I have the main unit, Apple printer A9M0303P, ThunderScan scanner unit for Apple printer,
PL30 50M hard disk, Mac 800kt disk, monitor, keyboard and mouse.
type computer
country USA
year 1986
os Apple sys 6.0.7
cpu Motorola 68000
speed 8 MHz
ram 2 MB
rom 128 KB
disk built-in 3.5″ floppy
disk 800KB
graphic 512 x 342
colors Monocrome
sound tone generator
ports dRS 232/422 (2), SCSI, External floppy disk, external loudspeaker
Kun Apple julkaisi Macintosh Plussan vuonna 1986, tarjolle tuli myös päivitys Macintosh 512K:lle
Plussaksi. Päivitys tarkoitti käytännössä emolevyn vaihtoa. ”Ylijääneet” suomalaisten
päivitysten 512K-emolevyt päätyivät myyntiin edullisesti ja joku yritteliäs nuorimies haistoi
tuossa bisneksen. Hän sijoitti emolevyn Convergent Technologiesin päätteen sisälle
ja yhtiökumppaninsa surffilautapajassa(!) valmisti lasikuidusta korotuspalan niin että levykeasema
mahtui samaan pakettiin. Virtalähde oli Convergentin päätteen oma ja alunperinkin kotelon
ulkopuolinen, lattialla pidettävä (valtava) boxi. Hiiri oli Atarin valmistama. En osaa sanoa,
montako tämmöistä ”autotallimäkkiä” valmistui mutta minä ostin yhden. Hinta oli muistaakseni
noin neljännes siitä mitä 512K oli aikanaan maksanut.
Laite toimi ihan hyvin mutta mieli paloi parempaan. Vaihdoin Mac Plussan ROM:it 512K:n emolevylle
ja ostin SCSI-porttipäivityksen ja ulkoisen kovalevyn vuonna 1988 kun olin visiitillä Kaliforniassa.
Päivitin myös muistin kahteen megaan. Jo aiemmin olin hankkinut ImageWriter -kirjoittimen ja siihen
ThunderScan -nimisen skannerilisälaitteen. Se sijoitettiin värinauhan tilalle ja skannaus kävi ikäänkuin
olisi tulostettu, rivin korkuinen nauha kerrallaan. Vielä ehdin tähän laitteistoon hankkia ulkoisen
CD-ROM lukijan (semmoisen missä levy sijoitettiin erilliseen irralliseen ”kelkaan”) ja plussan näppiksen
ennen kuin vihdoin ostin ihan oikean Macintoshin, Mac LC III:n ja 16 tuuman värinäytön.
Jari Asikainen
The Apple Macintosh Plus — The Mac for Everyone
Released in January 1986, the Macintosh Plus was the third model in the Macintosh family and arguably the first truly complete Macintosh. It addressed the most significant limitations of the 128K and 512K — adding 1 MB of RAM (expandable to 4 MB), a double-sided 800 KB floppy drive, and crucially a SCSI port for connecting external hard drives and other peripherals. The SCSI port was transformative: for the first time, Macintosh users could connect fast, large-capacity hard drives, making the Mac a practical machine for serious professional work.
The SCSI Revolution
The addition of SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) to the Mac Plus was arguably its most important feature. Hard drives connected via SCSI could transfer data at 1–4 MB/s — fast enough to make working with large documents, databases, and eventually digital images genuinely practical. External SCSI hard drives became standard accessories for serious Mac users, and the Mac Plus’s SCSI implementation set a standard that Apple maintained through the Macintosh line for over a decade.
Longevity
The Macintosh Plus remained in production until October 1990 — an extraordinary four-and-a-half year lifespan for a personal computer in the rapidly evolving 1980s market. During that time it was updated through successive versions of the Mac OS from System 1 all the way to System 7, demonstrating exceptional software support. Its longevity reflected both its solid engineering and the significant investment Apple had made in developing software and peripherals for the platform.
The Computer Museum Ata Collection
The collection holds three Macintosh Plus units with keyboards (M0110A), mice (M0100), and an Apple 800K external drive — a complete and well-equipped example of the platform as it was used by serious professionals in the late 1980s. Having three units reflects the Mac Plus’s ubiquity in professional environments of the era.
The Apple Macintosh Plus — A Classic Mac Workstation
The Apple Macintosh Plus, released in January 1986, remained in production until October 1990 — a four-and-a-half year lifespan that was extraordinary for a personal computer in the rapidly evolving 1980s technology market. Its longevity reflected both its solid engineering and the significant investment Apple had made in developing software and peripherals for the platform. By the time it was discontinued, the Mac Plus had been updated from Mac OS 1.0 all the way to System 7, demonstrating exceptional software support across its production life.
With 1 MB of RAM, a SCSI port, and an 800 KB floppy drive, the Mac Plus was the foundation upon which the Macintosh ecosystem was built — supporting a vast library of creative software from Adobe, Aldus, Microsoft, and hundreds of independent developers. Its role in establishing desktop publishing, graphic design, and music production as Mac-centric fields has permanently shaped those industries. The Mac Plus is an essential piece of any serious collection of computing history.
The Apple Macintosh Plus — The Mac for Everyone
Released in January 1986, the Macintosh Plus was the third model in the Macintosh family and arguably the first truly complete Macintosh. It addressed the most significant limitations of the 128K and 512K — adding 1 MB of RAM (expandable to 4 MB), a double-sided 800 KB floppy drive, and crucially a SCSI port for connecting external hard drives and other peripherals. The SCSI port was transformative: for the first time, Macintosh users could connect fast, large-capacity hard drives, making the Mac a practical machine for serious professional work.
Desktop Publishing Foundation
The Mac Plus arrived at precisely the right moment to enable the desktop publishing revolution. Combined with the Apple LaserWriter (1985) and Aldus PageMaker, the Mac Plus created an entirely new industry — professional-quality typeset documents produced on a personal computer. Newsletters, brochures, books, and magazines that had previously required expensive professional typesetting equipment could now be produced by small businesses and independent publishers. This revolution permanently transformed the publishing, advertising, and graphic design industries and made the Mac the creative professional’s computer of choice.
Longevity and Support
The Macintosh Plus remained in production until October 1990 — an extraordinary four-and-a-half year production run. During this time it was supported through successive Mac OS versions from System 1 all the way to System 7, receiving software updates that kept it relevant long after its contemporaries had been superseded. The collection holds two Mac Plus units reflecting the machine’s importance as the foundation of the Macintosh ecosystem.