Apple Macintosh II
March 1987: Apple upends its established practices with the Macintosh II. Three years after the first Mac, this machine breaks away from the conventions set by Steve Jobs. Gone is the compact, closed case; in its place stands an architecture open to expansion. This about-face addresses a necessity: IBM is gaining ground with its PCs, and Apple must attract professional users.
The machine's heart beats with a Motorola 68020, clocked at 16 MHz. Apple pairs it with the 68881 math coprocessor, a combination that quadruples performance compared to previous Macs equipped with the 68000. Base RAM reaches 8 megabytes, expandable to 20 MB with a specialized kit. For storage, there's an 800 KB floppy drive and, optionally, a 40 to 80 MB hard disk.
But the true revolution of the Macintosh II lies in its graphics capabilities. Color display makes its debut in the Mac lineup with a theoretical palette of 16.7 million shades. Only 256 display simultaneously, admittedly, but this already represents a considerable leap. More boldly, the machine accepts multiple monitors. Users choose between the 12-inch monochrome screen and the 13-inch color model, the latter exploiting Sony's Trinitron technology and its reputation for excellence.
The exterior appearance breaks with Mac tradition. The horizontal case evokes IBM PCs rather than the vertical elegance of early Macintoshes. This form houses a motherboard equipped with six NuBus expansion slots. These slots accommodate graphics cards, SCSI controllers, or CP/M and Pascal emulators. Apple maintains its legendary simplicity: no jumpers to position, no DIP switches to set. Cards configure themselves automatically.
Connectivity doesn't skimp on possibilities. Two serial ports, two Apple Desktop Bus connectors for peripherals, a SCSI interface, and a stereo audio output equip the machine. Sound deserves particular attention thanks to its custom chip. Four stereo voices with 44.1 kHz sampling: remarkable quality for the era.
MultiFinder accompanies this hardware power. This operating system allows simultaneous execution of multiple applications. Printing while downloading, calculating in the background during writing—all these possibilities represented innovation in 1987. The graphical interface retains Mac clarity while exploiting color.
The price reflects the product's ambition: $5,498 with hard drive, equivalent to over $14,000 today. This pricing clearly targets professionals and affluent users. Results follow: desktop publishing, graphics, and engineering sectors readily adopt this machine.
Beyond sales figures, the Macintosh II establishes lasting standards. The importance of display quality, controlled modularity, configuration automation: these principles still guide contemporary computer design. Proof that a computer can combine power with ease of use, a philosophy that spans decades at Apple.
Production ends in January 1990, replaced by the more powerful Macintosh IIx and IIfx. The legacy endures in the professional workstations that follow. This attention to display and sound heralds the multimedia era of personal computing.
The Macintosh II crystallizes a particular moment in Apple's history. The company demonstrates its ability to adapt to professional market constraints without abandoning its convictions. This search for balance between commercial openness and distinct identity still characterizes Apple's development strategy.