On Thu, 18 Apr 2002, Tom Owad wrote:
> >> Wow, a unique machine that Sellam *doesn't* have!
> >>
> >> http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,51670,00.html
> >
> >It sounds like a lot of guessing and assuming, with no
> >documentation. They claim it is the only Apple-produced
> >Tempest Mac known, but there's no proof that the system
> >was actually made by Apple and not some third-party.
I think you will find that it was the work of a third party. The
Tempest discipline was/is a very specialized one that requires special
facilities, test equipment, AND experience, and was inherently a low
volume operation - not the kind of thing that a computer manufacturer is
likely to find profitable. Hence, third party.
- don
> The article is a bit fantastical with the black helicopters and all.
>
> My guess was that the SE/30 was built by Candes Systems (if I properly
> read the label on the back), under license from Apple. ?If the Mac were
> an Apple prototype (like Owen suggests), it would almost certainly be
> labeled as such and would not have the Candes label. If it were an
> official Apple product (as Bruce apparently believes), we'd know about
> it. Claiming it was a confidential Apple product produced for the CIA or
> some such agency sounds like fun, but is pretty unlikely. First, it is
> unlikely Apple would have wanted to engage in the production of such a
> low-production product. More probably, having recognized the existence
> of this niche but not wanting to actively persue it, they would have
> granted a smaller third party permission to build cases around Macintosh
> motherboards Apple could have supplied. Apple has done similar (sort of)
> with Dynamac and Outbound. Second, making a tempest Mac isn't hard. If
> the military really wanted a tempest Macintosh and wanted the project to
> remain confidential, they could have just slapped some metal around the
> inside. There would have been no need to involve Apple. This licensing
> theory has the potential to explain both the Apple logo and the lack of
> awareness at Apple of the machine's existence.
>
> Tom
>
> Applefritter
> www.applefritter.com
>
>
Received on Fri Apr 19 2002 - 00:16:10 BST