Apple's Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh is a limited-edition personal computer that was released in 1997 in celebration of the company's 20th birthday. While the machine is often regarded as a stylistic landmark, it was met with lukewarm sales, and was derided for its exorbitant price and for championing form over function.

The unique Apple 20th Anniversary Macintosh, based on an internal design similar to the Gazelle architecture, features a 250 MHz PowerPC 603e processor, 32 MB of RAM, a 2.0 GB hard drive, a vertically oriented 4X CD-ROM drive, an ATI 3D RAGE II graphics processor with 2 MB of SGRAM, S-video input, TV/FM Radio capability, and a custom Bose speaker system all packed in a custom, one-of-a-kind case.

The 20th Anniversary Mac shipped with a unique keyboard with an integrated trackpad and Italian leather palm rest as well as a large external Bose subwoofer.

It is quite rare in the UK as only 12,000 units were produced (with a release run of 11,601. The remaining 399 were kept by Apple for use as spare parts) and only 3,500 made for Europe. The TAM was clearly aimed at the office executive, rather than the traditional home user. This was indicated not just by the price tag, but the  executive feel of the machine - leather wrist pads, metallic paint, and the sculptured design.

Family: PowerMac
Codename: Spartacus, Pomona, Smoke & Mirrors
Gestalt ID: 512
Minimum OS: 7.6.1
Maximum OS: 9.1
Introduced: May 1997
Terminated: March 1998

Processor
CPU: PowerPC 603ev
CPU Speed: 250 MHz
FPU: integrated
Bus Speed: 50 MHz
Register Width: 32-bit
Data Bus Width: 64-bit
Address Bus Width: 32-bit

ROM: 4 MB
RAM Type: 168 pin DIMM
Minimum RAM Speed: 60 ns
Onboard RAM: 32 MB
RAM slots: 2
Maximum RAM: 128 MB
Level 1 Cache: 16 kB data, 16 kB instruction
Level 2 Cache: 128 kB DIMM
Expansion Slots: 7" PCI, comm II, video i/o, TV (filled)

Video
Monitor: 12.1" active matrix LCD
Max Resolution: 16 bit 800x600

Storage
Hard Drive: 2.0 GB
ATA Bus: ATA
Floppy Drive: 1.4 MB SuperDrive
Optical Drive: 4x vertical mount CD-ROM

 Although officially produced in celebration of the Twentieth Anniversary of Apple, the 20th Anniversary Mac was released close to a year after the fact, in late Spring, 1997. And a truly unique Mac it was. The Motherboard was similar to that of the PowerMac 5500, and it was based on the same 603e processor, running at 250 MHz. The real innovation of the 20th Anniversary Mac was its unique shape, and advanced sound and video features. It came with an integrated TV/FM Radio System, an S-Video Input, and a custom sound system designed by Bose, with integrated stereo speakers, and a separate sub-woofer (it also included a 33.6Kbps GeoPort modem). The Twentieth Anniversary Mac was a limited edition, and sold for nearly $10,000. Its price was cut to as low as $1,999 and it was discontinued in March 1998.

Our machine base unit has a model number of M3459 and a serial number of 79738. The keyboard has a model number of M3459 and a serial number of AP7 3308J581A. This machine is complete with the User's Manual and Service and Support Guide.

Manufacturer: Apple
Date: 1997

This exhibit has a reference ID of CH70422. Please quote this reference ID in any communication with the Centre for Computing History.

Click on the Image(s) For Detail

	Articles