Macintosh LC
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The Macintosh LC was a model of Macintosh computer manufactured by Apple Computer. The name was then used for a line of low-end Macintosh computers over the next several years. The original Mac LC — low-cost color — was released in 1990, primarily for the education and home markets. Together with the Mac IIsi, it introduced built-in audio input on the Mac.
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History
Macintosh computers, especially the color Macs starting with the Macintosh II in 1987, had always been rather expensive computers with large profit margins. The original LC was an attempt at an affordable Macintosh. Compared with earlier Macs, Apple cut some corners on performance and features in order to keep the price down. Notably, the LC used a very small "pizza box" case with no NuBus slots; it had only a 68020 microprocessor and had no floating-point coprocessor; and it shipped with only 256k of VRAM therefore only supporting a display resolution of 512 pixels by 384 pixels at 8 bit color. The VRAM was upgradeble to 512k though, supporting a display resolution of 512 pixels by 384 pixels at 16 bit color or 640 pixels by 480 pixels at 8 bit color. Regardless Most LCs were purchased with an Apple 12in RGB Monitor with a set resolution of 512 pixels by 384 pixels. Many software programs that had been built for other color Macs assumed that the minimum screen size was 640 pixels by 480 pixels. Some programs simply wouldn't function correctly on the LC because of this, and moving forward, software developers for several years had the extra headache of supporting this smaller screen resolution in order to guarantee that users with LCs could use their software.
Despite the LC's lack of NuBus slots, it did come with a PDS (Processor Direct Slot). This was primarily intended for the Apple IIe Card, which was offered with education models of the LC's. The card allowed the LC's to emulate an Apple IIe. The combination of the low-cost color Macintosh and Apple IIe compatibility was intended to encourage the education market's transition from Apple II models to Macintoshes.
The Mac LC sold well, and in 1992 was replaced by the LC II, which had slightly better performance (and virtual memory), and sold even better. This spawned a whole series of LC models, most of which later were sold both with the LC name to the education world, and as Performa to the consumer market. (For example, the LC 475 was also sold as the Performa 475.) All PowerPC-based LC models were sold as "Power Macintosh xxxx LC" (and as "Performa xxxx"). The LC line lived on until the iMac was released in 1998. The LC 580 was notable for being the last Motorola 68k-based Macintosh of any kind. All systems after that one used PowerPC processors.
LC models
"Pizza boxes"
- Macintosh LC (1990)
- Macintosh LC II (1992) – aka Performa 400, Performa 405, Performa 410, Performa 430
- Macintosh LC III (1993) – aka Performa 450
- Macintosh LC III+ (1993) – aka Performa 460, Performa 466, Performa 467
- Macintosh LC 475 (1993) – officially Quadra 605, aka Performa 475, Performa 476
All-in-one
- Macintosh LC 520 (1993)
- Macintosh LC 550 (1994) – aka Performa 550, Performa 560
- Macintosh LC 575 (1994) – aka Performa 575, Performa 576, Performa 577, Performa 578
- Macintosh LC 580 (1995) – aka Performa 580CD, Performa 588CD
- Power Macintosh 5200 LC (1995) – aka Performa 5200CD, Performa 5210CD, Performa 5215CD, Performa 5220CD
- Power Macintosh 5260 LC (1996) – aka Performa 5260CD, Performa 5270CD
- Power Macintosh 5300 LC (1995) – aka Performa 5300CD, Performa 5320CD
- Power Macintosh 5400 LC (1996) – aka Performa 5400CD, Performa 5410CD, Performa 5420CD, Performa 5430CD, Performa 5440CD, Performa 5420 (black case)
Regular desktop
- Macintosh LC 630 (1994) – officially Quadra 630, aka Performa 630, Performa 630CD, Performa 631CD, Performa 635CD, Performa 636, Performa 636CD, Performa 637CD, Performa 638CD, Performa 640CD
External link
- Apple-History.com (http://www.apple-history.com/)fr:Macintosh LC