Macintosh Office

Macintosh Office. It was a marketing and software bundle announced by Apple Inc. in early 1985, intended to position the Macintosh as a viable machine for business environments. The suite promised integrated local area networking, file sharing, and laser printing capabilities, aiming to compete with established IBM PC office systems. However, it faced significant delays, component shortages, and was ultimately considered a market failure, though it influenced future AppleTalk and AppleShare technologies.

Overview

The initiative was a strategic effort to expand the Macintosh 128K's appeal beyond education and desktop publishing into corporate settings dominated by IBM and Microsoft. It centered on the concept of a connected workgroup, leveraging the built-in AppleTalk networking hardware of every Macintosh. Key advertised features included the ability to share the expensive LaserWriter printer and, eventually, files via a dedicated server. The bundle was heavily promoted in a famous, surreal television commercial directed by Ridley Scott, known as "Lemmings", which aired during Super Bowl XIX.

Development and release

Development was led by Apple's Macintosh division under Steve Jobs, with significant contributions from engineers like Gursharan Sidhu who worked on the networking protocols. The announcement at the Apple Annual Shareholders Meeting in January 1985 was premature, as several critical components were not ready for release. The AppleTalk Network System software and the essential AppleShare file server software experienced protracted development cycles. This led to a staggered and incomplete launch, with the LaserWriter being the only component readily available, while the AppleTalk cabling system faced production delays.

Components

The bundle was not a single product but a collection of interoperating hardware and software. The cornerstone was the LaserWriter, one of the first PostScript laser printers, which included an AppleTalk interface. Networking relied on the AppleTalk Personal Network, which used LocalTalk connectors and RS-422 cabling to daisy-chain computers. The proposed server software, eventually released as AppleShare, allowed a dedicated Macintosh to act as a file server. Also included was AppleTalk PC Card, software that allowed an IBM PC running DOS to connect to the network and use the LaserWriter.

Market reception and legacy

Reception was overwhelmingly negative due to the vaporware nature of the announcement and the high cost of the complete system. The infamous "Lemmings" commercial, depicting businesspeople blindly following each other off a cliff, was criticized for insulting the very corporate America customers Apple sought. While the LaserWriter became a success in the desktop publishing revolution, the office networking vision failed to materialize as promised. However, the underlying AppleTalk technology proved robust and remained a feature of Macintosh computers for over a decade, influencing later peer-to-peer networking in System 7.

Technical specifications

The network operated on the AppleTalk protocol stack, a CSMA/CA system that used the built-in RS-422 serial port at 230.4 kbit/s. The LaserWriter contained a Motorola 68000 microprocessor and Adobe PostScript interpreter, requiring 1.5 MB of RAM. AppleShare 1.0, finally released in 1987, required a dedicated Macintosh Plus or Macintosh SE with a hard drive running System Tools 5.0. The AppleTalk PC Card required an IBM PC or compatible with a specific Western Digital ISA network controller card to emulate an AppleTalk node.

Category:Apple Inc. software Category:Office suites Category:1985 software