Tag: 1992

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Macintosh Educational Software Guide 1992 (3.5-inch disk, 1992)

The 3.5-inch floppy disk was used in the very first Macintosh computer in 1984 after its initial introduction by Sony in 1981. By 1992 the format had evolved several times and was used as a relatively inexpensive and reliable way to share digital files before the Internet. At the time, the CD-ROM was gaining popularity, but most users had access to 3.5-inch floppy drives.

This Macintosh Educational Software Guide from 1992 contains a compressed HyperCard Stack.

HyperCard was a software application and development kit for Apple computers that allowed users to create and/or read hypermedia documents, a format that was used before the World Wide Web. The system was developed and used extensively between 1987 and 1994, and retired in 2004.

According to its accompanying envelope—found digitally, but not a part of my collection:

The “MacEduGuide ’92” compressed HyperCard stack on this floppy disk includes information about more than 1,300 software programs for students, teachers, and administrators in K-12 schools. Each product listing includes the following information:

  • Product description
  • Publisher’s name, address, and phone number
  • Education pricing (when available)
  • Grade range
  • System requirements
  • Additional items included with the software
  • Product review citations in educational software journals
  • Publisher’s policies (copy protection, site licensing, 90-day free trial, and so on)

The special features of this stack allow you to search for information using any combination of elements: title, publisher, subject and topic, specific grade or grade range, and system requirements.

You can print any or all of the product lists and product information. The “mailer” button that appears with each product description allows you to print a letter to the publisher requesting additional information.

Further, the HyperCard Stack was compressed using the .sea compression method popular at the time for Macintosh computers. While Windows primarily used .zip for compression, Apple used .sea (Self Extracting Archive). The format was built into the Macintosh Operating System at the time and did not require a “helper app” to open and decompress the file.

Sources: Macintosh Repository, Wikipedia (floppy disk, HyperCard, archive formats)

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The Golden Apple Club ceramic tile (1992)

This white ceramic tile was acquired from the estate of a former Apple Education employee. It is printed with a negative-space white Apple logo on a shimmering, metallic gold circle with the words “THE GOLDEN APPLE CLUB,” also printed in metallic gold. The tile’s border is surrounded with dark-green-printed shamrocks and the words “Ireland ’92” in an Old English typeface.

I was able to find a few references to the “The Golden Apple Club” in my research. One source in the Online Archive of California in the Department of Special Collections and University Archives at Stanford shows a listing in a collection archive titled, “Guide to the Apple Computer, Inc. Records M1007” (1998). The reference catalogs the item as “Vanity Press Items” with the entry: The Golden Apple Club: the best of the best., 1991. The complete record specifies that the university collection includes approximately 600 linear feet of items from 1977–1998 including: “organizational charts, annual reports, company directories, internal communications, engineering reports, design materials, press releases, manuals, public relations materials, human resource information, videotapes, audiotapes, software, hardware, and corporate memorabilia.”

A former Apple Regional Sales Manager on LinkedIn lists that he was a “Golden Apple Sales Award Winner” in 1998.

The long-running podcast RetroMacCast Episode 261 (October 21, 2012): “Frito Residue,” includes a reference to a 18K gold Golden Apple Club pin (selling for $1,049.99) and later included a conversation about the Golden Apple Club program. The podcast host discussed several Golden Apple Club items he had purchased in a kit, including a deck of cards, heavy-duty black plastic luggage tags, a neck pillow in a gray vinyl pouch, and a small portfolio—all with the Golden Apple Club logo. The “Club” was described as a program for sales representatives who had exceeded planned sales goals for a fiscal year. Reportedly, one of the “prizes” for Golden Apple Club members included a trip.

Based upon this information, this tile may have been received by a Golden Apple Club award winner on a trip to Ireland in 1992.

Perhaps worth noting, Apple has had facilities in Cork, Ireland, since 1980 and specifies that Cork “serves as Apple’s European headquarters, supporting customers across the continent and beyond.” There is no indication that this trip was to Cork, and this connection is pure speculation.

The tile measures 4.25 x 4.25 inches, 3/16-inch thick, and has a cork bottom.

Sources: Stanford, Apple, RetroMacCast

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At Ease box (1992)

Although the Mac has always been touted as the computer platform that’s easy to use, At Ease was Apple’s even more simplified version of an operating environment for users. At Ease removed the Desktop and Finder environment and replaced it with an all-graphical interface with two tabs and large icons.

At Ease used two Panels (tabs) as the primary interface. A brown tab displayed Applications, and a blue tab displayed a user’s documents. All Applications and Documents were shown as icons on a grid.

Although the early Macintosh in System 7 and before did not support multiple users, At Ease added the ability for multiple users to use the same computer and protect their files from other users. At Ease also allowed those files to be shared among users at that computer.

At Ease was controlled by the Administrator or Owner of the computer who set which Applications could be accessed by users. User security was accomplished through passwords set by the Administrator/Owner for each user.

At Ease was used extensively in the schools where I worked in the early- to mid-1990s. This example is a shrink-wrapped, never-opened At Ease box from 1992. The box also contains a Mouse Practice mouse skills tutorial application.

Sources: Wikipedia, Macintosh Garden

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AppleShare Server 3.0 box (1992)

AppleShare 3 is an early implementation of a networking system by Apple that connected several network services in one package. This version, AppleShare 3.0, predates the Internet and serves primarily as a file sharing system and print server. AppleShare ran on a Macintosh Plus, Macintosh SE, or Macintosh Classic with 4 MB of RAM, and also on a Power Macintosh.

Low End Mac compiled information about AppleShare and published the following features:

  • requires System 7.0 or later
  • runs on 68000 or later with at least 4 MB RAM

For file services, Low End Mac reports that AppleShare 3 allows up to:

  • 120 connected users (v. 10 for file sharing)
  • 346 unique files open at one time
  • 50 shared volumes (vs. 10 for file sharing)
  • 8,192 users and groups (vs. 100 for file sharing)
  • 65,536 files per volume (limited by HFS file system)
  • 4 GB volume size (System 7.0 through 7.1 are limited to 2 GB)
  • 2 GB file size (requires AppleShare Workstation 3.5 or later on clients)

File sharing in AppleShare 3 was accomplished through AFP, Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), a proprietary network protocol that offered file services for the classic Mac OS.

This boxed version of AppleShare 3 is from 1992 and includes the original manuals and floppy disks required to install AppleShare on a Macintosh of the time.

Sources: Low End Mac, Wikipedia (AppleShare, AFP)

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PowerBook Battery Recharger (for PowerBook 140–180, 1992)

Several PowerBook models from the early- to mid-1990s all shared a common swappable battery, models including PowerBook 140–180. This PowerBook Battery Recharger was designed to charge two swappable PowerBook batteries. At the time, Apple’s laptop designs did not encase the battery inside the laptop, and users were able to swap a low battery for a charged one on the fly.

Until I acquired this PowerBook Battery Recharger, I had never seen one. The color is greenish gray and contrasts slightly from the PowerBook laptops of the time, but matches the tint of an Apple case designed for the same batteries. I acquired the this charger and the case at the same time.

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PowerBook Battery Case (1992)

Several PowerBook models from the early- to mid-1990s all shared a common removable battery (i.e., PowerBook 140–180). This PowerBook Battery Case was designed to safely hold the PowerBook battery at the time, including its attached “battery door” that was removable, but generally remained connected to the battery to make changing batteries quick and easy.

Until I acquired this PowerBook Battery Case, I had never seen one, despite the fact that I owned a PowerBook 160 in the early 1990s. The color is greenish gray and contrasts slightly from the laptops available at the time, but matches the tint of an Apple battery charger for the same batteries I also have in my collection.

My guess is that this battery case shipped with the PowerBook 180c (which I acquired along with this battery case). The Macintosh User’s Guide for the PowerBook 180 states:

“Important care and safety instructions… Transport batteries either inside the computer or in the protective case provided with each battery. Do not transport unprotected batteries.”

Source: Apple

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Apple SCSI System Cable (unopened, 1992)

SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) was used to physically connect two computers to peripheral devices and transfer data between them. SCSI was used to connect hard disk drives, tape drives, scanners, CD drives, and other devices. SCSI is pronounced “scuzzy.”

The examples shown here include both an unopened cable in the 1992 packaging and an opened example that I found in an AppleCD 300e Plus (1995) box.

I remember using an Apple SCSI System Cable to connect external Apple CD-ROM drives, scanners, and hard drives. The thickness of the cable made it difficult to bend and contributed to a high failure rate.

Source: Wikipedia.com

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Apple SCSI Active Terminator (1992)

The SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) was used to physically connect two computers to peripheral devices and transfer data between them. SCSI was used to connect hard disk drives, tape drives, scanners, CD drives, and other devices. SCSI is pronounced “scuzzy.”

The Apple SCSI Active Terminator was used to allow “active termination” in a chain of SCSI devices. Active Termination is defined as an advanced form of terminating SCSI cables that controls “the impedance at the end of the SCSI bus by using a voltage regulator, not just the power supplied by the interface card” (myoldmac.com).

Although different SCSI interfaces were available, this terminator uses the original parallel SCSI interface.

Sources: myoldmac.net, Wikipedia.com

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Macintosh PowerBook Video Cable (1992)

The Macintosh PowerBook Video Cable allowed PowerBook 100-series laptops to be connected to Apple monitors sold in the early 1990s. Both ends of the cable were Apple-proprietary.

This cable allowed users of the earliest PowerBook series, such as the PowerBook 160 with a grayscale-only display, to plug into a color Apple monitor and use the PowerBook with a color screen.

According to an Apple Support document, the cable supported a resolution of 832×624 and was compatible with the following laptops: PowerBook 1400-series, PowerBook 190-series, PowerBook 520-series, PowerBook 5300-series, PowerBook 540-series, PowerBook 550c [Japan Only], PowerBook 160/165/180, and PowerBook 165c/180c.

Source: Apple