August 1, 1989: Apple offers the Macintosh SE a storage bump, courtesy of the brand new SuperDrive within the new Mac SE FDHD. The high-density floppy disks the SuperDrive makes use of provide an astonishing 1.4MB of storage.
When it comes to moveable storage, it’s a giant step up for many Mac homeowners. The HD floppy disks evaluate very favorably to the 400KB Single Aspect Double Density (SSDD) disks and 800KB Double Aspect Double Density (DDSD) disks in use on the time.
Apple SuperDrive makes Macintosh SE FDHD super-versatile
Launched in 1987, 4 years after the launch of the unique Mac, the Macintosh SE was overshadowed by the launch of the technically superior Mac II that very same yr. Apple marketed the Mac II as the primary Macintosh to help colour. And, in a transfer that might have upset Steve Jobs had he nonetheless been at Apple, the Mac SE was the primary Macintosh to incorporate an inside fan to chill elements. That made it noisy to make use of, however led to larger life expectancy.
Including the Apple SuperDrive to the Mac SE FDHD gave the pc a severe increase within the storage division. Along with the 1.4MB discs that had been its bread and butter, it may learn and write IBM-format floppy disks and three.5-inch DOS disks (offered you had the correct software program). Like the quantity of space for storing, each of those codecs sound antiquated now. However on the time, they made the Mac SE FDHD some of the versatile Macs round. It may learn and write all industry-standard floppy disk codecs.
(By the way, should you’re looking out to purchase a classic Mac SE, the Mac SE FDHD is by far your best choice. Studying or writing 400K or 800K 3.5-inch floppy disks in the present day is nearly not possible utilizing trendy expertise.)
Mac SE positive factors a loyal following
The Macintosh SE FDHD attracted a loyal following. The primary compact Macintosh with an inside drive bay for a tough disk or second floppy drive, it was additionally the primary expandable Mac. It was an try at making a Mac for companies. And whereas it seemed a lot the identical as the unique Macintosh, it included some spectacular enhancements beneath the hood when it comes to processing energy.
“The Apple Macintosh SE FDHD features an 8 MHz 68000 processor, 1 MB of RAM, and either a 20 MB or 40 MB hard drive in a compact all-in-one case with a 9-inch monochrome display,” based on EveryMac.com.
A formidable pc
The Mac SE was one of many first Macs I ever noticed. It positively took me a number of years to develop into a fan. Nevertheless, it’s a pc I’ll at all times keep in mind for simply how far forward of the competitors it appeared.
I’m actually not alone in my Mac SE love, both. A Mac SE sat on Jerry’s desk for the primary few seasons of Seinfeld, earlier than it was outmoded by a PowerBook Duo, a Macintosh 6100 and at last a Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh.
Do you keep in mind the Macintosh SE FDHD? Go away your ideas and recollections under.
