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Inside the Macintosh 128K
Posted by Philipp Esselbach on: 12/18/2012 09:32 AM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
Hardware Secrets take an in-depth look at one of the most iconic computers of all times, the very first Macintosh
Today we are going to take an in-depth look at one of the most iconic computers of all times, the very first Macintosh, released in 1984. It was renamed to Macintosh 128K in September 1984, as a second version of the Macintosh with 512 kB was to be released in 1985.
Its historical importance comes from the fact that it was the first computer targeted to end-users to come with an operating system that had a graphical interface, a mouse, and a 3.5” 400 kB floppy disk drive (at the time, most computers used 5.25” 360 kB floppy disk drives). It had a 9-inch black-and-white video monitor with a resolution of 512 x 342. It had 128 kB of RAM and was based on the Motorola 68000 microprocessor, which was one of the most powerful CPUs available at the time.
The computer didn’t come with a hard drive, so the operating system and programs had to be loaded through floppy disks. All the time, we see people listing old Macs on eBay, saying that it is “defective” because the operating system is not loading and the computer is showing an icon with a floppy disk and a question mark. (The person selling the computer does not realize that old computers didn’t come with a hard drive.) This is the normal behavior of the computer when it doesn’t find a floppy containing the operating system, and it means the computer is working as expected.
Its historical importance comes from the fact that it was the first computer targeted to end-users to come with an operating system that had a graphical interface, a mouse, and a 3.5” 400 kB floppy disk drive (at the time, most computers used 5.25” 360 kB floppy disk drives). It had a 9-inch black-and-white video monitor with a resolution of 512 x 342. It had 128 kB of RAM and was based on the Motorola 68000 microprocessor, which was one of the most powerful CPUs available at the time.
The computer didn’t come with a hard drive, so the operating system and programs had to be loaded through floppy disks. All the time, we see people listing old Macs on eBay, saying that it is “defective” because the operating system is not loading and the computer is showing an icon with a floppy disk and a question mark. (The person selling the computer does not realize that old computers didn’t come with a hard drive.) This is the normal behavior of the computer when it doesn’t find a floppy containing the operating system, and it means the computer is working as expected.
Inside the Macintosh 128K
