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iPad (Generation 6, 2018)

The iPad Generation 6 was considered Apple’s “base” iPad when it was released on March 27, 2018. It was offered in Silver, Gold, and Space Gray. It was available in 32GB and 128GB configurations with Wi-Fi-only or with Wi-Fi+Cellular capabilities. This example is a 32GB Space Gray Wi-Fi-only model.

This iPad was announced in Chicago at an education-focused event at Lane Tech High School. An Apple Press Release stated:

“The new 9.7-inch iPad and Apple Pencil give users the ability to be even more creative and productive, from sketching ideas and jotting down handwritten notes to marking up screenshots. The new iPad is more versatile and capable than ever, features a large Retina display, the A10 Fusion chip and advanced sensors that help deliver immersive augmented reality, and provides unmatched portability, ease of use and all-day battery life.”

The iPad generation 6 used a 9.7-inch LED-backlit Multi-Touch Retina display at 2048 x 1536-pixel resolution (264 ppi). This iPad measured 9.4 inches (240 mm) x 6.6 inches (169.5 mm), and was 0.29 inch (7.5 mm) thick. It weighed 1.03 pounds (469 g). This iPad was powered by the A10 Fusion chip.

The back camera was 8 Megapixels with features such as Autofocus, Panorama (up to 43 megapixels), and HDR. The front FaceTime HD Camera was 1.2 Megapixels.

This iPad used five sensors including a 3-axis gyro, accelerometer, barometer, and an ambient light sensor. Its Home button included the Touch ID fingerprint identity sensor.

This was the first base-model iPad to support the Apple Pencil and the Logitech Crayon, and it originally shipped with iOS 12.

Source: Apple (Tech Specs, Newsroom)

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MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)

At the time of its release, the MacBook Pro 15-inch with Retina Display was a solid “Pro” choice, but an iterative update from its predecessor with no new design elements, major features, or new technologies. This MacBook Pro used Intel’s Core i7 “Haswell/Crystalwell” processor with four cores. This example is the 2.0GHz model, and a 2.3GHz was also available.

The 15.4-inch Retina Display was LED-backlit display with 2880 x 1800 resolution (220ppi). The laptop measured 0.71 inch (1.8 cm) thick, and 14.13 inches (35.89 cm) wide x 9.73 inches (24.71 cm) tall. It weighed 4.46 pounds (2.02 kg).

According to Apple, the physical ports included:

  • MagSafe 2 power port
  • 2 Thunderbolt 2 ports (up to 20 Gbps)
  • 2 USB 3 ports (up to 5 Gbps)
  • HDMI port
  • Headphone port
  • SDXC card slot

Wireless technologies included 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0.

The full-size keyboard was backlit and used an ambient light sensor. Apple advertised the battery life as 8 hours, and it charged using an 85W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter.

Sources: Apple, EveryMac

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The Visual Almanac: An Interactive Multimedia Kit (January 1990)

The Visual Almanac is the earliest Apple Education multimedia product in my collection. According to the kit’s Laser Disc, pictured on the Domesday86 website:

“The Visual Almanac is composed of 3 parts: the Visual Almanac Videodisc, the Visual Almanac software, and the Visual Almanac Companion (a book). This two-sided videodisc contains an Introduction, over 7000 images and 2 channels of sound organized into 12 collections. It is designed to be used under control of a Macintosh computer.”

The printed materials include a guide (First Steps in the Visual Almanac) and a spiral-bound book. Media includes three 3.5-inch disks: HyperCard 1.2.2; Visual Almanac Home (home HyperCard stack; Collections Directory (pre-made collections), and a CD-ROM. The kit also includes a cable.

The cable is described as a “LaserDisc Player Serial Lead,” designed to “connect a Pioneer player (with a 15 pin D-Sub connector) to the Apple Macintosh mini-DIN serial port.”

The box containing all the items in the kit measures 12.75 inches square and is 1.5 inches deep. The accompanying spiral-bound book is titled The Visual Almanac: An Interactive Multimedia Kit Companion, measures 11 x 8.5 inches, and contains 216 pages, printed in full color.

The Preface of the book contains a welcome message that states the resource’s intent:

“Welcome to The Visual Almanac! We designed the The Visual Almanac to give everyone a glimpse of potential computer-centered futures and have tried to show how current multimedia technologies might be used to do something new. We tried to make something that could be used now, but would also provoke the development of methodologies, technologies and pedagogies for the future. It is an interactive multimedia kit aimed at children and all their teachers—in schools, in homes and in various public environments—as well as business people, researchers and developers who make educational and other materials for our youth.”

Although the full package is dated January 1990, the accompanying CD-ROM is dated 1989 and the CD (as well as the Laser Disc) specifies that it was “Produced by the Apple Multimedia Lab.”

The box in my collection is missing the accompanying 2-sided LaserDisc that contains the primary content in 78 “collections” for the kit:

Side A Collections
Animals and Plants
Earth View
Everyday Physics
Solar System
Sounds Side A

Side B Collections
American History
Around the World
History of Daily Life
Everyday Objects
Historical Portraits
Sounds Side B
Studies in Time

Special thanks to the Domesday86 website for providing an excellent, detailed entry about this kit that allowed me to better describe this early educational multimedia example.

Source: Apple, Domesday86

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The Apple Catalog (Spring 1993)

The Apple Catalog opens with the description:

“In this catalog, you’ll read about a lot of tremendously useful products. Products that could change your life. You’ll also read about the way some people really did change their lives—and a lot of other peoples’ lives—in significant ways.”

The Table of Contents includes:

  • Color Classic—Introducing the Macintosh Color Classic computer
  • Color made easy—Scan it, display it, and print it—all in color
  • PowerBook computers—Macintosh power in a notebook size
  • PowerBook accessories—Carrying cases, batteries, rechargers, and more
  • Printers—StyleWriter and ImageWriter printers and accessories
  • Laser printers—Personal LaserWriter NTR and LS printers and accessories
  • Desktop publishing—New tools for the black-and-white publisher
  • Multimedia—Bring full-color video, sound, and animation to your Macintosh screen
  • Disability solutions—Tools for people with disabilities
  • Software—Word processing, drawing, page layout, presentations, and more
  • Learning and communicating—Self-paced training, technical support, and communications software
  • Networks—Networking software and cables
  • Compatibility—How Macintosh works with other systems: AUX, SNA•ps, and MacX
  • Macintosh security—Anti-glare filters, security kits, and system savers
  • Macintosh add-ons—Keyboards, mice, and disk holders
  • Desk accessories—Accents for the well-appointed office
  • Apple wear—Apple clothing and accessories
  • Apple II, too—Products and accessories for Apple II computers
  • The Apple II on Macintosh—Plus a library of useful manuals

The Apple Catalog from Spring 1993 measures 9.125 x 11 inches and is printed in full color on a matte finish paper.

Source: Apple

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Snow Leopard brochure (2009)

This Snow Leopard brochure, titled “Mac OSX Snow Leopard: Installation, features, and refinements” describes the 2-step installation process and outlines the main features of Mac OS X, Version 10.6.

Features that are described include:

  • Exposé
  • Safari 4
  • QuickTime X
  • Microsoft Exchange Support
  • Universal Access
  • Several different “Refinements” to its Leopard predecessor

Each of 5 panels are square and measure 125mm. Folded out, the entire brochure is 625mm long. The brochure is primarily white and printed in full color.

Source: Apple

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Picasso book covers (1992)

This set of two book covers were presumably created for the education market for students to use to cover their textbooks (of the heavy, printed variety).

The book covers measure 10.75 x 26.25 inches and feature the original Macintosh “Picasso” logo on the front side, and the 6-color Apple logo on the back with the tagline “The power to be your best.”

The center of these book covers that would fall along the spine of the textbook have an Apple logo printed sideways and labels for “Name” and “Class” (with lines on which to write). All text is printed in the Apple Garamond font, Apple’s corporate font used between 1984 and 1993.

Both book covers are folded.

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Personal Internet Solution Bundle binder (1995)

Apple’s Personal Internet Solution Bundle is a 3-ring binder containing 3-hole-punched, 8.5 x 11-inch pages and is part of the Apple Education Series from 1995.

The design of the binder uses a beige-on-beige background accented with gold and teal graphics—all using a woodcut-style design. This design was used throughout the mid- to late-1990s for Apple Education products.

The binder is a professional learning resource for educators to teach them the basics of using tools on the World Wide Web. The four major sections include:

  • Getting Started—Step-by-step instructions for getting connected to the Internet
  • Netscape Navigator—from Netscape Communications Corporation
  • Eudora by Qualcomm—from Qualcomm Incorporated
  • Internet Provider Connection—from Portal Information Network

Each printed section in the binder is separated by dark green tabs for easy navigation.

Some of the highlights of this resource include the title of the Netscape Navigator section, “a friendly handbook on the coolest way to explore the Internet,” and the 151-page manual about how to use email!

Source: Apple

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Out of the Box and Onto the Net booklet (1997)

This Apple Education Series booklet, titled Out of the Box and Onto the ’Net: The Internet, Teaching, and Mac OS 8 was written to explain to educators how to use Internet in school with the Mac OS 8 operating system.

The Table of Contents included the following sections:

  • Welcome
  • The Internet in Education
  • The Internet: an introduction
  • How the Internet is transforming education
  • Uses of the Internet in education
  • Communication and collaboration
  • Conducting research
  • Publishing on the World Wide Web
  • Getting ready to go online
  • Preparing students to go online
  • Learning activities and teacher resources
  • Mac OS 8 Internet Features
  • Mac OS 8 overview
  • Setting up your computer to access the Internet
  • Registering with an ISP
  • Adding or changing LAN or ISP settings
  • Creating and importing settings information
  • Connecting to and disconnecting from the Internet
  • Disconnecting from the Internet
  • Using the Connect To command
  • Sending e-mail with Mac OS 8
  • Personal Web Sharing
  • Mac OS Runtime for Java
  • Using the PointCast Network
  • Using the Mac OS Info Center

The book measures 8.5 x 11 inches with a full-color cover. The interior is printed in black.

Source: Apple

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Mac OS X Tiger, Version 10.4, installer DVD, Not for Resale (2005)

Mac OS X, Version 10.4, was the fifth major release of the Mac OS X [ten] operating system. It was referred to by its codename, “Tiger,” in its product marketing. Previous versions were codenamed “Cheetah” (Version 10.0) and “Puma” (Version 10.1), but they were referred to only by their version numbers. Version 10.2 was announced as “Jaguar,” 10.3 was named “Panther,” and this version, 10.4, was called “Tiger.”

According to Apple, “Tiger delivers more than 200 new features and innovations including Spotlight, a revolutionary desktop search technology that lets users instantly find anything stored on their Mac, including documents, emails, contacts and images; and Dashboard, a new way to instantly access important information like weather forecasts and stock quotes, using a dazzling new class of applications called widgets.”

This Not for Resale DVD is unopened.

When it was released on April 29, 2005, this Mac OS X upgrade cost US$129. Likely because this DVD is “Not for Resale,” it is packaged in a plain white cardboard envelope.

Source: Apple

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Multimedia Learning Tools CD Library (1995)

This collection of CD-ROMs is part of the Apple Education Series and is titled “Multimedia Learning Tools CD Library.” The CD booklet measures 7.5 x 9.25 inches and is made of clear vinyl. It has a side attachment that allows the book to be bound in a 3-ring binder. The booklet’s front and back cover design use a beige-on-beige woodcut pattern design with a bold rectangle woodcut image in the center depicting stylized characters and multimedia icon images.

The interior front and back flap have internal pockets for paperwork. Three inside pages contain pockets that can hold 4 CDs each (2 in front and 2 in back).

The CD-ROMs in this collection include:

  • MediaClips 1: Animal Kingdom, Tropical Rain Forest & Deep Voyage (Softkey, 1993–1995)
  • Apple Education Series Multimedia Learning Tools (1995)
  • HyperStudio (Roger Wagner, 1993–1994)
  • Kid Pix (Brøderbund, 1994)
  • Claris Impact 1.0 (1995)
  • Avid VideoShop 3.0 (1995)
  • Microsoft Bookshelf (1995)
  • Famous Faces (Jasmine Multimedia, 1995)
  • MultiWare Multi-Media Collection (BeachWare)
  • 1995 TIme Almanac
  • MacGallery, Version 1.1 (1994–1995)
  • MediaClips 2: Space Odyssey, American View, & World View (Softkey, 1993–1995)

Source: Apple