ed tech | design | music
The QuickTake AC Adapter for QuickTake 200 was sold separately from the QuickTake 200. According to the product box, this adapter “Lets you run your QuickTake 200 digital camera using AC power.”
I remember using the QuickTake AC Adapter primarily for school projects that involved the QuickTake 200 on a tripod and taking photos of many students or student work examples in succession.
Source: Apple
The QuickTake 200 was the third and final digital camera by Apple. It was released in 1997 and was built by Fuji. The QuickTake 200 was a major step ahead compared to the QuickTake 100 and 150 cameras that came before it, due to its 1.8-inch color LCD preview screen, removable memory cards, and additional controls. Further, the QuickTake 200 looked and functioned more like a traditional camera than its predecessors.
The QuickTake 200 shipped with a 2 MB SmartMedia card that allowed up to 20 high-quality or 40 standard-quality photos. The camera used four AA batteries and had controls for aperture and focus with three different modes: close-up (3.5–5 inch), portrait (17–35 inch), and standard (3 feet–infinity). It also shipped with a snap-on optical viewfinder to save battery. Unlike the previous QuickTake 100 and 150, the QuickTake 200 did not have a flash.
I used the QuickTake 200 digital camera extensively both as an educator and personally. In fact, I took my QuickTake 200 on my most memorable vacation to date on a trip to London in 1998. At the time, digital cameras were not well known and it allowed me capture many more photos than I’d taken in the past on film because of the removable SmartMedia cards. By no means was the experience similar to today’s virtually unlimited mobile phone camera photography, but it was my first indication of what was coming, years before everyone had a camera all the time.
As a fan of vintage Apple, I was intrigued to notice that Apple brought back the “QuickTake” name for a camera feature in the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro cameras in 2019. The Apple Support website states, “Grab a video with QuickTake. iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro have QuickTake, a new feature that lets you record videos without switching out of photo mode.”
Sources: Wikipedia, Apple Support
This original Macintosh Mouse, Model M0100, shipped with a Macintosh 512K. This mouse was compatible with the Apple Lisa and was the same mouse that shipped with the original Macintosh.
The original Macintosh Mouse used a DE-9 connector and remained unchanged until 1987 when its color was altered to Platinium (with Smoke accents) to match the Macintosh Plus. Like all early Macintosh mouse designs, it used only one button to control the famously easy-to-use Macintosh operating systems of the time.
Source: Wikipedia
The Macintosh Keyboard, Model M0110, was included with the original Macintosh. This keyboard was also shipped with the Macintosh 512K.
This keyboard may be the simplest of all Apple keyboards because it lacks arrow keys and a numeric keypad. It used a telephone-style connector (RJ-10) to connect to the Macintosh, but the cable was wired differently than a standard telephone cord (a telephone cord is not interchangeable and will result in device damage).
This keyboard also introduced the “Command” key and symbol to the world. Apple II computers were in wide use at the time and included the “open Apple” key (a key with the outline of the Apple logo) and a “closed Apple” key (a key with a solid Apple logo), both used for shortcut and other functions before the Macintosh. (The Open- and Closed-Apple keys were also used on the Apple Lisa.) The “Command” key and symbol were used on this original Macintosh Keyboard and functioned similarly to the “Open Apple” key on the IIe. The keyboard that replaced this original Macintosh Keyboard design, the Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard, continued the tradition of the “Open-Apple” symbol by printing the Open-Apple on the same key as the Command symbol.
For years, users (especially teachers, including me) referred to keyboard shortcuts using the “Open-Apple” terminology, such as “Open-Apple-C” (for Edit > Copy) or “Open-Apple-P” (for File > Print), instead of using the arguably more elegant, and now standard term, “Command.”
Source: Wikipedia
At the time the original Macintosh was released, the computer was considered portable, due to its relatively small size (compared to its competitors) and the fact that the laptop computer was not yet widely available. (Apple would not release their first laptop, the Macintosh Portable, until 1989—a machine that was barely portable and cost over $7,000 at the time.) The original Macintosh design included a built-in handle and similarly sized models were offered from 1984 until the Color Classic II was discontinued in 1995.
Apple captured this opportunity to release the Soft Carrying Case that would fit all the “classic” Macintosh computers. The Soft Carrying Case was dark beige with black straps. Internally, the Soft Carrying Case has a soft, beige, fleece-like lining with compartments for the mouse, keyboard, manual/disks/cables, and a large central space for the Macintosh. Since the original Macintosh models had no internal hard drives, 3.5-inch floppy disks were required to run the operating system and programs.
The case could be used as a carry-on for air travel, but contains a Warning tag: “This bag is designed for carry-on use only. Use an ATA Spec. 300, category 1 approved container for checking your computer as luggage or shipping it as cargo.”
My collection currently includes two Soft Carrying Cases. One was a gift, and this example was included with the purchase of my Macintosh 512K. Verifying the exact name of of this product required some research. I finally located an Apple-based source in a 19-page brochure released in 1983 before the original Macintosh release. The brochure touts, “At less than 20 pounds in weight, Macintosh is easily carried from here to there. But handles always help. This durable, water-resistant carrying case is thickly padded so the Macintosh main unit, keyboard, mouse, manual and disks fit snugly inside.”
Source: Apple via Internet Archive
According to Apple, “The Apple USB SuperDrive is compatible with Mac models from 2008 and later that don’t have a built-in optical drive.” This includes MacBook, MacBook Air with Retina display, MacBook Pro with Retina display, MacBook Air, iMac (late 2012) and later, Mac mini (late 2009) and later, and Mac Pro (late 2013).
The drive is compact at 0.67 inches by 5.47 inches by 5.47 inches, and weighs 0.74 pounds. The drive includes a USB-A port, making an adapter necessary to use it with newer Macs that only include USB-C ports; however, no separate power adapter is required.
Apple proclaims that this drive is “Everything you need in an optical drive. Whether you’re at the office or on the road, you can play and burn both CDs and DVDs with the Apple USB SuperDrive. It’s perfect when you want to watch a DVD movie, install software, create backup discs, and more.”
Sources: Apple (Store, Support)
This iPad Case was the only case made by Apple upon release of the original iPad in 2010. Like the iPhone case market, iPad cases became—and continue to be—a major business for both Apple and third-party manufacturers. Then and now, Apple’s case offerings vary in reviewer reception.
This original iPad Case was described by iLounge as a design in the middle of the pack. Specifically they state, “Using a protective lid…that folds around the back to become a prop-up video stand, the case is made from vinyl-like PVC plastic and has a microfiber interior. It’s designed to provide access to the device’s side buttons, headphone port…exposing the screen when you want to flip the lid open.” iLounge also correctly points out that the material “gathers marks and dirt in ways that no other case does, and the flip-closed front isn’t secured to the rest of the case in any way.”
This case, despite my best efforts at cleaning it, indeed suffers from marks that could not be removed. However, the original iPad that it was protecting was in perfect condition, thus speaking to its effectiveness at protecting the device.
The iLounge reviewer likes the case’s ability to fold and become a stand for viewing video. Interestingly, the reviewer overlooks the case’s ability to be flipped and set at a lower angle to make typing easier. This oversight is not unusual for 2010 when the iPad was often viewed only as a content consumption device, rather than acknowledging that it could also be used effectively for content creation.
Source: iLounge
The iPhone Stereo Headset were the headphones that shipped with the first two iPhone models, the original iPhone (2007–2008) and the iPhone 3G (2008–2010). The headphones used a similar enclosed design as the later EarPods, and the right earbud included a control button with a microphone on the wire. The button is controlled by a squeeze and it can be set for a variety of tasks: answer/end calls, advance presentation slides, play/pause music/video, or capture photos. A double-press also allowed the user to skip to the next music track.
Note that the controller did not include the + and – option for volume and/or other controls, a feature now taken for granted in many headphone designs.
iLounge described these headphones as, “familiar and inexpensive, with very good earbud and microphone quality.” They also praised the bass response, warm sound, and the quality of the microphone.
This example is in Apple’s bulk packaging. I remember receiving the headphones when I attended an Apple Education professional development opportunity that required attendees to have a microphone. These were never unpackaged because I had brought and used my personal headphones.
The Original iPod headphones were the earbuds that shipped with the original iPod. They sounded quite good, shipped with two sets of black foam ear covers, were sometimes panned for not fitting some people’s ears, and came with the iPod at no additional cost so most iPod users used them.
Perhaps the most important, and in my opinion overlooked, feature of these headphones was not the specs, but the color. Soon after the iPod was introduced in 2001, an iconic ad campaign was released in 2003 referred to as “silhouettes,” created by the company Chiat\Day. In each commercial, poster, print ad, or billboard, the all-black silhouette of a dancer moved over a brightly colored background (hot pink, lime green, yellow, or bright blue) while the highly-contrasted bright white headphone wire and iPod moved along with the dancer. The effect was striking and the white cord color effectively called attention to the product nearly screaming, “I’m using an iPod!”
The white earbud design not only became permanently associated with “cool” Apple gear, but 20 years later is still being used as the only color choice for Apple-branded headphones, EarPods, AirPods, and likely future Apple headphone iterations. (Apple-owned brand Beats, however, does produce many headphone styles in multiple colors.)
According to my research, this particular example of the original iPod headphone design is a Generation 2 release, identified as such due to the addition of a plastic slider to adjust the gap between the headphone wires.
Apple’s Leather Case for iPhone 5s also fits the earlier iPhone 5. Although no official Apple cases were released with the iPhone 5, this case was backward-compatible and came in six leather colors: black, light beige, brown, (PRODUCT)RED, blue (light blue), and yellow (with a somewhat lime green tone).
Reviews of the case were generally positive, noting that the cutouts were precise and the buttons were accurately placed, if a bit squishy. MacWorld reported, “The case covers the iPhone’s Sleep/Wake button and volume buttons with custom-molded overlays. These overlays are subtle, but they’re prominent enough to locate by feel.” The light beige color was described as quickly discoloring, even though Apple’s packaging specifies that the leather will develop a patina over time. Further, the cutouts for the audio port and Lighting connector are very close, allowing Apple cables, but not some larger third-party options.
