In recent years, it has become a trendy style for OEMs in the smartphone industry to release a transparent version of the popular models. The Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer released in 2018 was the first model with such a design and the success of the model has prompted several others to do the same including the Lenovo Legion Pro transparent edition that was released last month.
Apparently, Apple had experimented with a transparent casing for the first-generation Macintosh PC but it is likely for a different reason. A prototype version of an early Apple Macintosh Classic computer has surfaced on Twitter. The picture shows this antique Mac is housed in an unusual, completely transparent frosted case. Macintosh Classic is an antique computer we are familiar with. It is famous for its classic design and light beige casing. In the picture shared by “@DongleBookPro” on Twitter, Apple used different shell styles during the development process.
The photos of the “Macintosh Classic prototype” shows that the computer is housed in a transparent plastic case. This gives observers the opportunity to take a good look at the internal layout of this computer. The large CRT screen occupies a lot of space at the top, while most of the computing components are placed at the bottom. Thanks to the fully transparent shell, the various words inside are clear enough, and even the words “Made in Singapore” can be seen. On the front of the fuselage, the rainbow-colored Apple logo is particularly eye-catching.
Prototype Macintosh Classic
Clearshot pic.twitter.com/VzO4CnJ2GF— Dongle (@DongleBookPro) December 5, 2020
On the back, a large sticker confirms that “the device is only for development purposes” and that it is “not for sale in the United States”, indicating that this is a prototype model and is not available to standard users.
Such a system is believed to help observe the effectiveness of the thermal management system during development, that is, by blowing smoke in the case and observing the path it is moved by the fan. Apparently, this trend extended to the early Macintosh computers as can be seen from this image below.
The Macintosh Classic was originally sold in October 1990. It utilizes a Motorola 68000 8MHz processor, 1MB of memory (expandable to 4MB), and a 9-inch 512x342p monochrome screen. It also installed a 40MB SCSI hard drive and a 3.5-inch floppy drive, weighing about 16 pounds. It was succeeded by the Macintosh Classic II released in October 1991.
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