Apple Computer Inc has another round of 68040-based desktops up its sleeve – and ready to go next month, MacWeek reports. The paper hears that the new models, dubbed the 630 series, will be priced at under $2,000; use a 33MHz 68LC040 chip; and be added to the Performa, Quadra and LC lines. The Quadra […]
Apple Computer Inc has another round of 68040-based desktops up its sleeve – and ready to go next month, MacWeek reports. The paper hears that the new models, dubbed the 630 series, will be priced at under $2,000; use a 33MHz 68LC040 chip; and be added to the Performa, Quadra and LC lines. The Quadra version will come with 4Mb memory, a 250Mb or 350Mb disk and optional AppleCD 300i Plus CD-ROM drive. The machines have four expansion slots, each designed to take a specific different type of board. They will be an LC processor direct slot; a communications slot matching the one in the LC 575 to take Apple’s $100 LC Ethernet boards or a new 14.4Kbps internal facsimile modem based on the Apple Express Modem architecture; a video slot to take the Apple Multimedia Video System video-input board that supports NTSC, PAL and SECAM television signals; the fourth slot will take a cable-ready television tuner board similar to the one used in the ill-fated Mac TV. Apple is having to compete fiercely on price, and has pulled out some of the features of the LC 500-series machines. The 630s will have only one Apple Desktop Bus port, one mono sound-in port, and one 72-pin SIMM socket taking up to 36Mb. It has 1Mb non-expandable video RAM, putting up 16-bit colour on 15 displays at 640 by 480 pixel resolution and 8-bit color at 800 by 600 resolution on 15; it also has an 8-bit sound chip, and 16-bit stereo playback will be provided via the CD-ROM drive; the machines are all said to be PowerPC-ready. Again to cut costs, Apple is switching to a new keyboard modelled on the ones that come with no-name Windows personal computers but with the same keyboard layout as the current Apple Extended Keyboard II; it should cost under $100. There will be six configurations from which dealers are expected to be allowed to carry two.
