Images of Prototype Apple Macintosh With Clear Casing Shared Online

[MacRumors]

Twitter user @DongleBookPro has shared images of a prototype Macintosh Classic with a translucent casing.

The final retail Macintosh Classic used an iconic beige plastic, so it is rare to see one with a clear casing. This allows it to show off many of the Macintosh's internal parts, such as its nine-inch CRT monitor. It also highlights just how much empty space there was within the Mac.

DongleBookPro did not share any further information about the machine, but Apple has been known to prototype its devices using translucent casings, such as for the Apple Newton or the Macintosh Portable M5120. These prototypes with clear casings are very rare and fetch high prices when they come to auction.

DongleBookPro regularly posts images of unreleased Apple devices and prototypes. In August, they revealed images of an unreleased first-generation iPod touch prototype with a 2013 Mac Pro-style glossy black finish and a prototype first-generation Mac mini with a built-in dock for an iPod nano.

Article Link: Images of Prototype Apple Macintosh With Clear Casing Shared Online

 

[ibm601]

That is not a prototype of the original Mac. That is at best a prototype of a Macintosh Classic II.

 

[ibm601]

That is not a prototype of the original Mac. That is at best a prototype of a Macintosh Classic II.

Correction: that is a prototype of a Macintosh Classic. You can see the RAM expansion card that gives it 2 MB, and while the case has a port hole for a microphone you can tell that the logic board doesn’t have a mic input.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Oh wow! It looks so authentic and real.

Perhaps!

 

[diamondsw]

That's a Macintosh SE prototype. First of all, the Mac 128K would never run anywhere near System 7 (which required 2MB of memory). Secondly, the ADB ports on the back weren't introduced until the SE. Third, the hard drive plainly visible above the floppy drive. Finally, the vent holes for the fan; the original Macs were fanless.

EDIT: Agreed with ibm601 above; I missed the expansion card for memory and the mic port. All of those point to a Classic prototype, circa 1991. Good catches!

All of that said, this is still an interesting find and it's in fantastic shape, but bad reporting for a Mac-centric site.

 

[coredev]

I like the term iconic beige plastic 😁

 

[chucker23n1]

Twitter user @DongleBookPro has shared images of a prototype original Macintosh with a translucent casing.

The Apple Macintosh, later called the Macintosh 128K, was the original Apple Macintosh personal computer released in 1984. The Macintosh was introduced in the famous "1984" Super Bowl commercial directed by Ridley Scott. The machine retailed for $2,495, which is equivalent to over $6,000 today.

The final retail Macintosh used an iconic beige plastic, so it is rare to see one with a clear casing. This allows it to show off many of the Macintosh's internal parts, such as its nine-inch CRT monitor. It also highlights just how much empty space there was within the original Macintosh.

DongleBookPro did not share any further information about the machine, but Apple has been known to prototype its devices using translucent casings, such as for the Apple Newton or the Macintosh Portable M5120. These prototypes with clear casings are very rare and fetch high prices when they come to auction.

DongleBookPro regularly posts images of unreleased Apple devices and prototypes. In August, they revealed images of an unreleased first-generation iPod touch prototype with a 2013 Mac Pro-style glossy black finish and a prototype first-generation Mac mini with a built-in dock for an iPod nano.

Article Link: Images of Prototype Apple Macintosh With Clear Casing Shared Online

In no universe did the original Macintosh have ADB and SCSI, 2 MiB RAM, and System 7.5.3. Come on.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Fact checking seems to have been missing with this article.

 

[lighthouse_man]

I like the term iconic beige plastic 😁

Unapologetically.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Plus the original 'Fat Mac' had a thinner power supply switch.

 

[Hemingray]

That's a Macintosh SE prototype. First of all, the Mac 128K would never run anywhere near System 7 (which required 2MB of memory). Secondly, the ADB ports on the back weren't introduced until the SE. Third, the hard drive plainly visible above the floppy drive. Finally, the vent holes for the fan; the original Macs were fanless.

EDIT: Agreed with ibm601 above; I missed the expansion card for memory and the mic port. All of those point to a Classic prototype, circa 1991. Good catches!

All of that said, this is still an interesting find and it's in fantastic shape, but bad reporting for a Mac-centric site.

Also, the power switch is wider than the original. I will never forget the distinct shape & feel of the original, having to reach back and find it every time...

Edit: PinkyMacGodess beat me to it!

 

[cmaier]

For a mac -centric site, not good reporting.

 

[Doomtomb]

kinda makes me wonder how many of these could be faked.

 

[machpost]

It's a prison Mac.

 

[calstanford]

Looks quite awful really

 

[vagos]

Clearly photoshoped.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I seem to remember a company that did clear cases for modders. Is this their work I wonder?

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

The sticker makes no sense. If it meets DHHS regulations, but can't be sold in the US, why would it meet DHHS regulations? Ireland has an HHS, but I can't see where they called it the 'DHHS'.

 

[theluggage]

The machine retailed for $2,495, which is equivalent to over $6,000 today.

...while that's true for a given value of "equivalent" it's worth putting that into context: the 1981 IBM PC cost $1600 for a 16K machine with no floppy disc drives (and I'm not sure if that even included a display) and the 1983 PC XT started at $4000 (although that included a 10 MB (!!) hard drive which would have been the thick end of $1000 in those days).

A grand or two for a half-decent personal computer wasn't particularly shocking in those days. There were cheaper sub-$1k "home computers" but apart from having game-friendly color graphics they were very limited, and adding floppy drives cost a fortune. ~$100-$200 machines like the Sinclair/Timex offerings were very primitive (in 2020 terms they'd be the Raspberry Pi). The Mac wasn't cheap, but it wasn't stratospherically expensive, either.

So, yeah, $6000 gives an idea of how "attainable" (or not) computers were back then w.r.t. the cost of living, but that's applying an average inflation rate to a product category (basically, all of consumer electronics) that in reality has seen massive deflation (especially if you factor in performance) since then.

 

[johnmarki]

Authentic or not...this is so gorgeous to me. It's a piece of art! 😍🖤

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

And I thought Apple prototype boards were red.

 

[hagjohn]

FU YU .... on the front. About says it all. 🤣

 

[JosephAW]

Bought the coprocessor daughter card for my Classic II to help speed things along. Used it as a fax server and network server until it died.

 

[JosephAW]

Still have some Plus, 512 and 128 models around with the signatures inside on the case. I wonder if they are worth anything yet?

 

[Nicole1980]

For a mac -centric site, not good reporting.

I’m actually surprised none of the moderators hasn’t spoken up and at least mentioned that they plan to correct the article at some point.