"The Lisa included a single parallel port, which was dropped in the Lisa 2 and MacXL. The Lisa 2 and MacXL used 2 400 kB Sony 3.5" floppy drives, and both had 10 MB hard drives. Named for one of its designer's daughters, the Lisa was supposed to be the Next Big Thing. It was the first personal computer to use a graphical user interface. Aimed mainly at large businesses, Apple said the Lisa would increase productivity by making computers easier to work with. At $9,995 it was a plunge few businesses were willing to take. When the Macintosh came out in 1984 for significantly less money, it eroded the Lisa's credibility further. Realizing this, Apple released the Lisa 2 (which cost half as much as the original) at the same time as the Mac. In January 1985, the Lisa 2/10 was renamed the Macintosh XL, and outfitted with MacWorks, an emulator that allowed the Lisa to run the Mac OS. The XL was discontinued later that year." (photo credit: John Greenleigh/Flipside Studios)

CPU
CPU: Motorola MC68000
CPU Speed: 5 MHz
FPU: none
Bus Speed: 5 MHz
Data Path: 16 bit
ROM: 16 kB of diagnostic and bootstrap code present
Expansion Slots: 3 Proprietary

Video
Monitor: 12" 720 x 360 built-in (B/W)

Storage
Hard Drive: 5 MB external (10 MB in some configurations of Lisa 2/MacXL)
Floppy Drive: two 871 kB 5.25" (one 400 kB 3.5" in Lisa2)

Input/Output
Serial: 2 RS-232
Audio Out: Continuously Variable Slope Demodulator (CVSD)
Speaker: mono

Miscellaneous
Codename: Lisa
Gestalt ID: 2
Power: 150 Watts
Dimensions: 15.2" H x 18.7" W x 13.8" D
Weight: 48 lbs.
Minimum OS: LisaOS
Maximum OS: LisaOS/MacWorks
Introduced: January 1983
Terminated: August 1986

This byte of Apple's history from Wired's, "30 Years of Apple Products."

"Released in January 1983, The Apple IIe was to be one of the most successful Apple computers ever. It was based on the 6502 processor, which could run at 1.02 MHz. It came with 64K of RAM and a 32K ROM which included BASIC, an assembly language interface, and several other hard-coded options. The Apple IIe originally sold for $1,395, and was replaced in 1985 by an updated model." (photo credit: Personal Computing magazine, Nov. 1984)

CPU

CPU: MOS Technology/SynerTek 6502
CPU Speed: 1 MHz
FPU: none
Bus Speed: 1 MHz
Data Path: 8 bit
ROM: 16 kB
Onboard RAM: 64 kB
RAM slots: expansion via 1st slot
Maximum RAM: 128 k, with Extended 80 Columns Card
Expansion Slots: 8 proprietary

Video
Max Resolution: 40/80x24 text, 4-bit 40x48, 6 color 140x192, 4-bit 140x192, 1-bit 240x192, 1-bit 560x192

Storage
Floppy Drive: optional

Input/Output
Speaker: mono

Miscellaneous
Codename: Diana
Introduced: January 1983
Terminated: March 1985

This byte of Apple's history from Wired's, "30 Years of Apple Products."

I've posted on oriettacat before - but couldn't resist putting this one up, too. I mean, seriously. How cute is she? There's lot more where this came from, too! I just heart your work, oriettacat!

Some people eat out of boredom. I surf instead -- (ok, ok... I occasionally snack at the same time). Point being - whilst browsing through some Firefox extensions this morning, I stumbled upon "Stumble Upon". Ever so handy for someone such as myself. Once installed, you choose from a list of topics (music, movies, software, OSX, photography, etc) then click the "stumble" icon placed in your Firefox toolbar. Website after glorious website are presented to you for your consideration (based on your selected interests) and you decide whether you like 'em or don't, training Stumble Upon on the kinds of sites you like to visit. One could conceivably click this little icon for days if allowed... and I could see how this would be tempting, especially when the first hit one stumbles on is "Tokyo Plastic's Drum Machine." It's a cool little flashy piece - purely for entertainment purposes. I quite liked it. Needless to say, I'm now hooked on this nifty little extension, and foresee many lazy afternoons and long nights of stumbling...
Keep visiting I HEART TO BLOG for more notable "stumbles!"

"The Apple III was announced in June 1980. It contained a Synertek 8-bit 6502A processor which could run at speeds up to 2 MHz. It contained 128K of RAM and a 4K ROM. It could run most Apple II programs through emulation, and came with a sophisticated new operating system. It was the first Apple to include a built-in 5.25" disk drive, and hi-res graphics built-in to the motherboard. It was designed to be Apple's business offering, but sold very poorly. It sold initially for between $4,340 and $7,800, depending on the configuration. The original Apple III had many problems, and was replaced by a revised model in mid-1981, which featured 256K RAM, updated system software, and a lower price ($3495). A 5 MB external hard disk was also made available. The Apple III sold very poorly and was replaced by the Apple III+ ($2995) in Late 1983. The Apple III+ was discontinued in 1985." (photo credit: Matt Garrison)

CPU
CPU: SynerTek 6502A
CPU Speed: 2 MHz
FPU: none
Bus Speed: 2 MHz
Data Path: 8 bit
ROM: 4 kB
Onboard RAM: 128 kB (256 kB in revised and IIIplus)
Maximum RAM: 256 kB
Expansion Slots: 4 proprietary (compatible w/ Apple II)

Video
Max Resolution: 80x24 text, 1 bit (B&W) 590x192

Storage
Floppy Drive: built-in Shugart 143 kB 5.25"

Input/Output
Serial: optional expansion card
Speaker: mono

Miscellaneous
Codename: Sara
Introduced: June 1980
Terminated: 1985

This byte of Apple's history from Wired's, "30 Years of Apple Products."

I always found fruit labels appealing. Banana's, oranges, apples, nectarines... they're all suddenly so much more interesting with a pretty, colourful label affixed to them. So when I spotted these little delights on Monochrom, I downloaded them in a nano-second. And if fruit doesn't do it for you, they offer up a pretty diverse smattering of free, unique icons. Thanks, Monochom!

Pixel Gasoline, a vastly talented Montreal-based firm, specializes in 3D websites & 3D animation... and it shows. You must check out their site at once -- if not for the uncommon experience of exploring an 50's-era service station after dark, then for the classic jingles and doo-wop that plays softly in the background. What a treat.

"Essentially an updated version of the Apple II, the II+ came with 48K RAM, and a new auto-start ROM for easier start-up and screen editing. It also included a new flavor of Basic in the ROM: a floating point version written by a new company called Microsoft. It was released in June 1978 and retailed for $1,195. The II+ was sold in Europe as the II europlus, which could display video in European PAL format, and had ESC sequences for European letters. It was replaced by the Apple IIe in 1983." (photo credit: Personal Computing magazine, Nov. 1984)

"Built in 1977, the Apple II was based on Wozniak's Apple I design, but with several additions. The first was the design of a beige plastic case -- a rarity at the time. The second was the ability to display color graphics--a holy grail in the industry. The Apple II also included a larger ROM, more expandable RAM (4K to start), and 8 expansion slots. It had integer BASIC hard-coded on the ROM for easier programming, and included two game paddles and a demo cassette for $1,298. In early 1978 Apple also released a disk drive for the machine, one of the most inexpensive available. The Apple II remained on the Apple product list until 1980. It was also repackaged in a black case (pictured above) and sold to educational markets by Bell & Howell." (photo credit: Personal Computing magazine, Nov. 1984)

CPU
CPU: MOS Technology 6502
CPU Speed: 1 MHz
FPU: none
Bus Speed: 1 MHz
Data Path: 8 bit
ROM: 12 kB
RAM slots: 1st expansion slot can be used
Expansion Slots: 8 proprietary

Video
Max Resolution: 6 color at 280x192, 4-bit color at 40x48

Storage
Floppy Drive: optional

Input/Output
Serial: optional expansion card
Speaker: mono

Miscellaneous
Codename: ?
Introduced: 1977
Terminated: 1980

This byte of Apple's history from Wired's "30 Years of Apple Products."