The PlainTalk microphone requires +5 V DC power to function, thus the extra length on the connector. If you use a non-Apple microphone, it must supply the line level signal in order to work properly when connected to the PlainTalk audio port on most Macintosh computers.
Griffin Technology makes a microphone adapter which allows you to use most standard unpowered PC microphones with any desktop Macintosh computer which use a standard PlainTalk audio port.
Please check with Griffin Technology for more information on this product.
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