Apple Macintosh LC
I have two main units, keyboard and mouse.
type computer
country USA
year 1990
os MAC OS 6.0.7
cpu 68020
speed 16 MHz
ram 2 MB
disk 1.44 MB
hd 40 MB
graphic 512 x 384
colors yes
sound beeper
ports ADB, video DB-15, SCSI DB-25, mic Omni,
printer, modem, speaker
The Apple Macintosh LC — The Affordable Colour Mac
Released in October 1990, the Macintosh LC (Low Cost) was Apple’s first affordable colour Macintosh, designed specifically for the education market and home users who wanted colour capability at a price below the professional Mac II family. Using a 16 MHz Motorola 68020 processor, the LC could display up to 256 colours on an Apple 12-inch RGB monitor and offered a single LC PDS expansion slot for optional upgrades. Its pizza-box form factor — thin, wide, and designed to sit horizontally under a monitor — became the template for Apple’s affordable desktop Macs throughout the 1990s.
The Education Market
The LC was targeted primarily at schools, where Apple’s educational pricing made it accessible to institutions that could not afford the more expensive Mac II family. The machine proved enormously popular in American classrooms throughout the early 1990s, continuing the tradition the Apple II had established of making Apple the dominant computer in education. The LC’s ability to run an Apple IIe emulation card — allowing schools to continue using their existing Apple II software library — was a particularly thoughtful inclusion that smoothed the transition from Apple II to Macintosh in educational settings.
Technical Specifications
The LC used a 16 MHz 68020 processor with 2 MB of RAM (expandable to 10 MB), supported System 6.0.7 through System 7.1, and offered a built-in microphone — one of the first consumer Macs to do so. The single LC PDS expansion slot accepted a range of cards including the Apple IIe Card, additional video output cards, and various networking solutions. Despite the 68020’s limitations compared to the 68030 of higher-end Macs, the LC’s colour capability and low price made it a practical and popular choice for budget-conscious buyers.