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Cancelled prototype Macintosh workstation From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Big Mac (also written BigMac and labeled Super Mac on prototypes) is a cancelled workstation designed by Hartmut Esslinger for Apple Computer using the Snow White design language. Its consumer equivalent was Baby Mac (also written BabyMac and simply labeled Macintosh on prototypes).[5][6] Development on Big Mac and Baby Mac began in 1984 and stopped after Steve Jobs left the company due to a clash of ideologies with John Sculley.[4][7] Without the knowledge of Jobs, a project codenamed "Milwaukee" was in development concurrently with the Big Mac and ultimately succeeded it to become the Macintosh II, causing designer Rich Page to leave Apple for NeXT.[1][2] Esslinger described Baby Mac as his "best design never to be produced",[8] while Jean-Louis Gassée considered it to be a toy.[5]: 152
 Final design for the Big Mac | |
| Also known as | BigMac, Super Mac |
|---|---|
| Developer | Apple Computer, Inc. |
| Product family | Compact Macintosh |
| Type | All-in-one |
| Operating system | UNIX[1] |
| CPU | Motorola 68020 @ 16 MHz[2] |
| Storage | 10 MB HDD[2] |
| Display | 15 in (38 cm)[1] |
| Predecessor | Apple Lisa |
| Successor | Macintosh Plus[3] Macintosh II |
 Final design for the Baby Mac | |
| Also known as | BabyMac, Macintosh |
|---|---|
| Developer | Apple Computer, Inc. |
| Product family | Compact Macintosh |
| Type | All-in-one |
| Release date | Intended for 1986; ultimately cancelled[4] |
| Display | 11.25 in (28.6 cm)[Note 1] |
| Predecessor | Macintosh 128K Macintosh 512K |
| Successor | Macintosh 512Ke Macintosh SE |
Esslinger and the design team investigated flat-screen displays and worked with Toshiba to create a new CRT front to "avoid the cheap look of a CRT screen".[8] Esslinger created low-profile mouse, keyboard, and mouse pen designs, experimenting with wireless RF technology to make the Baby Mac even smaller and "avoid the tangled mess of keyboard and mouse cables".[5][8] Big Mac and Baby Mac were zero-draft designs and included integrated carrying handles.[4][5]
Big Mac was conceived as a 3M computer, with at least 1 megabyte of memory, a 1 megapixel display, and 1 million instructions per second. Similar to the later Macintosh Portrait Display, its 15 in (38 cm) display had a vertical orientation for word processing and was monochrome to save on costs.[5] To develop MacPaint 2.0, David Ramsey used a prototype Big Mac without an external case, which he considered "faster and more reliable than the Macintosh II prototypes available".[2]
The design of the Baby Mac has been noted to have a superficial resemblance to the egg design of the iMac G3 from 1998.[by whom?]
Big Mac was intended to have a UNIX-based operating system while maintaining compatibility with existing Macintosh software.[1]
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