On April 3, Apple Computer, Inc. introduced a 
new 603 based PowerPC Macintosh for imme- diate distribution in US. educational channels. 
Dubbed the Power Macintosh 5200/75 LC, the 
system becomes Apple's newest and most power-
ful incarnation of all-in-one form factor. The 
svelte unit, which loosely resembles a robust 
AV monitor, sits atop a patent-pending tilt and 
swivel base and incorporates stereo speakers, 
a microphone, and a CD-ROM drive.
    
Inside the Power Macintosh 5200/75 LC is 
is a 75MHz PowerPC 603 processor which 
delivers performance roughly equivalent to the 
Power Macintosh 6100/60. Despite having a higher clock frequency, the 603 chip has a significantly smaller internal cache than the 601,  somewhat taming its performance. Boosted by an external 256k Level-2 cache, however, the 5200/75 easily keeps pace with 6100/60.

The 5200/75 ships standard with 8MB of RAM (expandable to 64), a 500MB IDE hard disk drive, and a double-speed CD-ROM drive (the AppleCD 300i Plus). Unlike the Quadra 630, whose logic board it was based upon, the 5200/75 sports no on-board RAM. Instead, it contains two SIMM slots; one of which is populated by an 8MB SIMM. Unlike other Power Macintoshes, the 5200/75 can accommodate two SIMMs of different capacities (like previous Quadra and Centris models). 

The integrated 15” shadow mask multiple-scan display is identical to that found in the Apple 15” Multiple Scan Display, and can be configured to display 32,768 colors at a resolution of 640x480 or 256 colors at resolutions of 800x600 or 832x624. (The 5200/75’s Video RAM is not expandable.)

Like the Quadra 630 upon which it was based, the Power Macintosh 5200/75 boasts an LC compatible processor direct slot, a Communications Slot (for Apple’s Express Modem card and Ethernet cards), and slots for Apple’s optional Video and TV/Video multimedia cards. Unlike its older brethren, however, the 5200/75 does not offer Power Macintosh-standard GeoPorts.

The standard configuration of the 5200/75 (which includes a standard Apple keyboard) is priced at $1,699 U.S. for the educational channel, making it the least expensive PowerPC Macintosh currently available. A multimedia-ready config- uration, bundling the Apple TV/Video Card and Apple Presentation System, is available for $2,099 U.S. The Power Macintosh 5200/75 LC is expected to be available in the consumer channel and Canadian markets by early summer.

 

On April 17th, Power Computing Corporation  announced that it would soon begin shipping the 
world’s first true Macintosh clones in limited 
quantities. Customizable desktop models of the 
Power 80, Power 100, and Power 110 systems 
will ship on May 1, with tower models following 
by June 15. (Desktop models will ship in quan-
tity by July). The three Mac clones, sporting 
[consecutively] 80, 100, and 110MHz PowerPC 
601 processors, will feature eight SIMM slots, 
2MB of Video RAM (expandable to 4), Ethernet, 
256k Level-2 caches, an optional quadruple speed 
CD-ROM drive, and dual-channel and asynchronous SCSI supporting Apple’s RAID protocol. Hard disk configurations range from 355MB to 9GB. An included $900 software bundle will sport ClarisWorks 3.0, Intuit's Quicken 5.0, Now Utilities, Now Contact, Now Up-To-Date, and 300 Bitstream fonts.

The Power Computing trio will carry prices starting between $1,995 to $2,899 U.S. (including keyboard)—20% lower than comparable Power Macintosh 7100 and 8100 systems—and will be initially offered only through direct sales. Power Computing offers next day delivery on orders, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and lifetime toll-free technical support.

  

Apple again went through an almost annual reor-
ganization this April. The theme this time around 
was a redefined focus on the high-growth market 
sectors of education, home, business and entertain-
ment. To this end, Daniel Eilers, who most recently 
served as president and CEO of Apple's Claris software 
subsidiary, will head up a new Worldwide Marketing and Customer Solutions Group. The group will be responsible for worldwide marketing efforts, Claris Corporation, and eWorld. David Nagel, formerly head of Apple's AppleSoft division, will lead combined product development in the Apple Research and Development organization. This organization will also include Newton development, Apple's Advanced Technology Group, and company-wide OS and technology licensing efforts. The Sales and Customer Support division continues to be regionally managed by the presidents of Apple's three geographic units:  James Buckley of Apple USA; Marco Landi of Apple Europe, and John Floisand of Apple Pacific. Fred Forsyth, senior vice president, will continue to head Manufacturing and Distribution.

“These organizational announcements signal the beginning of the second phase of our business reengineering,” says Apple CEO Michael Spindler in and Apple press release. “During the first phase, which started almost two years ago, we moved our business model to be more industry competitive, improved the company's fiscal health and transitioned the Macintosh platform to the next generation of microprocessor technology with PowerPC. Now, we are ready to put increased marketing and R & D focus on those sectors where we see significant future growth potential, and where Apple has considerable competitive advantage.”

Apple also announced that after a transition period, Ian Diery, executive vice presi- dent of the company's Personal Computer division, plans to leave Apple to pursue other interests. Veteran personal-computing executive Guerrino De Luca has been named president of Claris Corporation to replace the outgoing Daniel Eilers. De Luca is an articulate proponent of OpenDoc, the component software architecture of which Apple is a key developer. Claris Corporation is one of the world's 10 largest vendors of personal computer applications software and the largest vendor of Macintosh software (measured by units shipped).

                                                                               News items compiled and written by