Apple Bandai Pippin
- For emulators, see Apple Pippin, and for game recommendations, see Apple Pippin.
| |
| |
| Bandai Pippin console and its wireless controller | |
| Manufacturer | Bandai |
|---|---|
| Generation | Fifth generation |
| Release date | April 21, 1996 (JP) November 4, 1996 (NA) |
| Predecessor | Playdia |
The Pippin (stylized as PiPP!N) is a defunct open multimedia technology platform, designed by Apple Computer. According to Apple, Pippin was directed at the home market as "an integral part of the consumer audiovisual, stereo, and television environment".
Pippin is based on the Macintosh platform, including the classic Mac OS architecture. Apple built a demonstration device based on Pippin called Pippin Power Player and used it to demonstrate the platform at trade shows and to the media, to attract potential software developers and hardware manufacturers. Apple licensed the Pippin technology to third-party companies. Bandai Company Ltd. developed the ATMARK and @WORLD models, and focused them on the gaming and entertainment business in Japan, Canada and the United States. Katz Media developed the KMP 2000, and focused it on vertical markets throughout Europe and Canada.
Technical specifications
[edit | edit source]The Pippin platform is based on the PowerPC Platform, a platform designed and supported by IBM and Apple. The PowerPC 603 processor is based on RISC design, thereby allowing peripherals to rely on the Pippin CPU. For example, instead of relying on a fully-featured analog modem, the Pippin has a GeoPort serial port. Pippin supports generic dialup Internet service providers (ISP), which at the time included Prodigy, America Online, and eWorld.
The address bus of the PowerPC 603 can theoretically access memory up to 64 MB. However, the operating system's maximum addressable memory size is 37 MB. Furthermore, because of the ASIC design of the Pippin hardware, the maximum RAM size that can be added is 32 MB. Officially, Bandai produced memory upgrade modules of 2, 4, 8, and 16 MB. The memory chips are soldered onto a printed circuit board which is placed in a plastic housing, simplifying installation for the end user. Japanese hackers produced an aftermarket 16 MB module, but because the module was much larger than the memory module compartment on the Pippin, installation required removing the logic board from the chassis, and then mounting the large memory module in-between the logic board and chassis. Developer signatures were embossed into the inside of the hard plastic top case.
Apple encouraged hardware developers to produce PCI compatible peripherals that could be added to the Pippin. The only official method of producing add-ons for the Pippin was by developing PCI-compatible devices and then placed in a docking station cabinet. A proprietary riser card interface (referred to by Apple as an X-PCI slot) is located on the bottom of a Pippin system and is used by docking stations. A docking station for a Pippin can contain a variety of hardware, such as SCSI or floppy disk drive controllers, video interfaces, codecs, or network interfaces such as Ethernet. The logic board passes PCI signals through the X-PCI docking interface, and then to the docking station. Docking stations within the Pippin line do not provide pass-through support, thereby limiting a Pippin system to use only one docking station at one time. For example, a docking station for a floppy disk drive would need to be removed in order to attach a docking station for the magneto-optical drive. Katz Media produced a generic docking station, containing a PCI slot, allowing a user to install PCI cards. No PCI-based peripherals were ever developed specifically for the Pippin.
The operating system is not located in the Pippin's onboard storage and resides instead on the CD-ROMs for each of the Pippin's software releases. Apple could thus upgrade the operating system without having to sell new hardware to the consumer. However, because of this, once Pippin software releases ended, it became impossible to upgrade to a later operating system or install extensions and such. The system automatically reboots whenever the CD-ROM eject button is pushed, so a user cannot load the system software from one CD-ROM, and then insert another CD-ROM. Apple intended for the Pippin platform to be an appliance, and encouraged consumers to purchase a fully featured Macintosh system if they were looking for something upgradable. Bandai never upgraded its system software beyond the 7.5.2 version. Hardware enthusiasts have been able to run system software as late as Mac OS 8.0, but this can only be done on a system utilizing a developer ROM-BIOS.
According to Apple, the loadout of a Pippin-based product was specific to each manufacturer. Other than the color, the specifications on the Bandai releases were the same across both the ATMARK and @WORLD packages, and the Katz Media release addressed features needed to be scalable, including an external SCSI interface, additional onboard memory, and the lack of RSA technology.
| System | Bandai Pippin ATMARK | Bandai Pippin @WORLD | Katz Media Pippin KMP 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model number | PA-82001 | PW-10001 | KMP 2000 |
| Introduction | March 1996 | October 1996 | March 17, 1997 |
| Discontinued | Summer 1997 | ||
| Processor | 66 MHz PowerPC 603 RISC microprocessor | ||
| On-board memory | 6 MB combined system and video memory | 8 MB combined system and video memory | |
| Memory upgrades | RAM is upgradable in 2, 4, 8 and 16 MB increments | ||
| NVRAM | 128 KB NVRAM accessible storage space. | ||
| Video Output | VGA, S-video, RCA composite video (NTSC/PAL switchable), with 640x480 resolution, 8-bit and 16-bit color. | ||
| Audio In/out | RCA composite left/right stereo, 16-bit 44 kHz sampled, and headphone output jack | ||
| Expansion | PCI expansion slot | PCI, and optionally external 50-pin Centronics SCSI interface | |
| Input/Output | Two "AppleJack" ruggedized ADB inputs (P-ADB); Two high-speed serial ports; modem port is GeoPort ready | ||
| Power supply | Internal universal switching power supply, 100 v 25 w 50/60 Hz 0.5 A | Internal universal switching power supply, 100–240 v 25 w 50/60 Hz 0.5 A | |
| Notes | 1996 - White; 1997 - Black | All units were black | Available with or without external SCSI |
ROM-BIOS
[edit | edit source]| Version | KINKA Developer | KINKA Pre-release | KINKA 1.0 | KINKA 1.2 | KINKA 1.3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part number | AP2660-02 | AP2735-01 | AP2777-01 | 820-0867-01 | AP2777-01 |
| Chip labeling | 16 flash ROM chips | 341S0241 thru 245, 247, 248, 250 | 341S0251 thru 254 | 341S0297 thru 300 | 341S0328 thru 331 |
| Support FDD | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Support HDD | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Support Zip 100 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Support MO 230 | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Support PCI expansion adapter | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Notes | Programmable; unstable | Only 500 parts were shipped | Common ROM-BIOS (JP) | Common ROM-BIOS (US) | Authentication disabled |
Peripherals
[edit | edit source]Standard equipment in every Pippin package includes a dial-up analog modem (earlier packages included a 14.4 kbit/s modem (PA-82010 or PA-82007), and later packages included a 33.6 kbit/s modem (PA-82017/BDE-82017)) over a GeoPort interface and one corded AppleJack gamepad.
Originally, the expansion of the Pippin was to be by way of the docking station. However, Apple was looking forward to third-party manufacturers producing add-on products, such as PCMCIA slots, MPEG-2 codecs, among others. Some add-ons were made available by Bandai and other third-party manufacturers, this includes a docking station with a 3.5-inch floppy disk drive (PA-82002), a Deltis 230 MO Docking Turbo (MOS330P) with a 230 MB magneto-optical disk drive that is manufactured by Olympus Optical Co. Ltd. (requires KINKA 1.2 or later); and AppleJack wireless controller/gamepad (PA-82014/BDE-82014), and a Keyboard drawing pad stylus combination through the AppleJack ADB interface (PA-82003).