Macintosh II: Difference between revisions

| lifespan = March 2, 1987 -– January 15, 1990 (2 years, 10 months, and 13 days) <ref>[https://www.timeanddate.com/date/durationresult.html?m1=03&d1=02&y1=1987&m2=01&d2=15&y2=1990 Calculate Duration Between Two Years | March 2, 1987 to January 15, 1990]. Retrieved 15 January 2023.</ref>

The '''Macintosh II''' is a [[personal computer]] designed, manufactured, and sold by [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer]] from March 1987 to January 1990. Based on the [[Motorola 68020]] 32-bit CPU, it is the first [[Mac (computer)|Macintosh]] supporting color graphics. When introduced, a basic system with monitor and 20 MB hard drive cost {{US$|5498|1987|round=-1}}. With a 13-inch color monitor and 8-bit display card, the price was aroundabout {{US$|7145|1987|round=-1}}.<ref name="edwards">{{cite web |last1=Edwards |first1=Benj |title=The Macintosh II celebrates its 25th anniversary |url=http://www.macworld.com/article/1167123/the_macintosh_ii_celebrates_its_25th_anniversary.html |date=June 7, 2012 |website=[[Macworld]] |access-date=January 1, 2017 |archive-date=January 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102082915/http://www.macworld.com/article/1167123/the_macintosh_ii_celebrates_its_25th_anniversary.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This placed it in competition with [[workstation]]s from [[Silicon Graphics]], [[Sun Microsystems]], and [[Hewlett-Packard]].

The Macintosh II was the first computer in the Macintosh line without a built-in display; a monitor rested on top of the case like the [[IBM Personal Computer]] and [[Amiga 1000]]. It was designed by [[hardware architect|hardware engineers]] [[Michael Dhuey]] (computer)<ref>{{Cite web |title=iPod Inventor {{!}} Wisconsin Alumni Association |url=https://www.uwalumni.com/news/ipod-inventor/ |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=www.uwalumni.com |language=en}}</ref> and Brian Berkeley (monitor)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Werner |first=Ken |date=March 2021 |title=Brian Berkeley Reflects on His Career at Apple, Samsung, and SID |url=https://sid.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/msid.1202 |journal=Information Display |language=en |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=52–57 |doi=10.1002/msid.1202 |issn=0362-0972}}</ref> and [[industrial designer]] [[Hartmut Esslinger]] (case).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pavic |first=Vjeran |date=2019-06-26 |title=A photo history of Frog, the company that designed the original Mac |url=https://www.theverge.com/design/2019/6/26/18758789/apple-mac-design-snow-white-frog-polk-photo-essay |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=The Verge |language=en}}</ref><ref name=levy_making_of>{{cite magazine |last=Levy|first=Steven|author-link=Steven Levy|date=May 1987|title=The Making of the Macintosh II|magazine=Macworld|issn=0741-8647|publisher=PCW Communications|location=San Francisco|pages=55-63|url=https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_8705_May_1987/page/n58|access-date=31 July 2024}}</ref>

Eighteen months after its introduction, the Macintosh II was updated with a more powerful CPU and sold as the [[Macintosh IIx]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Apple Announces 68030 Macintosh IIx With High Density Compatible Drive |url=https://www.tech-insider.org/mac/research/1988/0919.html |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=www.tech-insider.org}}</ref> In early 1989, the more compact [[Macintosh IIcx]] was introduced at a price similar to the original Macintosh II,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Magid |first=Lawrence J. |date=1989-03-09 |title=Mac IIcx--the Core of the Future |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-09-fi-1230-story.html |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> and by the beginning of 1990 sales stopped altogether.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pogue |first=David |url=http://archive.org/details/macworldmacsecre00pogu |title=Macworld Mac SECRETS |last2=Schorr |first2=Joseph |date=1999 |publisher=Foster City, CA : IDG Books Worldwide |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7645-4040-0 |pages=22}}</ref> Motherboard upgrades to turn a Macintosh II into a IIx or [[Macintosh IIfx]] were offered by Apple.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pina |first=Larry |url=https://vintageapple.org/macbooks/pdf/Macintosh_II_Repair_and_Upgrade_Secrets_1991.pdf |title=Macintosh II Repair and Upgrade Secrets |publisher=Brady Publishing |year=1991 |isbn=0-1 3-929530-5 |location=New York |pages=171}}</ref>

The Macintosh II project was begun by Dhuey and Berkeley during 1985 without the knowledge of Apple co-founder and Macintosh division head [[Steve Jobs]], who opposed [[expansion slot]]s and color, on the basis that expansion slots complicated the user experience and that color did not conform to [[WYSIWYG]], as color printers were not common.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catb.org/esr/writings/taouu/html/ch02s07.html|title=The Color Convergence|access-date=January 28, 2015|archive-date=March 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150301025128/http://www.catb.org/esr/writings/taouu/html/ch02s07.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Jobs instead wanted higher-resolution monochrome displays,<ref name="webster198512">{{cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1985-12/1985_12_BYTE_10-13_Computer_Conferencing#page/n363/mode/2up | title=Microcomputer Color Graphics-Observations | magazine=[[Byte (magazine)|BYTE]] | date=December 1985 | volume = 10 | issue = 13| access-date=28 October 2013 | author=Webster, Bruce | author-link=Bruce Webster| pages=405–418}}</ref> such as the ones chosen for his own "[[BigMacBig Mac (workstationcomputer)|BigMac]]" project begun in 1984 to develop a Macintosh successor.<ref name="le BigMacaventure">{{citeCite web |title=Le prototype « Big Mac » d’Apple |trans-title=Apple's "Big Mac" prototype |url=https://www.aventure-apple.com/le-big-mac-apple/ |titleurl-status=Lelive prototype|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304034707/https://www.aventure-apple.com/le-big-mac-apple/ «|archive-date=4 BigMarch Mac »2024 d'Apple|website=l’AventureL'Aventure Apple |access-datelanguage=2023-02-27fr}}</ref>

Initially referred to as "Little Big Mac", the Macintosh II was codenamed "[[Milwaukee]]" after Dhuey's hometown, and it later went through a series of new names. After Jobs was fired from Apple in September 1985, the Milwaukee project could proceed openly (while Jobs' own [[BigMac (workstation)|BigMac]] project was finally cancelled).<ref name="le BigMacaventure" />

}}</ref> Retailing for US $5,498,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://macgui.com/usenet/?group=14&id=1509|title=Mac GUI :: Macintosh II and Macintosh SE announced|website=macgui.com|access-date=April 11, 2018|archive-date=March 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329161221/http://macgui.com/usenet/?group=14&id=1509|url-status=live}}</ref> the Macintosh II was the first modular Macintosh model, so called because it came in a horizontal desktop case like many [[IBM PC compatible]]s of the time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of computer design: Macintosh II |url=https://www.landsnail.com/apple/local/design/mac2.html |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=www.landsnail.com}}</ref> Previous Macintosh computers use an [[Compact Macintosh|all-in-one design]] with a built-in black-and-white [[cathode-ray tube|CRT]].

The Macintosh II has [[drive bay]]s for an internal hard disk (originally 40 MB or 80 MB) and an optional second floppy disk drive.<ref name=":0" /> It, along with the [[Macintosh SE]], was the first Macintosh to use the [[Apple Desktop Bus]] (ADB) introduced with the [[Apple IIGS]] for keyboard and mouse interface.<ref name="macintosh-hardware">{{cite book |author=Apple Computer, Inc |url=https://archive.org/details/apple-guide-macintosh-family-hardware/page/n357/mode/2up?view=theater |title="Guide to Macintosh Family Hardware, second edition" |date=1990 |isbn=0-201-52405-8 |page=287-288}}</ref>

The primary improvement in the Macintosh II was Color [[QuickDraw]] in [[read-only memory|ROM]], a color version of the Macintosh graphics routines. Color QuickDraw can handle any display size, up to [[8-bit color]] depth, and multiple monitors. Because Color QuickDraw is included in the Macintosh II's ROM and relies on 68020 instructions, earlier systems could not be upgraded to display color.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Surovell |first=David A. |title=Programming QuickDraw: includes color QuickDraw and 32-bit QuickDraw |last2=Hall |first2=Frederick M. |last3=Othmer |first3=Konstantin |date=1992 |publisher=Addison-Wesley |isbn=978-0-201-57019-9 |series=Macintosh inside out |location=Reading, Mass. u.a |pages=84-89}}</ref>

'''CPU''': The Macintosh II is built around the [[Motorola 68020]] processor operating at 16 [[Hertz|MHz]], teamed with a [[Motorola 68881]] [[floating-point unit]]. The machine shipped with a socket for an optional [[Motorola 68851]] [[Memory management unit|MMU]], but an "Apple HMMU Chip" (VLSI VI475 chip) was installed by default and could not implement [[virtual memory]] (instead, it translated 24-bit addresses to 32-bit addresses for the Mac OS, which would not be [[32-bit clean]] until [[System 7]]).<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/apple-guide-macintosh-family-hardware/page/n513/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Guide to the Macintosh family hardware |date=1990 |publisher=Addison-Wesley Pub. Co |isbn=978-0-201-52405-5 |editor-last=Apple Computer |edition=2nd |location=Reading, Mass |pages=476-478}}</ref>

'''Memory''': The standard memory was 1 [[megabyte]], expandable to 8 MB.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.krsaborio.net/research/1980s/88/880919_c.htm |title=Apple Announces 68030 Macintosh IIx With High Density Compatible Drive | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120908022711/http://www.krsaborio.net/research/1980s/88/880919_c.htm |archive-date=September 8, 2012 | author1=John Cook |author2=Carol Cochrane |work=Business Wire |date=19 September 1988 |access-date=September 20, 2009}}</ref> The Mac II had eight 30-pin SIMMs[[SIMM]]s, and memory was installed in groups of four (called "Bank A" and "Bank B").

The original Macintosh II did not have a [[Memory management unit|PMMU]] by default. It relied on the [[memory controller]] hardware to map the installed memory into a contiguous [[address space]]. This hardware had the restriction that the address space dedicated to Bank A must be larger than those of Bank B. Though this memory controller was designed to support up to 16 MB 30-pin SIMMs for up to 128 MB of RAM, the original Macintosh II ROMs had problems limiting the amount of RAM that could be installed to 8 MB. The Macintosh IIx ROMs that also shipped with the FDHD upgrade fixed this problem, though still do not have a 32-bit Memory Manager and cannot boot into 32-bit addressing mode under Mac OS (without the assistance of MODE32).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://db.tidbits.com/series/1193 |title=Series: The 24-bit ROM Blues |author=Adam C. Engst |website=[[Tidbits]] |date=April 22, 1991 |access-date=September 21, 2009 |archive-date=June 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608031913/http://db.tidbits.com/series/1193 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[MODE32]] contained a workaround that allowed larger SIMMs to be put in Bank B with the PMMU installed. In this case, the ROMs at boot think that the computer has 8 MB or less of RAM. MODE32 then reprograms the memory controller to dedicate more address space to Bank A, allowing access to the additional memory in Bank B. Since this makes the physical address space discontiguous, the PMMU is then used to remap the address space into a contiguous block.<ref name=":1" />

'''Graphics''': The Macintosh II includes a graphics card that supports a true-color 16.7 -million -color palette<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.old-computers.com/MUSEUM/computer.asp?c=160|title=OLD-COMPUTERS.COM : The Museum|website=www.old-computers.com|access-date=April 11, 2018|archive-date=April 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404090326/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=160|url-status=live}}</ref> and was available in two configurations: 4-bit and 8-bit. The 4-bit model supports 16 colors on a 640×480 display and 256 colors (8-bit video) on a 512×384 display, which means that [[Video random-access memory|VRAM]] was 256 KB. The 8-bit model supports 256-color video on a 640×480 display, which means that VRAM was 512 KB in size. With an optional RAM upgrade (requiring 120 [[nanosecond|ns]] [[Dual in-line package|DIP]] chips), the 4-bit version supports 640×480 in 8-bit color.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lowendmac.com/video/maciihires.html|title=Macintosh II High Resolution Video Card|date=June 7, 1989|website=lowendmac.com|access-date=April 11, 2018|archive-date=August 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829203340/http://lowendmac.com/video/maciihires.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The video card does not include hardware acceleration of drawing operations.

'''Display''': Apple offered a choice of two displays, a 12" black and white unit, and a more expensive 13" high-resolution color display based on Sony's [[Trinitron]] technology. More than one display could be attached to the computer, and objects could be easily dragged from one screen to the next. Third-party displays quickly became available. The [[Los Angeles Times]] reviewer called the color "spectacular."<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-03-02-fi-4154-story.html|title=Apple's Two New Machines Are Dandy|first=Lawrence J.|last= Magid|newspaper= Los Angeles Times|date= March 2, 1987|access-date=June 20, 2019 |url-access=limited |quote=...the color is spectacular. Unlike most color monitors, it also displays very readable text.}}</ref> The [[operating system]] [[user interface]] remained black and white even on color monitors with the exception of the Apple logo, which appeared in rainbow color.

'''Storage''': A 5.25-inch 40 MB internal [[SCSI]] hard disk was optional, as was a second internal 800 kilobyte 3.5-inch floppy disk drive.<ref name=":1" />

'''Expansion''': Six [[NuBus]] slots were available for expansion (at least one of which had to be used for a [[graphics card]], as the Mac II had no onboard graphics [[chipset]] and the OS didn't support [[Headless computer|headless]] booting). It is possible to connect as many as six displays to a Macintosh II by filling all of the NuBus slots with graphics cards. Another option for expansion included the [[Mac286]], which included an [[Intel 80286]] chip and could be used for [[MS-DOS]] compatibility.<ref name=":1" />

The original ROMs in the Macintosh II contained a bug that prevented the system from recognizing more than one megabyte of memory address space on a Nubus card. Every Macintosh II manufactured until approximately November 1987 had this defect. This happened because Slot Manager was not [[32-bit clean]].<ref name=":2">{{cite magazine |magazine=[[InfoWorld]] |date=26 October 1987 |page=47 |volume = 9 |issue = 43 |title= ROM Upgrade to fix bug in Mac II Bus | first = Laurie | last = Flynn | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_z4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA47}}</ref> Apple offered a well-publicized recall of the faulty ROMs and released a program to test whether a particular Macintosh II had the defect.<ref As a result, it is rare to find a Macintosh II with the original ROMs.{{Citation needed|datename=October":2" 2010}}/>

'''Accessories''': The Macintosh II and [[Macintosh SE]] were the first Apple computers since the [[Apple I]] to be sold without a keyboard. Instead the customer was offered a choice of the new ADB [[Macintosh keyboard#Apple (Standard) Keyboard (M0116)|Apple Keyboard]] or the [[Apple Extended Keyboard]] as a separate purchase.<ref name=":0" /> Dealers could bundle a third-party keyboard or attempt to [[upsell]] a customer to the more expensive (and higher-profit) Extended Keyboard.

'''Audio''': The Macintosh II was the first Macintosh to have the [[Chimes of Death]] accompany the [[Sad Mac]] logo whenever a serious hardware error occurred.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2003-11-30 |title=Macintosh: "Sad Macintosh" Error Code Meaning |url=http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=7748 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20090617213904/http://support.apple.com/kb/TA46376?viewlocale=en_US |archive-date=2009-06-17 |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=Apple}}</ref>