Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh
Encyclopedia
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| Introduced | March 20, 1997 |
| Discontinued | March 14, 1998 |
| MSRP | US$ United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... 7,499 |
| CPU | PowerPC PowerPC PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM... 603e |
| CPU speed | 250 MHz |
| L2 Cache | 256 KiB Kibibyte The kibibyte is a multiple of the unit byte for quantities of digital information. The binary prefix kibi means 1024; therefore, 1 kibibyte is . The unit symbol for the kibibyte is KiB. The unit was established by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 1999 and has been accepted for use... , max 1 MiB Mebibyte The mebibyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The binary prefix mebi means 220, therefore 1 mebibyte is . The unit symbol for the mebibyte is MiB. The unit was established by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 2000 and has been accepted for use by all major... |
| Bus | 50 MHz |
| RAM | 2 slots 32 MiB, max 128 MiB (2 × 64 MiB) |
| Memory Spec | 168-pin, 5 V, 60+ ns EDO or FPM DIMMs |
| VRAM | 2 MiB |
| Video | 12.1" Active Matrix 800×600 or 640×480 @ up to 16-bits ATI 3D RAGE 2 chip set |
| Ports | Rear Ports: Variable Level Sound In Sound Out DB-25 SCSI SCSI Small Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it... TV Tuner FM Tuner Rear Side Ports: 1 ADB Apple Desktop Bus Apple Desktop Bus is an obsolete bit-serial computer bus connecting low-speed devices to computers. Used primarily on the Macintosh platform, ADB equipment is still available but not supported by most Apple hardware manufactured since 1999.... 2 DIN-8 GeoPort GeoPort GeoPort was a serial data system used on some models of the Apple Macintosh. GeoPort slightly modified the existing Mac serial port pins to allow the computer's internal sound hardware to emulate various devices such as modems and fax machines. GeoPort could be found on late-model m68k-based... s DB-25 SCSI SCSI Small Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it... S-Video In Sound Line In Via Expansion Slots: 1 Comm Slot 2 PCI Slot |
| Optical Drive | 4× CD-ROM |
| Hard Drive | 2 GB IDE AT Attachment Parallel ATA , originally ATA, is an interface standard for the connection of storage devices such as hard disks, solid-state drives, floppy drives, and optical disc drives in computers. The standard is maintained by X3/INCITS committee... |
| Floppy Drive | Apple SuperDrive SuperDrive SuperDrive is a trademark used by Apple Inc. for two different storage drives: from 1988–99 to refer to a high-density floppy disk drive capable of reading all major 3.5" disk formats; and from 2001 onwards to refer to a combined CD/DVD reader/writer.... |
| Initial OS | System 7.6.1 |
| Final OS | Mac OS 9.1 |
| Weight | 6.8 kg (14.9 lb) |
| Dimensions | Metric Metric system The metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement. France was first to adopt a metric system, in 1799, and a metric system is now the official system of measurement, used in almost every country in the world... - 438 × 419 × 254 mm Imperial - 17.25 × 16.5 × 10 in |
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
that was released in 1997 in celebration of the company's 20th birthday.
While the machine is often regarded as a stylistic landmark, it was met with lukewarm sales, and was derided for its exorbitant price and for championing form over function.
History
Heralded as a celebration of 20 years of Apple Computer Inc, the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh (abbreviated to TAM by its followers), arrived at the party one year late. Apple turned 20 on April 1, 1996, however the TAM was only announced at MacWorld Expo, San Francisco on January 7, 1997, with a release date of late Spring 1997 and a retail price of US$7,499.The story behind its belated arrival allegedly was that the approaching milestone had gone unnoticed by Apple themselves, and when the event was highlighted, the "Spartacus" project was born. With a normal development cycle for a Macintosh computer of around 24 months, the TAM was rushed into production in half that time, which would explain the use of "off-the-shelf" parts for the majority of its internal workings. Other reports point to the incorporation date for Apple Computer being 1977, hence the model's release in 1997 being correct.
Specifications and design
The TAM's design vastly deviated from other personal computers of its day. It was codenamed Spartacus, Pomama, Smoke, and Mirrors. Beige boxes reigned supreme in the PC world, and even in the Macintosh stable, with the tried and tested "box with monitor", or Apple's favored all-in-one designs like its original "Classic" or later PowerMac designs. The TAM however featured a metallic green/gold paint, and was one of the first desktop based LCD displays, in a 2.5" deep enclosure. Although its logic board was one of the only unique internal components, the exterior was designed to represent a state-of-the-art futuristic vision of where personal computing could take us.The TAM featured a 250 MHz PowerPC 603e processor and 12.1" active matrix LCD
Active-matrix liquid crystal display
An active matrix liquid crystal display is a type of flat panel display, currently the overwhelming choice of notebook computer manufacturers, due to low weight, very good image quality, wide color gamut and response time...
powered by an ATI
ATI Technologies
ATI Technologies Inc. was a semiconductor technology corporation based in Markham, Ontario, Canada, that specialized in the development of graphics processing units and chipsets. Founded in 1985 as Array Technologies Inc., the company was listed publicly in 1993 and was acquired by Advanced Micro...
3D Rage II video chipset with 2MB of VRAM capable of displaying up to 16bit color at 800x600 or 640x480 pixels. It had vertically mounted 4x SCSI CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
and Apple floppy Superdrive
SuperDrive
SuperDrive is a trademark used by Apple Inc. for two different storage drives: from 1988–99 to refer to a high-density floppy disk drive capable of reading all major 3.5" disk formats; and from 2001 onwards to refer to a combined CD/DVD reader/writer....
s, a 2GB ATA
AT Attachment
Parallel ATA , originally ATA, is an interface standard for the connection of storage devices such as hard disks, solid-state drives, floppy drives, and optical disc drives in computers. The standard is maintained by X3/INCITS committee...
hard drive, a TV/FM tuner, an S-Video card, and a custom-made Bose sound system including 2 "Jewel" speakers and a subwoofer built into the externally located power supply "base unit".
The TAM came with a unique 75 key ADB
Apple Desktop Bus
Apple Desktop Bus is an obsolete bit-serial computer bus connecting low-speed devices to computers. Used primarily on the Macintosh platform, ADB equipment is still available but not supported by most Apple hardware manufactured since 1999....
keyboard which featured leather palm-rests and a trackpad
Touchpad
A touchpad is a pointing device featuring a tactile sensor, a specialized surface that can translate the motion and position of a user's fingers to a relative position on screen. Touch pads are a common feature of laptop computers, and they are also used as a substitute for a mouse where desk...
instead of a mouse. The trackpad could be detached from the keyboard if desired, with a small leather insert found underneath the keyboard ready to fill the gap. When not required, the keyboard could slide under the TAM's head unit, leaving the trackpad exposed for continued access. The TAM also came with a remote control (standard with the Apple TV/FM Tuner card), but also featured buttons on the front panel that could control sound levels, CD playback, brightness, contrast, and TV mode. The pre-installed operating system was a specialised version of Mac OS 7.6.1
System 7
System 7 is the name of a Macintosh operating system introduced in 1991.System 7 may also refer to:* System 7 , a British dance/ambient band* System 7 , 1991 album* IBM System/7, a 1970s computer system...
(requiring the TAM's special CD for installation), but this could be upgraded as far as Mac OS 9.1
Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as...
.
Expandability was offered via a tight-fitting 7 inch PCI
Peripheral Component Interconnect
Conventional PCI is a computer bus for attaching hardware devices in a computer...
slot and Apple Communication slot II
Apple Communication slot
The Apple Communication Slot is an internal expansion data interface found in Apple Macintosh computers from the early to mid 1990s. It is used to add communication expansion cards like network adapter or modem to Macs and Power Macs....
for the addition of Ethernet. Later G3 upgrade options offered by Sonnet and NewerTechnologies made use of the TAM's Level II Cache slot, which allow the computer to reach speeds of up to 500 MHz. All of these options come at the price of the TAM's slim profile. The back panel must be removed, and replaced with an (included) "hunchback" cover that adds several inches to the depth of the machine.
By moving the power supply into an external enclosure (together with Bose's subwoofer), heat issues in the head-unit were avoided. This technique was later used again by Apple in the Power Mac G4 Cube
Power Mac G4 Cube
The Power Mac G4 Cube was a small form factor Macintosh personal computer from Apple Inc. It was sold from 2000 to 2001. Its cube shape is reminiscent of the NeXTcube from NeXT, acquired by Apple in 1996. The machine was designed by Apple industrial designer Jonathan Ive...
and later by the Mac Mini
Mac Mini
The Mac Mini is a small form factor desktop computer manufactured by Apple Inc. Like earlier mini-ITX PC designs, it is uncommonly small for a desktop computer: 7.7 inches square and 1.4 inches tall. It weighs 2.7 pounds...
. Joining the base-unit to the head-unit was a thick umbilical cord. A designer of the TAM has indicated that the umbilical was so thick due to original plans to use a much more powerful processor, however these plans were ultimately abandoned in favour of a board similar to the PowerMac 5500.
One last unique feature of the TAM greeted owners when they turned the computer on – a special startup chime used only by the TAM, and which arguably also only sounds "right" when played by a TAM.
Production/Release
Apple manufactured 12,000 TAMs, with a release run of 11,601. The remaining 399 were kept by Apple for use as spare parts.The TAM was only released in 5 countries: USA, Japan, France, Germany, and the UK.
Ten TAMs were sent to Apple Australia. At least two of these were given away as prizes to the public and one went on display in Apple's Sydney HQ; the remainder kept for use by Apple Australia executives.
Both of Apple's founders, Steve Wozniak
Steve Wozniak
Stephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak is an American computer engineer and programmer who founded Apple Computer, Co. with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne...
and Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
, received a TAM. When "Woz" allowed people to see into his office via webcam in the late 1990s, his TAM was visible on his desk.
Due to the scarcity of scale, rather than training all Apple authorized technicians in repairing the TAM, Apple opted to ship faulty units to three central locations worldwide – one per continent. The US location was the Eastman Kodak Company's service center, Building 601, in Kodak Park (now known as Eastman Technology Park) in Rochester, New York. Apple's Service Source CD, containing information for authorized technicians in the repair of Apple computers, lists the TAM as a "closed unit", to be returned to said repair locations for all repairs. It does not contain a "take apart" guide for the TAM. Support from online forums is the best source of information for repairing a TAM at this point in time.
Limitations
Based on a PowerPC 603e, the TAM cannot run Mac OS XMac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
in its original configuration. Attempting such an install can "brick" a TAM, making it completely unresponsive.
With the addition of a G3 or G4 aftermarket upgrade and the use of XPostFacto 4.0 software the TAM could run several versions of OS X, with some limitations.
Some Twentieth Anniversary Macintoshes experience "the buzz" – a static noise that plays through the TAM's speakers even when the sound level is muted. Some people reported that even after sending their TAM back to Apple for repairs, the buzz would later return. It took some time for Apple, together with Bose, to confirm a problem existed and devise a lasting fix.
Reception
The TAM was clearly aimed at the office executive, rather than the traditional home user. This was indicated not just by the price tag, but the executive feel of the machine - leather wrist pads, metallic paint, and the sculptured design.Upon unveiling, the TAM was predicted to cost US$9,000, which would include a direct-to-door concierge
Concierge
A concierge is an employee who either works in shifts within, or lives on the premises of an apartment building or a hotel and serves guests with duties similar to those of a butler. The position can also be maintained by a security officer over the 'graveyard' shift. A similar position, known as...
delivery service. At release the price was reduced to $7,499. In the middle of its sales' lifespan it dropped further to around US$3,500, and finally upon discontinuation in March 1998 the price was set to a low US$1,995—either at or below the cost of production.
The simple reason behind these price drops was that despite an award winning advertising campaign, the TAM was simply overpriced for what it was. The Power Macintosh 6500 with similar specs, retailed for US$2,999. The TAM was simply priced out of the market.
Mythology - Steve Jobs returned to Apple in late 1997. In March 1998 he made sweeping changes, including scrapping the Newton MessagePad. It was at this time that the TAM was discontinued, and remaining stocks reduced to US $1,995. The timing itself was not conspicuous - most Apple computers only feature a 1 year production run, and the TAM's began in March 1997. But the rumour is that Steve's orders were to get rid of the stockpile of TAMs. At any rate, the sale worked, with thousands of remaining TAMs selling out in under 3 weeks.
Legacy
Despite its poor sales, the TAM remains a popular item amongst dedicated Macintosh collectors. As of 2010, complete working TAMs with boxes can sell for over US $1,000. Given the price drop at the time of discontinuation, and for a machine that is now 13+ years old, this is quite an impressive price tag.External power supplies were used in later Apple computers such as the Power Mac G4 Cube
Power Mac G4 Cube
The Power Mac G4 Cube was a small form factor Macintosh personal computer from Apple Inc. It was sold from 2000 to 2001. Its cube shape is reminiscent of the NeXTcube from NeXT, acquired by Apple in 1996. The machine was designed by Apple industrial designer Jonathan Ive...
and Mac Mini
Mac Mini
The Mac Mini is a small form factor desktop computer manufactured by Apple Inc. Like earlier mini-ITX PC designs, it is uncommonly small for a desktop computer: 7.7 inches square and 1.4 inches tall. It weighs 2.7 pounds...
. Joint efforts with speaker manufacturers (originally Bose, but later Harman Kardon
Harman Kardon
harman/kardon is a division of Harman International Industries and manufactures home and car audio equipment.Founded in 1953 by Dr. Sidney Harman and Bernard Kardon — two men with a deep interest in music and the arts — the company helped create the high-fidelity audio industry. Their first product...
) have become common for several Apple computers.
In popular culture
The TAM is seen in several episodes of the ninth seasonSeinfeld (season 9)
Season nine of Seinfeld, an American comedy television series created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, began airing on September 25, 1997, and concluded on May 14, 1998, on NBC.-Production:...
of Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
in Jerry
Jerry Seinfeld (character)
Jerome "Jerry" Seinfeld is the main protagonist of the American television sitcom Seinfeld . The straight man among his group of friends, this semi-fictionalized version of comedian Jerry Seinfeld was named after, co-created by, based on, and played by Seinfeld himself.The series revolves around...
's apartment.
The TAM is visible behind Chandler's office desk in the fourth season of Friends in the episode "The One With the Worst Best Man Ever".
The computer used in Jasper's hideout, in the film Children of Men
Children of Men
Children of Men is a 2006 science fiction film loosely adapted from P. D. James's 1992 novel The Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón. In 2027, two decades of human infertility have left society on the brink of collapse. Illegal immigrants seek sanctuary in England, where the last...
, to show the video feeds of intruders breaking in is a TAM. In this movie it would be 30 years old.
A TAM is used by Alfred
Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Pennyworth is a fictional character that appears throughout the DC Comics franchise. The character first appears in Batman #16 , and was created by writer Bob Kane and artist Jerry Robinson. Alfred serves as Batman’s tireless butler, assistant, confidant, and surrogate father figure...
to write a CD (a capability the real computer did not have) in Batman & Robin.
The TAM is used by the housemates on MTV's The Real World: Seattle
The Real World: Seattle
The Real World: Seattle is the seventh season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow their lives and interpersonal relationships. First airing in 1998, the...
.