Apple Macintosh SE

Processor: Motorola 68000 @ 7.8MHz

Manufacturer: Apple

Year: 1987

The Macintosh SE came later in the family of "compact Mac" models, continuing the original style of the "all-in-one" Macintosh.  Produced from 1987 through 1990, the SE was released along with the Macintosh II desktop CPU machine, and they shared the same design language of linear vent slots in the case – starting the theme of Macs of this era.  The SE even included a cooling fan to help reduce internal temperature and extend the life expectancy of the machine, even though whirring fans had long been rejected in Apple products on aesthetic grounds.

These new machines expressed a philosophical shift at Apple in the era after Steve Jobs was ousted.  This machine took elements from the competing IBM-PC market, most notably expandability.  In fact, its moniker "SE" stands for "System Expansion."  It was the first Mac to offer the Processor Direct Slot (PDS), which allowed access to the processor bus for easy integration of add-on components and upgrades.  It also introduced the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) standard for keyboards, mice and other human interface devices.

The SE includes hidden Easter Eggs in its internal program ROMs.  Try them out if you can (or feel free to ask for a demonstration).

$41D89A - cycling photo slideshow of the SE development team

$4188A4 - message to expose theft of the Macintosh ROM programming

(This document was originally typed on an authentic Macintosh SE.)