Code Nation by Michael J. Halvorson

Author:Michael J. Halvorson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Association for Computing Machinery
Published: 2020-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

6.8 The Maturing Mac Platform

By the early 1990s, hardware for the Macintosh platform changed dramatically, improving the computing experience for Mac users in ways similar to what power users on the “Wintel” platform gained with new machines. In mid-1991, Apple sold a range of desktop Macs, including the Macintosh IIfx, Macintosh IIci, and Macintosh SE/30. The first two systems were designed to use replaceable, “stand-alone” monitors. These configurations replaced the built-in monitor setup that was typical of the “classic” Macs. A mid-range Macintosh IIci with 5MB of RAM, an 80MB hard disk, a stand-alone color graphics monitor, enhanced keyboard, and mouse was priced at $5,969.

The new Macintosh systems became popular in businesses and schools, and many offices also purchased a mid-range Apple laser printer, such as the LaserWriter IINT, which retailed for $3,999 in mid-1991.52 Home Mac users certainly coveted the high-end laser printers, but often settled for the Apple ImageWriter II, a dot-matrix alternative with a retail price of $595. Even with the lower-priced peripherals, it was obvious that Macs were more expensive than similarly equipped DOS/Windows machines. The open question was whether Macs were more powerful than DOS-based PCs, and if they offered more bang for the buck. Industry pundits sometimes believed so, and there were many debates about this question in computer publications. The price wars reached their zenith in the mid-1990s, when magazines like Macworld and PC Magazine published regular, grid-based price comparisons in their product review articles. These highlighted what the editors believed to be the “best values” on each platform. PC World flagged their recommended products with “Best Buy” badges. PC Magazine displayed “Editor’s Choice” award markers to highlight the products recommended by their columnists. Often the winners of “best-values” awards were also prominent advertisers in the magazines—a situation that suspicious readers often highlighted in “Letters to the editor.”53 For more information about these user complaints, see Chapter 8.

In July 1991, Apple released System 7, its newest Macintosh operating system, which offered an improved Finder, built-in file-sharing, the HyperCard 2.1 database system, and a sharing feature that allowed programs to exchange data automatically.54 Apple hoped that this release would solidify its power user base and make inroads against the dominant Wintel platform.55 New Mac users also received several ease-of-use features, including a new learning feature called balloon help, which provided contextual assistance with unfamiliar elements of the user interface. This tool displayed short messages in a popup window when the user hovered the mouse over a new or unfamiliar feature.

Like Windows-based PCs, Mac System 7 users were encouraged to multitask as they ran applications in the system, loading one application after another and then switching between them, sharing information via the Clipboard as needed. Some users found the multitasking feature bewildering, as they had on Windows systems. In December 1991, Ben Smith, a technical editor and writer at Byte magazine, raised a fascinating objection to early multitasking features on all PC systems, which included those marketed by Apple, Microsoft, and Unix-based software publishers. His

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.