Apple Macintosh LC II

[Vin211]

• Manufacturer: Apple Computer Inc.
• Model: Macintosh LC II
• Released: March 23, 1992
• Type: Personal Desktop Computer
• Cost at release: ~$4,000 (adjusted for inflation)
• MIPS: 3.9

Hardware Specifications

• CPU: Motorola 68030, 16 MHz (32-bit)
• Data bus: 16-bit, despite the CPU’s 32-bit internal architecture.
• ROM: 512 KB.
• Memory: 4 MB RAM soldered to the logic board.
  • Maximum memory: 10 MB RAM, using one 72-pin SIMM expansion socket; this low maximum was one of the LC II’s notable constraints. 2
  • 4-bit and 32-bit addressing modes.
• Floppy drive: Built-in 1.44 MB SuperDrive, with automatic disk insertion/ejection mechanism.
• Hard drive: Optional internal SCSI hard disk, commonly supplied in configurations such as 40 MB or 80 MB.
• Internal storage interface: SCSI.
• Expansion: One LC Processor Direct Slot (PDS), used for options such as Ethernet, video cards, accelerators, or Apple IIe compatibility hardware.
• Video: Built-in video output through a DB-15 monitor connector; capable of colour output, with available resolutions and colour depth dependent on installed video RAM and monitor. 256 KB VRAM fitted as standard, expandable to 512 KB VRAM.
• Keyboard and mouse interface: One Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) port.
• Serial ports: Two Mini-DIN-8 serial ports—printer and modem.
• Networking: AppleTalk supported through the serial ports; Ethernet required an optional expansion card or external adapter.
• SCSI port: One external DB-25 SCSI connector for hard drives, scanners, CD-ROM drives, and other peripherals.
• Audio: Monophonic audio input and output; one mono output jack for headphones or external speakers and one mono input for microphone or line input.

Operating System & Programming Languages 

• Operating Systems
  • Original operating system: System 7.0.1.
  • Supported versions: System 7.1, 7.5, 7.5.1, 7.5.3, 7.5.5, 7.6, and 7.6.1.
  • Architecture: Classic 68k Macintosh software environment, built around the Motorola 68030 processor rather than later PowerPC Macs.
  • User interface: Finder-based graphical desktop with menus, icons, windows, drag-and-drop file management, AppleTalk networking, and support for applications running from floppy disks, SCSI hard drives, CD-ROMs, or network servers.
  • Practical limitation: With only 4 MB RAM standard and a 10 MB maximum, System 7 was usable but could feel constrained with several applications open; more RAM substantially improved the experience.
• Programming Languages:
  • C – THINK C, MPW C, Metrowerks CodeWarrior
  • C++ – THINK C++ and Metrowerks CodeWarrior
  • Pascal / Object Pascal – THINK Pascal, MPW Pascal
  • BASIC – Microsoft BASIC and other Macintosh BASIC interpreters
  • HyperTalk – HyperCard scripting for interactive stacks, education, multimedia, and simple games
  • AppleScript – Automation and application scripting under System 7.1 or later
  • Motorola 68000-family assembly – 68000/68020/68030 assembly via MPW and assembler tools
  • FORTRAN – Scientific and numerical programming via third-party Mac compilers
  • Lisp – Including Macintosh Common Lisp
  • Modula-2 – Structured-programming and education-oriented development
  • Prolog – Logic programming and AI/education experimentation

Notables

• Released on 23 March 1992 and discontinued less than a year later, on 15 March 1993 that’s a very short lifespan before the LC III replaced it.
• Part of Apple’s LC family, commonly understood as “Low-Cost Color,” created to bring colour Macintosh computing to schools, homes, and entry-level offices.
• Often called a “pizza-box Mac” because of its thin, wide, low-profile desktop case because an early precursor in spirit to later compact Apple desktops such as the Mac mini.
• It used a 16 MHz Motorola 68030, but its 16-bit data bus held it back. This led vintage-Mac enthusiasts to describe it as a “compromised Mac”: a 32-bit CPU paired with a budget-oriented architecture.
• The LC II became notorious for offering only modest real-world speed gains over the original 16 MHz 68020-based Macintosh LC, despite the newer 68030 processor.
• Its important practical improvement was better support for System 7, including virtual memory, making it more useful for the increasingly demanding early-1990s Macintosh software environment.
• It helped carry the Macintosh interface, colour graphics, HyperCard, desktop publishing, and multimedia software into classrooms at a lower entry price than Apple’s higher-end Macintosh II and Quadra models.
• Apple reused essentially the same design under several retail-oriented names: Macintosh Performa 400, 405, 410, and 430. The variants typically changed bundled software, monitor inclusion, hard-disk size, or video memory rather than fundamentally changing the computer.
• The Performa rebranding is historically notable: Apple packaged existing LC hardware with consumer software and sold it through ordinary retail stores in colourful boxes, rather than relying only on specialist computer dealers.

Donated By: School for Studies in Arts & Culture