18 Facts About Power Computing

Power Computing Corporation was the first company selected by Apple Inc to create Macintosh-compatible computers.

Power Computing started out with financial backing from Olivetti and $4 million of Mr Kahng's money.

In one year, Power Computing shipped 100,000 units with revenues of $250 million in the first year.

Power Computing was the first company to sell $1,000,000 of products on the Internet.

Power Computing released upgraded models until 1997 with revenues reaching $400 million a year.

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Power Computing Corporation was founded on 11 November 1993 in Milpitas, California, backed by $5 million from Olivetti and $4 million of Mr Kahng's money.

Power Computing opened manufacturing and operations offices in Austin, Texas at the recently abandoned facilities of CompuAdd and engineering offices in Cupertino, California, staffed largely by members of Apple's original Power Macintosh team.

Power Computing then targeted the mail-order market, where Power Computing could get a quicker return on its money than it could by selling through distributors.

Power Computing ended up bringing Olivetti people with him to meetings.

Power Computing's goal was to have clones available for as little as $1,000 each starting in March or April 1995.

In May 1995, shortly after the original clone announcement, Power Computing teamed up with Austin, Texas based Metrowerks to offer the Power Computing CodeStation.

Power Computing advertised models up to the "Power 120 XL", a $5,499 machine built around the PowerPC 601+ chip, a 2GB SCSI hard drive, 17 inch Sony monitor, 4X-speed CD-ROM, built-in Ethernet, and 32MB RAM.

Per an article in the Austin American-Statesman, Power Computing said its machine would far outperform Windows-compatible machines based on Intel's Pentium processors.

At the early 1996 Macworld trade show in San Francisco, Power Computing found itself the star attraction because Apple was so preoccupied with its mounting financial woes that then-CEO Michael Spindler cancelled an appearance.

In May 1996, just one year after Power Computing started selling Mac clones, the company reached the 100,000 units sold milestone.

Originally, Power Computing announced that they would be spun off by Apple and start making Wintel clones.

However, Power Computing was forced to halt operations in December 1997, when the company was hit with lawsuits from its suppliers.

Power Computing's machines were one of the most popular Macintosh clone to ever be made.