T-shirt, The new iPod. (black, 2003)

This is a rare example of a dated Apple t-shirt created to celebrate the release of “The new iPod” (the iPod Generation 3) on May 2, 2003. Apple Store employees wore this t-shirt during the in-store release of the new iPod, and store visitors were given posters to commemorate the device’s release.

The front of the black t-shirt features a simple line drawing of the iPod Generation 3 that highlights its scroll wheel and four buttons under the LCD screen: back, MENU, play/pause, and forward. The screen shows the Apple logo.

The back of the shirt includes the stylized type “LIVE ON STAGE 5.2.03” in large size in the top-center, and adds a line of smaller text at the bottom-center of the shirt that reads “The new iPod. More than 7500 songs in your pocket.”

The t-shirt tag indicates it is a Hanes Beefy-T brand made from 100% cotton in size ADULT 2XL. It was made in Honduras.

Source: Apple

Hell froze over. Poster (24 x 36 inches, 2003)

This poster was made available after the Apple event in 2003 when Steve Jobs announced that iTunes would be be available for Windows, making the iPod and iTunes Music Store available to 97% more computer users. As Steve Jobs stood on the stage and made the announcement, the Keynote slide read, “Hell froze over.”

The behind-the-scenes decision was, apparently, a controversial one. Author Max Chafkin wrote that Apple’s Jon Rubinstein said:

“We argued with Steve a bunch [about putting iTunes on Windows], and he said no. Finally, Phil Schiller and I said ‘we’re going to do it.’ And Steve said… ‘do whatever you want. You’re responsible.’ And he stormed out of the room” [expletive removed].

This seemingly innocuous decision may have been the specific catalyst for Windows and other users to get their hands on Apple products—both hardware and software—for the first time. This also may have led to what was later called “ the halo effect” where new Apple users saw how well one product worked, such as the iPod, and it led them to purchase a second product, such as a Mac. Four years after this decision, the iPhone followed, and then the iPad, and Apple eventually became the world’s first trillion-dollar-valued company.

The poster measures 24 x 36 inches and is printed on heavy stock. Just below center in bold Apple Myriad font, the poster reads “Hell froze over.” Below, in smaller gray type, it reads, “Introducing iTunes for Windows. The best Windows app ever written.” At bottom center in the same gray color, there is an Apple logo and the date “October 16, 2003,” the release date of iTunes for Windows. In small type in the lower-right corner running vertically, a text line reads, “©2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, and iTunes are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. registered in the U.S. and other countries.”

Source: LinkedIn

Mac OS X Server box (2003)

This box is the retail packaging for Mac OS X Server, Version 10.3 Panther. The artwork on the box changed considerably from the previous Jaguar-fur-covered X in Apple Garamond to a new, more blocky serif font with a metallic finish.

This version was released on October 24, 2003, and added LDAP-based Open Directory user and file management.

A new Workgroup Manager application allowed for a vast improvement for configuration. Other network services were added or improved including SNMP, Apache web server, mail server, OpenLDAP, AFP, print server, SMB version 3 (improved Windows compatibility), MySQL (4.0.16), and PHP (4.3.7).

The box indicates that it contains Mac OS X Server v10.3, Admin Tools, Xcode, getting started guide, electronic documentation.

Source: Wikipedia (Panther, Mac OS X Server)

Keynote box (2003)

Keynote was announced by Steve Jobs as an app created for him for his world-renowned presentations. (Previously Jobs had used the application Concurrence by Lighthouse Design.)

This is the box version of Keynote 1.0 from 2003. Keynote was sold as a separate application for about two years until it joined Pages as a part of Apple’s iWork suite of software tools.

In my opinion, Keynote has been far superior to PowerPoint and other presentation applications since its release. Keynote used 3D slide transitions and builds that take full advantage of OpenGL, the graphics system that is part of macOS. Keynote has always perfectly handled imported media since it supports all QuickTime formats available in macOS.

I have been a Keynote user since its beta release in 2003 and have seldom used other presentation formats.

Source: Wikipedia

iLife. For the Classroom. CD (2003)

iLife is a suite of software by Apple that has included the apps iMovie, iDVD, iTunes, iPhoto, GarageBand, and iWeb.

Apple regularly updated the iLife suite of applications from 2003–2013, and Apple Education released at least three CDs titled “iLife. For the Classroom.” in 2003, 2004, and 2005.

The iLife for the Classroom CD contained “lesson plans, project examples, and how-to guides for using iLife in the classroom.” This example is from 2003 and is unopened in its original packaging.

Source: Wikipedia (iLife)

Apple CD and DVD media (2003)

My collection of Apple CD and DVD media includes operating systems, applications, software collections that shipped with devices, promotional media, diagnostic tools, and educational content. In general, Apple-branded CD or DVD examples in original packaging have been presented separately, while single discs or collections of discs are presented chronologically.

Apple CDs and DVDs from 2003 include:

  • iBook Mac OS X Install Disc 1 (Mac OS version 10.2.3, CD version 1.0, 2Z691-4282-A, 2003)
  • AppleWorks 6 Education Version (Mac OS X, Mac OS 8.1 or later, Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP, Version 6.2.7, 691-4415-A, 2003)
  • .Mac (Version 2.0, 0Z691-4421-A, 2003)
  • iTunes 4 Installer CD with QuickTime 6.2 (Built for Mac OS X v10.1.5 or later, 2003)
  • iTunes 3, iPhoto 2, iMovie 3, iDVD 3 Install DVD For systems with a SuperDrive (Version 1.0, 2Z691-4302-A, 2003)
  • iTunes 3, iPhoto 2, iMovie 3 Install CD For systems without a SuperDrive (Version 1.0, 2Z691-4301-A, 2003)
  • Keynote (Version 1.0, 691-4149-A, 2003)
  • Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Software (Built for Mac OS X v10.2.6 or later, Version 1.1, 2Z691-4661-A, 2003)
  • iMac Software Install and Restore (Mac OS version 10.2.3, DVD version 1.1, 691-4319-A, 2003)
  • AirPort Software Installation (unopened, CD Version 3.0.4, 691-4420-A)
  • Power Mac G4 Software Install and Restore (Mac OS version 10.2.3, DVD version 1.1, 691-4309-A, 2003)
  • Software Bundle (Power Mac G4, 603-2795, 2003)
  • Software Bundle (PowerBook G4 Media, 603-2714-A, 2003)
  • Mac OS X Xcode Tools Install Disc (Requires Mac OS X v10.3 or later, Version 1.0, 691-4591-A, 2003)

Previous software bundles were packaged in cardboard envelopes. In 2003 Apple changed to packaging software bundles in clear plastic packaging, shown here.

Power Mac G4 (1.25 GHz, “mirrored drive doors,” 2003)

The Power Macintosh G4/1.25 GHz “Mirrored Drive Doors” tower used a 1.25 GHz PowerPC 7455 G4 processor, 256 MB RAM, an 80 GB hard drive, a 12X DVD-ROM/CD-RW “Combo” drive, and allowed wireless using an optional AirPort (802.11b) card. This model was released along with new Power Macintosh G5 models to provide a lower-cost alternative for users who did not need the power of the G5 and still wanted to boot with the MacOS 9 operating system.

While similar to the previous “Quicksilver” model, the front of this tower retains the silver opaque color, but adds a mirror-finished plate over the two available optical drive doors in the center. Although two drive spaces are available, this example only uses one “Combo” (CD/DVD reader/writer) drive in the top position. The prominent drive doors also include the power button at the top-center and an “interrupt” button off to the right. A single speaker is placed above the doors. Four conspicuous ventilation holes span the bottom of the front of this tower.

The back of the tower was flipped compared to previous similar tower designs (G3 blue and white, G4 graphite, and G4 Quicksilver), in that the expansion slots are placed at the top. This tower has spaces for five slots, but only uses slot 1 (at the bottom) to house a VGA port and ADC (proprietary Apple Display Connector) port; slots 2–5 are unused. Ports are included below with two USB, two FireWire (400), one ethernet, a space for a modem port, and side-by-side microphone (line-in)/speaker (audio-out) 3.5 mm jacks. A dedicated Apple speaker port is included to allow Apple’s crystal-clear spherical speakers to be used.

The right side of the tower included a latch with a circular rubberized grip that allowed the entire side of the tower to be opened on a hinge, revealing and providing relatively easy access to all internal components. Plug-in slots (such as video, memory, and wireless) were attached to the hinged side, while components such as drives and fans remained attached to the internal metal frame of the tower.

A design concept worth noting in this tower is its two-layer round-hole pattern on the back. The internal layer features smaller, closely spaced holes in silver metal, while the larger outer holes are spaced further apart in light-silver plastic. The concept is similar to the somewhat-maligned “cheese grater” design used in the 2019 Mac Pro tower. The 2019 Mac Pro uses a “machined spherical array” of ventilation holes in a distinctive design—”The lattice pattern on the Mac Pro is based on a naturally occurring phenomenon in molecular crystal structures.” To be clear, the 2019 design is a single piece of machined metal—not two separate layers—but the designs are related visually. In both the 2003 and 2019 towers, the holes are used simultaneously as design, structure, and ventilation.

Source: Everymac, Apple

iSight Carrying Case (2003)

The original iSight Camera from Apple was an external cylindrical camera with a FireWire connection that shipped with a variety of mounts for use on different Mac computers of the time.

The iSight Carrying Case is referenced in the Setting Up iSight section of the iSight User’s Guide with a diagram, “iSight includes the following components.”

iSight carrying case
Flat-panel display and flat-panel iMac mount
eMac and desktop mount
iSight
Cable adapter
FireWire cable
Magnetic display mount
PowerBook and iBook mount

Source: Apple

iPod 6-pin–to–4-pin FireWire Adapter (for iPod Generation 3, 2003)

The iPod 6-pin–to–4-pin FireWire Adapter was specifically included with the iPod Generation 3 (Dock Connector) to make it compatible with Windows computers. According to the iPod User’s Guide:

To use iPod with a Windows PC, you must have:
• A Windows PC with 500 MHz or higher processor speed
• Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 or later, or Windows XP Home or Professional
• iTunes 4.2 or later (iTunes is included on the iPod CD). To be sure you have the latest version of iTunes, go to www.apple.com/itunes.
• iPod software (included on the iPod CD)
• Built-in FireWire or a FireWire card installed, or built-in USB 2.0 or a USB 2.0 card and the optional iPod Dock Connector to USB 2.0 + FireWire Cable

Although all Mac computers at the time had a 6-pin FireWire port built in, Windows computers had many different possible ports. For Windows, the iPod Generation 3 could support three connectors: USB port (USB 2.0 recommended), 6-pin FireWire 400 port (IEEE 1394), or 4-pin FireWire 400 port (with included adapter).

The 4-pin FireWire adapter only supported data transfer, it could not charge the iPod.

Source: Apple (manual, Identify your iPod model)

Xserve Power Cord (2003)

This short (11-inch) power cord shipped with a later version of the Xserve or the Xserve RAID, a rack-mount server from Apple produced from 2002–2009. This short power cord was ideal for a rack-mounted server to conserve both rack space and weight.

The Apple Xserve had the ability to house two power supplies so there was redundancy in the event one power supply failed. According to one of the Xserve User Guides:

Power supply and power supply bays—A removable power supply for the Xserve. The power cord connects here. You can install two 750- watt power supplies for redundancy; either supply can take over the full load for the Xserve if the other supply fails or is removed.

The original Xserve User’s Guide specifies that it only ships with a long power cord: “You can use the long power cord supplied with the server, or another cord…” Thus, this power cord likely shipped with a later Xserve model. The Xserve RAID User Guide acknowledges that the Xserve RAID may have shipped with more than one type of power cord (“If you received more than two power cords, use the ones with plugs compatible with the electrical supply for your location.”)

Source: Apple (Xserve, Xserve RAID)