This Luggage Identification Card is metal with a silver brushed stainless steel finish. The metal edges of the card are folded in to secure a clear plastic front, a white card that reads “YOUR BUSINESS CARD HERE,” and a matching stainless steel back plate. The metal back plate and card housing have holes that match positions so when threaded, the Luggage Identification Card remains secure.
The stainless steel back plate on this Luggage Identification Card is printed in white with the words “2009 Education Sales Club” in the Apple Myriad font. Apple Myriad was Apple’s corporate font used approximately between 2003–2017.
Apple challenge cards are sent to Apple employees who participate in company-sponsored events, usually with a gift to celebrate the accomplishment of successfully completing the challenge.
These challenge cards include:
Close Your Rings Challenge (2023)—Hat’s off to you! Congrats! You finished strong. We hope you’re moved to keep on moving—and finding motivation even beyond this Challenge. Your exclusive Apple-branded hat will be an ongoing reminder to keep your body active and your head in the game. You deserve it.
[Editorial note: I wonder how many Apple employees looked at the grossly misspelled headline “Hat’s off to you!”—with the completely unnecessary apostrophe—before thousands of them were printed in metallic gold. Someone’s head was not in the game!]
Mindful Minute Challenge (2023)—One sip at a time. Cheers to you for completing the Mindful Minute Challenge. Enjoy this mug to help remind you to pause and practice mindfulness with something as simple as a sip. Or create your own mindful practice by slowly tracing the logo while taking a few breaths to find your own inner comfort.
Apple sponsors challenges for their employees a few times each year. Employees who participate in company-sponsored events generally receive a printed card and a gift to celebrate the accomplishment of successfully completing the challenge.
This 2023 Eat Well Challenge included a card printed on heavy textured paper that reads:
“Savor the moment. Food, like life, is meant to be enjoyed. Sense, savor, and feel satisfied with all of life’s flavors and keep it fresh with this set of food storage containers. Seal in your healthy habits.”
The card measures 4.75 x 3.25 inches.
Employees who successfully completed the challenge received a set of food storage containers packed in this white logo box. I do not (yet) have the containers, but my collection includes the custom box and card.
This set of white notecards features five different designs. Each card measures 4.25 x 6.25 inches, and the front-center of each card has a color Apple logo that is approximately one-half inch wide.
The Apple logos are stylized to appear as though they are partially transparent. The colors resemble the “fruit” iMac G3 colors that were released on January 5, 1999: Blueberry (blue), Grape (purple), Tangerine (orange), Lime (green), and Strawberry (red).
This set of white notecards measures 5.5 x 4.25 inches and features a 1-inch embossed Apple logo on the front center. The front of the notecard is bordered by a one.half-inch embossed border.
Apple challenge cards are sent to Apple employees who participate in company-sponsored events, usually with a gift to celebrate the accomplishment of successfully completing the challenge.
These challenge cards include:
Close Your Rings Challenge (2022)—Hooray! You did it. Congrats on finishing the Close Your Rings Challenge with flying colors. We hope this journey has inspired you to keep the momentum going (and your body moving). Wear this Apple-branded pullover shirt as a reminder to keep on closing those rings—you’ve earned it. Mindful Minute Challenge (2022)—Your presence is a gift. Relax, reflect, and remember your practice can be flexible (and comfortable). Use this cozy pillow-blanket combo to rest your head, take a seat, or elevate your mindful practice any way, or anywhere, you wish. Be present and keep going. You’ve got this.
This “Close Your Rings” Apple Watch Woven Nylon band was only available to Apple employees who participated in and completed the “Close Your Rings” challenge in 2018.
According to MacRumors writer mikedop, who has extensively researched and written about the challenges:
“The Close Your Rings Woven Nylon was the second ever employee exclusive Apple Watch band. This exclusivity combined with the unique design lead to a high demand for the band on secondhand markets like eBay… The Close Your Rings 2018 prize came with a challenge card as well…in a book-like style, with the text on the outside and the band stuck to the card on the inside. The text, sitting on the front below a metallic silhouette of the activity rings in either gold, silver or bronze, read the following: ‘Closure. At last. You did it. You completed the Close Your Rings Challenge, and this band is proof. Put it on your wrist. Let it go straight to your head. You’ve earned it. Wear it, flaunt it, feel free to sweat all over it. It’s yours.’”
Incidentally, the first employee-exclusive Apple Watch band was the original Pride band given to employees who attended the LGBT Pride festival in San Francisco on June 26, 2016.
This Close Your Rings woven nylon band is all black with black plastic lugs and a black buckle. It has a three-color loop closure (called the “keeper” in watch parlance) in blue, green, and red—representing the colors of Apple’s Activity rings. This band is in the 42mm size.
Although this band was not available for sale, this is the description that Apple used for the Woven Nylon Band collection:
“Every Woven Nylon band is made from over 500 threads woven together in a unique, colorful pattern. Monofilaments connect four layers of the weave to create a single durable band with a comfortable, fabric-like feel.”
This Leather ID/Card Holder with Key Ring features two pockets on one side, a clear plastic-covered window on the opposite side, and a zippered pocket in the center. The black holder is made from genuine leather and features an embossed Apple logo and the Apple logotype printed in the Apple Garamond font (used by Apple from 1984–2003).
The holder was made by Eisinger-Smith, Inc., a company that began in 1980 and as of now (2021) specializes in custom printed golf accessories. The Leather ID/Card Holder with Key Ring measures 3 x 4 inches.
All Newton devices had at least one PCMCIA memory card slot. According to Engineering360 (the world’s largest online destination for engineers):
“PCMCIA memory cards and storage cards are used to add memory (RAM, SRAM, Flash, etc.) and/or storage capacity (hard disks, CD-ROM, etc.) to computers. PCMCIA is an acronym for the Personal Computer Memory Card Association, the organization which develops and maintains standards for PCMCIA cards. Originally, these devices were known as PC cards because they were designed to add memory to portable computers.”
The original MessagePad and the 100 series Newtons (100, 110, 120, 130) had one Type II card slot, the MessagePad 2000 and 2100 had two Type II card slots, and the eMate 300 had one Type III card slot.
This Newton 4MB Flash Storage Card added 4MB of internal storage to a Newton device.
The AirPort Extreme Card card replaced Apple’s original AirPort card in 2003. The first computers designed to use this card were the iBook G4/800 12-inch (original) and the iMac G4 1.0 17-inch (flat panel).
Apple devices with wireless capabilities after the AirPort Extreme Card had Wi-Fi as a standard feature built in to the architecture beginning in mid-2005. Beginning in 2006 with the Intel-based MacBook Pro, Apple used non-Apple-branded internal wireless cards (e.g., Atheros, Broadcom).
According to Apple’s AirPort Extreme Card User’s Guide:
AirPort Extreme Card Specifications • Wireless Data Rate: Up to 54 megabits per second (Mbps) • Range: Up to 150 feet (45 meters) from the base station in typical indoor use (varies with building) • Frequency Band: 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) • Radio Output Power: 15 dBm (nominal) • Standards: Compliant with 802.11 HR Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) 11 Mbps standard, 802.11 DSSS 1 and 2 Mbps standard, and 802.11g specification
