The Apple Jonathan: A 1980s concept computer that never shipped

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Comparisons to Other Modular Systems

  • Many liken Jonathan’s modular stack to earlier or contemporary systems: Burroughs B-25 / Convergent NGEN and Megaframe, S‑100 bus machines, Altair-style “the bus is the computer,” DEC Unibus/Massbus, and Apple II’s open slots.
  • Home and small systems with similar “sidecar” or stackable ideas are cited: TI‑99/4A, IBM PCjr, Amiga 500/1000, big-box Amigas, Apple IIc, IBM Convertible, ZX80/81, Acorn Risc PC slices, East German KC85, PC/104, and various game consoles with bolt-on modules.

Technical Feasibility vs Complexity

  • Some argue the combinatorial configuration problem is overstated: OS abstractions, bus standards, and declaration ROMs (as with NuBus or Apple II cards) can manage diverse hardware.
  • Others emphasize complexity and fragility: multiple masters on a shared bus, DIP-switch addressing, IRQ conflicts, bandwidth limits, and mechanical reliability make such a system hard to ship at consumer scale.
  • There’s debate whether Jonathan’s bus is more like S‑100/VME (multi-master backplane) than like modern controller-based buses (USB, SCSI).

Sidecars, Ergonomics, and Market Reality

  • Recurrent criticism: sidecars and external modules dramatically increase footprint, require heavy cabling, and are only used occasionally, making their added plastic, tooling, and testing cost hard to justify.
  • Some see sidecars as an “escape hatch” for cheap entry-level machines: you buy a minimal system, then a single expansion (e.g., hard drive) later, instead of a more expensive big-box system up front.
  • Others prefer traditional internal slots or today’s cabled solutions, arguing that opening a case infrequently is better than a permanently larger desk footprint.

Aesthetics and Nostalgia

  • The FrogDesign-era industrial design gets strong praise. Jonathan is repeatedly described as beautiful, sexy, and evocative of 1980s high-tech aesthetics.
  • Several commenters reminisce about vintage hardware collections and still “lust” after specific machines from that period.

Apple’s Path and Alternate Histories

  • Some speculate that if Jonathan’s bus had become dominant instead of ISA, Apple might have gained PC-like ecosystem advantages, though higher enclosure costs might have limited adoption.
  • Others note Apple’s actual trajectory: from the very open Apple II platform toward increasingly closed, non-user-expandable Macs.

Modern Parallels

  • Contemporary echoes include MicroTCA, PXI/PXIe, NIM/CAMAC, PXIe, USB‑C/Thunderbolt ecosystems, external GPUs, Raspberry Pi HATs, and especially the Framework laptop.
  • A recurring theme: today we often realize Jonathan-like modularity over high-speed cables rather than shared mechanical backplanes.