Thread
Those more rare compact variants
Note that I've changed the wording of my entries on the 1987 512Ke (like Mac128 says, until another 1987 M0001E surfaces we can't really be sure -- this is basically just my prediction of what it will be based on the only example I've ever "seen" -- note that this sort of seemingly-authoritative-statement-actually-based-on-speculation is not something I make a practice of doing -- the evidence for most everything else on the site is conclusive), as follows:
There were two generations of Macintosh 512Ke [M0001E] machines:
Beige machines produced in 1986 have a label on the back with no copyright date. They came with the M0110 standard keyboard and contained first-revision Macintosh Plus ROMs.
Platinum machines have a 1987 copyright date on the label. They came with the M0110A extended keyboard and contained second-revision Macintosh Plus ROMs. These machines existed, but I don't know if they were ever sold retail. They may have only been sold through educational institutions.
Note: I have never seen a M0001E with a 220-240V power supply.
[...]
Sales of the Macintosh 512Ke continued until September 1987. The design of the outer box was changed in early 1987, but evidently the content and design of the owner's guide did not change. I don't know if the 512Ke was sold retail after January 1987 (see above).
[...]
Sales of the Macintosh 512Ke continued until September 1987, but evidently the software bundle did not change after June 1986. I don't know if the 512Ke was sold retail after January 1987 (see above).
There were two generations of Macintosh 512Ke [M0001E] machines:
Beige machines produced in 1986 have a label on the back with no copyright date. They came with the M0110 standard keyboard and contained first-revision Macintosh Plus ROMs.
Platinum machines have a 1987 copyright date on the label. They came with the M0110A extended keyboard and contained second-revision Macintosh Plus ROMs. These machines existed, but I don't know if they were ever sold retail. They may have only been sold through educational institutions.
Note: I have never seen a M0001E with a 220-240V power supply.
[...]
Sales of the Macintosh 512Ke continued until September 1987. The design of the outer box was changed in early 1987, but evidently the content and design of the owner's guide did not change. I don't know if the 512Ke was sold retail after January 1987 (see above).
[...]
Sales of the Macintosh 512Ke continued until September 1987, but evidently the software bundle did not change after June 1986. I don't know if the 512Ke was sold retail after January 1987 (see above).
Hi again,
I'm sorry I didn't include this before -- it was buried in the SE folder for some reason. Thank god for Spotlight. Here is the original photo Mac128 is referring to. This is definitely the machine with the 1987 M0001E label on the back. I don't think there is any question that it is platinum, given the location of the Apple logo:
The only thing that really needs explanation is the box. It is either not original to the machine, or they didn't bother to take new photos for the box. I suppose the attitude might have been that the cover art and everything in the owner's guide is off, so why bother to change the image on the box? As I've shown above, the box did change at some point, and most likely it was when the Plus box changed in 1987 (and I'd be willing to bet a very small sum that the extended keyboard will fit in that box -- yet another reason why I should have bought it).
Also, a note on the 512K/800 -- look at the location of the Apple logo on the machine in the 512K/800 box image above -- the truth is I have never seen a 512K/800 like this 1987 512Ke -- both examples I have in my files have the Apple logo in the old style/position (like the box image) and are thus almost certainly beige.
Indeed, this brings me to a point that I think Mac128 knew already, which is that it is probably not possible to have a platinum machine with the Apple logo in the old style/position. It just makes no sense. So I find myself wondering if platinum 512K/800s existed at all. They might have all been badged with "Macintosh ED" in Europe, etc. or had the M0001ED label in Australia, etc.
The easiest way to find answers is probably in old issues of MacWorld or other places where retailer's ads and the like for these machines would have run...
I'm sorry I didn't include this before -- it was buried in the SE folder for some reason. Thank god for Spotlight. Here is the original photo Mac128 is referring to. This is definitely the machine with the 1987 M0001E label on the back. I don't think there is any question that it is platinum, given the location of the Apple logo:
The only thing that really needs explanation is the box. It is either not original to the machine, or they didn't bother to take new photos for the box. I suppose the attitude might have been that the cover art and everything in the owner's guide is off, so why bother to change the image on the box? As I've shown above, the box did change at some point, and most likely it was when the Plus box changed in 1987 (and I'd be willing to bet a very small sum that the extended keyboard will fit in that box -- yet another reason why I should have bought it).
Also, a note on the 512K/800 -- look at the location of the Apple logo on the machine in the 512K/800 box image above -- the truth is I have never seen a 512K/800 like this 1987 512Ke -- both examples I have in my files have the Apple logo in the old style/position (like the box image) and are thus almost certainly beige.
Indeed, this brings me to a point that I think Mac128 knew already, which is that it is probably not possible to have a platinum machine with the Apple logo in the old style/position. It just makes no sense. So I find myself wondering if platinum 512K/800s existed at all. They might have all been badged with "Macintosh ED" in Europe, etc. or had the M0001ED label in Australia, etc.
The easiest way to find answers is probably in old issues of MacWorld or other places where retailer's ads and the like for these machines would have run...
Ah, the smoking gun!
Thanks for posting that picture again. Definitely Platinum. Clearly the evidence is overwhelming. But that one sticking point remains. Is the box indeed original to that Mac? Seems highly likely ... I'm just bothered by the paucity of evidence of more Platinum 512Kes in all the years I've been looking. If only you had only bought it ... ;-)
What kills me is that since the long keyboard was a selling point, and the box was clearly new, why didn't they use the picture from the 512K/800 (as long as they were sticking with beige anyway) which would have been new in the US, certainly? perhaps they didn't want to promote the 512Ke? If they had a picture of the actual Platinum 512Ke, it would have looked for all practical purposes like the Mac Plus sitting on a shelf.
But, since this is the only KNOWN example of one, it makes me wonder if this is indeed the original packaging for the pictured Mac, and if so, was it actually sold in a retail space? Or was it for all practical purposes sold only as the Mac ED in the US, using the old model number and 512Ke box, until they discontinued it altogether, and replaced it in the US with an actual ED to further consolidate resources - if that even happened? For that matter, what kind of box did the ED ship in? Did it say ED, or was it a regular 512Ke, 512K/800 box, perhaps with a sticker? Indeed, if Apple chose not to update the image on the Platinum 512Ke boxes, why would they be any more inclined to update in Europe? And how many 512K/800 boxes have we actually seen? Not many, making a post 1987 box sighting even less likely considering the reduced numbers inevitably sold.
BTW - did you ever get the serial number for that Mac?
No -- I think I tried to contact the buyer (this was before they started using truncated buyer names), but didn't get any response.
Anyhow, I've completed the meat of my rewrite based on this thread. I'll probably edit it somewhat, but the argument will stay the same. Thanks so much for the idea that it may have been education-only -- it's definitely a possibility. I just paid way too much for four copies of MacWorld from 1987 (March, April, July, August) -- probably useless, but we'll see. Here it is:
Platinum 512Ke machines have a 1987 copyright date on the label. They came with the M0110A extended keyboard and contained second-revision Macintosh Plus ROMs. The location and design of the Apple logo on the front of the machine was the same as the Plus. These machines definitely existed, but I don't know if they were ever sold retail. They may have only been sold to educational institutions. At the time, Apple considered System 3.2 Finder 5.3 to be the maximum for machines with 512K of RAM. [it was only later that Apple would start recommending System 4.1 Finder 5.4 as the maximum.] This fact probably explains why no effort was made to update the owner's guide and software bundle in 1987, and it might well also explain why the machines might have only been sold within the education market -- Apple considered them to be obsolete!
QUESTION: Do you or anyone else remember exactly where it is in 1987 that Apple says System 3.2 Finder 5.3 is the maximum for 512K machines? I'm absolutely certain they do, but I can't recall where.
There is another confirmed platinum 512Ke belonging to a forum member. It's owned by macdownunder and was discussed in a thread called "Complete Collection of Every Compact Mac" in 2007. There is a link to the picture in that thread, but it appears to be down right now. The photo had four Macs in a row--a beige 512Ke, a platinum 512Ke, a beige Plus, and a platinum Plus.
The page of the thread with the link is here:
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=334&start=50
I don't believe he had the box for it, so while it may not answer our box question, it does show two things:
1. The platinum 512Ke from the auction is not an anomaly.
2. These machines were distributed to Australia (unless he had it imported from another country).
I thought of something we may wish to try. Check your local libraries to see if they have any Macintosh-related magazines from 1987. Look at the articles and the ads to see if there is any mention of the 512Ke either being offered only to education (which would explain the lack of Mac EDs in the US) or if there were any offered for sale to general computers that weren't closeouts. In particular, a summer 1987 issue would have a platinum 512Ke on sale somewhere in the ad section. If it's not there, it wasn't a general public offering.
The page of the thread with the link is here:
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=334&start=50
I don't believe he had the box for it, so while it may not answer our box question, it does show two things:
1. The platinum 512Ke from the auction is not an anomaly.
2. These machines were distributed to Australia (unless he had it imported from another country).
I thought of something we may wish to try. Check your local libraries to see if they have any Macintosh-related magazines from 1987. Look at the articles and the ads to see if there is any mention of the 512Ke either being offered only to education (which would explain the lack of Mac EDs in the US) or if there were any offered for sale to general computers that weren't closeouts. In particular, a summer 1987 issue would have a platinum 512Ke on sale somewhere in the ad section. If it's not there, it wasn't a general public offering.
Scott, I believe when the link comes up again, you will find that those are both 240V EDs.
Even if they were 512Kes, they would necessarily have to be imports, as it wouldn't make sense for Apple to sell 120V products in a country that supplies double the voltage over standard outlets. And Apple does not use the same model number for the identical product with different voltage requirements.
Even if they were 512Kes, they would necessarily have to be imports, as it wouldn't make sense for Apple to sell 120V products in a country that supplies double the voltage over standard outlets. And Apple does not use the same model number for the identical product with different voltage requirements.
Hello, you can view these pictures through the archive website:
http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20080719182400/http://macdownunder.no-ip.info/Platinum512ke/
http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20080719182400/http://macdownunder.no-ip.info/Platinum512ke/
Yale seems to have all of MacWorld from the start and an incomplete set of MacUser from 1987, so I'll go in and see what is actually in the stacks. All of the town libraries around here don't keep stuff like this for more than three years or so -- I guess the storage requirements are too great.
Microfilm?
Btw, I am surprised that a university library would keep original copies of MacWorld/MacUser magazines from the 80s, and 90s. They must all be in terrible condition by now.