Personal Internet Solution Bundle binder (1995)

Apple’s Personal Internet Solution Bundle is a 3-ring binder containing 3-hole-punched, 8.5 x 11-inch pages and is part of the Apple Education Series from 1995.

The design of the binder uses a beige-on-beige background accented with gold and teal graphics—all using a woodcut-style design. This design was used throughout the mid- to late-1990s for Apple Education products.

The binder is a professional learning resource for educators to teach them the basics of using tools on the World Wide Web. The four major sections include:

  • Getting Started—Step-by-step instructions for getting connected to the Internet
  • Netscape Navigator—from Netscape Communications Corporation
  • Eudora by Qualcomm—from Qualcomm Incorporated
  • Internet Provider Connection—from Portal Information Network

Each printed section in the binder is separated by dark green tabs for easy navigation.

Some of the highlights of this resource include the title of the Netscape Navigator section, “a friendly handbook on the coolest way to explore the Internet,” and the 151-page manual about how to use email!

Source: Apple

Out of the Box and Onto the Net booklet (1997)

This Apple Education Series booklet, titled Out of the Box and Onto the ’Net: The Internet, Teaching, and Mac OS 8 was written to explain to educators how to use Internet in school with the Mac OS 8 operating system.

The Table of Contents included the following sections:

  • Welcome
  • The Internet in Education
  • The Internet: an introduction
  • How the Internet is transforming education
  • Uses of the Internet in education
  • Communication and collaboration
  • Conducting research
  • Publishing on the World Wide Web
  • Getting ready to go online
  • Preparing students to go online
  • Learning activities and teacher resources
  • Mac OS 8 Internet Features
  • Mac OS 8 overview
  • Setting up your computer to access the Internet
  • Registering with an ISP
  • Adding or changing LAN or ISP settings
  • Creating and importing settings information
  • Connecting to and disconnecting from the Internet
  • Disconnecting from the Internet
  • Using the Connect To command
  • Sending e-mail with Mac OS 8
  • Personal Web Sharing
  • Mac OS Runtime for Java
  • Using the PointCast Network
  • Using the Mac OS Info Center

The book measures 8.5 x 11 inches with a full-color cover. The interior is printed in black.

Source: Apple

Getting Started With the Apple Web Page Construction Kit booklet and CD-ROM set (1997)

This booklet and set of CD-ROMs included software and how-to guides to teach a user to create the elements of a web page at a time when the Internet was still considered new and unknown by many. In true Apple style, the set provided easy-to-use tools and directions “that can help you build creative and engaging Web pages of your own—without any complicated programming.”

In 1997 the “World Wide Web” was defined as “the fastest growing part of the Internet.” The guide provided a handy definition of a Web page:

“Using Web browser software, you can view color images, animation, and video, and even hear sound on the Web. The documents that you view on the Web are known as Web pages, and can contain links to other pages so that when you click a word or image that has been designated as a link, your browser will automatically display the contents of the linked page.”

The three CD-ROMs included in the kit were an Apple Web Page Construction Kit CD (containing Kaboom! Special Edition and Web Explosion Special Edition from Nova Development Corporation and WwwART from Microfrontier. Inc.), Claris Home Page 2.0, and WebPainter.

The kit was comprised of a 7.5 x 9.25-inch booklet and a single frosted vinyl CD packet containing 3 CDs. This kit was shipped in a cardboard box that I do not have in my collection.

Source: Apple

Mac OS 8 Demo Tour CD (1997)

This Mac OS 8 Demo Tour CD is in its original cardboard envelope packaging. It contains a single CD that touts Mac OS 8’s “Performance, Ease of use, Internet, Multimedia, Compatibility, Information, Personalization, and Dependability.”

This CD Contains all the files and applications to deliver a Mac OS 8 Demo experience. Upon inserting the CD-ROM, the user is presented with a Mac OS 8 graphic and three icons:
Mac OS 8 Demo
Read me
QuickTime 2.5

Double-clicking the Mac OS 8 Demo icon would launch the demo file. Double-clicking “Read me” would open the SimpleText application and provide directions on how to use the Demo application and list the system requirements of the Demo. The QuickTime 2.5 folder contained an installer for QuickTime 2.5, in case the Macintosh had an earlier version installed. Created in 1991, QuickTime is the multimedia framework developed by Apple to handle various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity.

Sources: Apple, Internet Archive, Wikipedia

Duffel Bag (c. 1998)

This duffel bag is from the late 1990s when the Internet was still considered “new” to most users. The bag is made of black nylon with stitched straps and features a zippered side panel with a plastic enclosure to separate shoes or clothing. It also has a clip-on shoulder strap with silver metal hardware.

The cartoon-style embroidery logo is a stylized surfer carrying a surf board with a tiny red Apple logo. The figure is holding a cable that is likely a “surfboard leash”—a cord attached to the deck of a surfboard to a leg strap that prevents the board from being swept away or hitting other surfers. Although the cord at first glance appears to be a music player, this duffel bag predates the iPod by several years, and Apple sold no other portable devices with this design.

Under the surfer are the embroidered letters www.apple.com in a sans serif type that resembles Helvetica.

In my research, I have never seen another duffel bag of this design. Please contact me if you have additional history or information on this item.

Source: Wikipedia

iMac (original, Bondi blue, 1998)

The original iMac was introduced on May 6, 1998, and shipped August 15, 1998. It featured a 233 MHz PowerPC 750 (G3) processor, 32 MB of RAM, a 4.0 GB EIDE hard drive, and a tray loading CD-ROM drive. Its screen was a 15-inch CRT display.

The original iMac was available in one color called “Bondi blue,” named for the blue-green color of the water at Bondi Beach near Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. “Bondi” is an [Australian] Aboriginal word meaning “water breaking over rocks.”

This was the first consumer computer product released after Steve Jobs returned to Apple as interim CEO. The iMac was primarily credited with returning Apple to profitability and re-establishing Apple’s commitment to simplicity and design, but at the time was criticized for dropping the floppy disk drive and adopting the emerging USB standard.

The “i” in “iMac” has been described by Apple to represent “Internet,” but Steve Jobs also specified the “i” to mean internet, individual, instruct, inform, and inspire in a presentation in 1998.

Although the original iMac was not meant to be user-upgradable, it did contain what was referred to at the time as a “mysterious” slot behind the hinged side door called the “Mezzanine” slot. Inside the iMac was a Mezzanine connector soldered on to the motherboard. Officially, Apple never explained its purpose, but a few developers created expansion products that used the slot and/or port. I installed one such port in a few iMac computers in 1999, namely the Griffin iPort that added an Apple serial port and video-out port. Although the Griffin iPort didn’t use the Mezzanine internal connector, it did use the Mezzanine slot to make the ports available.

The Revision A iMac (M6709LL/A) and Revision B iMac (M6709LL/B) are identical with the exception of graphics systems. Revision A (August 15, 1998) had an ATI Rage IIc graphics with 2 MB of VRAM, and Revision B (October 26, 1998) had an ATI Rage Pro Turbo graphics with 6 MB of VRAM.

Source: EveryMac.com, LowEndMac.com, Wikipedia, and Business Insider