Apple Computer Inc is today scheduled to launch its first Macintosh servers, the 25MHz 68040-based Quadra 700 and 900 and they are expected to have Ethernet interfaces for the first time from Apple. They are said to be twice as fast overall as the Macintosh IIfx, and up to five times faster in some applications. The Quadra 900 is Apple’s first floor-standing machine, and a floppy-only version will be offered with three half-height 5.25 storage bays. The 900 has five NuBus slots, the 700 three and main memory goes to 256Kb on the bigger, 64Mb on the smaller. The 900 is tipped to start at around $6,000 with 4Mb and a floppy, the 700 at around $5,500 with 4Mb and 80Mb disk. Building on the success of the Mac Classic, a Classic II, over twice as fast and using a 16MHz 68030, at around $1,800, is expected. The announcement is also expected to include five portable models, including two new notebooks, the PowerBook 100 and 140, with AppleTalk Remote Access software, priced at from $1,800.
