Macintosh LC 500 Series - LC 520

LC 520

The Macintosh LC 520 (codename: "Hook") was introduced in June 1993, and was the first of the LC 500 series of Macintoshes: The LC 500 case design was larger than the compact Macs, with a significantly larger screen. The 520 was discontinued in February 1994, when it was replaced by both the faster but otherwise essentially unchanged Macintosh LC 550 and the new, 68LC040-equipped Macintosh LC 575.

The LC 520 got its start as a design project codenamed "Mongo". Following the success of the Color Classic, The Apple Industrial Design Group (IDg) began exploring the adaptation of the Color Classic's design language, dubbed Espresso, for a larger display version that would also include a CD-ROM drive. However, IDg hated the design so much that they permanently shelved the final concept. In 1992, Apple CEO John Sculley demanded a large screen all-in-one design to fill out his market strategy in less than 6 months. Over IDg's objections, Apple's engineering team retrieved the shelved design and promptly put it into production. Because IDg universally detested the design, they immediately began the re-design project that would become the Power Macintosh 5200 LC series less than two years later.

The logic board of the 520 is essentially that of the Macintosh LC III, based on a Motorola 68030 CPU and an optional Motorola 68882 FPU. The case would later be used for the LC 550, the Macintosh TV, the LC 575 and its successor, the LC 580 as well. Apple later offered a logicboard upgrade package to the LC 575 logic board.