Introduction

Since Apple's current CEO Steve Jobs took control of the company in 1997, Apple has made just a few "families" of Macintosh computers at any given time. These families are "revised" every so often, with new features added and prices reduced. Occasionally, families are added, removed or replaced.

This appendix provides a quick look at all recent Mac models that use G4, G5, or Intel Core chips. It's not intended to be a comprehensive guide, but sums up what each model and revision is capable of.

A very useful reference application for all Mac models and other Apple Hardware is MacTracker, available free at http://www.mactracker.ca/.

Families

Current

iMac

The iMac was first released on August 15, 1998 with a G3 PowerPC processor, and a CRT display. The current revision, introduced in September 2006, uses an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and comes with either a 17", 20", or 24" LCD display.

Technical Specifications

17", 20",or 24" Widescreen LCD display at resolutions of 1440x900 or 1680x1050 respectively
1.83GHz or 2.0GHz, with 2MB shared L2 cache, Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
512MB (single SO-DIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
160GB or 250GB SATA Hard Drive
Slot-loading 8x Dual-Layer DVD-RW 'Super Drive'
PCI-Expressed based ATI Radeon X1600 Graphics Card with 126MB or 256MB GDDR3 memory
Included Airport and Bluetooth Capabilities
Built-in iSight Camera

MacBook

The MacBook is the consumer level laptop replacing the previous iBook Line. It was announced on May 16, 2006.

Technical Specifications

13.3" Glossy Widescreen LCD display with a native resolution of 1280x800
1.83GHz or 2.0GHz, with 2MB shared L2 cache, Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
512MB (single SO-DIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
80GB SATA Hard Drive
Slot-loading 8x/24x DVD-ROM/CD-RW 'Combo Drive'
Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64MB shared memory
Included Airport and Bluetooth Capabilities
Built-in iSight Camera

MacBook Pro

The MacBook Pro was the professional level laptop replacing the discontinued PowerBook line. The 15.4" model was announced at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco on January 10, 2006, and a 17" version was released on May 16, 2006.

Technical Specifications

15.4" or 17" Widescreen LCD display with respective native resolutions of 1440 × 900 and 1680 × 1050
2.0GHz, 2.16GHz or 2.33GHz, with 2MB shared L2 cache, Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
1GB (single SO-DIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
80GB SATA Hard Drive
Slot-loading 8x Dual-Layer DVD-RW 'Super Drive' (4x Write speed and support for only Single-Layer write and Double-Layer read on 15.4" Model)
PCI-Expressed based ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 Graphics Card with 126MB or 256MB GDDR3 memory
Included Airport and Bluetooth Capabilities
Built-in iSight Camera

MacBook Air

Mac mini

The Mac mini was introduced with a PowerPC G4 at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco on January 11, 2006, while the updated version with either an Intel Core Duo or Core Solo CPU was released February 28, 2006.

Technical Specifications

1.66GHz or 1.83GHz, with 2MB shared L2 cache, Intel Core Duo CPU
512MB (single SO-DIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
60GB or 80GB SATA Hard Drive
Slot-loading 8x/24x DVD-ROM/CD-RW 'Combo Drive' or 8x DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW double-layer 'SuperDrive'
Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64MB shared memory
Included Airport and Bluetooth Capabilities

Mac Pro

The Mac Pro was the final part of Apple's transition to Intel Processors, replacing the Power Macintosh Models. It was shown at the World Wide Developers Conference on August 7, 2006 in San Jose.

Technical Specifications

Dual 2.0GHz, 2.66GHz, or 3.0GHz, with 4MB shared L2 cache per processor, 64-bit Intel Xeon CPUs (based on the Intel Core 2 design)
512MB (single SO-DIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
250MB SATA2 Hard Drive
x16 DVD-RW 'SuperDrive'
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics with 256MB memory

Discontinued

iBook

The iBook was a line of laptop computers sold by Apple Computer between 1999 and 2006. It was targeted at the consumer and education markets, with fewer features and lower prices than the PowerBook, and more recently, the MacBook Pro. The MacBook replaced the iBook line in May 2006.

iBook G3

iBook (June 21,1999) – First iBook (Tangerine, Blueberry)
- 12.1-inch Active-matrix TFT Display (800x600 max resolution)
- PowerPC G3 300 MHz
- 66 MHz bus
- 32 Megabyte|MB RAM (soldered to logic board)
- Expandable to 544 MB (288 MB specified by Apple)
- 4 MB ATI Rage Mobility AGP 2x
- 3.2 Gigabyte|GB Hard Disk (ATA-33 Controller)
- CD-ROM
- USB, Ethernet
- Airport (802.11b, optional)
- Mac OS 8.6
iBook SE (February 16, 2000) – Minor addition to existing line (Graphite)
- 366 MHz
- 64 MB RAM (soldered to Logic Board)
- Expandable to 576 MB (320 MB specified by Apple)
- Mac OS 9.0.2
- 6 GB Hard disk
- (Other Specifications Same as iBook)
iBook Firewire/SE (September 13, 2000) – Major revision (Graphite, Indigo, Key-lime)
- 12.1-inch Active-matrix TFT Display (800x600 max resolution)
- G3 366/466 MHz
- 64 MB RAM
- 8 MB ATI Rage 128 Mobility AGP 2x
- 10 GB Hard Disk (ATA-66 Controller)
- CD-ROM/4x DVD-ROM
- USB, Firewire, Video Out (through a special 3.5mm cable), Ethernet
- Airport (802.11b, optional)
- Mac OS 9.0.4
- (Other Specifications same as iBook and iBook SE)

The original iBook design was discontinued in May 2001, in favor of the new "Dual USB" iBooks.

iBook G4

iBook G4 (October 22, 2003) – Major revision, processor switch
- 12-inch or 14-inch Active-matrix TFT Display (1024x768 max resolution)
- G4 800/933 MHz/1 GHz
- 256 MB RAM
- 30/40/60 GB Hard Disk
- Slot-load Combo (CD-RW/DVD-ROM)
- USB 2.0, Firewire 400, Video Out, Ethernet 10/100
- Airport Extreme (802.11g, optional)
- Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther"

iBook G4 Early 2004 (April 19, 2004) - Minor revision
- G4 1.0/1.2 GHz
- Slot-load SuperDrive (DVD-R) Built to Order Option
- (Other Specifications Same as iBook G4)

iBook G4 Late 2004 (October 19, 2004) – Minor revision
- G4 1.2/1.33 GHz
- 30/40/60 GB Hard Disk
- Slot-load Combo (DVD/CD-RW)/SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
- AirPort Extreme Standard
- (Other Specifications Same as iBook G4 Early 2004)
- The three models are: M9623LL/A (12-inch, 1.2 GHz, combo drive), M9627LL/A (14-inch, 1.33 GHz, combo drive), M9628LL/A (14-inch, 1.33 GHz, super drive)
- Originally shipped with Mac OS X v10.3 Panther but with the release of Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger, all current iBooks shipped with the more up-to-date operating system.

iBook G4 Mid 2005 (July 26, 2005 to May 16 2006) – Minor revision and the last PowerPC iBooks
- Still a G4 PowerPC
- M9846LL/A: (Retail $999) 1.33 GHz; 12-inch display; 40 GB hard disk; Slot-Load Combo Drive DVD-ROM/CD-RW
- M9848LL/A: (Retail $1299) 1.42 GHz; 14-inch display; 60 GB hard disk; Slot-Load SuperDrive DVD±RW/CD-RW
- While the 14-inch display is bigger it is the same resolution as the 12-inch.
- Both models now feature: 512 MB memory (expandable to 1.5 GB) at 333 MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon 9550 graphics processor with 32 MB video RAM; Sudden Motion Sensor (parks the hard drive head if the iBook is dropped); scrolling trackpad; Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
- Both have a bus at a 10:1 ratio (133 MHz or 142 MHz).
- (Other Specifications Same as iBook G4 Late 2004)

PowerBook

Apple's professional level machine. G4 versions of the PowerBook came in two primary flavors: a Titanium model, and an Aluminum model.

Power Mac Cube

Power Mac