LC 520 Macintosh LC 500 series

the macintosh lc 520 introduced in june 1993, , first of lc 500 series. lc 500 case design larger compact macs, larger screen. 520 discontinued in february 1994, when replaced both faster otherwise unchanged macintosh lc 550 , new, 68lc040-equipped macintosh lc 575.

the lc 520 got start design project codenamed mongo . following success of color classic, apple industrial design group (idg) began exploring adaptation of color classic s design language, dubbed espresso, larger display version include cd-rom drive. however, idg hated design permanently shelved final concept. in 1992, apple ceo john sculley demanded large screen all-in-one design fill out market strategy in less 6 months. on idg s objections, apple s engineering team retrieved shelved design , promptly put production. because idg universally detested design, began re-design project become power macintosh 5200 lc series less 2 years later.

the logic board of 520 of macintosh lc iii, based on motorola 68030 cpu , optional motorola 68882 fpu. case later used lc 550, macintosh tv, lc 575 , successor, lc 580 well. apple later offered logic board upgrade package lc 575 logic board.

a new york times review of lc 520 positive, columnist peter lewis noting $1,599 price point perhaps best value in entire macintosh product line ... difficult put windows-based pc same features price, , windows computers less expensive macs. lewis noted unit s 40-pound weight make difficult carry home @ night -- attribute apple had marketed feature of compact macintosh models in 1980s. macweek wrote timing of lc 520 s release coincided purchasing timelines schools, , decision market computer exclusively education market part of strategic shift move lc brand away retail market.

models

initially sold in japan , canada, , u.s. educational institutions. computer discontinued in february 1994. featured caddy-loaded cd-rom drive.

introduced june 28, 1993:

macintosh lc 520: 5 mb ram, 80 mb hdd. u.s. educational institutions only. $1,599 usd.
macintosh performa 520