[WinMac] Re: Apple Hard Drives

markj50(markj50[at]earthlink.net)
Mon, 21 Dec 1998 22:07:09 -0800

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>>>but hey, cheaper than buying a
>>>_real_ Apple hard drive. (Wait, i don't think Apple is in the HD
>>>business anymore. :)
>>
>>I don't think they ever were. Those hard drives that said Apple were
>>actually made by Quantum, just like the monitors that said Apple on them
>>were all made by Sony...
>
>
>I'm always amazed at the number of people who actually think that Apple
>makes stuff. They never made drives, they never made monitors and they
>never made Laserwriters or ImageWriters, to name a few. The last few Macs I
>put a new hard drive in, had drives made by IBM. Sony makes some monitors
>but others are made by other companies to Apple's specs. Canon made the
>original engines for the old white LaserWriters. Citoh made the ImageWriter
>engines and Apple has used Micropolis, Quantum, Seagate, and a couple of
>other companies who now are out of the drive business, in their Apple hard
>drive cases. This scenario is very normal for high tech businesses. Same in
>the camera business. If you think Olympus, Nikon, Canon, and Leica all make
>their own lenses, you'd be wrong. Only some of them do. Subcontracting is a
>huge business.

It is amazing that so much misinformation gets past on as fact. The truth
is that Apple has, and still does, make its own equipment. Until
recently, all Apple branded hard drives contained an Apple ROM chip on
them. Sure, the drives were made by Quantum, IBM and others, but those
companies also included the additional Apple chips making them an Apple
product. If it has an Apple logo on the drive, then it is Apple enhanced.

Apple manufactured their own monitors for years. They had a plant until
Gil Amelio sold it, but many Apple monitors are still manufactured there.
An Apple monitor may contain an Apple logic board and other technologies
that make the picture look very good. Even though the ColorSync monitors
use the Sony Trinitron tube, they contain technologies derived from over
50 Apple patents that no other monitor has. This helps to make an Apple
monitor look better than Sony's version.

Apple printers are another example of Apple adding its technology to
them. In addition to the non-Apple print engines in its LaserWriter line,
the logic boards and cases are Apple's design. Even the StyleWriter ink
jet line had Apple branded chips inside.

This is very easy to check. Just crack a case and look for either an
Apple branded logic board or Apple branded chips on it. Remember most, if
not all Apple branded products have added features that improve the
quality of the product.

Just my 2 bits,

Mark Jacobson
Everett, WA

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• Next message: John W. McCarthy: "[WinMac] Re: WinMac Digest #173 - 12/21/98"
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• In reply to: Darryl Lee: "Need 12-16-98 digest"

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