Orange Micro
Encyclopedia
Orange Micro Inc. is a now-defunct computer hardware
company which made products for use with Apple computers. The company made a variety of products for many machines, ranging from the Apple II series
to the Macintosh
line, but is perhaps best known for making PC
compatibility cards for the Macintosh, a concept inherited from AST Research
's Mac286
. The company went out of business in 2004.
. Notably, the company developed the famed Grappler+ card, providing easy way to print Graphics on old dot matrix printer
s, and later a parallel port
adapter for the Apple IIc
.
by AST Research
, for which Orange Micro had purchased the rights. These cards essentially consisted of an entire PC on NuBus
or PCI
cards. They contained enough hardware
in order to run PC software such as DOS and Windows
at native hardware speeds: notably, an Intel-compatible CPU
, RAM, sound card
s, and video chipsets supporting CGA
or VGA. Some hardware, such as disk
s, printer
s, modem
s and network interface cards, were emulated
in software.
While Orange Micro sold their compatibility card under the Mac286
name for a time, later offerings were based on the 80386, 80486, and Pentium lines. Additional cards offered support for AMD
, Cyrix
, and IDT
processors, offering a lower cost.
An example of such a PC compatibility card was the OrangePC Model 220. This card, for NuBus
-based Macintoshes, included a 66 MHz 486DX2 and 8MB of preinstalled memory. In December 1995, its retail price was US$1127.
A later model, the OrangePC 620 series, offered a 200 or 233 MHz processor. In 1998 it started at US$399, significantly less than previous incarnations. Various 620 models utilized processors from Intel, AMD
, and IDT
. High-end models included a Sound Blaster
chipset, while more affordable options provided software emulation
, with the caveat that sound could not be played in MS-DOS
software.
One of its last PC compatibility offerings was the PCfx!, introduced in late 1998. Sporting a 200 MHz Pentium processor, NVIDIA
RIVA 128
chipset, and 32MB to 128MB of SDRAM
, the PCfx! was marketed as a way for Macintosh users to play PC games.
The need for such specialized compatibility hardware was eliminated after the Apple–Intel transition, particularly after the release of Boot Camp and virtualization
software such as Parallels Desktop for Mac
and VMware Fusion
.
or SoftWindows, a software based solution. Since SoftPC was an emulator
, it was much slower than the Orange Micro offerings, which used real PC hardware.
s, and cameras, such as the iBot
.
s amongst the original content, however it is currently just another generic advertisement filled website run by domain-squatters.
Computer hardware
Personal computer hardware are component devices which are typically installed into or peripheral to a computer case to create a personal computer upon which system software is installed including a firmware interface such as a BIOS and an operating system which supports application software that...
company which made products for use with Apple computers. The company made a variety of products for many machines, ranging from the Apple II series
Apple II series
The Apple II series is a set of 8-bit home computers, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977 with the original Apple II...
to the Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
line, but is perhaps best known for making PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
compatibility cards for the Macintosh, a concept inherited from AST Research
AST Research
AST Research, Inc. was a personal computer manufacturer, founded in Irvine, California in 1980 by Albert Wong, Safi Qureshey and Thomas Yuen. AST's original business was the manufacture and marketing of a broad range of microcomputer expansion cards, later focusing on higher-density replacements...
's Mac286
Mac286
The Mac286 was a Intel 80286-based MS-DOS coprocessor expansion card for one of Apple Computer's first expandable Macintosh computers, the 1987 Macintosh II. It was developed by AST Research in an effort to close the gap between the Macintosh and IBM PC computing worlds...
. The company went out of business in 2004.
Products for the Apple II series
Orange Micro entered the market for third-party Apple hardware developing peripherals for the Apple II seriesApple II series
The Apple II series is a set of 8-bit home computers, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977 with the original Apple II...
. Notably, the company developed the famed Grappler+ card, providing easy way to print Graphics on old dot matrix printer
Dot matrix printer
A dot matrix printer or impact matrix printer is a type of computer printer with a print head that runs back and forth, or in an up and down motion, on the page and prints by impact, striking an ink-soaked cloth ribbon against the paper, much like the print mechanism on a typewriter...
s, and later a parallel port
Parallel port
A parallel port is a type of interface found on computers for connecting various peripherals. In computing, a parallel port is a parallel communication physical interface. It is also known as a printer port or Centronics port...
adapter for the Apple IIc
Apple IIc
The Apple IIc, the fourth model in the Apple II series of personal computers, was Apple Computer’s first endeavor to produce a portable computer. The end result was a notebook-sized version of the Apple II that could be transported from place to place...
.
PC compatibility
In the early 1990s, Orange Micro introduced what were described as "DOS compatibility cards". This was a concept first introduced in the Mac286Mac286
The Mac286 was a Intel 80286-based MS-DOS coprocessor expansion card for one of Apple Computer's first expandable Macintosh computers, the 1987 Macintosh II. It was developed by AST Research in an effort to close the gap between the Macintosh and IBM PC computing worlds...
by AST Research
AST Research
AST Research, Inc. was a personal computer manufacturer, founded in Irvine, California in 1980 by Albert Wong, Safi Qureshey and Thomas Yuen. AST's original business was the manufacture and marketing of a broad range of microcomputer expansion cards, later focusing on higher-density replacements...
, for which Orange Micro had purchased the rights. These cards essentially consisted of an entire PC on NuBus
NuBus
NuBus is a 32-bit parallel computer bus, originally developed at MIT as a part of the NuMachine workstation project. The first complete implementation of the NuBus and the NuMachine was done by Western Digital for their NuMachine, and for the Lisp Machines Inc. LMI-Lambda. The NuBus was later...
or PCI
Peripheral Component Interconnect
Conventional PCI is a computer bus for attaching hardware devices in a computer...
cards. They contained enough hardware
Computer hardware
Personal computer hardware are component devices which are typically installed into or peripheral to a computer case to create a personal computer upon which system software is installed including a firmware interface such as a BIOS and an operating system which supports application software that...
in order to run PC software such as DOS and Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
at native hardware speeds: notably, an Intel-compatible CPU
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
, RAM, sound card
Sound card
A sound card is an internal computer expansion card that facilitates the input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under control of computer programs. The term sound card is also applied to external audio interfaces that use software to generate sound, as opposed to using hardware...
s, and video chipsets supporting CGA
Color Graphics Adapter
The Color Graphics Adapter , originally also called the Color/Graphics Adapter or IBM Color/Graphics Monitor Adapter, introduced in 1981, was IBM's first color graphics card, and the first color computer display standard for the IBM PC....
or VGA. Some hardware, such as disk
Disk storage
Disk storage or disc storage is a general category of storage mechanisms, in which data are digitally recorded by various electronic, magnetic, optical, or mechanical methods on a surface layer deposited of one or more planar, round and rotating disks...
s, printer
Computer printer
In computing, a printer is a peripheral which produces a text or graphics of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparencies. Many printers are primarily used as local peripherals, and are attached by a printer cable or, in most new printers, a...
s, modem
Modem
A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...
s and network interface cards, were emulated
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
in software.
While Orange Micro sold their compatibility card under the Mac286
Mac286
The Mac286 was a Intel 80286-based MS-DOS coprocessor expansion card for one of Apple Computer's first expandable Macintosh computers, the 1987 Macintosh II. It was developed by AST Research in an effort to close the gap between the Macintosh and IBM PC computing worlds...
name for a time, later offerings were based on the 80386, 80486, and Pentium lines. Additional cards offered support for AMD
Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. or AMD is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets...
, Cyrix
Cyrix
Cyrix Corporation was a microprocessor developer that was founded in 1988 in Richardson, Texas as a specialist supplier of high-performance math coprocessors for 286 and 386 microprocessors. The company was founded by former Texas Instruments staff members and had a long but troubled relationship...
, and IDT
Integrated Device Technology
Integrated Device Technology, Inc. is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, that designs, manufactures, and markets low-power, high-performance mixed-signal semiconductor solutions for the advanced communications, computing, and consumer industries. The company...
processors, offering a lower cost.
An example of such a PC compatibility card was the OrangePC Model 220. This card, for NuBus
NuBus
NuBus is a 32-bit parallel computer bus, originally developed at MIT as a part of the NuMachine workstation project. The first complete implementation of the NuBus and the NuMachine was done by Western Digital for their NuMachine, and for the Lisp Machines Inc. LMI-Lambda. The NuBus was later...
-based Macintoshes, included a 66 MHz 486DX2 and 8MB of preinstalled memory. In December 1995, its retail price was US$1127.
A later model, the OrangePC 620 series, offered a 200 or 233 MHz processor. In 1998 it started at US$399, significantly less than previous incarnations. Various 620 models utilized processors from Intel, AMD
Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. or AMD is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets...
, and IDT
Integrated Device Technology
Integrated Device Technology, Inc. is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, that designs, manufactures, and markets low-power, high-performance mixed-signal semiconductor solutions for the advanced communications, computing, and consumer industries. The company...
. High-end models included a Sound Blaster
Sound Blaster
The Sound Blaster family of sound cards was the de facto standard for consumer audio on the IBM PC compatible system platform, until the widespread transition to Microsoft Windows 95, which standardized the programming interface at application level , and the evolution in PC design led to onboard...
chipset, while more affordable options provided software emulation
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
, with the caveat that sound could not be played in MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
software.
One of its last PC compatibility offerings was the PCfx!, introduced in late 1998. Sporting a 200 MHz Pentium processor, NVIDIA
NVIDIA
Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
RIVA 128
RIVA 128
Released in late 1997 by Nvidia, the RIVA 128, or "NV3", was one of the first consumer graphics processing units to integrate 3D acceleration in addition to traditional 2D and video acceleration...
chipset, and 32MB to 128MB of SDRAM
SDRAM
Synchronous dynamic random access memory is dynamic random access memory that is synchronized with the system bus. Classic DRAM has an asynchronous interface, which means that it responds as quickly as possible to changes in control inputs...
, the PCfx! was marketed as a way for Macintosh users to play PC games.
The need for such specialized compatibility hardware was eliminated after the Apple–Intel transition, particularly after the release of Boot Camp and virtualization
Paravirtualization
In computing, paravirtualization is a virtualization technique that presents a software interface to virtual machines that is similar but not identical to that of the underlying hardware....
software such as Parallels Desktop for Mac
Parallels Desktop for Mac
Parallels Desktop for Mac by Parallels, Inc., is software providing hardware virtualization for Macintosh computers with Intel processors.-Overview:Parallels, Inc...
and VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion is a virtual machine software product developed by VMware for Macintosh computers with Intel processors. Fusion allows Intel-based Macs to run x86 and x86-64 "guest" operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, Linux, NetWare and Solaris as virtual machines simultaneously with Mac OS...
.
Competition
Competitors to the Orange Micro compatibility solutions at the time of its heyday included SoftPCSoftPC
SoftPC and SoftWindows were software emulators of x86 hardware. The emulators were developed by Insignia Solutions. Available originally on UNIX workstations to run MS-DOS, the software eventually was ported to Mac OS and also gained the ability to run Windows software...
or SoftWindows, a software based solution. Since SoftPC was an emulator
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
, it was much slower than the Orange Micro offerings, which used real PC hardware.
Firewire
Later in its life, the company focused more on Firewire based products. This included Firewire controllers, hubs, webcamWebcam
A webcam is a video camera that feeds its images in real time to a computer or computer network, often via USB, ethernet, or Wi-Fi.Their most popular use is the establishment of video links, permitting computers to act as videophones or videoconference stations. This common use as a video camera...
s, and cameras, such as the iBot
IBOT
The iBOT is a very stable and mobile powered wheelchair developed by Dean Kamen in a partnership between DEKA and Johnson and Johnson's Independence Technology division. It is a medical technology, made to help people with severe mobility problems....
.
Domain name status
After Orange Micro closed its doors, the company's webdomain, orangemicro.com, expired, having nobody to pay for its upkeep. At a point it was brought back as a mirror containing illicit links and pop-up adPop-up ad
Pop-up ads or pop-ups are a form of online advertising on the World Wide Web intended to attract web traffic or capture email addresses. Pop-ups are generally new web browser windows to display advertisements...
s amongst the original content, however it is currently just another generic advertisement filled website run by domain-squatters.