Macintosh 512K (1984)
The first update to the Macintosh: same case, same screen, four times the memory. The nickname was earned: Fat Mac.
© Rama, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 FR ↗ Resized, no crop or retouching.
Specs
| Chip | Motorola 68000, 512 KB fixed RAM · Apple |
| Display | 9-inch monochrome, 512×342 |
| Key feature | $3,195 in 1984, per era press · Wikipedia |
Launch
Apple put the Macintosh 512K on sale on September 10, 1984, at $3,195; date and price are recorded by the Centre for Computing History and by Wikipedia (citing that day's Washington Post report). It was the first revision of the original Macintosh: externally identical to the 128K, but with four times the memory, which earned it the Fat Mac nickname. MacPaint and MacWrite still came bundled, and the extra memory opened the door to more demanding software: Microsoft Excel, written specifically for the Mac, required at least 512 KB, per Wikipedia. Owners of the 128K could buy an upgrade to 512 KB for $995, a price that fell as DRAM costs dropped, per The New York Times in 1985. These newspaper references are reported by Wikipedia.
Marketing
The 512 KB allowed Microsoft Excel to run, matching its minimum memory requirement, according to Wikipedia. The same source records the 512K’s use as an AppleShare server from 1987 and Color Systems Technology’s use of multiple machines to colorize films. The LaserWriter allowed shared printing for desktop publishing through AppleTalk.
Flaws and fixes
It offered no RAM slots or internal expansion slots in its official configuration. In April 1986 the 512Ke arrived with an 800 KB floppy drive and the Macintosh Plus ROM, and Apple discontinued the original 512K on April 14, 1986, per its technical specifications. Official support ended on September 1, 1998. · Apple