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Apple Macintosh facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
IMac vector
An iMac. Unlike most computers, it has a computer system with the screen inside it.

The Apple Macintosh or just “Mac” is a line of personal computers made by the American company Apple Inc. The Macintosh was one of the first computers in which the people could use a mouse for pointing on a screen which had icons. This new way of working with a computer (interface) was known as graphical user interface. It was this feature of the Macintosh that made it so popular.

History

Processor history

See Apple Intel transition.

Macintoshes were different than other personal computers for many years based on their central processor unit (CPU). At the start, Macs used Motorola 68000 chips instead of Intel chips. Later, Macs used PowerPC chips. In 2006, Macs started to use Intel chips. Today, Macs are sold with Intel quad-core i7 chips.

Macintoshes

Compact (portable) Consumer (end user) Professional
Desktop Mac Mini iMac Mac Pro
Portable (MacBook) MacBook Air MacBook Air MacBook Pro
Server Mac Mini (server) Mac Mini (server) Mac Pro (server)

Software

The Mac does not have the Windows operating system installed on it. It has its own range of operating systems, known as OS X. The newest operating system is known as “Sierra". Macs can run both Windows and OS X at the same time with help of a program called “Boot Camp”, which comes on every Mac.

General opinion

In general, Macintosh computers cost more than other computers of the same size. But people say they have very good quality, which explains why they’re really expensive.

Related pages

Images for kids

  • Macintosh montage 2017

    Clockwise from top: MacBook Air (2015), iMac G5 20" (2004), Macintosh II (1987), Power Mac G4 Cube (2000), iBook G3 Blueberry (1999) and original Macintosh 128K (1984)

  • Early Macintosh Prototype Computer History Museum Mountain View California 2013-04-11 23-45

    A prototype of the Macintosh from 1981 (at the Computer History Museum)

  • Apple-Macintosh

    The Apple Macintosh Plus at the Design Museum in Gothenburg, Sweden

  • MacII

    The Macintosh II, the first Macintosh model with color graphics

  • Macintosh SE b

    The Macintosh SE, updated Compact Macintosh design using Snow White design language

  • Macintosh Portable-IMG 7541

    The Macintosh Portable, Apple's first battery-powered Macintosh

  • Lcii-system

    The Macintosh LC II with a Macintosh 12" RGB Display

  • Powerbook 100 pose

    The PowerBook 100

  • IMac G3 Bondi Blue, three-quarters view

    The iMac G3, introduced in 1998. Though it led Apple's return to profitability, its associated mouse was one of consumers' least favorite products.

  • MacBook Pro Retina 001

    The 15-inch late-2016 MacBook Pro with the Touch Bar

  • IMacG5guts

    An iMac G5 with its back panel removed

  • Apple Macintosh Desktop

    The original Macintosh introduced a radically new graphical user interface for personal computers. Users interact with the computer using a metaphorical desktop with icons of real life items, instead of abstract textual commands.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Macintosh para niños

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Apple Macintosh Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.