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Macintosh XL

Macintosh XL

Overview
Macintosh XL was a modified version of the Apple Lisa
Apple Lisa
The Apple Lisa was a personal computer designed at Apple Computer, Inc. during the early 1980s.The Lisa project was started at Apple in 1978 and evolved into a project to design a powerful personal computer with a graphical user interface that would be targeted toward business customers.Around...

 personal computer made by Apple Computer, Inc. In the Macintosh XL configuration, the computer shipped with MacWorks XL
MacWorks XL
MacWorks XL was an Apple Lisa software program that shipped with the Macintosh XL. It allowed 64K Apple Macintosh ROM emulation so the Macintosh XL could run Mac OS programs.-History:...

, a Lisa program that allowed 64K Macintosh ROM emulation. An identical machine was previously sold as the Lisa 2/10 with the Lisa OS only.

The Macintosh XL had a 400K 3.5" floppy drive and an internal 10 MB proprietary Widget hard drive
Hard disk
A hard disk drive is a non-volatile storage device that stores digitally encoded data on rapidly rotating platters with magnetic surfaces. Strictly speaking, "drive" refers to the motorized mechanical aspect that is distinct from its medium, such as a tape drive and its tape, or a floppy disk...

 with provision for an optional 5 or 10MB external ProFile
Profile
Profile may refer to:a persons personal feelings thoughts and or charateristics.Computing and technology* Profile , a concept in Unified Modeling Language* Apple ProFile, a hard drive...

 hard drive with the addition of a Parallel interface card.
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Encyclopedia
Macintosh XL was a modified version of the Apple Lisa
Apple Lisa
The Apple Lisa was a personal computer designed at Apple Computer, Inc. during the early 1980s.The Lisa project was started at Apple in 1978 and evolved into a project to design a powerful personal computer with a graphical user interface that would be targeted toward business customers.Around...

 personal computer made by Apple Computer, Inc. In the Macintosh XL configuration, the computer shipped with MacWorks XL
MacWorks XL
MacWorks XL was an Apple Lisa software program that shipped with the Macintosh XL. It allowed 64K Apple Macintosh ROM emulation so the Macintosh XL could run Mac OS programs.-History:...

, a Lisa program that allowed 64K Macintosh ROM emulation. An identical machine was previously sold as the Lisa 2/10 with the Lisa OS only.

Hardware


The Macintosh XL had a 400K 3.5" floppy drive and an internal 10 MB proprietary Widget hard drive
Hard disk
A hard disk drive is a non-volatile storage device that stores digitally encoded data on rapidly rotating platters with magnetic surfaces. Strictly speaking, "drive" refers to the motorized mechanical aspect that is distinct from its medium, such as a tape drive and its tape, or a floppy disk...

 with provision for an optional 5 or 10MB external ProFile
Profile
Profile may refer to:a persons personal feelings thoughts and or charateristics.Computing and technology* Profile , a concept in Unified Modeling Language* Apple ProFile, a hard drive...

 hard drive with the addition of a Parallel interface card. At the time of release, the Macintosh XL was colloquially referred to as the "Hackintosh", although this name has also been used more generally to describe Macintosh computers assembled from unusual combinations of parts. (Since then, this name has been recycled to denote PCs running OSx86
OSx86
OSx86 is a collaborative "hacking" project to run the Mac OS X computer operating system on non-Apple personal computers with x86 architecture compatible processors, and x86-64 compatible processors...

, a hacked version of Mac OS X.)

Upgrades


Because of its roots as a Lisa—and unlike all other Macintosh computers—the Macintosh XL did not use square pixel
Pixel
In digital imaging, a pixel is the smallest item of information in an image. Pixels are normally arranged in a 2-dimensional grid, and are often represented using dots or squares. Each pixel is a sample of an original image, where more samples typically provide more-accurate representations of the...

s. The resolution of the Macintosh XL was 720x364. Square pixels were available via a physical screen upgrade that changed the resolution to 608x431.

MacWorks


MacWorks Plus
MacWorks Plus
MacWorks Plus was a complete implementation of the Macintosh Plus 128K ROM on the Apple Lisa and Macintosh XL computer systems, and introduced in August 1988...

 was developed by Sun Remarketing
Sun Remarketing
Sun Remarketing was a retail company, located in Cache Valley, Utah, that specialized in reselling old Apple Computer software and hardware, including Apple II and Apple Macintosh parts such as motherboards and peripherals...

 as a successor to MacWorks XL in order to provide application compatibility with the Macintosh Plus
Macintosh Plus
The Macintosh Plus computer was the third model in the Macintosh line, introduced on January 16, 1986, two years after the original Macintosh and a little more than a year after the Macintosh 512K, with a price tag of 2599 USD . As an evolutionary improvement over the 512K, it introduced RAM...

 computer. MacWorks Plus added support for a 800K 3.5" floppy disk and System software up through version 6.0.3. MacWorks Plus II extended that to the same 7.5.5 limit imposed on all 68000 processors.

History


The re-badging of the XL was a last-ditch effort by Apple to save the poorly selling Lisa which had been usurped by the Macintosh line. After two years of marginal sales Apple was unprepared for the record number of orders placed for the newest member of the Macintosh family.

Discontinued


Despite its relative success, the Macintosh XL was discontinued because it was literally unavailable. Parts had not been ordered to keep the XL in production and once the last of the parts ran out, Apple made the decision to shut down production for good. In 1986, Apple offered all Lisa/XL owners the opportunity to turn in their computer and along with US$1,498.00, and receive in exchange a Macintosh Plus
Macintosh Plus
The Macintosh Plus computer was the third model in the Macintosh line, introduced on January 16, 1986, two years after the original Macintosh and a little more than a year after the Macintosh 512K, with a price tag of 2599 USD . As an evolutionary improvement over the 512K, it introduced RAM...

 and Hard Disk 20
Hard Disk 20
The Macintosh Hard Disk 20 was the first hard drive developed by Apple Computer specifically for use with the Macintosh 512K. Introduced on September 17, 1985, it was part of Apple's long awaited solution toward completing the Macintosh Office announced in January 1985...

 (a US$4,098.00 value at the time).

Sun Remarketing


After Apple dropped the XL from their price list in September 1985, Sun Remarketing of Logan, Utah bought a number of Apple's remaining inventory and continued to sell them under license with their updated version of MacWorks Plus, re-branded as the Macintosh Professional.

Though no new Lisas were available for sale, development continued on MacWorks Plus to support the installed base of Lisas, making them as relevant as their closely related cousin, the Macintosh Plus.

Legacy


The Macintosh XL shares the same legacy as the Lisa before it. However, the increased sales from the emulation of the Macintosh operating system proved that the Macintosh family badly needed a more professional environment which could provide larger monitors, greater memory and more expandability than the Macintosh 512K
Macintosh 512K
The Macintosh 512K Personal Computer, the second of a long line of Apple Macintosh computers, was the first update to the original Macintosh 128K. It was virtually identical to the previous Mac, differing primarily in the amount of built-in memory , which quadrupled the original's. This large...

 offered.
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