Summary

Carry bag for an Apple Macintosh 512k Computer, manufactured around 1986.

This carry bag is an early example of the computer being regarded as a portable working tool; it made it possible to transport a desktop computer by hand.

The donor says that in 1985 she bought the MacSack carry bag to protect the 512K Macintosh (FatMac) she had just purchased, which with a dot matrix printer, cost $4375 including education discount. The donor explains that this was a substantial sum, which could have bought a small car at the time. Although it was a long way from the convenience of current laptop computers, the MacSack made computing portable for her. She used the MacSack to carry her Fat Mac to and from home and university regularly, where she used the Mac to write student assignments and exam questions, and chemistry books and curriculum materials.

The donor says that the MacSack was as well designed as the Mac and often admired. It had a clever little mouse pocket that fitted into the moulded hand grip of the FatMac when the MacSack was zipped up, plus pockets for the keyboard, disks and leads. With its comfortable padded carry handles and shoulder strap, the donor found it easy to carry the Mac from place to place and set up anywhere there was power. In a time when few people had access to computers, let alone their own even at the university, the donor was often asked to take her Mac to meetings to record notes or to work on collaborative documents. The donor replaced her FatMac with a PowerBook laptop in 1993.

Part of a representative collection of hardware, software, trade literature and promotional material that documents the history of the Apple company, and its contribution to, and impact on the computer industry and society.

Physical Description

A Synthetic Canvas Bag with Nylon Webbing designed to accommodate Macintosh 512k computer, keyboard, mouse, power cord and manuals.

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