History Platform / AppleMacintosh

The Old World era itself is divided into two sub-eras: The Motorola 68K era and the early-PowerPC era.

* The [=PowerSurge=] machines could handle up to 4 MB of UsefulNotes/VideoRAM, using an on-board, Apple-designed frame buffer chip. The Beige G3 upgraded to an ATI Rage [[UsefulNotes/GraphicsProcessingUnit GPU]], which came with 2MB onboard; another 4MB can be added via a SGRAM module.

The iconic Mac of the ''VideoGame/{{Unreal}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' era, also known as the [=iMac=] G3 when distinguishing it from later models in the line. Starting with its direct ancestor, the Power Mac G3 family, Apple dumped the homegrown chipsets of the Beige PCI era and went with a solution based around a Motorola "north bridge" and ATI [[UsefulNotes/GraphicsProcessingUnit GPUs]]; this saved money and actually increased performance.

* {{Mascot}}: Clarus the [[MixAndMatchCritters Dogcow]], introduced in Apple's famous [[http://clarus.chez-alice.fr/originals/tn31.html Tech Note 31]]. Clarus originally came from one of Susan Kare's [[UsefulNotes/{{Fonts}} font designs]] and eventually became the standard image for printer setup dialog boxes. [[http://developer.apple.com/legacy/mac/library/technotes/tn/tn1031.html Tech Note 1031]] came along years later to show how to create a 3D rendering, as well as giving some of the history.

* ForWantOfANail:
** Averted with the Resource Manager, which was almost canned by a petulant manager, crammed into a tiny sliver of memory by developer Bruce Horn, and turned out to be one of the most important design elements of the entire system. Said manager also once almost fired Andy Hertzfeld, the main programmer of the Toolbox, the main Mac OS MediaNotes/{{API}}, and chief architect of the OS itself, over ''insubordination'' issues -- the guy was once in the Navy, y'see.
** Also an aversion: the original Mac's ability to [[http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Sound_By_Monday.txt&sortOrder=Sort%20by%20Date&detail=medium&search=sound play back sound]]. Very nearly nixed by Steve Jobs, it turned out to be one of the Mac's [[KillerApp killer features]] that subsequently cemented the Mac's status as a superior multimedia machine to [=PCs=] in the 80s and early 90s.

Several companies stepped forward to fill the gap. Silicon Beach's ''VideoGame/EnchantedScepters'' and ''VideoGame/DarkCastle'' demonstrated the Mac's mouse-based input and multimedia capabilities, respectively. Creator/ICOMSimulations created the first fully mouse-driven AdventureGame in ''VideoGame/DejaVu1985'', followed by ''VideoGame/{{Shadowgate}}'' and two other "[=MacVentures=]". In the 1990s, Creator/{{Bungie}} gave Mac users a reason to be proud with ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Myth}}''. ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'' [[WhatCouldHaveBeen would've been their next Mac title]], but [[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft]] bought them out and turned it into a launch title for the Platform/{{Xbox}}. Other major developers included Creator/{{Ambrosia|Software}} (''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity'') and Creator/CasadyAndGreene (''VideoGame/CrystalQuest'', ''VideoGame/{{Glider}}''). Still another Mac debut, Cyan's UsefulNotes/HyperCard-based ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'', went on to reign as the all-time best-selling PC game for nearly a decade.

Things took a startling change in the mid-2000s. In 2006, the Mac transitioned to Intel processors, using the same [=80x86=] CPU as the Platform/IBMPersonalComputer, even allowing it to run Windows without the need for an x86 emulator, and thus the vast majority of computer games (i.e. other than what was already available for [=MacOS=]). This made porting easier, but still not a piece of cake; the [=MacOS=] still uses different [[UsefulNotes/ApplicationProgrammingInterface APIs]], such as [=OpenGL=],[[note]]As with many other Unix-based or Unix-like operating systems, such as Linux, which primarily uses the Mesa implementation[[/note]], Metal[[note]]A proprietary, Apple-developed API intended to replace [=OpenGL=] on their platforms[[/note]], Quartz Extreme and Core Audio, in place of Microsoft's [=DirectX=]. It also used a different, more sophisticated BIOS called EFI in place of the outdated IBM PC BIOS that [=PCs=] were stuck with until Microsoft updated Windows Vista and 7. An upside of the transition was the sudden prominence of the Hackintosh, a standard PC running Mac OS X (versions 10.4 and up); though technically not allowed under Apple's EULA, Hackintoshing opens up a lot of flexibility that Apple doesn't offer on the low end, and there's even a book out there on how to do it.

* UsefulNotes/HyperCard

** Averted with the Resource Manager, which was almost canned by a petulant manager, crammed into a tiny sliver of memory by developer Bruce Horn, and turned out to be one of the most important design elements of the entire system. Said manager also once almost fired Andy Hertzfeld, the main programmer of the Toolbox, the main Mac OS UsefulNotes/{{API}}, and chief architect of the OS itself, over ''insubordination'' issues -- the guy was once in the Navy, y'see.

** Windows in part was a ''direct'' sequel, because its inner workings and UsefulNotes/{{API}} were greatly inspired by the Mac. It still retains Pascal function calling conventions in its API, despite being written in C, as most Mac software, including the parts of the OS, was written in Pascal, and early versions of [=WinWord=] and Excel were little more than ports from the Mac, where they were born.

* Eight-bit mono [[UsefulNotes/WavAudio PCM]] (software).

* ''VideoGame/SpyHunter''

The Mac hardware went from the 68k Platform/CentralProcessingUnit family to the [=PowerPC=], and Platform/MacOS went from Classic to X [[note]](pronounced "ten"; it's a Roman numeral, not an [[XtremeKoolLetterz Xtreme Kool Letter]])[[/note]], but it remained a system of third-party ports from those who were willing. And as the "wintel" platform caught up with the Mac's technical sophistication, porting became more difficult and fewer were willing.

* SpinOff: The [=iOS=] platform. Before that, the Platform/{{Pippin}}.

* GPU: Still 100% software; early Mac [=IIs=] used discrete video cards based on Apple's "Toby" frame buffer ASIC, which provided up to 640×480 in 256 colors. The [=IIci=] introduced "RAM-based video", an upgraded color version of the shared-memory video the monochrome toaster Macs used, which was intended as a budget option for people that didn't want to buy a discrete card. Around 1990, [=QuickDraw=] accelerators like the Apple 8•24 GC and cards from [=RasterOps=] and Radius became available, but these were expensive [[note]]Apple's card even included an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_Am29000 AMD Am29000]] RISC processor for display-list processing [[/note]] and meant for creative pros. Quadra-class machines and the LC family used local-bus video integrated on the motherboard, based on various versions of the "DAFB" ASIC/IP cell. The SE/30 used a unique PLA-based integrated video card (which differed from the original Mac version by using dedicated video memory) that appeared as a [=NuBus=] card to [=MacOS=].

Traditionally, the '''Creator/{{Apple}} Macintosh''' (or just '''Mac''') computer has been known for desktop publishing, Photoshop, audio and video editing, networking, and high prices, not gaming.[[note]](In fact, Apple management for some time actively ''discouraged'' any attempts to turn the Mac into a gaming machine, because they envisioned it as a business tool and feared that gaming would add to the already somewhat whimsical image of the computer.)[[/note]] But despite this it ''has'' a gaming history, including a small number of original titles, most famously ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}''. Another irony is that, due to being based on the popular Motorola 68000 CPU, widely used at the time in various video game platforms including the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis and the UsefulNotes/NeoGeo, the Mac had a long history as an authoring platform for console games in the eight-bit and 16-bit eras.

The Mac was a revolutionary computer, with its Xerox Alto-inspired graphical user interface [[note]]though Mac OS X made it so modern Macs have a terminal feature to provide text-based functions other UsefulNotes/{{UNIX}}-based operating systems have[[/note]], and Apple marketing executives were worried that it would be seen as a toy. So the only games developed for it prior to its release in January 1984 were a [[http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=Puzzle.txt 600-byte]] FifteenPuzzle and a real-time board game by an Apple programmer that [[http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=Alice.txt went intentionally underpromoted]]. After the launch, games were ported over from other systems, but there were only a few unique titles.

Several companies stepped forward to fill the gap. Silicon Beach's ''VideoGame/EnchantedScepters'' and ''VideoGame/DarkCastle'' demonstrated the Mac's mouse-based input and multimedia capabilities, respectively. Creator/ICOMSimulations created the first fully mouse-driven AdventureGame in ''VideoGame/DejaVu1985'', followed by ''VideoGame/{{Shadowgate}}'' and two other "[=MacVentures=]". In the 1990s, Creator/{{Bungie}} gave Mac users a reason to be proud with ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Myth}}''. ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'' [[WhatCouldHaveBeen would've been their next Mac title]], but [[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft]] bought them out and turned it into a launch title for the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}. Other major developers included Creator/{{Ambrosia|Software}} (''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity'') and Creator/CasadyAndGreene (''VideoGame/CrystalQuest'', ''VideoGame/{{Glider}}''). Still another Mac debut, Cyan's UsefulNotes/HyperCard-based ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'', went on to reign as the all-time best-selling PC game for nearly a decade.

The Mac hardware went from the 68k UsefulNotes/CentralProcessingUnit family to the [=PowerPC=], and UsefulNotes/MacOS went from Classic to X [[note]](pronounced "ten"; it's a Roman numeral, not an [[XtremeKoolLetterz Xtreme Kool Letter]])[[/note]], but it remained a system of third-party ports from those who were willing. And as the "wintel" platform caught up with the Mac's technical sophistication, porting became more difficult and fewer were willing.

Things took a startling change in the mid-2000s. In 2006, the Mac transitioned to Intel processors, using the same [=80x86=] CPU as the UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer, even allowing it to run Windows without the need for an x86 emulator, and thus the vast majority of computer games (i.e. other than what was already available for [=MacOS=]). This made porting easier, but still not a piece of cake; the [=MacOS=] still uses different [[UsefulNotes/ApplicationProgrammingInterface APIs]], such as [=OpenGL=],[[note]]As with many other Unix-based or Unix-like operating systems, such as Linux, which primarily uses the Mesa implementation[[/note]], Metal[[note]]A proprietary, Apple-developed API intended to replace [=OpenGL=] on their platforms[[/note]], Quartz Extreme and Core Audio, in place of Microsoft's [=DirectX=]. It also used a different, more sophisticated BIOS called EFI in place of the outdated IBM PC BIOS that [=PCs=] were stuck with until Microsoft updated Windows Vista and 7. An upside of the transition was the sudden prominence of the Hackintosh, a standard PC running Mac OS X (versions 10.4 and up); though technically not allowed under Apple's EULA, Hackintoshing opens up a lot of flexibility that Apple doesn't offer on the low end, and there's even a book out there on how to do it.

Much like earlier [=80x86=] competitors to Windows such as [[UsefulNotes/{{UNIX}} Linux]], native game ports have mostly died away as a result, replaced with the common CPU architecture's ability to use various types of emulation to run Windows games at a decent speed or simply reboot into Windows using the Boot Camp bootloader software. In particular, a commercial enhancement of Wine [[PunnyName called Cider]] is bundled into most current Mac game "ports", so native Mac games have been reduced from those ported by third parties to those originally written by MultiPlatform Mac developers, like Creator/{{Blizzard|Entertainment}} and Creator/IdSoftware. And in 2010 Creator/{{Valve|Software}} brought UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} to the Mac, opting to port the code to run natively on Mac OS X instead of using Cider. Likewise, EA has joined Valve with porting Origin to the Mac, and promised that while most games were ported using Cider, some games will be ported to run natively on the Mac (most recently being ''VideoGame/SimCity2013'', which was ported to native Mac OS X code).

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The machines that introduced the [=PowerPC=] CPU to the world. Also the era when the Mac adopted technologies originating in IBM-compatible [=PCs=], such as the PCI bus and the IDE hard disk. [[note]]The first Mac with an IDE disk was a late 68k model, the Quadra 630. Many lower-end [=PowerPC=] models had IDE disks. During this era, IDE disks were slower but cheaper than SCSI disks.[[/note]] Along with the Power Macintosh line, the later Performa and [=PowerBook=] models also have [=PowerPC=] processors. This is the only era to have official Mac clones, the non-Apple computers that have a license from Apple to run UsefulNotes/MacOS.

* The earliest [=PowerPC=] Macs, as well as some of the second-generation beige models [[note]]the 5200/6200 and 5300/6300 series, essentially Quadra 630s with an integrated Power Mac Upgrade Card; they were noted for being slow and buggy due to the CultureClash between the 64-bit-wide [=PowerPC=] bus and the 32-bit 68040 bus and the lack of adequate cache memory [[/note]], are non-PCI models. These recycled old 68k designs, including the Mac II's [=NuBus=] slots, and did not have Open Firmware. The rest of the beige [=PowerPC=] Macs are PCI models with Open Firmware booting the Mac Toolbox. A few owners have hacked Open Firmware to boot [[UsefulNotes/{{UNIX}} Linux or NetBSD]], bypassing the Toolbox, but because Apple never intended OF to do much more than enumerate the PCI devices and boot the Toolbox ROM, the various implementations range from "buggy" to "very buggy", making things more difficult.

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* AdoredByTheNetwork: After the Mac's introduction in 1984, it became the focus of most of Apple's advertising and promotion efforts, despite the UsefulNotes/AppleII line continuing to provide the majority of the company's revenue for most of TheEighties. Many tech industry commentators and Apple fans identify Apple's focus on the [[AwesomeButImpractical flashy and expensive]] Mac instead of the BoringButPractical Apple II as one of the reasons for their decline in market share in the late '80s and early-to-mid '90s. However, with the success of the iPhone and iPad, many people believe the [[ScrewedByTheNetwork inverse trope]] is now happening to the Mac; see DemotedToExtra for more.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: People have been saying this almost throughout the Mac's history. Starting in 1998 alone (only halfway back to the start of the platform), we've had people saying that the iMac, USB-only for peripherals, the lack of a floppy drive, the iPod, Apple retail, iTunes and its proprietary music/audiobook/TV/movie store, the iPhone, the App Store, and the iPad were all destined to be massive failures. Instead, each was a spectacular success and is part of the reason why Apple Inc. is now worth more money than Microsoft. Heck, even at the launch of the original Mac, it gathered flak for its GUI and being branded a "toy" by UsefulNotes/{{UNIX}} users, who believed that command line interfaces would reign into the distant future. (Incidentally, Mac OS X's certification for the Single UNIX Specification means that [[HilariousInHindsight modern-day Mac users are Unix users themselves]].)

** Mac OS X wasn't the first UsefulNotes/{{Unix}} version Apple created for the Mac. That would be A/UX, released in 1988.

* ''VideoGame/DiabloII''

* SpinOff: The [=iOS=] platform. Before that, the UsefulNotes/{{Pippin}}.

** And with the ARM transition, the Mac is now a spiritual successor to the UsefulNotes/AcornArchimedes. The ARM architecture was first developed by Acorn, and Acorn's processor side was soon spun off into a separate company. While Acorn went belly-up in 1999, the processor side operates to this day as Arm Ltd..

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The Apple Lisa is recognized as one of the first personal computers to offer a graphical user interface (GUI) in a machine aimed at individual business users, and was immediately recognized as a significant machine, as its software, in combination with an Apple dot-matrix printer, could produce documents that surpassed other comparably priced options available at the time. However, the experience of [[http://lisa.sunder.net actually using an Apple Lisa]] (or a [[http://www.squeak.org Smalltalk system]], for that matter) is quite awkward and strange to anyone who's never used anything before Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Windows XP; even the snapback behavior of the menus on Mac OS versions prior to 8 is startling to someone who's never seen it before, and Smalltalk is occasionally terrifyingly arcane by modern standards.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' *

* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' *

In June 2020, Apple announced at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) that it would transition the Mac from Intel processors to Apple-designed ARM chips[[note]](Based on processing cores licensed from TSMC)[[/note]], dubbed Apple silicon, similar to those it uses in the [=iPhone=] and [=iPad=]. The reasons for the switch [[https://www.pcmag.com/news/former-intel-engineer-explains-why-apple-switched-to-arm were numerous]]: Apple was reportedly unimpressed with Intel's general pace of innovation and the quality control for its Skylake chips, and found their own ARM chips for the [=iPhone=] and [=iPad=] were nearly as fast as Intel's while using considerably less power and requiring less cooling. The move also gave Apple total control of the technologies they wanted to build into their chips.[[note]]Apple's late Intel Macs included ARM-based T-series co-processors and custom video cards like the "Afterburner" to supplement functionality that Intel's chips lacked, like video encoding/decoding accelerators and storage encryption.[[/note]] It also made it easier for software developers to design apps as they would only need to work with one processor architecture across all of Apple's products. Apple's chips also include in-house designed [=GPUs=] integrated into the [=SoC=], moving away from [=GPUs=] designed by AMD, Nvidia and Intel. Unlike Intel Macs, Apple silicon Macs don't have upgradeable memory and won't work with external [=GPUs=], nor can they be added to the Mac Pro via [=PCIe=].