The Macintosh IIcx is a

personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...

designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from March 1989 to March 1991. Introduced six months after the

Macintosh IIx The Macintosh IIx is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from September 1988 to October 1990. This model was introduced as an update to the original Macintosh II, replacing the 16 MHz Motorola 68020 CPU an ...

, the IIcx resembles the IIx and provides the same performance, but is seven inches narrower, ten pounds lighter, and quieter due to a smaller internal fan. The relative compactness results in three

NuBus NuBus (pron. 'New Bus') is a 32-bit parallel computer bus, originally developed at MIT and standardized in 1987 as a part of the NuMachine workstation project. The first complete implementation of the NuBus was done by Western Digital for th ...

slots being available, compared with six on the IIx. The new case, Apple's first to be designed to operate in either a horizontal or vertical orientation, remained in use for its successors the Macintosh IIci and

Quadra 700 The Macintosh Quadra 700 was a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from October 1991 to March 1993. It was introduced alongside the Macintosh Quadra 900, Quadra 900 as the first computers in the Macintosh Quadra, ...

. The idea for vertical orientation, one of the first

minitower A computer case, also known as a computer chassis, is the enclosure that contains most of the hardware of a personal computer. The components housed inside the case (such as the CPU, motherboard, memory, mass storage devices, power supply unit ...

cases, was suggested by Apple CEO

John Sculley John Sculley III (born April 6, 1939) is an American businessman, entrepreneur and investor in high-tech startups. Sculley was vice-president (1970–1977) and president of PepsiCo (1977–1983), until he became chief executive officer (CEO) ...

, who was running out of space on his desk, despite the fact that the new layout actually took more space once the monitor was taken into account. The model was designated IIcx for ''compact'' (echoing the earlier Apple IIc compact model in the Apple II series), and the ''x'' was Apple's designation for the

Motorola 68030 The Motorola 68030 ("''sixty-eight-oh-thirty''") is a 32-bit microprocessor in the Motorola 68000 family. It was released in 1987. The 68030 was the successor to the Motorola 68020, and was followed by the Motorola 68040. In keeping with general ...

processor. Users liked the Mac IIcx, in part, because its components and parts (such as the RAM,

slots, and power supply) snapped into place inside the case without the need for screws. There was one central safety screw that tied the assembly together though it was often not reinstalled if ever removed. At the IIcx's introduction,

Jean-Louis Gassée Jean-Louis Gassée (born March 1944 in Paris, France) is a business executive. He is best known as a former executive at Apple Computer, where he worked from 1981 to 1990. He also founded Be Inc., creators of the BeOS computer operating system ...

demonstrated the IIcx's modular design by assembling one from parts in front of the audience. This made it less expensive to build, easier to repair, and earned it heavy praise and a warm reception amongst the Mac community. The machine was also the lightest in Apple's lineup at the time. However, unlike the II and IIx, in many versions of the IIcx the CPU is soldered to the logic board and therefore cannot be upgraded. The case is also unable to accommodate 5 1/4" or full-height hard disk drives. This model was superseded by the Macintosh IIci, which used the same case.

Timeline

References

External links

Specifications at Everymac.com
- press release cx IIcx IIcx IIcx IIcx Computer-related introductions in 1990 {{mac-stub