Company type | Private |
---|---|
Founded | Georgia (May, 1983) |
Defunct | July, 1999 [1] |
Headquarters | Flowery Branch, Georgia , United States |
Key people | Andrew F. Lewis, Founder/CEO (see list below) |
Products | FastCache, PowerCache, Turbo 040, Power 601, Genesis MP |
Number of employees | 175 |
DayStar Digital, Inc., was a company founded in 1983 by Andrew Lewis as a subcontract manufacturer of electronic assemblies and circuit boards. In 1986, the company released memory upgrades for Apple Macintosh (Mac) computers as its first products, and in 1987, DayStar began to market processor upgrades exclusively for the Mac, the first being for the Apple Macintosh II computer. The company focused exclusively on this market for the full range of Mac computers through 1995, utilizing the Motorola 68030, 68040 and PowerPC 601 processors. These upgrades were installed directly into the Processor Direct Slot of various Macintosh platforms, as on the Macintosh IIci, or via an adapter. DayStar became known as the leading "speed shop" for Macintosh computer systems; it won virtually every Mac editorial award given for product excellence and had the top rated brand among peripheral manufacturers.[ citation needed ] The company also formed unique strategic relationships with many companies including Apple, IBM and Adobe. In 1995, DayStar was one of three companies in the world awarded licenses by Apple to "clone" the Macintosh computer.
DayStar introduced their FastCache IIci in conjunction with the release of Apple's Macintosh IIci in 1989. It plugged into the Processor Direct Slot and provided 64 KB of Level 2 cache for the IIci's CPU - double what was offered by Apple's own cache card. An additional FastCache IIsi was offered for the Macintosh IIsi in 1991. [2]
The DayStar PowerCache was a Motorola 68030 processor card running at either 40 or 50 MHz, with an optional 68882 math co-processor. The PowerCache plugged directly into the Processor Direct Slot of the Mac IIci, while in the case of the Mac II, IIx or IIcx, a PDS slot was provided via an adapter that plugged into the CPU socket. The Mac IIsi, LC, or SE/30 could also use the PowerCache with a PDS adapter. In addition to the CPU and (optional) FPU, the PowerCache had 32 KB of Level 2 cache. [3]
The Turbo 040 was DayStar's 68040 based processor card running at 33 or 40 MHz. The 33 MHz version could be fitted with either a full 68040 or the lower cost 68LC040, which lacked an FPU. Both versions came with 128 KB of Level 2 cache. With the exception of the LC, the Turbo 040 was compatible with the same machines as the PowerCache and additionally the IIvx and IIvi / Performa 600. [4]
The DayStar Power 601 was an upgrade card fitted with either a 66 or 100 MHz PowerPC 601 and 256 KB of Level 2 cache. The Power 601 gave owners of a few 68030 based Macs an upgrade path to the new PowerPC architecture, using the Processor Direct Slot of the IIci, IIvx and IIvi / Performa 600. [5]
In 1995, the company engaged with Apple in co-development of the first dual processor system, sold only as an upgrade by DayStar. Then, in 1995, DayStar received a license from Apple to produce Macintosh clones and the industry's only multi-processor Apple systems, [6] notably the DayStar Genesis MP dual and quad processor systems built around the PowerPC 604 chips. In retrospect, the Genesis MP is considered one of the most influential Macs of 1995[ citation needed ], and one of the 25 most influential Macs for the first 25 years of the Mac product line. [7] The license for all clone manufacturers was for version 7 of the operating system, but when Apple did not extend the license to version 8, it effectively canceled the program for all the clone companies. DayStar Digital eventually dissolved as a company in July, 1999. [1]
Key people behind the marketing and technological success of the company include (and in no particular order): Marketing: Gary Dailey, David Methven, Ted Cheney, Jerry DeAvila; Engineering: Bob Hudson, Larry Knight, Irvan Krantzler, Rod Frazer, Henry Kannapell, Chris Cooksey.
The Motorola 68040 ("sixty-eight-oh-forty") is a 32-bit microprocessor in the Motorola 68000 series, released in 1990. It is the successor to the 68030 and is followed by the 68060, skipping the 68050. In keeping with general Motorola naming, the 68040 is often referred to as simply the '040.
The Macintosh SE/30 is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from January 1989 to October 1991. It is the fastest of the original black-and-white compact Macintosh series.
The Macintosh IIci is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from September 1989 to February 1993. It is a more powerful version of the Macintosh IIcx, released earlier that year, and shares the same compact case design. With three NuBus expansion slots and a Processor Direct Slot, the IIci also improved upon the IIcx's 16 MHz Motorola 68030 CPU and 68882 FPU, replacing them with 25 MHz versions of these chips.
The Macintosh II is a family of personal computers that was designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1987 to 1993. The Macintosh II was the initial model, representing the high-end of the Macintosh line for the time. Over the course of the next six years, seven more models were produced, culminating with the short-lived Macintosh IIvi and Macintosh IIvx models. Apple retired the Macintosh II name when it moved to Motorola 68040 processors; the Centris and Quadra names were used instead.
Macintosh Centris is a family of personal computers designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. in 1992 and 1993. They were introduced as a replacement for the six-year-old Macintosh II family of computers; the name was chosen to indicate that the consumer was selecting a Macintosh in the center of Apple's product line. Centris machines were the first to offer Motorola 68040 CPUs at a price point around US$2,500, making them significantly less expensive than Quadra computers, but also offering higher performance than the Macintosh LC computers of the time.
The Macintosh Quadra is a family of personal computers designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from October 1991 to October 1995. The Quadra, named for the Motorola 68040 central processing unit, replaced the Macintosh II family as the high-end Macintosh model.
The Macintosh IIsi is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from October 1990 to March 1993. Introduced as a lower-cost alternative to the other Macintosh II family of desktop models, it was popular for home use, as it offered more expandability and performance than the Macintosh LC, which was introduced at the same time. Like the LC, it has built-in sound support, as well as support for color displays, with a maximum screen resolution of 640 × 480 in 8-bit color.
The Macintosh LC II is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from March 1992 to March 1993. The LC II is an update to the original Macintosh LC, replacing its Motorola 68020 processor with a 68030 and increasing the onboard memory to 4 MB. The LC II was priced at US$1,699, fully $800 less than the original LC when it was introduced.
The Macintosh Color Classic is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from February 1993 to May 1995. It has an all-in-one design, with a small, integrated 10″ Sony Trinitron display at 512 × 384 pixel resolution. The display is capable of supporting up to thousands of colors with a video memory upgrade.
The Macintosh TV is a personal computer with integrated television capabilities released by Apple Computer in 1993. It was Apple's first attempt at computer-television integration. It shares the external appearance of the Macintosh LC 500 series, but in black. The Macintosh TV is essentially a Performa 520 that can switch its built-in 14" Sony Trinitron CRT from being a computer display to a cable-ready television. It is incapable of showing television in a desktop window, although it can capture still frames to PICT files.
A processor direct slot (PDS) is a slot incorporated into many older Macintosh models that allowed direct access to the signal pins of a CPU, similar to the functionality of a local bus in PCs. This would result in much higher speeds than having to go through a bus layer, such as NuBus, which typically ran at a slower 10 MHz speed.
The Macintosh IIvx is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from October 1992 to October 1993. It is the last of the Macintosh II family of Macintosh computers. The IIvx was introduced at the same time as the Macintosh IIvi, with both models using the same metal case design as the earlier Performa 600 and Performa 600CD. Like the Performa 600CD, the IIvx could be equipped with an internal double-speed CD-ROM drive.
The Macintosh IIvi is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from September 1992 to February 1993. The IIvi was introduced alongside the Macintosh IIvx, using a slower Motorola 68030 processor and no floating point unit or RAM cache. The Performa 600 models, meanwhile, are the IIvi with the IIvx's 32 MHz CPU. The IIvi was, on some benchmarks, faster than the IIvx. It is the only model in the Macintosh II family to be branded as a Performa.
The Macintosh Quadra 950 is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from March 1992 to October 1995. It replaced the Quadra 900 that was introduced several months earlier, increasing the CPU clock rate of its 68040 CPU from 25 MHz to 33 MHz, and improving the graphics support. The two computers were otherwise identical, including the price. With a Macintosh Processor Upgrade Card installed, this computer is known as the Power Macintosh 950.
The Power Macintosh 6100 is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from March 1994 to March 1996. It is the first computer from Apple to use the new PowerPC processor created by IBM and Motorola. The low-profile ("pizza-box") case was inherited from the Centris/Quadra 610 and 660AV models, and replaced the Macintosh Quadra series that used the Motorola 68040 processor, Apple's previous high-end workstation line.
The Macintosh Quadra 700 is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from October 1991 to March 1993. It was introduced alongside the Quadra 900 as the first computers in the Quadra series, using Motorola 68040 processor in order to compete with IBM-compatible PCs powered by the Intel i486DX. The Quadra 700 is also the first computer from Apple to be housed in a mini-tower form factor, which in 1991 was becoming a popular alternative to standard desktop-on-monitor cases that were common through the 1980s.
The Macintosh Quadra 605 is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from October 1993 to July 1996. The model names reflect a decision made at Apple in 1993 to follow an emerging industry trend of naming product families for their target customers – Quadra for business, LC for education, and Performa for home. Accordingly, the Performa 475 and 476 was sold in department stores and electronics stores such as Circuit City, whereas the Quadra was purchased through an authorized Apple reseller.
The generically named Macintosh Processor Upgrade Card is a central processing unit upgrade card sold by Apple Computer, designed for many Motorola 68040-powered Macintosh LC, Quadra and Performa models. The card contains a PowerPC 601 CPU and plugs into the 68040 CPU socket of the upgraded machine. The Processor upgrade card required the original CPU be plugged back into the card itself, and gave the machine the ability to run in its original 68040 configuration, or through the use of a software configuration utility allowed booting as a PowerPC 601 computer running at twice the original speed in MHz with 32 KB of L1 Cache, 256 KB of L2 Cache and a PowerPC Floating Point Unit available to software. The Macintosh Processor Upgrade requires and shipped with System 7.5.
The Macintosh Quadra 610, originally sold as the Macintosh Centris 610, is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from February 1993 to July 1994. The Centris 610 was introduced alongside the larger Centris 650 as the replacement for the Macintosh IIsi, and it was intended as the start of the new midrange Centris line of computers. Later in 1993, Apple decided to follow an emerging industry trend of naming product families for their target customers – Quadra for business, LC for education, and Performa for home – and folded the Centris 610 into the Quadra family.
The Macintosh Quadra 650, originally sold as the Macintosh Centris 650, is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from February 1993 to September 1994. The Centris 650 was introduced alongside the smaller Centris 610 as the replacement for the Macintosh IIci and Quadra 700, and it was intended as the start of the new midrange Centris line of computers. Later in 1993, Apple decided to follow an emerging industry trend of naming product families for their target customers – Quadra for business, LC for education, and Performa for home – and folded the Centris 650 into the Quadra family.