Power Macintosh

From Free net encyclopedia

Image:Power Mac G5.jpg Power Macintosh, or Power Mac, is the name of a line of Apple Macintosh personal computers based on various models of PowerPC microprocessors. Apple Computer produced the first Power Macs in 1994, starting with the Power Macintosh 6100, which offered speeds of 60 and 66 MHz. Apple's previous high-end line of personal computers was the Quadra series.

1 Models
- 1.1 Old World ROM
- 1.2 New World ROM
2 Naming
3 Usage
4 Advertising and marketing
5 Processor and software
6 Timelines
7 See also
8 External links

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Models

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Old World ROM

Image:Power Macintosh 6100-66.jpg

Power Macintosh 4400/160, 200 (PC)
Power Macintosh 5200/75 LC
Power Macintosh 5260/100, 120
Power Macintosh 5300/100 LC
Power Macintosh 5400/120, 180, 200
Power Macintosh 5500/225 and 250
Power Macintosh 6100/60 (PC), 60AV, 66 (PC), 66AV
Power Macintosh 6200/75
Power Macintosh 6300/120
Power Macintosh 6400/200
Power Macintosh 6500/225, 250, 275, 300
Power Macintosh 7100/66, 66AV, 80, 80AV
Power Macintosh 7200/75, 90, 120 (PC), 200 (PC)
Power Macintosh 7300/166, 180 (PC), 200
Power Macintosh 7500/100
Power Macintosh 7600/120, 132, 200
Power Macintosh 8100/80, 80AV, 100, 100AV, 110, 110AV
Power Macintosh 8115/110
Power Macintosh 8200/100, 120
Power Macintosh 8500/120, 132, 150, 180
Power Macintosh 8515/120
Power Macintosh 8600/200, 250, 300
Power Macintosh 9500/120, 132, 150, 180MP, 200
Power Macintosh 9515/132
Power Macintosh 9600/200, 200MP, 233, 300, 350
Power Macintosh G3 (beige)

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New World ROM

The following are recent and current Power Macintosh lines based on the New World ROM.

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Naming

All Power Macs prior to 1997 used PowerPC 60x-series processors, and 4-digit model numbers (e.g. Power Mac 8600). In 1997 the first third-generation ("G3") Power Macintosh was introduced, using the PowerPC 750 processor. From this model onward, Apple no longer used a numbering scheme to identify their Power Mac models, but instead referred to them by their PowerPC processor generation number (i.e. G3, G4, and G5). Later models based on the same generation of PowerPC processor relied on descriptive characteristics to differentiate them, e.g. the color scheme ("Power Macintosh G3 - Blue and White") or a technical feature of a particular model ("Power Mac G4 - Gigabit Ethernet"). This same identification scheme was used in the iMac, PowerBook, and iBook lines of Macintosh computers.

The marketing name was changed from Power Macintosh to Power Mac with the introduction of the G4 models, meaning all G3 and earlier models are Power Macintoshes, while all G4 and G5 models are Power Macs. Not all Apple documentation follows this rule, but the vast majority does.

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Usage

As of 2005, the "Power Mac" brand name is used for Apple's high-end tower style computers, targeted primarily at businesses and creative professionals, in differentiation to their more compact "iMac" line (intended for home use) and the "eMac" line (for the education markets). These are usually equipped with Apple's newest technologies, and command the highest prices among Apple desktop models. Some Power Mac G4 and G5 models have been offered in dual-processor configurations. In June 2005, Apple announced that they would begin a transition to using Intel processors instead of the PowerPC line; it is not known how these machines will be named, whether retaining the "Power Mac" moniker with a suffix other than "G5", or switching to something different. However, with the release of MacBook Pro (the Intel version of PowerBook), it appears the entire Power Mac line may be renamed. (Apple has recently filed for a trademark on the name 'Mac Pro', suggesting an intention to use this name for the inevitable Intel-based professional Macs.) Other current and past Macintosh lines have used PowerPC processors, including the Macintosh Performa, iMac, iBook, and PowerBook 5300 and later models.

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Advertising and marketing

Apple introduced the Power Macintosh series of high-end personal computers aimed at businesses and creative professionals in 1994 with an advertising campaign consisting of several television commercials and print ads. The television commercials used the slogan "The Future Is Better Than You Expected", featuring the first three Power Macintosh computers to showcase special features such as networking and MS-DOS compatibility.

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Processor and software

The ROM and Mac OS operating system released with the new Power Mac machines included an emulator to enable programs written for Motorola 68k series CPUs, including nearly all prior Mac software, to run without changes. As the Power Mac was originally intended to be a part of the high end of Apple's product line, for a number of years the company continued to offer less expensive 68k-based computers alongside the more expensive Power Mac lineup. In April 1996, Apple discontinued the Macintosh LC 580 (released in 1995), the last remaining desktop model of the 68k-based Macintosh line. The PowerBook 190cs, the last 68k-based PowerBook, was discontinued in October of 1996. All subsequent Macintosh computers would be based on PowerPC processors until 2006, when Apple began a transition to Intel processors.

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