website/content/museum/apple-macintosh-portable.md

title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
Apple MACINTOSH Portable	Computers	Portable	U.S.A.	1989	68HC000	name image company company_name specs tabs photos emulators links comments related oc_id source MACINTOSH Portable /media/museum/photos/apple_macportable_system_s1.jpg /companies/apple Apple label value NAME MACINTOSH Portable label value MANUFACTURER Apple label value TYPE Portable label value ORIGIN U.S.A. label value YEAR September 1989 label value END OF PRODUCTION October 1991 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE None label value KEYBOARD Typewriter 80-key with numeric keypad\ A trackball could replace the numeric keypad on left or right side. label value CPU 68HC000, low-power version of the Motorola 68000 label value SPEED 16 MHz label value RAM 1 MB up to 9 MB of SRAM label value ROM 256 KB label value TEXT MODES bitmap character fonts label value GRAPHIC MODES 640 x 400 dots label value COLORS Monochrome label value SOUND 8bit stereo output label value SIZE / WEIGHT 38.8 (W) * 37.7 (D) * 10.3 (H) cm / 7.1 kg label value I/O PORTS Serial, Parallel, SCSI, 2xADB label value BUILT IN MEDIA 1.44 MB floppy disk, optional 40 MB hard disk label value OS MAC 0S 6.0.4 to 7.5.5 label value POWER SUPPLY 6.5V 5A lead-acid battery label value PRICE $6,500 photos emulators links title subtitle text image LARGE VIEW The machine could be delivered with either a numeric keypad or a trackball. /media/museum/photos/apple_macportable_system_s2.jpg title subtitle text image LEFT SIDE /media/museum/photos/apple_macportable_leftside_s1.jpg title subtitle text image TOP VIEW /media/museum/photos/apple_macportable_topview_s1.jpg title subtitle text image CLOSED /media/museum/photos/apple_macportable_closed_s1.jpg title subtitle text image REAR SIDE From left to right:\ • Video Output Connector - video output in a proprietry format. Required an expensive external adaptor box to process the video into a useful format.\ • External Floppy Drive Connector\ • SCSI Port\ • Blanking plate for optional internal modem socket\ • ADB Port (mini-DIN)\ • Serial Printer Port (mini-DIN)\ • Serial Modem Port (mini-DIN)\ • Sound Output Jack\ • Power jack. Power is supplied by an external AC adaptor. The computer can be switched on only if the AC adaptor is connected and the internal battery is sufficiently charged. /media/museum/photos/apple_macportable_rearside_s1.jpg title subtitle text image INSIDE **(1)** 40 MB Conner pre-formatted hard disk drive.\ **(2)** Optional modem card and RAM card slots.\ **(3)** Battery cover. /media/museum/photos/apple_macportable_inside_s1.jpg title subtitle text image APPLE CARRYING BAG /media/museum/photos/apple_macportable_bag_s1.jpg title url platform text Executor http://www.ardi.com/ Windows Demonstration version of a commercial software (MS DOS & Win95) title url platform text Gemulator http://www.emulators.com/ Windows A commercial Software which emulates the Atari ST/TT and the Mac 128/Plus/2 (Win95 / Win NT) title url platform text LisaEm http://lisa.sunder.net/ Windows Same as Apple lisa emulator for unix but ported to windows title url platform text PearPC http://pearpc.sourceforge.net/ Windows PearPC is an architecture-independent PowerPC platform emulator capable of running most PowerPC operating systems. title url platform text SoftMac http://www.emulators.com/ Windows good 68K Emulator For Windows title url platform text Executor http://www.ardi.com/ Unix / Linux Demo version of a commercial software (Linux / NextStep) title url platform text vMac - The Virtual Macintosh Emulator Project http://www.leb.net/vmac/ Other platform title url platform text Basilisk II http://basilisk.cebix.net/ Multiplatform Basilisk II is an Open Source 68k Macintosh emulator. Good emulator, runs on several platforms, even Amiga title url platform text Mini vMac http://minivmac.sourceforge.net/ Multiplatform Mini vMac, a spin off of the program vMac, emulates a Macintosh Plus and Macintosh SE. So far it works on Macintosh OS, Microsoft Windows, and the X Window System. title url text Apple History http://www.apple-history.com/ History of Apple computers with detail information about all of the computers to come out of Apple. title url text Applefritter http://www.applefritter.com Excellent site about all Apple models,clones,prototypes,etc... A must see ! title url text CMQ - Groupes d'usagers Apple http://www.cmq.qc.ca/cmq.html (french) title url text Homepage of Gamba http://home.earthlink.net/~gamba2/index.html A lot of interesting Mac links, for example "How To Transfer Files From PC to MAC " title url text Jag's House http://www.jagshouse.com/ Lot of info on all non PowerMac models title url text Low End Mac http://www.lowendmac.com Great site with a full catalog of ALL old macintoshes. title url text Mac Forums at MacForumz.com http://www.MacForumz.com Mac forums, a resource on the latest and greatest, as well as vintage, Macintosh hardware, software, and internet. Free registration. title url text MacDebate http://www.macdebate.com Macintosh discussion forum title url text The Vintage Mac Museum http://www.d4.dion.ne.jp/~motohiko/ Nice dedicated website with tons of screenshots ! title url text Titlemax - Apple products https://www.titlemax.com/discovery-center/lifestyle/every-product-apple-has-made-so-far/ Nice graphic of every product Apple Has Made So Far (thanks Lily) title url text Web Wiz CAPTCHA http://www.webwizcaptcha.com Discussion of Macintosh software system author date text Mark Davis (Portland, OR USA) Monday 29th March 2021 While working at Prometheus Products in the late 1980s, I designed an internal 1200 bps modem for the Mac Portable. Apple made a machine available to us, along with detailed engineering documention, expressly for this purpose. author date text Jeff Meyer (Silly-con Valey) Monday 21st September 2015 With all due respect, this article needs a deep fact check against the Macintosh product timeline and performance comparisons.\ e.g. the Macintosh Portable was introduced and discontinued several years before the Macintosh II. I suspect that some of the comparisons are being confused with the PowerBook product family. author date text scott mccockmunchington Monday 2nd December 2013 i found this laptop to be of the upmost quality and not only exceeding but also shattering all my preexisting presumptions! great buy! what a steal! i am a flaming homosexual author date text Anon Saturday 9th October 2010 Look where the Mac is today!! author date text walmartcartpusher Saturday 18th April 2009 Macintosh Portable Disk Eject in Space http://www.youtube.com/watch?v$e_MfM4j09ME author date text Henry (Pflugerville TX) Thursday 7th September 2006 Mac Portables are becoming rare, especially in working order. They can still be found once in a while on eBay in "as is" condition for under $50, to which you will need to add another $50 or so to rebuild the battery (you can buy the lead-acid cells which go in the battery), and you will need to find whatever parts are missing (AC adapter, hard drive, etc.). There is a hobbyist who buys, fixes and sells Portables on eBay.You pay a premium, but you get a working system with software & carry case. My sense is that the prices have bottomed out, and will rise from here on, though I wouldn't invest my retirement savings in old Macs. The first Mac laptops were not made by Apple, they were made in Boulder, CO by Outbound. The big drawback to the Outbound, and the Atari Spectre as well, is they needed a set of Mac Plus or SE ROMs to run, so you had to buy and gut a Mac. This added a lot of cost, but in the case of the Outbound, when at home the portable could dock with the ROM-less Mac and use it as a second display screen. author date text Mark (Boston) Friday 25th March 2005 I was tempted to buy a rather expensive Macintosh Portable off of Ebay, but did not know how much they are worth, and at what rate they are gaining value. If any one knows the answer to this it would be vary helpfull to me. author date text Aleks (Toronto) Wednesday 4th August 2004 The Macintosh Portable was NOT "the first laptop computer with a GUI interface" as stated on the web page. The Atari Stacy laptop had a GUI interface (GEM by Digital Research) and was released befotre the Mac Portable. And in fact, if you plugged in a commercially available product called the Spectre GCR, it ran the MacOS as well. That's right, the first Mac laptop was not made by Apple at all, but rather by Atari. Which is fitting, since Steve Jobs worked at Atari (made Breakout) before working at Apple! :) author date text Joseph (New Jersey) Thursday 29th April 2004 Can you show a screen shot of what the screen looks like? (It's O.K. if it dosn't work or you cant get a picture.) /museum/apple-lisa-lisa-2-mac-xl /museum/apple-macintosh /museum/apple-macintosh-color-classic /museum/apple-macintosh-ii /museum/apple-macintosh-plus /museum/apple-macintosh-se /museum/apple-macintosh-se-30 1005 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230320230824/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=1005 2023-03-20

The Mac Portable was Apple's first attempt to produce a portable version of a desktop Macintosh computer. The machine was partially engineered by Alan Kay (designer of the Dynabook), and was the first laptop computer with a GUI interface, along with Atari Stacy.

Apple launched the Mac Portable at the same time as the Mac IIci. This marketing tactic could be considered questionable given the fact that the IIci featured a 68030 processor running at 25 MHz while the Portable version offered a 68000 (in actual fact, a low-power 68HC000) running at 16 MHz.

This is likely the reason that Portable sales never reached the volume that Apple was hoping for; this despite the fact that the machine was twice as fast as a Mac SE and nearly as fast as a Mac II.

Despite its weight, the Mac Portable was well-designed. It featured an advanced active-matrix LCD screen, up to 9 MB of SRAM, a 1.44MB floppy disk drive and an optional 40MB 3.5-inch hard disk drive. Its lead-acid battery -- responsible for most of the machine's weight -- offered 8 to 10 hours of autonomy which was quite an achievement at that time.

18 months after the Portable was first launched, Apple replaced the LCD screen with a backlit version, replaced the SRAM chips with less expensive versions, and offered a lower retail price. The machine was eventually discontinued six months later, but the system icon made for this computer became the icon for all Mac portables for several years to come.

Note also that the Macintosh Portable was used in space, not without some problems... (see the video).

We need more info about this computer ! If you designed, used, or have more info about this system, please send us pictures or anything you might find useful.