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

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)

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.

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

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

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

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

Macintosh Performa 200 (1992)

The Macintosh Performa 200 featured a 16 MHz 68030 processor, 2 MB of RAM, and either a 40 MB or an 80 MB hard drive. The case was designed in the classic Macintosh all-in-one design. The screen was a 9-inch monochrome CRT display.

The Performa family was sold from 1992 to 1997 and re-branded existing Macintosh computers from Apple’s Quadra, Centris, LC, and Power Macintosh families. Performa family computers were sold at “big-box” stores (e.g., Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears), while non-Performa computers were only sold at Apple Authorized Resellers. 

The Performa 200 was among the first Performa models (based upon the Macintosh Classic II), along with the Performa 400 (based upon the LC II), and Performa 600 (based upon the IIvi). Apple sold sixty-four different Performa models in five years—all based upon other models—thus creating brand confusion. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, the Performa family was one of the many cuts made to return the company to financial solvency.

I currently have two Performa models in my collection. 

Source: EveryMac.com and Wikipedia

PowerBook 180 (1992)

The Apple Macintosh PowerBook 180 featured a 33 MHz 68030 processor, 4 MB of RAM, either an 80 MB or 120 MB hard drive, and an internal 1.44 MB floppy drive. The screen was a 9.8-inch grayscale active-matrix display.

The PowerBook 180 supported 4-bit grayscale on the the built-in display, and it allowed 8-bit color when plugged into an external monitor.

Because the laptop supported an external color screen, included a fast processor for the time, and supported a 120 MB hard drive, this PowerBook was the first Macintosh laptop that could replace a desktop with no compromises. In fact, the PowerBook 180 was equivalent in performance to the Macintosh LC III+, also available at the time.

Source: EveryMac.com