Dinosaur Sighting: The original Apple Macintosh Classic
Image 1 of 14
It is official
It is official
The Apple Mac Classic is one of the most famous and easily recognizable personal computers ever manufactured. First introduced in 1990, the Mac Classic was Apple’s low-end under $1,000 computer, which made it very popular with the education market. In the next few weeks, we’ll be Cracking Open this classic computer to examine what makes it tick.
Portable
Portable
Our Mac Classic arrived inside its very own carrying case. This case must have been designed specifically for the Mac – it fits perfectly.
Bagged and ready
Bagged and ready
The bag has compartments for the keyboard, mouse, software, and books. I think I like this solution better than the portables we cracked open earlier:
I know that look
I know that look
The shape of the Apple Mac is an icon of personal computing. You can’t mistake it.
In the back
In the back
The back of the Apple Mac Classic is where you find your peripheral ports – standard practice even today.
Goop
Goop
Moving in on the ports, you can see our Mac has some sticky substance leaking from the vents. We will have to investigate that when we Crack It Open.
Left ports
Left ports
Working left to right we have the keyboard/mouse port, a port for an external floppy drive, and a SCSI port for a scanner (or other device).
Right ports
Right ports
Again working left to right, we have the SCSI port, ports for a printer and modem, and an audio jack.
July 1990
July 1990
Our Apple Mac Classic was manufactured in July 1990.
But there is only one button
But there is only one button
The famous one button mouse. My Logitech MX810 Gaming mouse I have at home has eight buttons.
It works!
It works!
It works. The Mac boots up no problem and welcomes me to cult.
Monochrome screen
Monochrome screen
The Macintosh has a monochrome display, but my XT clone ran 16 colors at that time I believe. (Maybe it was only eight.) I would guess color would raise the price too much for the market the Classic was trying to reach.
Chessmaster
Chessmaster
So we meet again my old nemesis.
I had Chessmaster 3000 at one time and it used to kick my butt regularly.
It is a classic
It is a classic
The Apple Macintosh Classic is just that — classic. With its small desktop footprint I can understand why it would appeal to many. The IBM XT I had at this same 1990s time period was huge, made out of steel, and weighed a ton.
