lemke@apple.com (Steve Lemke) (10/16/90)
Just in case this hasn't been posted yet, I saw this on AppleLink: For Immediate Release Contact: Kate Paisley Apple Computer, Inc (408) 974-5453 Apple Introduces Powerful, Low-Cost Macintosh IIsi FREMONT, California--October 15, 1990--Targeting personal computer users who demand power and versatility, Apple Computer, Inc. today introduced the Macintosh IIsi, a low-cost member of its high-performance Macintosh II line. This slim new modular computer delivers the most popular features of the Macintosh II line--superior performance, a wide choice of monitors, and rich expansion capabilities--but at a substantially lower price than ever before. At a suggested retail price of $3,769, the Macintosh IIsi effectively reduces the cost of Macintosh II-class performance by 35 percent. In addition, the Macintosh IIsi offers sound input capabilities that let users easily record live sound to applications and then play it back on any Macintosh. For the first time, Macintosh users will have a standard way to create documents that can "speak" to the reader. These features, combined with its low price and unsurpassed Macintosh ease-of-use, position the MacintoshJIIsi as the computer of choice for customers who must balance power and affordability. "As the most powerful computer in our new suite of low cost products, we expect the Macintosh IIsi to be a very popular choice among current customers and new customers alike," said Randy Battat, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "When you consider its high-performance, ease-of-use, range of built-in features, and great applications support, no other computer on the market today has a more effective combination of overall performance and low price in one box." Power and Expandability At the heart of the Macintosh IIsi is a Motorola 68030 microprocessor running at 20-megahertz (MHz). This microprocessor includes a built-in Memory Management Unit (MMU), as well as instruction and data caches, making the Macintosh IIsi one of the quickest and most responsive Macintosh systems available. The MMU is required to run A/UX, Apple's version of the UNIX operating system. In addition, the Macintosh IIsi supports an optional Motorola 68882 floating point coprocessor (FPU) that greatly improves the performance--as much as 100 times--of math-intensive applications. The performance foundation of the Macintosh IIsi allows users to tackle almost any computing task--from basic office productivity to complex graphics illustration, database management, and engineering work. Ready for Expansion--Now and in the Future As with all Macintosh computers, the Macintosh IIsi includes a rich set of built-in expansion capabilities. These features include AppleTalk networking, which allows customers to easily connect their systems to other users, printers and file servers; Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI), which lets customers connect peripherals such as CD-ROM drives, external hard disks, and scanners; and Apple Desktop Bus (ADB), which gives customers a standard way to connect keyboards, mice, trackballs, modems, and graphics tablets. Also built into the Macintosh IIsi is one expansion slot. Users can choose to expand via an industry standard NuBus card or via an 030 Direct Slot card. The adapter card, which can be installed at any time by the user, plugs into the computer and provides an interface to the appropriate card. Once installed, users can customize their systems to take advantage of the hundreds of NuBus or 030 Direct Slot cards available for more specialized capabilities, such as support for large monitors, access to networks, graphics acceleration, or other coprocessing capabilities. An added benefit is that either adapter card includes a 68882 math coprocessor. Built-in Monitor Support To meet different needs and budgets, the Macintosh IIsi supports a wide range of monitors--from basic monochrome monitors to large color monitors--in display modes up to 24 bits or 16.7 million colors (true photographic-quality color). Built-in support for up to 256 colors and levels of gray is a standard offering on four Apple monitors: the Macintosh 12-inch RGB Display (up to 256 colors or shades of gray), the AppleColor High-Resolution RGB Monitor (up to 256 colors or shades of gray), the Macintosh 12-inch Monochrome Display (up to 256 shades of gray), or the Apple Macintosh Portrait Display (up to 16 shades of gray). Like other Macintosh II computers, the IIsi supports more than one monitor at a time, and other Apple and third-party monitors through an optional video expansion card. (See separate news release for detailed information on Apple's new monitors.) Sound Input Capabilities Sound is one of the most natural and effective means of communication. The ability to record, store, and play it back on the Macintosh opens up entirely new ways of communicating ideas and information with personal computers. By including a microphone and sound input capabilities standard with every Macintosh IIsi, users can include voice comments to word processing documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and even electronic mail messages with the hallmark cut-copy-paste simplicity of the Macintosh. And because all Macintosh computers already have the ability to play back sound, the millions of existing Macintosh users will be able to benefit from these sound-annotated documents as much as new users. Configurations The Macintosh IIsi is offered in two configurations: The Macintosh IIsi 2/40 has 2 megabytes (MB) of random-access memory (RAM), a built-in 1.44MB SuperDrive floppy disk drive and internal 40MB hard disk drive. The Macintosh IIsi 5/80 has 5MB of RAM, a built-in SuperDrive floppy disk drive and internal 80MB hard disk drive. SuperDrive, now standard on all Macintosh systems, provides almost twice the storage of 800K disk drives and simplifies computing in multivendor environments because it allows users to easily exchange data files between Macintosh, OS/2, MS-DOS, and Apple II ProDOS systems. As with all Macintosh computers, the Macintosh IIsi will run System 7.0, Apple's next major release of the Macintosh operating system. Both configurations come standard with mouse, microphone, complete documentation, Macintosh System Software, HyperCard 2.0 software, training disks, and a one-year limited warranty. A choice of keyboard and display is offered separately. Pricing and Availability The Macintosh IIsi is available in volume worldwide through all authorized Apple resellers. Manufacturer's suggested retail prices (MSRP) on the Macintosh IIsi and related products are as follows: Product MSRP Availability - Macintosh IIsi 2MB RAM/40MB Hard Disk $3,769 Immediate - Macintosh IIsi 5MB RAM/80MB Hard Disk $4,569 Immediate - Macintosh IIsi NuBus Adapter Card $249 Immediate - Macintosh IIsi 030 Direct Slot Adapter Card $249 November 1990 - Macintosh 12" Monochrome Monitor $299 December 1990* - Macintosh 12" RGB Monitor $599 Immediate - AppleColor Hi-Resolution RGB Monitor $999 Currently Available - Apple Macintosh Portrait Display $1,099 Currently Available - Macintosh IIsi/IIci 4MB Memory Expansion Kit $999 Currently Available - Apple Keyboard $129 Currently Available - Apple Extended Keyboard II $229 Currently Available *Existing Apple High-Resolution Monochrome Monitor is currently available. The suggested retail price is reduced to $299 effective immediately. (Prices and configurations may vary outside the United States.) -30- Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, A/UX, AppleTalk, HyperCard, ProDOS and AppleColor are registered trademarks; Apple Desktop Bus and SuperDrive are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of AT&T. NuBus is a trademark of Texas Instruments. -- ----- Steve Lemke, Engineering Quality Assurance, Radius Inc., San Jose ----- ----- Reply to: lemke@radius.com (Note: NEW domain-style address!!) -----
gillies@m.cs.uiuc.edu (10/17/90)
I can't quite understand this "Adapter Card" stuff. Do you have to upgrade to a 68882 in order to expand your macintosh?
blob@Apple.COM (Brian Bechtel) (10/17/90)
gillies@m.cs.uiuc.edu writes: >I can't quite understand this "Adapter Card" stuff. Do you >have to upgrade to a 68882 in order to expand your macintosh? There are two IIsi adapter cards, one that allows the use of NuBus cards, and one that allows the use of SE/30 processor direct slot cards. Each of these adapters comes with a 68882 as part of the adapter. The 10.16.90 MacWeek mentioned a third party, PSI Integration of San Jose, California, that will sell a SE/30 adapter card with the socket for the 68882, but no chip. This adapter would presumably cost less. --Brian Bechtel blob@apple.com "My opinion, not Apple's"
Patrick.Hayes@cediag.bull.fr (Patrick Hayes) (10/18/90)
In article <1351@radius.com> radius!lemke@apple.com (Steve Lemke) writes: >Apple Introduces Powerful, Low-Cost Macintosh IIsi Three questions: Something that was missing from the press announcement is the max memory configuration of the IIsi. >The MMU is required to run A/UX, Apple's version of the UNIX operating >system. A/UX Runs on this system? Wow! Low cost Unix! >Both configurations come standard with mouse, microphone, complete >documentation, Macintosh System Software, HyperCard 2.0 software, training ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Does this mean that HC 2.0 is now shipping? Are there immediate ways of getting ahold of it other than by buying a new Mac? Pat -- +-------------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | Patrick Hayes | EMail : Patrick.Hayes@cediag.bull.fr | | BULL CEDIAG | or hayes@bull.fr | | 68, Route de Versailles | or ...!mcvax!inria!bullfr!hayes | | F-78430 Louveciennes FRANCE | Tel : (33 1) 39 02 49 55 | +-------------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
francis@magrathea.uchicago.edu (Francis Stracke) (10/20/90)
In article <70400080@m.cs.uiuc.edu> gillies@m.cs.uiuc.edu writes: > >I can't quite understand this "Adapter Card" stuff. Do you >have to upgrade to a 68882 in order to expand your macintosh? I wouldn't have put it that way--if I get a Mac, I WILL get one with an FPU, & other expansion will be unimportant--but, yes, that does seem to be what it means. The bit about being able to use NuBus or Direct Slot is probably pretty silly. I wish Apple had settled on one or the other (pref. NuBus, since only the 030 had the DS before) & put it in from the start. [Donning asbestos suit & ring of fire resistance] I really doubt there's anything major out there that goes in a Direct Slot that isn't available in a NuBus version. | Francis Stracke | My opinions are my own. I don't steal them.| | Department of Mathematics |=============================================| | University of Chicago | A mathematician is a professional | | francis@zaphod.uchicago.edu | schizophrenic.--Me. |
laf@mbunix.mitre.org (Lee Fyock) (10/22/90)
I have a couple of questions on the specs that were posted: 1) Why does the LC spec mention MACE, while the IIsi spec does not? 2) Why does the Mac Classic CPU spec say "Internal architecture: 32-bit" while the LC spec says nothing? What does this mean in this context? 3) What happens above 10,000 feet? Does the heat not dissipate well? Do the chips explode? :-) -------------------------------------------- Lee Fyock The MITRE Corporation laf@mbunix.mitre.org Bedford, MA
lerman@stpstn.UUCP (Ken Lerman) (10/27/90)
In article <124022@linus.mitre.org> laf@mbunix.mitre.org (Lee Fyock) writes:
->I have a couple of questions on the specs that were posted:
[...]
->3) What happens above 10,000 feet? Does the heat
->not dissipate well? Do the chips explode? :-)
->
->--------------------------------------------
->Lee Fyock The MITRE Corporation
->laf@mbunix.mitre.org Bedford, MA
The air may be too thin for the flying heads to fly on the fixed disk.
Ken