{"id":21372,"date":"2025-06-19T15:36:53","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T19:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/?page_id=21372"},"modified":"2025-06-23T13:53:06","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T17:53:06","slug":"vin56","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin56\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple Macintosh LC III"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250623_174827690-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-large wp-image-21407\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250623_174827690-400x300.jpg\" alt=\"Apple Macintosh LC III\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250623_174827690-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250623_174827690-240x180.jpg 240w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250623_174827690-160x120.jpg 160w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250623_174827690-768x577.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250623_174827690-1536x1153.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250623_174827690-2048x1538.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250623_174827690-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250623_174827690-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/h2>\n<p>[Vin56]<\/p>\n<p>The Apple Macintosh LC III, launched in 1993, was a major upgrade in Apple\u2019s low-cost color line, featuring a 25 MHz Motorola 68030 processor, a 32-bit data bus, and expandability up to 36 MB of RAM\u2014triple its predecessor\u2019s capacity and nearly double the performance. Its claim to fame was delivering robust performance at a much lower price ($1,349 at launch, $700 less than the LC II), making advanced computing more accessible for schools and consumers, especially through its popularity in educational institutions and as the consumer Performa 450 variant.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Manufacturer<\/strong>: Apple Computer Inc.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Type<\/strong>: Personal Computer<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release Date<\/strong>: 1993<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cost at release<\/strong>: USD $1,800 (CAD ~$4,400 adjusted for inflation)<\/li>\n<li><strong>MIPS<\/strong>: 6.3<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Hardware Specifications<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>CPU<\/strong>: Motorola 68030, 25 MHz<\/li>\n<li><strong>RAM<\/strong>: 4 MB standard, expandable to 36 MB (1 x 72-pin SIMM slot)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Data Bus<\/strong>: 32 bits<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hard Drive<\/strong>: 80 MB hard drive (standard configuration)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Video<\/strong>: \u00a0512 KB VRAM (built-in), expandable to 768 KB (with 1 x 256 KB SIMM)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Supported Resolutions<\/strong>: 512 x 384 (16-bit), 640 x 400 (16-bit), 640 x 480 (8-bit), 832 x 624, and more<\/li>\n<li><strong>Floppy Drive<\/strong>: 1.44 MB auto-inject<\/li>\n<li><strong>Weight<\/strong>: 8.8 lbs (4 kg)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Operating System &amp; Programming Languages<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>OS<\/strong>: System 7.1 and supports operating systems up to Mac OS 7.6.1<\/li>\n<li><strong>Programming Languages<\/strong>: C and C++ (using Macintosh Programmer&#8217;s Workshop or CodeWarrior), Pascal (Apple Pascal and other Pascal compilers), HyperTalk (via HyperCard), AppleScript, Perl, Real Basic (on later versions of System 7), Assembly language (68k assembly) and other scripting and educational languages available for classic Mac OS environments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Notables<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The LC III\u2019s \u201cpizza box\u201d case design was famous for its slim, stackable profile and easy access &#8211; just two tabs to open the case, making upgrades and repairs simple.<\/li>\n<li>Its name stands for \u201cLow-Cost Color,\u201d reflecting Apple\u2019s push to bring affordable color computing to schools and homes.<\/li>\n<li>The LC III was the first Macintosh to use 72-pin SIMMs, breaking the 10 MB RAM barrier and allowing expansion up to 36 MB\u2014an important leap for the era.<\/li>\n<li>It offered nearly the performance of the much more expensive Macintosh IIci, but at a fraction of the price, earning praise from MacWorld Magazine and helping make color Macs mainstream in education.<\/li>\n<li>The LC III line included consumer versions under the Performa brand (notably the Performa 450), and a speed-bumped \u201cLC III+\u201d version at 33 MHz.<\/li>\n<li>An unusual hardware quirk: some LC III units left the Apple factory with capacitors installed backwards, but the robust design meant they didn\u2019t fail catastrophically\u2014an oddity that\u2019s become a talking point among collectors.<\/li>\n<li>The LC III\u2019s legacy is its role in making color Macs accessible and affordable, helping Apple maintain a stronghold in schools and homes during the early 1990s<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Donated by<\/strong>: Arlen Michaels<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[Vin56] The Apple Macintosh LC III, launched in 1993, was a major upgrade in Apple\u2019s low-cost color line, featuring a 25 MHz Motorola 68030 processor, a 32-bit data bus, and expandability up to 36 MB of RAM\u2014triple its predecessor\u2019s capacity and nearly double the performance. Its claim to fame was delivering robust performance at a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":19704,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Apple Macintosh LC III - School of Computer Science<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Apple Macintosh LC III, launched in 1993, was a major upgrade in Apple\u2019s low-cost color line, featuring a 25 MHz Motorola 68030 processor, a 32-bit\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin56\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin56\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin56\/\",\"name\":\"Apple Macintosh LC III - 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