Macintosh

Macintosh (abbrev. Mac) is a family of personal computers manufactured by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California, USA.

Named after the McIntosh, a type of apple, the Macintosh was launched in on January 24, 1984 with a famous Super Bowl commercial. It was the first computer to popularise the graphical user interface (GUI), at that time a revolutionary development in desktop computing.

History

 * See: History of the Macintosh

Early All-in-One Macs

 * Macintosh 128K
 * Macintosh 512K
 * Macintosh 512KE
 * Macintosh XL
 * Macintosh Plus
 * Macintosh SE
 * Macintosh SE/30
 * Macintosh Classic
 * Macintosh Classic II
 * Macintosh Colour Classic
 * Macintosh Colour Classic II

Macintosh TV

 * Macintosh TV

Macintosh Performa

 * Macintosh Performa 6115CD
 * Macintosh Performa 6200

iMac

 * iMac G3
 * iMac G4
 * iMac G5
 * iMac

Macintosh II Series

 * Macintosh II
 * Macintosh IIx
 * Macintosh IIfx
 * Macintosh IIcx
 * Macintosh IIci
 * Macintosh IIsi
 * Macintosh IIvx
 * Macintosh IIvi

Macintosh LC Series

 * Macintosh LC
 * Macintosh LC II
 * Macintosh LC III
 * Macintosh LC III+
 * Macintosh LC 475
 * Macintosh LC 520
 * Macintosh LC 550
 * Macintosh LC 575
 * Macintosh LC 580
 * Macintosh LC 630
 * Macintosh LC 630 DOS Compatible

Macintosh Quadra Series

 * Macintosh Quadra 700
 * Macintosh Quadra 800
 * Macintosh Quadra 840AV

Power Macintosh

 * Power Macintosh 6100
 * Power Macintosh 7100
 * Power Macintosh 7200
 * Power Macintosh 7500
 * Power Macintosh 7600
 * Power Macintosh 8100
 * Power Macintosh 8500
 * Power Macintosh 8600
 * Power Macintosh 9500
 * Power Macintosh 9600
 * Power Macintosh G3
 * Power Macintosh G4
 * Power Macintosh G5

Macintosh Portable computers

 * Macintosh Portable

PowerBook 100 Series

 * PowerBook 100
 * PowerBook 140
 * PowerBook 145
 * PowerBook 145b
 * PowerBook 150
 * PowerBook 160
 * PowerBook 165
 * PowerBook 165c
 * PowerBook 170
 * PowerBook 180
 * PowerBook 180c
 * PowerBook 190
 * PowerBook 190cs

PowerBook 200 Series (Duos)

 * PowerBook Duo 210
 * PowerBook Duo 230
 * PowerBook Duo 250
 * PowerBook Duo 270c
 * PowerBook Duo 280
 * PowerBook Duo 280c

PowerBook 500 Series

 * PowerBook 520
 * PowerBook 520c
 * PowerBook 540
 * PowerBook 540c

Early PowerPC PowerBooks

 * PowerBook 1400c
 * PowerBook 1400cs
 * PowerBook Duo 2300c
 * PowerBook 2400c
 * PowerBook 3400
 * PowerBook 5300
 * PowerBook 5300c
 * PowerBook 5300ce
 * PowerBook 5300cs

PowerPC G3 PowerBooks

 * PowerBook G3
 * PowerBook G3 Series

PowerPC G4 PowerBooks

 * Titanium PowerBook G4
 * Powerbook G4 12-inch Aluminum
 * Powerbook G4 15-inch Aluminum
 * Powerbook G4 17-inch Aluminum

PowerPC G3 iBooks

 * iBook G3

PowerPC G4 iBooks

 * iBook G4

MacBook Pro computers

 * 15-inch MacBook Pro
 * 17-inch MacBook Pro

Acronym
If "Macintosh" were an acronym, some say it would stand for "Many Applications Crash, If Not, The Operating System Hangs". While this was true for pre Mac OS 9 systems, it is less true for Mac OS 9, and totally incorrect for Mac OS X, which has protected memory, so even if one application crashes, the system and other applications are unaffected.

Differences from Windows PCs
One difference between the early Windows PCs and the Macintosh was that the Windows PC was aimed and optimized for a single user. The primary use for the Windows PC was business. The "killer app" for the Windows PC was a spreadsheet.

The Macintosh had more emphasis on teamwork. So, even the early Macintosh computers were easy to network using AppleTalk. And several early groupware applications were written for the Mac. The Macintosh programs tended to be aimed at a younger audience and included many educational activities.

Another difference was that the early Macs had more support for graphic or visual design work. (See WYSIWYG.)

Sources and References

 * Wikipedia: Apple Macintosh
 * Macintosh from FOLDOC

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