive."[64]
Jerry Pournelle, also of BYTE, added that "The Macintosh is a bargain only if you can get it at the heavily discounted price offered to faculty and students of the favored 24 universities in the Macintosh consortium." He noted, however, that the Macintosh attracted people "who previously hated computers... There is, apparently, something about mice and pull-down menus and icons that appeal to people previously intimidated by A> and the like".[65]