Apple Lisa 2

The Apple Lisa 2 replaced the original machine's unreliable twin Twiggy drives with a single 400KB Sony 3.5-inch floppy mechanism. Lower-priced configurations began with 512KB RAM, while Lisa 2/10 systems incorporated a 10MB internal hard disk.

Released alongside the Macintosh, the revision improved reliability and price but faced direct competition from Apple's smaller new graphical computer. Many original Lisa systems were converted using Apple's official upgrade programme.

Notable Features

• Sony 3.5-inch floppy drive replaced the original twin Twiggy mechanisms.
• Lisa 2/10 added an internal 10MB hard disk and revised I/O hardware.
• Memory configurations ranged from 512KB to 2MB.

Historical Significance

• The practical and more reliable production form of the Lisa architecture.
• Its hardware became the basis of the later Macintosh XL.

Collector’s Notes

• Lisa 2, Lisa 2/5 and Lisa 2/10 configurations differ in storage and I/O cards.
• Officially upgraded Lisa 1 systems may retain clues to their earlier Twiggy configuration.

Specifications

Technical Information
Name	Apple Lisa 2
Manufacturer	Apple
Launched	Sunday, January 1, 1984
Country	United States
CPU	Motorola 68000 at 5 MHz
Units Sold
Operating System	Lisa Office System and Lisa Workshop
I/O	Two serial, mouse and three proprietary expansion slots; parallel varies by model
Keyboard	Integrated keyboard and one-button mouse
Storage	Built-in 400KB 3.5-inch floppy; 5MB Profile or 10MB internal hard disk
Sound	Internal mono speaker
Graphics	Bitmapped monochrome graphics
Display	Built-in 12-inch 720 x 364 monochrome display
ROM	16KB bootstrap and diagnostic ROM
RAM	512KB to 2MB
CPU Speed	5 MHz