Clear Macintosh Classic prototype surfaces on Twitter

Posted:
in General Discussion edited December 2020
A prototype version of the Macintosh Classic has surfaced on Twitter, with images showing the antique Mac in an completely clear enclosure used to show internal clearances during development.

The Macintosh Classic with a clear casing [@DongleBookPro]
The Macintosh Classic with a clear casing [@DongleBookPro]


The Macintosh Classic is a familiar vintage computer that is known for its classic design, as well as its grey casing. In images shared by "@DongleBookPro" on Twitter, Apple used a different casing style during its development.

The photographs of the "Prototype Macintosh Classic" posted on Saturday show the computer housed in a clear plastic case. This gives an opportunity for observers to have a good look at how the inside of the computer was laid out, with the large CRT screen taking up a lot of space at the top, while the lower section housed the majority of hardware used for its operation.

Prototype Macintosh Classic
Clearshot pic.twitter.com/VzO4CnJ2GF

-- Dongle (@DongleBookPro)


While clear enough to display the text "Made in Singapore" in reverse due to being stamped inside the casing, not all of the case is transparent. On the front, a rainbow-colored Apple logo is proudly displayed in one corner, highlighting the manufacturer's identity.

On the back, a large sticker confirms the "unit is for development purposes only," and it was "not to be sold in the United States of America," indicating it to be a prototype model that wasn't available to standard users. Such a system would be useful for observing the effectiveness of thermal management systems, namely by blowing smoke through the case and watching its path as it gets moved by fans.

Originally sold from October 1990, the Macintosh Classic boasted a Motorola 68000 8MHz processor and 1MB of memory, expandable to 4MB, as well as a nine-inch 512x342 monochrome screen. It also housed a 40MB SCSI hard drive, a 3.5-inch floppy disk drive, and weighed in the region of 16 pounds.

It was succeeded by the Macintosh Classic II, released in October the following year.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member
    These are used for fitment purposes, so engineers can see inside to check everything fits together properly
    bloggerblog
  • Reply 2 of 10
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    elijahg said:
    These are used for fitment purposes, so engineers can see inside to check everything fits together properly
    A twitter reply says it’s also used to see where airflow goes (putting smoke inside to see where it travels).
    elijahgStrangeDaysmagman1979
  • Reply 3 of 10
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member
    dysamoria said:
    elijahg said:
    These are used for fitment purposes, so engineers can see inside to check everything fits together properly
    A twitter reply says it’s also used to see where airflow goes (putting smoke inside to see where it travels).
    That's a good point, I hadn't come across that myself!
  • Reply 4 of 10
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,783member
    Just spitballing, but I'd love to see Apple release a limited edition Mac Mini in a classic case. M1 Mini guts, a built in 9 inch monitor, but all of the ports on the back so you could drive a couple of big monitors too. The extra space inside would be for slots. Drive slots, card slots, and such to make it a real powerhouse.  

    But tis just a dream...
    raoulduke42Hank2.0watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 10
    DAalseth said:
    Just spitballing, but I'd love to see Apple release a limited edition Mac Mini in a classic case. M1 Mini guts, a built in 9 inch monitor, but all of the ports on the back so you could drive a couple of big monitors too. The extra space inside would be for slots. Drive slots, card slots, and such to make it a real powerhouse.  

    But tis just a dream...
    Seems like you could pick up a current Mac mini, a small Thunderbolt 3 to PCI enclosure, and work them into an old Mac Classic case. Finding a 9"4:3 LCD might be a challenge and in the end it wouldn't be exactly your dream... but pretty close!

    Edit: I just remembered this fun project— 

    So yeah, a more modern iPad would fit better, and what with SideCar we're getting even closer to the dream.
    edited December 2020 DAalsethwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 10
    tvbtvb Posts: 2member
    DAalseth said:
    Just spitballing, but I'd love to see Apple release a limited edition Mac Mini in a classic case. M1 Mini guts, a built in 9 inch monitor, but all of the ports on the back so you could drive a couple of big monitors too. The extra space inside would be for slots. Drive slots, card slots, and such to make it a real powerhouse.  

    But tis just a dream...


    I built a "Macintosh SE X" several years ago. It uses the case of a Mac SE, with a monochrome 9" CRT VGA display mounted in place of the original. There's a Mac Mini G4 in the lower region running OS X Tiger, with a cutout in the front grille for a CD to slide in and out. A contemporary keyboard and mouse are attached using one of those ADB-USB adapters that were briefly popular when Apple switched. If I were more handy with DIY stuff, I could have mounted an ethernet jack and an accessible USB port in the back... but I'm not. I've looked for an LCD that could be mounted in places of the CRT, but everything in that size range is 16:9 because nobody understands what a sucky aspect ratio that is. It could also be done with a modern Mini, but then you'd lose the niftyness of the CD slot where the floppy used to be. Also, using a PPC Mini allowed me to install and run a copy of Photoshop 3.0 using Classic.
    edited December 2020 raoulduke42DAalsethelijahgwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 10
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member
    DAalseth said:
    Just spitballing, but I'd love to see Apple release a limited edition Mac Mini in a classic case. M1 Mini guts, a built in 9 inch monitor, but all of the ports on the back so you could drive a couple of big monitors too. The extra space inside would be for slots. Drive slots, card slots, and such to make it a real powerhouse.  

    But tis just a dream...
    That would be pretty awesome. Though I believe Apple is for some reason embarrassed by their past as they very rarely do anything material related to it, apart from the very occasional reference like "hello" on iPad screens and the Mac/PC Switch ad at the end of the M1 presentation. That was the first time in a long time they've referenced their past. The cursive "hello" would have been a nice touch on the M1 Macbooks!  It's a shame Apple does nothing related to the Mac's anniversaries either. The last time they celebrated a milestone with hardware as far as I can remember was the 20th Anniversary Mac.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 10
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,335member
    DAalseth said:
    Just spitballing, but I'd love to see Apple release a limited edition Mac Mini in a classic case. M1 Mini guts, a built in 9 inch monitor, but all of the ports on the back so you could drive a couple of big monitors too. The extra space inside would be for slots. Drive slots, card slots, and such to make it a real powerhouse.  

    But tis just a dream...
    This sounds like an interesting hobby project. I imagine someone with the desire, time, and a 3D printer could fabricate a reasonable facsimile that provided a docking slot for the Mac mini since all of its port are already in the back. There are a few 9" LCDs available on the market, but none of them have the aspect ratio of the original Mac. 

    I'd actually like to see Apple do a mini cheese grater style (vertically oriented) chassis built around the Mac mini internals with better cooling, more ports, and mass storage upgradability with a much beefier M-series SoC. A "Mini Pro" seems very attainable.  
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 10
    TRAGTRAG Posts: 53member
    elijahg said:
    DAalseth said:
    Just spitballing, but I'd love to see Apple release a limited edition Mac Mini in a classic case. M1 Mini guts, a built in 9 inch monitor, but all of the ports on the back so you could drive a couple of big monitors too. The extra space inside would be for slots. Drive slots, card slots, and such to make it a real powerhouse.  

    But tis just a dream...
    That would be pretty awesome. Though I believe Apple is for some reason embarrassed by their past as they very rarely do anything material related to it, apart from the very occasional reference like "hello" on iPad screens and the Mac/PC Switch ad at the end of the M1 presentation. That was the first time in a long time they've referenced their past. The cursive "hello" would have been a nice touch on the M1 Macbooks!  It's a shame Apple does nothing related to the Mac's anniversaries either. The last time they celebrated a milestone with hardware as far as I can remember was the 20th Anniversary Mac.
    They did some stuff for the 30th anniversary of the Mac didn’t they?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 10
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member
    TRAG said:
    elijahg said:
    DAalseth said:
    Just spitballing, but I'd love to see Apple release a limited edition Mac Mini in a classic case. M1 Mini guts, a built in 9 inch monitor, but all of the ports on the back so you could drive a couple of big monitors too. The extra space inside would be for slots. Drive slots, card slots, and such to make it a real powerhouse.  

    But tis just a dream...
    That would be pretty awesome. Though I believe Apple is for some reason embarrassed by their past as they very rarely do anything material related to it, apart from the very occasional reference like "hello" on iPad screens and the Mac/PC Switch ad at the end of the M1 presentation. That was the first time in a long time they've referenced their past. The cursive "hello" would have been a nice touch on the M1 Macbooks!  It's a shame Apple does nothing related to the Mac's anniversaries either. The last time they celebrated a milestone with hardware as far as I can remember was the 20th Anniversary Mac.
    They did some stuff for the 30th anniversary of the Mac didn’t they?
    Oh they did, it must have passed me by. It was only a video though nothing substantial sadly.
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