17" Laptops P.S.

[George Slusher]

>> As a Post Script, LowEndMac states that the earliest PowerMac, the 
>> 6100 introduced in 1994 had a built-in ethernet port.
>
>I'm almost certain that most Macs came with built-in Ethernet /long/ 
>before that; my good ol' Quadra 660AV (one of the last few pre-Power PC 
>models) had one, as did whatever I was using at work before we got 
>Power Macs. Of course, it's really only been in the last few years that 
>it's become an essential technology for most /home/ users. (Just in 
>time for  wireless networking.)

There is a neat program called MacTracker 

http://www.mactracker.ca/

that has info on every Mac model sold. According to it, the Quadra 700 & 
900 both had built-in Ethernet---in October, 1991. As far as I can tell, 
all the Centris and Quadra Macs had built-in Ethernet, as has nearly 
every Mac desktop since. It took longer to get Ethernet in the laptops, 
mainly because it needed the 68040 CPU. The first that I found were the 
PowerBook 520 & 540, both out in May, 1994. Also check:

http://www.theapplemuseum.com/

http://www.apple-history.com/frames/?




George Slusher/Eugene, OR
gslusher at rio.com