<s>
The	O
Macintosh	B-Device
Office	I-Device
was	O
an	O
effort	O
by	O
Apple	O
Computer	O
to	O
design	O
an	O
office-wide	O
computing	O
environment	O
consisting	O
of	O
Macintosh	B-Device
computers	O
,	O
a	O
local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
networking	I-General_Concept
system	O
,	O
a	O
file	B-Application
server	I-Application
,	O
and	O
a	O
networked	O
laser	O
printer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apple	O
announced	O
Macintosh	B-Device
Office	I-Device
in	O
January	O
1985	O
with	O
a	O
poorly	O
received	O
sixty-second	O
Super	O
Bowl	O
commercial	O
dubbed	O
Lemmings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
end	O
,	O
the	O
file	B-Application
server	I-Application
would	O
never	O
ship	O
and	O
the	O
Office	O
project	O
would	O
be	O
cancelled	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
AppleTalk	B-Application
networking	O
system	O
and	O
LaserWriter	O
printer	O
would	O
be	O
hugely	O
successful	O
in	O
launching	O
the	O
desktop	O
publishing	O
revolution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Macintosh	B-Device
Office	I-Device
was	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
third	O
attempt	O
to	O
enter	O
into	O
the	O
business	O
environment	O
as	O
a	O
serious	O
competitor	O
to	O
IBM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
success	O
of	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
,	O
Apple	O
first	O
sought	O
to	O
enter	O
into	O
the	O
lucrative	O
professional	O
business	O
market	O
with	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
III	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
Apple	O
's	O
reputation	O
suffered	O
and	O
it	O
lost	O
any	O
advantage	O
it	O
had	O
entering	O
into	O
the	O
business	O
market	O
–	O
a	O
full	O
year	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apple	O
's	O
second	O
attempt	O
was	O
with	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
revolutionary	O
Lisa	B-Device
,	O
a	O
high-end	O
computer	O
aimed	O
at	O
the	O
business	O
community	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
that	O
was	O
to	O
become	O
the	O
basis	O
of	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
year	O
later	O
when	O
the	O
much	O
less	O
expensive	O
Macintosh	B-Device
debuted	O
,	O
Lisa	B-Device
's	O
fate	O
was	O
sealed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
being	O
renamed	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
XL	I-Device
in	O
an	O
effort	O
to	O
revive	O
sales	O
,	O
a	O
year	O
later	O
production	O
ended	O
following	O
less	O
than	O
three	O
years	O
of	O
poor	O
sales	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Apple	O
had	O
a	O
hit	O
with	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
,	O
they	O
still	O
needed	O
a	O
way	O
to	O
make	O
inroads	O
into	O
the	O
professional	O
world	O
and	O
the	O
Mac	O
was	O
already	O
being	O
criticized	O
as	O
a	O
toy	O
by	O
the	O
business	O
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apple	O
had	O
initially	O
examined	O
local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
networking	I-General_Concept
through	O
an	O
effort	O
known	O
as	O
AppleNet	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
used	O
Ethernet-like	O
coax	O
cable	O
to	O
support	O
a	O
1Mbit/s	O
network	O
of	O
up	O
to	O
128	O
Apple	B-Device
IIs	I-Device
,	O
Apple	B-Device
IIIs	I-Device
and	O
Apple	B-Device
Lisas	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
Apple	O
commented	O
that	O
they	O
"	O
realized	O
that	O
it	O
's	O
not	O
in	O
the	O
business	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
network	O
system	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
instead	O
announced	O
they	O
would	O
be	O
waiting	O
for	O
IBM	O
to	O
release	O
its	O
Token	B-Device
Ring	I-Device
system	O
in	O
1984	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
left	O
Apple	O
with	O
no	O
networking	O
system	O
until	O
IBM	O
released	O
Token	B-Device
Ring	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internal	O
work	O
continued	O
throughout	O
,	O
greatly	O
aided	O
by	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
memos	O
from	O
Bob	O
Belleville	O
,	O
who	O
outlined	O
what	O
the	O
system	O
would	O
need	O
to	O
do	O
and	O
outlining	O
the	O
networking	O
system	O
,	O
a	O
networked	O
laser	O
printer	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
file	B-Application
server	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
had	O
originally	O
been	O
designed	O
it	O
used	O
the	O
Zilog	B-Device
Z8530	I-Device
serial	O
driver	O
chip	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
the	O
capability	O
of	O
running	O
simple	O
networking	O
protocols	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
AppleBus	O
concept	O
had	O
been	O
dropped	O
during	O
development	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
left	O
the	O
systems	O
with	O
the	O
hardware	O
needed	O
to	O
support	O
a	O
local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
,	O
all	O
that	O
was	O
needed	O
was	O
the	O
appropriate	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
serial	B-Protocol
ports	I-Protocol
on	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
were	O
not	O
connected	O
in	O
a	O
ring	O
,	O
an	O
external	O
box	O
(	O
later	O
known	O
as	O
LocalTalk	B-Device
)	O
was	O
used	O
to	O
provide	O
"	O
up	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
down	O
"	O
connections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
January	O
1985	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
AppleTalk	B-Application
Personal	O
Network	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
would	O
include	O
a	O
dedicated	O
file	B-Application
server	I-Application
they	O
code-named	O
Big	O
Mac	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Essentially	O
it	O
was	O
conceived	O
as	O
a	O
fast	O
Unix-based	O
server	O
which	O
ran	O
the	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
as	O
an	O
interface	O
shell	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
included	O
was	O
a	O
networked	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
intended	O
to	O
be	O
plugged	O
directly	O
into	O
the	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
January	O
1985	O
Apple	O
was	O
ready	O
to	O
launch	O
the	O
LocalTalk	B-Device
network	O
which	O
would	O
allow	O
a	O
small	O
office	O
to	O
inexpensively	O
share	O
its	O
newly	O
introduced	O
LaserWriter	O
printer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
the	O
dedicated	O
file	B-Application
server	I-Application
was	O
up	O
to	O
two	O
years	O
away	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
networked	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
was	O
closer	O
,	O
but	O
still	O
over	O
a	O
year	O
away	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
early	O
1985	O
,	O
Apple	O
did	O
not	O
even	O
offer	O
a	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
that	O
worked	O
on	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
,	O
much	O
less	O
a	O
networked	O
one	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
stopgap	O
measure	O
,	O
Apple	O
had	O
re-branded	O
the	O
Lisa	B-Device
2/10	O
as	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
XL	I-Device
and	O
dropped	O
the	O
price	O
substantially	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
its	O
built-in	O
10MB	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
,	O
greater	O
RAM	O
and	O
Macintosh	B-Application
System	I-Application
emulation	O
software	O
MacWorks	B-Application
,	O
the	O
XL	O
was	O
positioned	O
to	O
act	O
as	O
the	O
file	B-Application
server	I-Application
until	O
Apple	O
could	O
develop	O
the	O
replacement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
there	O
was	O
no	O
file-sharing	O
software	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
XL	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nevertheless	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
premise	O
promised	O
by	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
Office	I-Device
,	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
XL	I-Device
sold	O
well	O
at	O
its	O
reduced	O
price	O
,	O
so	O
well	O
that	O
Apple	O
ran	O
out	O
of	O
parts	O
,	O
forcing	O
it	O
to	O
be	O
discontinued	O
long	O
before	O
the	O
replacement	O
network	O
server	O
was	O
ready	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
meantime	O
,	O
third-party	O
developers	O
working	O
with	O
Apple	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Infosphere	O
and	O
Centram	O
Systems	O
West	O
(	O
later	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
)	O
created	O
AppleTalk-based	O
file	O
sharing	B-General_Concept
applications	O
called	O
XL/Serve	O
(	O
later	O
MacServe	O
)	O
and	O
TOPS	B-Device
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
former	O
was	O
actually	O
a	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
sharing	B-General_Concept
application	O
that	O
allowed	O
a	O
remote	O
client	O
Mac	O
to	O
log	O
onto	O
a	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
connected	O
to	O
the	O
host	O
Mac	O
and	O
work	O
on	O
a	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nevertheless	O
,	O
it	O
fulfilled	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
main	O
features	O
of	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
Office	I-Device
:	O
a	O
networked	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
contrast	O
,	O
TOPS	B-Device
was	O
a	O
true	O
file	O
sharing	B-General_Concept
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
TOPS	B-Device
a	O
remote	O
client	O
could	O
log	O
onto	O
a	O
host	O
Mac	O
and	O
access	O
and	O
work	O
on	O
any	O
file	O
simultaneously	O
with	O
another	O
remote	O
or	O
the	O
host	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
TOPS	B-Device
did	O
not	O
require	O
a	O
dedicated	O
host	O
,	O
rather	O
every	O
Mac	O
could	O
be	O
a	O
host	O
,	O
offering	O
peer-to-peer	O
file	O
sharing	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
What	O
's	O
more	O
,	O
TOPS	B-Device
was	O
not	O
limited	O
to	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
,	O
but	O
could	O
also	O
share	O
files	O
across	O
platforms	O
with	O
IBM	B-Device
PCs	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
of	O
these	O
products	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
others	O
,	O
helped	O
fulfill	O
Apple	O
's	O
announcement	O
of	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
Office	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
early	O
removal	O
of	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
XL	I-Device
,	O
Apple	O
finally	O
delivered	O
its	O
first	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
for	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nine	O
months	O
after	O
announcing	O
it	O
,	O
the	O
Hard	B-Device
Disk	I-Device
20	I-Device
was	O
a	O
mere	O
20MB	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
a	O
welcome	O
addition	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
slow	O
and	O
delivered	O
none	O
of	O
the	O
promise	O
of	O
a	O
network	O
file	B-Application
server	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
third-party	O
products	O
made	O
good	O
use	O
of	O
it	O
,	O
Apple	O
would	O
not	O
offer	O
another	O
installment	O
of	O
the	O
poorly	O
implemented	O
Macintosh	B-Device
Office	I-Device
for	O
well	O
over	O
a	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
Apple	O
canceled	O
the	O
UNIX-based	O
Big	O
Mac	O
file-server	O
concept	O
and	O
chose	O
to	O
focus	O
on	O
the	O
next	O
generation	O
Macintosh	B-Device
II	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
1987	O
,	O
Apple	O
finally	O
introduced	O
its	O
file	O
sharing	B-General_Concept
application	O
AppleShare	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Together	O
with	O
a	O
faster	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
,	O
the	O
Hard	B-Device
Disk	I-Device
20SC	I-Device
released	O
3	O
months	O
earlier	O
,	O
Apple	O
finally	O
offered	O
an	O
officially	O
supported	O
unified	O
,	O
simple-to-use	O
file	O
sharing	B-General_Concept
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
best	O
,	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
Office	I-Device
was	O
a	O
piecemeal	O
solution	O
run	O
on	O
relatively	O
underpowered	O
Macs	O
,	O
lacking	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
features	O
offered	O
by	O
third-party	O
applications	O
before	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
fact	O
,	O
it	O
would	O
be	O
almost	O
5	O
more	O
years	O
before	O
AppleShare	B-General_Concept
would	O
offer	O
peer-to-peer	O
file	O
sharing	B-General_Concept
under	O
System	B-Operating_System
7	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
would	O
take	O
four	O
more	O
months	O
for	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
expandable	O
Macs	O
that	O
could	O
accommodate	O
the	O
growing	O
industry	O
standard	O
,	O
Ethernet	O
,	O
and	O
larger	O
,	O
faster	O
built-in	O
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
powerful	O
enough	O
to	O
manage	O
AppleTalk	B-Application
's	O
potential	O
to	O
serve	O
a	O
large	O
office	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
largely	O
considered	O
a	O
failure	O
by	O
most	O
,	O
The	O
Macintosh	B-Device
Office	I-Device
ushered	O
in	O
the	O
era	O
of	O
Desktop	O
Publishing	O
with	O
the	O
advent	O
of	O
the	O
LaserWriter	O
,	O
the	O
low-cost	O
network	O
interface	O
which	O
made	O
it	O
affordable	O
and	O
the	O
resulting	O
software	O
developers	O
who	O
took	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
GUI	B-Application
and	O
the	O
printer	O
's	O
PostScript	B-Language
professional	O
looking	O
output	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
than	O
anything	O
this	O
cemented	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
's	O
reputation	O
as	O
a	O
serious	O
computer	O
and	O
its	O
indispensable	O
place	O
in	O
the	O
office	O
,	O
particularly	O
when	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
capabilities	O
of	O
its	O
DOS	B-Device
based	O
counterparts	O
.	O
</s>
