TechStuff TechStuff Classic: The Macintosh Story Part 2
Dec 22, 2023
Explore the transformation of the Macintosh from a low-priced to an expensive alternative, the positive initial reviews and sales challenges, the lack of applications and CEO transition, the journey through Apple's history including the landfill incident, the Macintosh 512 and the evolution of desktop publishing, the development and high price of the portable Macintosh, the decline and Motorola processors, and Apple's search for a next-generation operating system.
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GUI Made Macs Intuitive But Memory Starved
- Early reviews praised the Mac GUI as transformational because novices could learn it in about half an hour.
- The trade-off: System software consumed most RAM, leaving the original Mac ~128KB able to hold only ~8.5 pages of text.
Apple Buried The Failed Macintosh XL In A Landfill
- Apple rebranded the failed Lisa as the Macintosh XL/Excel to offload inventory but discontinued it by April 1985.
- Unsold units later sat in warehouses and many were buried in a Utah landfill in 1989.
Fat Mac And LaserWriter Created Desktop Publishing
- The Mac 512 (Fat Mac) fixed memory limits with 512KB RAM, enabling real apps like Aldus PageMaker and starting desktop publishing.
- Combined with the LaserWriter printer, Macs became creator tools despite high hardware prices.