Tag: 1993

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Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) Mouse II (M2706, 1993)

The Apple Desktop Bus Mouse II transformed the angular blocky designs to a curved teardrop shape. This basic shape is still used in mouse designs today by Apple and others. This mouse was included with Macintosh computers from 1993–1998 when the original iMac was introduced.

The Apple Desktop Bus Mouse II matched the platinum gray color of Macintosh computers at the time. However, a black version of this mouse was included with the Macintosh TV and the Performa 5420 (sold only in Europe and Asia).

Four different variations of the Apple Desktop Bus II Mouse are in my collection. The three platinum gray color versions have different color trackballs, and one has no label (with the product numbers cast directly into the plastic). The fourth example is the black Apple Desktop Bus II Mouse included with the Macintosh TV.

Source: Wikipedia.com

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Macintosh Color Classic (1993)

The Macintosh Color Classic was the last of the classic all-in-one Macintosh designs adding a color screen and fresh interpretation of the classic boxy design of its predecessors. At the same time, it shared similar design language as the Macintosh LC 520 and LC 575, but in a smaller form factor.

The Macintosh Color Classic featured a 10-inch Trinitron CRT display at 512×384 in 8-bit color. True to the classic design, it included a 1.44 MB auto-inject SuperDrive (floppy drive), but unlike the original Macintosh computers, the Color Classic housed an internal 40-160 MB hard drive.

The original price of the Macintosh Color Classic was $1,399.

Source: EveryMac.com


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PowerBook 165c (1993)

The PowerBook 165c was the third in a series of PowerBook 160 laptops (160, 165, and 165c). The laptop featured a 33 MHz 68030 processor, 4 MB of RAM, either an 80 MB or 160 MB hard drive, and an internal 1.44 MB floppy drive. 

The screen was an 8.9-inch color passive-matrix display. The “c” in the PowerBook 165c name referred to the color screen that supported 8-bit color on both the internal display and on an external monitor. The laptop could support a dual or mirrored display, the first PowerBook to offer this capability.

The PowerBook 165c was among the first, but not the first color Macintosh laptop. The PowerBook Duo 210 and 230 were the first color Macintosh laptops that were released four months before the PowerBook 165c.

Source: EveryMac.com.

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Macintosh TV (1993)

I acquired my Macintosh TV in the early 2000s in an eBay purchase. This 1993 Macintosh is said to be among the most rare with sources reporting between 8,000 and 10,000 manufactured. The machine is based upon the Macintosh LC 520, but it came standard with a TV and FM tuner card with a remote control. The computer was Apple’s first computer to ship standard with a cable-ready (BNC port) television built in.

One of the rare elements about this computer is that it was all black, including the ADB mouse and keyboard, both the standard issue at the time of manufacture. At the time, all other Macintosh computers were beige.

The CD player uses a tray cartridge design. To insert a CD, you remove the tray, open the clear plastic tray lid, insert the CD, and then insert the tray cartridge into the CD slot. The CD slot is labeled “CD Caddy.”

When I did the photo shoot for my Macintosh TV, I noticed that rust had formed around the serial and printer ports in the back of the computer. I removed the back and slid out the motherboard to found that the internal battery had ruptured and corroded many of the surrounding parts. I cleaned the inside of the board and removed the battery. I also didn’t attempt to start the computer since several components on the board were affected.

Source: EveryMac.com.