Apple computers from the sweetest to the rottenest
Twenty five years is an eon for a computer, and 1984 is the technological equivalent of caveman times as far as personal computer is concerned.
This makes it all the more remarkable that the Macintosh computer has made it to 25. No other line of computers has had either the longevity or the cultural impact of Apple's flagship system. The Mac has inspired a company, and an industry, and even an entire subculture.
But it hasn't always been smooth sailing. The various incarnations of the Mac have included some real clunkers over the years. So, as we toast the Mac on its birthday, we take a look at the best and worst machines ever to bear the brand.
The formulation of this list was long and hard. Shaun is a relatively restrained Apple fan, whereas I have a penchant for PCs. This led to some interesting, and occasionally heated, discussions and, if you think we've missed any off the list, the comments section at the bottom is there for your use.
One final thing, there's one Mac we left off the list. Listen here to find out why.
THE BEST MACS
5. Power Mac 9600
Shaun Nichols: The darkest days of Apple's corporate timeline also brought about one of its best models. The Power Macintosh 9600 was everything Macs weren't supposed to be: big, powerful and extremely expandable.
Sporting a 350MHz 604e processor, room for up to 1.5Gb of memory and six PCI slots, the 9600 was a big beige beast on par with any PC system at the time. Unlike the earlier 9500 model the case was easy to open, and access to all of the hardware components was a breeze, making the 9600 a favourite among tinkerers and power users.
Although it was later phased out in favour of the G3, the 9600 endured for years beyond its intended lifecycle owing to its power and expandability.
Iain Thomson: The 9600 was a great bit of kit, and one of the most flexible of Apple's systems. Being able to boost the RAM capacity to 1.5Gb was a great advantage and, as Shaun has noted, led to them staying in use for far longer than Apple may have liked.
It was unfortunately saddled with a dog of an operating system in System 7, but it was still as good a bit of big iron as Apple has ever made.
4. G3/G4 Blue/Grey towers
Shaun Nichols: The bright plastic iMac colour scheme hasn't exactly aged well, but that doesn't mean that Apple's G3/G4 line of towers aren't great systems under the hood.
The towers were one of the first Power Mac lines to really follow the current Mac/iMac structure in which the iMac covered most of the consumer market, allowing the PowerMac to be sold as a fully equipped high-end beast.
While the very first revisions of the Blue & White G3 towers shipped with a bad IDE controller that was unable to support a second hard drive, both lines were very expandable.
Iain Thomson: I'm not sure about the colour scheme not ageing well. It still looks pretty good to me and, considering that designers are still an important vertical market for Apple, it was a good move.
One feature I really liked about these systems was the ease of access. It was quick and simple to get into the innards of the beast and swap hardware in and out, something that Apple hasn't really done with its consumer lines.
They also used the copper-based PowerPC chips, which were a step change in performance and made life a lot easier for a lot of people.
3. MacBook
Iain Thomson: The MacBook was a good example of what Apple can do when it gets it right. The laptop was well designed, had enough iron under the lid to handle most jobs and crucially came with Intel processors.
This meant you could run a dual-boot system with Windows which allowed you access to most of the world's software and allowed Mac users to integrate.
The aluminium body design was a classic, although overheating problems marred the first models. And problems there were: after using one for a few hours it felt as though you could fry bacon on one of those things, and it wasn't something you wanted to use on your lap, particularly with the stories of Dell's exploding batteries floating around.
Shaun Nichols: When compared to its predecessors, the MacBook Pro truly was, and still is, a sight to behold. Not only did it sport a multi-core Intel chip, but it had the ability to run Windows and new Universal Binary code.
There were also the little niceties, such as the MagSafe connector and a built-in iSight camera. They were quite pricey, but the MacBook Pro models were a huge leap forward in Apple notebooks.
2. Macintosh II
Iain Thomson: The Macintosh II was the first Mac that was really a functional computer and not just a shiny toy.
To start off with it had a hard drive, albeit laughably small by today's standards at 20MB, but that was more than enough at the time. It could support colour, had a separate monitor, and came with 1Mb of RAM. You could expand on that, and it also had further expansion slots.
It was so good it was sold in various incarnations for nearly a decade and for many in the desktop publishing world it was the first Mac they used. All-in-all an Apple classic.
Shaun Nichols: While the original Mac was great in its own right, the Macintosh II was the first glimpse of what a Mac could offer creative professionals. The expandability and solid graphics support allowed it to really shine in emerging fields such as desktop publishing.
From the Macintosh II release in 1987, you can begin to build the family tree that led to the high-powered Quadra, Power Mac and now the Mac Pro lines.
1. iMac
Shaun Nichols: In 1984 Apple shook the computing world with a stylish, compact all-in-one system that changed the market and expanded the reach of the industry.
Fourteen years later, the company repeated that feat and then some. The iMac singlehandedly smashed the notion that a home computer had to be a clunky beige box with a monitor perched on top. The semi-translucent casing and sleek, rounded design made the computer a bona fide fashion icon.
The iMac redefined Apple's target market. Rather than go after advanced home computer users who sought a host of peripheral connections and easy access to the system's inner-workings, Apple aimed the iMac at average consumers looking for a simple and unintimidating way to get in on the internet boom.
Perhaps more than any other product since 1984, that first Bondi Blue iMac line helped chart the course for Apple to become the consumer electronics powerhouse it is today.
Iain Thomson: The iMac was a design sensation, and the advertising slogan 'Not available in beige' was a classic. Apple designer Jonathan Ive showed the skills with this system that were to give us the iPhone and iPod.
The iMac was instantly recognisable and soon started appearing on TV and film (helped I suspect by an effective product placement campaign) which only helped solidify the computer's reputation.
From a technological standpoint the decision not to include a floppy drive was a bit of a gamble but one that ultimately paid off. So too was the support for USB above all else.
But the best thing about the iMac was that it was a clear statement that Steve Jobs was back. After years of corporate infighting Apple had a visionary back at the helm.
Honourable mention: iBook G3
Iain Thomson: The original iBook was a thing of beauty. Its soft colours and rounded curves made it look spectacular in a laptop world dominated by impersonal slabs.
It wasn't too shabby under the hood either. It had integrated wireless networking, which was almost unheard of at the time but is now standard for all laptop models. It had a decent sized hard drive, and up to 64Mb of RAM.
True, it wasn't something the hard-edged businessman or hardcore hacker would want to be seen with. The pastel colour schemes didn't help, especially when coupled with the carrying handle that made it look like a handbag. But it was a very nice bit of kit and also deserves a mention for being the first computer my girlfriend actually wanted to own.
Shaun Nichols: Like tribal tattoos and 'Who Let the Dogs Out', the bright plastic colour scheme from Apple's millennium-era computer line up has not aged well.
Still, the iBook G3 was all the rage at the time. A bright, portable counterpart to the iMac, the first iBooks featured some serious power, even if they did look like an eight-year old girl's lunch box.
Additionally, it broke new ground for Apple on several fronts, such as the inclusion of AirPort wireless networking.
THE WORST MACS
5. Macintosh Portable
Iain Thomson: The Macintosh Portable was Apple's first attempt at creating a computer that wasn't tied to the desk. And it was awful.
In many ways it resembled the Compaq Portable; indeed many at Compaq noted the similarity in design. But the Compaq model came out in 1982, compared to 1989, and Apple didn't seem to have advanced things much. Sure, it weighed less (7.2kg compared to Compaq's 12.5kg) but portable it was not.
There was also the problem of the batteries. While it gave stunning battery life by today's standards (up to 12 hours), once those batteries were expended design flaws left the Portable prone to not recharging at all, leaving you with a very expensive door stop.
It didn't even have a hard drive as standard and, while the full sized keyboard was nice, the screen wasn't, being tiny, monochrome and very hard to read in sub-optimal light conditions. All in all the Portable is the kind of system designers look back on and wince at.
Shaun Nichols: It can be a bit difficult in this day and age to imagine a 'portable' system weighing 7.2kg, when you consider that the latest 15in MacBook Pro weighs in at 2.4kg. Stack three MacBook Pros on top of each other, then carry them around for a while, and that's the Macintosh Portable for you, minus the performance.
Like other memorable Apple flops such as the Lisa and Newton, the Macintosh Portable was too far ahead of its time: a brilliant concept that just didn't have the muscle to thrive.
Fortunately, Apple didn't give up on the notebook market, and a few years later the first PowerBook models were released to rave reviews.
4. Performa 6200 series
Shaun Nichols: Few things symbolise Apple's mid-1990s woes like the disastrous Performa line. And few things typify the woes of the Performa line like the 6200 series.
Mac history website Low End Mac refers to the 6200 models as 'Road Apples'. I would have to share that assessment. The 6200 series was, in a lot of ways, comparable to dealing with a big pile of horse excrement.
The systems were slow due to cost-cutting on such vital components as hard drives and networking, while poor design left the systems difficult to upgrade and with little headroom. This model definitely straddled the line between 'Apple' and 'Lemon'.
Iain Thomson: Almost everything about this system screams 'botched job'. The motherboard was adapted from an old Quadra motherboard with all the engineering skill usually found in a classically trained ballerina, crippling the processor and harming performance.
Later revisions solved some of these problems, but it was a skilled buyer who could navigate the pitfalls, and all too often users were saddled with a duff machine.
Every designer I know hated this machine, and knew that if they were to find one on their desk the day couldn't get any worse, unless the previous night had involved a bottle of Metaxa and waking up next to a girl with a pronounced Adam's apple.
3. Mac Cube
Shaun Nichols: I may get taken to task for this selection. The Mac Cube is a bit of a cult favourite, and I have to admit that the design was pretty cool at the time. Unfortunately, the cosmetic appeal fails to make up for the Cube's shortcomings.
While it seems odd to describe a computer as 'pretentious', that is sort of what the Cube was. Though priced at a base of $1,800, the Cube lacked much in the way of expandability due to its ultra-compact design. It also had a very annoying lack of normal sound input, forcing the user to rely on expensive external USB speaker systems.
In many ways, the Cube was to the Mac Mini what the Lisa was to the Macintosh. The stripped-down case design and low price-point made it the affordable, external monitor-capable model that the Cube could never be.
Iain Thomson: I have to disagree with you on this, Shaun. The Lisa was an example of what a computer could be. The Cube is the perfect example of what it shouldn't be.
The Cube was the ultimate example of Apple's worst flaw: the tendency to choose style over substance. In order to get the cube design, the user was left unable to use full length graphics cards, something unforgivable considering Apple's core market for this product.
Yes, it's very pretty, but who would you rather have doing your number crunching: John Maynard Keynes or Jennifer Aniston?
2. Color Classic
Iain Thomson: Quite what was going on at Apple when it thought this piece of junk was a good idea I don't know. I can only attribute it to it being the era that John Scully threw out Steve Jobs and went about wrecking the company.
The Color Classic was essentially a Macintosh LCII with a colour screen. It had all of the disadvantages of the LCII, with the only advantage being a colour screen that distorted the top of the case.
All this for the princely sum of $1,400 which, considering it was aimed at the education market, made it rather expensive. On Apple's report card this one comes in as: 'Uninspiring. Must try harder next year.'
Shaun Nichols: The original Mac case design was a revolutionary concept - in 1984. By 1993, the design was quite dated and the small screen of the Mac Classic lent itself to very little beyond word processing. And for the education sector that made up the vast majority of the Classic's market, that was more than enough.
It wasn't that the Classic didn't come with a colour screen because the technology wasn't there, it simply wasn't needed for the niche that the system filled.
Unfortunately, Apple went ahead and built a new Color Classic model that sported a measly 10in screen and a mutated case design that looked like it had been left out in the sun on a hot day. Aside from that, the 16MHz processor was rather slow, even by early 1990s standards.
Even at relatively small price tag, the Color Classic simply wasn't a good buy for most people in the market for a new Mac.
1. 20th Anniversary Mac
Shaun Nichols: In 1997, Apple's executive team decided to celebrate the company's 20th birthday by producing an ultra high-end Mac that featured a cutting-edge design and a mind-blowing $9,000 price tag.
They probably should have spent their time figuring out a way to save the company instead.
Drastically overpriced for its specs, the 20th Anniversary Mac was an audacious flaunting of excess rarely seen outside Dubai these days. Not surprisingly, the line absolutely flopped and was dead within a year, though not before the price had dropped to less than a quarter of the original.
It is said that both Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs received a 20th Anniversary Mac on the model's release. Perhaps it's no coincidence, then, that within a year Jobs returned to Apple and fired much of the management team.
Iain Thomson: You could almost see the thought processes in Gil Amelio's mind when he unveiled this model: 'The suckers are going to buy it.'
Thankfully even the most rabid Apple fanboy baulked at this hugely overpriced system. Apple deliberately produced only 12,000 and kept 200 of those back for spares. It was an ill-conceived idea from start to finish.
Most of all this system really angered those Apple enthusiasts who were fool enough to buy the first models. As Apple slashed the price again and again to try and shift stock they complained and, given that the buyers were the cream of Apple's market, they were bought off with gifts, adding further to the expense of the system.
If I saw one of these systems in the corner of the room and the user wasn't actually working at Apple I'd think they were gullible morons with more money than sense.
Honourable mention: Lisa
Iain Thomson: Technically the Lisa wasn't a Mac but, as it did have a GUI and a mouse, I've nominated it anyway.
Lisa was a monument to Steve Jobs's desire for quality. It was far ahead of any other system in its time, with good support for memory, a decent graphics package, the ability to multitask and a compact design that was functional for an office.
But it was also a monument to Jobs's vanity: if he built it customers would put aside petty economics and buy it. It was crushingly expensive, so much so that very few were sold.
It was also, to be frank, a rip-off of the Xerox Alto that Jobs and his team saw at Xerox PARC.
Shaun Nichols: It's a little hard to rip on the Lisa, as it's considered to be such a landmark product that a unit is on display at the Smithsonian.
Still, the Lisa is a stark reminder that even Steve Jobs can be too ambitious at times. No matter how good a product is, if you can't make it affordable to your target audience, it simply won't sell.
$10,000 for a home computer is far too much, especially in 1983. The Lisa should have been shelved and remodelled into a system that people could actually afford. Fortunately, that's exactly what the company did a year later.