Editing Macintosh II (section)

== Development ==
Two common criticisms of the original Macintosh, starting from its introduction in 1984, were the closed architecture and lack of color; rumors of a potential color Macintosh began almost immediately.<ref name="bartimo19850225">{{cite magazine | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6C4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA30 | title=Macintosh: Success And Disappointment | magazine=[[InfoWorld]] | date=1985-02-25 | access-date=27 January 2015 | author=Bartimo, Jim | volume =7  | issue =8 | pages=30–33}}</ref>

The Macintosh II project was begun by Dhuey and Berkeley during 1985 without the knowledge of Apple co-founder and Macintosh division head [[Steve Jobs]], who opposed [[expansion slot]]s and color, on the basis that expansion slots complicated the user experience and that color did not conform to [[WYSIWYG]], as color printers were not common.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catb.org/esr/writings/taouu/html/ch02s07.html|title=The Color Convergence|access-date=January 28, 2015|archive-date=March 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150301025128/http://www.catb.org/esr/writings/taouu/html/ch02s07.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Jobs instead wanted higher-resolution monochrome displays<ref name="webster198512">{{cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1985-12/1985_12_BYTE_10-13_Computer_Conferencing#page/n363/mode/2up | title=Microcomputer Color Graphics-Observations | magazine=[[Byte (magazine)|BYTE]] | date=December 1985 | volume = 10 | issue = 13| access-date=28 October 2013 | author=Webster, Bruce | author-link=Bruce Webster| pages=405–418}}</ref> such as the ones chosen for his own "[[Big Mac (computer)|BigMac]]" project begun in 1984 to develop a Macintosh successor.<ref name="aventure">{{Cite web |title=Le prototype « Big Mac » d’Apple |trans-title=Apple's "Big Mac" prototype |url=https://www.aventure-apple.com/le-big-mac-apple/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304034707/https://www.aventure-apple.com/le-big-mac-apple/ |archive-date=4 March 2024 |website=L'Aventure Apple |language=fr}}</ref>

Initially referred to as "Little Big Mac", the Macintosh II was codenamed "[[Milwaukee]]" after Dhuey's hometown, and it later went through a series of new names. After Jobs was ousted by Apple in September 1985, the Milwaukee project could proceed openly (while Jobs' own BigMac project was cancelled).<ref name="aventure" />

The Macintosh II was introduced at the AppleWorld 1987 conference in [[Los Angeles]],<ref>{{cite magazine
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LWkn070OgWQC&q=appleworld+1987&pg=PA1
| title = Apple debuts two "open" Macintoshes, is developing a Mac Ethernet interface with 3Com
| magazine = Local Area Networks Newsletter
| date = April 1987
| page = 1
| volume = 5
| issue = 4
}}</ref> with low-volume initial shipments starting two months later.<ref name="ship date" /> Retailing for US $5,498,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://macgui.com/usenet/?group=14&id=1509|title=Mac GUI :: Macintosh II and Macintosh SE announced|website=macgui.com|access-date=April 11, 2018|archive-date=March 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329161221/http://macgui.com/usenet/?group=14&id=1509|url-status=live}}</ref> the Macintosh II was the first modular Macintosh model, so called because it came in a horizontal desktop case like many [[IBM PC compatible]]s of the time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of computer design: Macintosh II |url=https://www.landsnail.com/apple/local/design/mac2.html |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=www.landsnail.com}}</ref> Previous Macintosh computers use an [[Compact Macintosh|all-in-one design]] with a built-in black-and-white [[cathode-ray tube|CRT]].

The Macintosh II has [[drive bay]]s for an internal hard disk (originally 40 MB or 80 MB) and an optional second floppy disk drive.<ref name=":0" /> It, along with the [[Macintosh SE]], was the first Macintosh to use the [[Apple Desktop Bus]] (ADB) introduced with the [[Apple IIGS]] for keyboard and mouse interface.<ref name="macintosh-hardware">{{cite book |author=Apple Computer, Inc |url=https://archive.org/details/apple-guide-macintosh-family-hardware/page/n357/mode/2up?view=theater |title="Guide to Macintosh Family Hardware, second edition" |date=1990 |isbn=0-201-52405-8 |page=287-288}}</ref>

The primary improvement in the Macintosh II was Color [[QuickDraw]] in [[read-only memory|ROM]], a color version of the Macintosh graphics routines. Color QuickDraw can handle any display size, up to [[8-bit color]] depth, and multiple monitors. Because Color QuickDraw is included in the Macintosh II's ROM and relies on 68020 instructions, earlier systems could not be upgraded to display color.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Surovell |first=David A. |title=Programming QuickDraw: includes color QuickDraw and 32-bit QuickDraw |last2=Hall |first2=Frederick M. |last3=Othmer |first3=Konstantin |date=1992 |publisher=Addison-Wesley |isbn=978-0-201-57019-9 |series=Macintosh inside out |location=Reading, Mass. u.a |pages=84-89}}</ref>

In September 1988, shortly before the introduction of the [[Macintosh IIx]], Apple increased the list price of the Macintosh II by roughly 20%.<ref>{{cite newsgroup
| title = Apple price increases
| author = Michael Wang
| date = 13 September 1988
| newsgroup = comp.sys.mac
| message-id = 3642@Portia.Stanford.EDU
| url = https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.sys.mac/k1wJnCoE33g/hgcSO0_S-gQJ
}}</ref> [[AnimEigo]] notably used the Macintosh II for subtitling their earliest releases, including ''[[MADOX-01]]'', ''[[Riding Bean]]'', and ''[[Vampire Princess Miyu]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.animeigo.com/about/secret-history-animeigo |title=The Secret History of AnimEigo |access-date=June 4, 2021 |archive-date=June 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604210130/https://www.animeigo.com/about/secret-history-animeigo/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Industrial Light & Magic]] used the Macintosh II for image processing on films such as ''[[The Abyss]]''.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_8906_June_1989/page/n125/mode/2up MacWorld 8906 June 1989]</ref>