Big Mac (computer)

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]

Big Mac

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

Baby Mac

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

Hardware

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. Similarly to the later Macintosh Portrait Display and the earlier Xerox Alto 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?]}

Software

Big Mac was intended to have a UNIX-based operating system while maintaining compatibility with existing Macintosh software and using the same user interface.^[1][9]

Notes

1. Calculated by assuming Big Mac and Baby Mac displays are the same width