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.
Contents |
The term was first used by Apple Computer in 1988 to refer to their 1.44 MB 3.5 inch floppy drive. This replaced the older 800 KB floppy drive that had been standard in the Macintosh up to then, but remained compatible in that it could continue to read and write both 800K (double-sided) and 400K (single-sided) floppy disks, as well as the then-new high-density floppies. This drive was also capable of reading and writing MS-DOS formatted disks and FAT file formats, using PC Exchange or other software, unlike the 400K and 800K drives. This was made possible as the SuperDrive now utilitized the same MFM (Modified Frequency Modulation) encoding scheme used by the IBM PC, yet still retained backward compatibility with Apple's variable-speed zoned CAV scheme and Group Code Recording encoding format, so it could continue to read Macintosh MFS, HFS and Apple II ProDOS formats on 400/800K disks.
Introduced in 1988 under the Trademark name FDHD (Floppy Disk High Density), the subsequently renamed SuperDrive was known primarily as an internally mounted floppy drive that was part of the Macintosh computer; however, an external version of the drive was manufactured that came in a Snow White-styled plastic case. While the external drive worked on both Apple's product lines, it was mainly intended for use on the Apple II series, for which Apple introduced in 1991 a slot-based interface called the Apple II 3.5 Disk Controller Card for Apple IIe and IIGS computers so they too could use 1.4 MB storage and read/write MS-DOS. The controller card as well as the external Superdrive were discontinued in June 1994.
The SuperDrive cannot be used with the original four Mac models (Macintosh 128K through Macintosh Plus), as their disk controller (IWM) doesn't support high density. The next two models to be released (Macintosh II & Macintosh SE (1987)) also shipped with that controller; a SuperDrive connected to them will behave as an 800K drive. These two models can be upgraded via the M0244 upgrade kit (which replaces the IWM disk controller with the SWIM) and gain full use of the SuperDrive. All later models shipped with the SWIM.
The first Macintosh model to include a SuperDrive floppy drive was the Macintosh IIx (1988). Every Macintosh and PowerBook introduced from 1988-97 (with the exception of the PowerBook 100, PowerBook Duo series, and PowerBook 2400c, which offered a proprietary external floppy drive as an option), had a built-in SuperDrive floppy drive. The last model to include one was the Power Macintosh G3 series, which was manufactured until January 1999. The PowerBook G3 1998 model, (a.k.a. Wallstreet) had an optional floppy drive module. The PowerBook 190 series, PowerBook 5300 Series, PowerBook 3400c, and original PowerBook G3 shared the same interchangeable floppy drive module as a standard feature. The drive as mounted on PowerBooks lacked the auto-inject feature of Apple's initial desktop SuperDrive implementation, requiring the user to manually insert the disk all the way into the drive. The feature was dropped throughout the lineup during 1993-94. The PowerBook 1400 series also had a floppy drive module, but was incompatible with the other PowerBooks. The end of the SuperDrive coincides with the demise of Old World ROM Macs; with the advent of the New World ROM machines, Apple stopped offering internal floppy drives on all models. The SuperDrive is not supported in Mac OS X, not even on the few Old World ROM machines that can officially run OS X.
Once use of floppy disks started declining, Apple reused the trademark to refer to the (originally Pioneer-built) DVD writers built into its Macintosh models, which can read and write both DVDs and CDs but not mini-discs. Apple has used the name to refer to a number of underlying drive mechanisms; as of December 2006, SuperDrives are combination DVD±RW and CD-RW writer drives offering speeds of 8–24X[1] and supporting the DVD±R, DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL, DVD±RW, DVD-9, CD-R, and CD-RW formats along with all normal read-only media. All new Apple computers (except for the MacBook Air and Mac Mini) contain the SuperDrive. DVD-RAM support, notably, is absent or unofficial (some OEM drive models). The recent server version of the Mac Mini optionally includes an external USB SuperDrive, since a SATA hard drive now occupies the space formerly held by the optical drive.
|
||||||||||||||||||||