Jason Snell and a collection of long-time Mac watchers discuss the most notable parts of Macintosh history.

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#8: Mac IIcx and IIci (#13)

September 25th, 2020 · 15 minutes

You know about the Macintosh, but do you know about the sequel? The Macintosh II was huge--literally. But its compact successors might be the pinnacle of late 80s/early 90s Apple design.

#7: Mac mini (#14)

September 18th, 2020 · 12 minutes

The popularity of the iPod led Apple to create a Mac designed specifically to tempt people to switch from Windows. It didn't go as planned, but the result was a Mac model that's been with us for fifteen years and counting.

#6: DayStar Genesis MP (#15)

September 11th, 2020 · 16 minutes

One of the most important developments in the history of the Mac was not created in Cupertino, but by a Mac clonemaker in a tiny town in Georgia.

#5: Blue and White Power Mac G3 (#16)

September 4th, 2020 · 16 minutes

Professionals were dragged out of their beige towers by an iMac-inspired Power Mac that featured a drop-down door, big plastic handles, and a raft of new technologies.

#4: PowerBook 500 and 5300 (#17)

August 28th, 2020 · 13 minutes

Apple follows up its groundbreaking original PowerBooks with a new set of laptops that ushered in perhaps the ugliest period in Apple laptop history.

#3: Xserve (#18)

August 21st, 2020 · 13 minutes

Apple had made numerous attempts to sell server hardware, including a strange non-Mac server that Steve Jobs likened to a bizarre dream. But in the early 2000s, Jobs decided to take another crack at it, and vowed that this time things would be different.

#2: PowerBook Duo (#19)

August 14th, 2020 · 13 minutes

The very first time Apple made a laptop that compromised in numerous ways, all in the question of being as thin and light as possible.

#1: Power Mac G5 (#20)

August 7th, 2020 · 21 minutes

The classic "cheese grater" design of the Power Mac G5 influences the design of the modern Mac Pro, and also represents (in the worst way) the last time Apple embarked on a chip transition.

#0: Introduction

August 3rd, 2020 · 2 minutes

Jason Snell introduces 20 Macs for 2020, a project that will count down his list of the 20 most notable Macs of all time, one per week, with a little help from his friends.