Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh
 | |
| Introduced | March 20, 1997 |
| Discontinued | March 14, 1998 |
| MSRP | US$7,499 |
| CPU | PowerPC 603e |
| CPU speed | 250 MHz |
| L2 Cache | 256 KiB, max 1 MiB |
| 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 TV Tuner FM Tuner Rear Side Ports: 1 ADB 2 DIN-8 GeoPorts DB-25 SCSI 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 |
| Floppy Drive | Apple SuperDrive |
| Initial OS | System 7.6.1 |
| Final OS | Mac OS 9.1 |
| Weight | 6.8 kg (14.9 lb) |
| Dimensions | Metric - 438 × 419 × 254 mm Imperial - 17.25 × 16.5 × 10 in |
History
The Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh was introduced as 20th year celebration of Apple Computer, Inc. Apple turned 20 on April 1, 1996, but the TAM was only announced at MacWorld Expo, San Francisco on January 7, 1997, with a release date of March 20, 1997[2] and a retail price of US$7,499.
Specifications and design
In the mid-1990s Apple's own lineup (and that of most PC manufacturers), including their all-in-one PowerMacs, consisted largely of beige boxes. The TAM's design was different from personal computers of its day. Codenamed Spartacus (as well as Pomona, and Smoke and Mirrors) the TAM featured metallic green/gold paint, and was one of the first desktop based computers to use an LCD in its day, in an enclosure only 2.5" deep. 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 go.
The TAM featured a 250 MHz PowerPC 603e processor and 12.1" active matrix LCD powered by an ATI 3D Rage II video chipset with 2MB of VRAM capable of displaying up to 16bit color at 800x600 or 640x480 pixels. It had a vertically mounted 4x SCSI CD-ROM and an Apple floppy Superdrive, a 2GB ATA hard drive, a TV/FM tuner, an S-Video card, and a custom-made Bose sound system[3] including two "Jewel" speakers and a subwoofer built into the externally located power supply "base unit".
A fairly thick "umbilical" cable connects the base unit to the head unit, supplying both power, and communications for the subwoofer. The umbilical connects to the base unit via a multi-pin connector, which is the possible cause of the TAM's one major known fault - the "speaker buzz".
The TAM came with a unique 75 key ADB keyboard which featured leather palm-rests and a trackpad 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.
Expandability was offered via a 7 inch PCI slot and Apple Communication slot II 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.
One last unique feature of the TAM greeted owners when they turned the computer on – a special startup chime used only by the 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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
Both of Apple's founders, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, 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 now.[citation needed]
Limitations
Based on a PowerPC 603e processor, the TAM cannot run Mac OS X natively, even with the addition of third party processor upgrade cards.
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.
Reception
Upon unveiling, the TAM was predicted to cost US$9,000, which would include a direct-to-door concierge 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 US$1,995.
The simple reason behind these price drops was that despite an award winning advertising campaign, the TAM was overpriced for what it was.[citation needed] The Power Macintosh 6500 with similar specs, retailed for US$2,999. The TAM was priced out of the market.
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.
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.[citation needed]
External power supplies were used in later Apple computers such as the Power Mac G4 Cube and Mac Mini. Joint efforts with speaker manufacturers (originally Bose, but later Harman Kardon) have become common for several Apple computers.
In popular culture
The TAM is seen in several episodes of the ninth season of Seinfeld in Jerry'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".
A prototype TAM is on the desk of Linus Larrabee in the 1995 remake of the movie Sabrina. The TAM prototype sits on the far right side of Linus, on a dedicated side desk. The CD player has a see through port in the middle of the door that allows for the CD to be inserted and removed, this see through feature was removed in the production version that has a solid dark grey plastic door. The actual unit that Linus had on his desk was Apple's in house development model that Apple lent to the studio.
The computer used in Jasper's hideout, in the film Children of Men, 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 to write a CD (a capability the real computer did not have) in Batman & Robin.[4]
The TAM is used by the housemates on MTV's The Real World: Seattle.[5]
The appearance of the NAVI computer seen in Serial Experiments Lain was greatly influenced by TAM.
References
- ↑ "25 years of Mac - the good, the bad, and the cheese grater". The Register. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
- ↑ "20th Anniversary Macintosh". Apple-History.com. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
- ↑ http://support.apple.com/kb/SP408
- ↑ "Starring the Computer".
- ↑ "The Real Truth behind MTV's 1998 series The Real World - Seattle".
External links
- Apple TAM Detailed Tech Spec page
- Apple TAM Tech Spec page
- Enthusiast Website - Forums, Pictures and Videos
| Preceded by Power Macintosh 5500 |
Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh March 20, 1997 |
Succeeded by Power Macintosh G3 (All-in-One) |
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