These clones were typically produced without the permission of the brand owners (a situation not unique to Brasil).

As a consequence the country developed a local marketplace of clones of the popular computers of the day: MS-DOS PCs, TRS-80, Apple II, and Timex Sinclair. The importation of mini- and micro-computers was illegal, they were considered to be potential security risks. Until 1985 Brasil was under military rule, and had a reserved market policy for computer sales: only machines produced locally by Brazilian companies were allowed to be sold in Brasil. The Unitron Mac 512 was the world’s first Macintosh clone (photo: Chester’s blog) The Background Situation Here is the fascinating tale of the first Macintosh clone in the world. Pieces of this long-forgotten chapter in Mac history can be found scattered on websites around the world. The fallout from that effort nearly helped start a trade war between Brasil and the United States to prevent theft of Intellectual Property, Apple and other companies lobbied Congress to hike import taxes on Brazilian goods like oranges and shoes as a response.Īnd as we know, nobody messes with Tropicana … And it was a pretty darn impressive copy. No, the first Macintosh clone was the Unitron Mac 512, a unauthorized copy of the 512k “Fat Mac” produced by a Brazilian company in 1986. Nor was it the Outbound laptop in 1989, a hybrid system produced using Mac ROMs taken from working Mac Plus systems. The first Macintosh clone in the world was not one of the Apple sanctioned systems released in 1995, such as those from companies like PowerComputing, Radius, Umax or Daystar Digital. The fallout from that effort nearly helped start a trade war…īy Adam Rosen.

The first Macintosh clone was an unauthorized copy produced by a Brazilian company in 1986.

Macintosh roms.