Mac clones
Adam Banks remembers that brief moment when you could buy a Macintosh without an Apple logo
Adam Banks
IN THE MID-1990S, Apple was struggling. CEO Michael Spindler’s one major achievement was to form a partnership with IBM and Motorola that resulted in the PowerPC processor, giving the Power Macintosh range higher performance than comparable Intel- based PCs. But the machines, produced by a complex international manufacturing chain using many parts that differed from contemporary industry standards, were too expensive and incompatible to capture more than a few percent of the personal computer market. Yet, with their pale beige plastic cases, they were barely distinguishable from cheaper generic PCs.