Macintosh Classic - Reception

Reception

Some reviewers of the Macintosh Classic focused on the processor performance and lack of expansion slots. Liza Schafer of Home Office Computing praised the Classic's ease of use and price, but criticized the 9-inch (230 mm) display because a full US letter page (8½ × 11 inches) would not fit at full size, and warned those who required high-end graphics and desktop publishing capabilities against buying the Classic. Schafer concluded: "The Classic's value is more impressive than its performance, but its performance will get you working on that novel, database, or spreadsheet." PC Week criticized the lack of a faster processor, stating, "The 7.8 MHz speed is adequate for text applications and limited graphics work, but it is not suitable for power users. As such, the Classic is appropriate as a home computer or for limited computing on the road." Similarly, PC User's review concluded, "The slow processor and lack of expansion slots on the Macintosh Classic offset the low prices." MacWEEK described it as a "fine, inexpensive replacement for the Macintosh Plus that best embodies the original Macintosh vision six and a half years later".

In the February 1991 edition of Electronic Learning, Robert McCarthy wrote: "Teachers, educational administrators and software developers are enthusiastic about the new, lower cost Apple Macintosh computers". Steve Taffe, manager of instructional strategy at MECC, a developer and publisher of educational software, explained his excitement about the Classic: " is terrific – both because it's a Mac and because of that low price. Everyone can now afford a Macintosh." Scholastic, an education software developer, was also confident of Apple's ability to compete with MS-DOS machines, stating: "They are just as cost-effective and as powerful as MS-DOS computers, but the Apples will have a superior comfort-level." Sue Talley, Apple's manager of strategic planning in education, said of the Classic: "we see it going into applications where you need a fair number of powerful stations, but where color is not a big issue." Talley mentioned that it was most suited for writing labs and other basic productivity uses. Many schools decided not to buy Classics because of the lack of a color monitor, an option which the higher priced Macintosh LC had.