Early Mac Clones

1st Ed, 4th printing, copyright 1991 (I wouldn't have thought it would rate a 2nd Ed.) Here are the applicable parts from the looks of things. Powder Blue Computers and Akkord Technologies each used Mac 128k ROMs --------------- pg 39 -------------------- "Powder Blue's BlueMAQ II and IIx clones use the Mac Plus logic board for I/O port control and add a second logic board that allows them to achieve up to 5x the performance of a Mac IIx. The company offers four models ranging in price from $4799 to $7999. The base model BlueMAQ II includes a 16Mhz 68020, 1Mb RAM, 800k floppy, and a 85Mb HD. All models come with built-in monochrome video and a monitor. I have not heard much from them lately. Akkord's Jonathan uses a 68000 housed in a case about the size and shape of an external HD. It is sold only through European OEMs at a price 30% below European prices for a Mac Plus and includes a 14" Phillips B&W monitor, built-in AppleTalk connector, and external and internal SCSI ports. The company says it plans to enter the U.S. market initially with a $3000 kit with which purchasers can construct a 12 pound Mac portable by adding a logic board and the 128k ROMs. This system will be in stores as soon as it receives FCC certification. A future version of the system will use mac compatible ROMs that Akkord plans to develop itself. Unfortunately, Apple staged a sting of their operations and found illegally copied ROMs in their products.(6) I would say they face an uphill battle. (6)Carolyn Said, "Apple complaint prompts police raid on clone builders," MacWEEK, 4/3/90, p. 67." -------------------- He also mentions portables on pg's 37 & 38. Atari, Colby Systems, Dynamic Computer Products, and Outbound Systems, Inc. (formally Wallaby Systems) Colby: WalkMac SE -- $3999 WalkMac SE 30 -- $6699 Dynamic: (around for a few years) Dynamac Plus $4995 Dynamac SE 30 - $79954 Outbound: "Initailly touted as an add-on product ot the Plus and SE using it's ROMs. At press time they announced their own ROM kit, approved by Apple legal" (4) Raines Cohn, "Outbound: Have ROM will travel," MacWEEK, 1/16/90, p. 1 (4) Raines Cohn, "Outbound ROM set will make laptop's host into server," MacWEEK, 4/3/90, p. 6 ------------------ The bit on Outbound shocked me, it seems they were actually working with Apple. The Author was very impressed with the Atari Stacy laptop $1495, and seemed to consider it with the "Spectre GCR" emulator a good solution. Zane | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator | | healyzh(a)ix.netcom.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast | | healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | For Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | | see http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ | | For the collecting of Classic Computers with info on them. | | see http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/museum.html |