Apple Macintosh Color Classic

[Vin209]

• Manufacturer: Apple Computer, Inc.
• Model: Macintosh Color Classic
• Type: Personal Computer
• Released: February 10, 1993
• List price: $3,350 (*adjusted for inflation)
• MIPS: 3

Hardware Specifications

• CPU: Motorola 68030 running at 16 MHz.
• Memory: 4 MB RAM installed on the logic board; expandable to 10 MB using 30-pin SIMMs.wikipedia+1
• Display: Built-in 10-inch color CRT. Display resolution: 512 × 384 pixels.
• Video memory: 256 KB VRAM standard; expandable to 512 KB.
• Storage: Internal SCSI hard-drive options of 40 MB, 80 MB, or 160 MB, depending on configuration.
• Floppy drive: Built-in 3.5-inch 1.44 MB SuperDrive with automatic disk insertion/ejection.
• Expansion: 16-bit Processor Direct Slot (PDS), compatible with certain LC-series expansion cards.
• Ports: Two ADB ports for keyboard/mouse, two RS-422 serial ports, and an external DB-25 SCSI port.

Operating System & Programming Languages 

• Operating Systems
  • Original operating system: System 7.1, shipped with the model-specific System Enabler 401.
  • Supported releases: Apple lists compatibility with System 7.1, 7.1.1 Pro, 7.5, 7.5.1, 7.5.3, 7.5.5, 7.6, and Mac OS 7.6.1.
• Programming Languages:
  • Pascal / Object Pascal: A central early Macintosh development language. Apple’s Macintosh Programmer’s Workshop (MPW) initially supported Pascal, while THINK Pascal and related tools were widely used.
  • C: Supported through environments such as MPW C and THINK C; a very common language for classic Mac applications and utilities.
  • C++: Available through MPW and third-party environments such as Symantec/THINK tools and Metrowerks CodeWarrior.
  • Motorola 68000-family assembly language: The Color Classic’s 68030 could run software written in 68k assembly; MPW included 68k assembler tools. This was used for low-level programming and performance-sensitive code.
  • HyperTalk: HyperCard’s English-like scripting language. It was especially suitable for interactive stacks, educational software, simple databases, and multimedia prototypes.
  • AppleScript: Available in the System 7 era for automation between scriptable Macintosh applications.
  • BASIC: Third-party BASIC implementations could run on it, including Microsoft BASIC, True BASIC, and other period interpreters/compilers.
  • FORTRAN and Modula-2: Available through development toolchains such as MPW Fortran and Metrowerks Modula-2.
  • Lisp: Available through Macintosh Lisp implementations and MPW-related tools.
  • Perl: MacPerl was available for classic 68k Macs, typically with memory and system-version constraints.
  • Python: Very early MacPython releases could run on System 7-era 68k Macs, although this would be far less practical than C, Pascal, BASIC, or HyperTalk on a stock Color Classic.

Notables

• The Color Classic was Apple’s first compact, all-in-one Macintosh with a built-in color display
• It was the final model in Apple’s original compact Macintosh family, descended from the 1984 Macintosh, before the larger LC 500-series all-in-one machines took over.
• Apple introduced it on February 10, 1993; it was discontinued in May 1994.
• A familiar Mac, in color: Its 10-inch Sony Trinitron CRT ran at 512 × 384 pixels which is the same resolution used by an LC II with Apple’s external 12-inch RGB display.
• Behind the nostalgic compact case, it was substantially based on the Macintosh LC II architecture: a 16 MHz Motorola 68030 constrained by a 16-bit data bus. That compromise limited its performance and expansion compared with the case’s premium appeal.
• A small screen for the era: It used a 10-inch color CRT when many desktop computers were moving toward larger external monitors. Its compact size was therefore both its defining charm and a practical limitation.
• Apple could use either “Color” or “Colour” branding because the front badge was a separate plastic insert, rather than text molded into the case.

Donated by: T. Warren Christopher