eWorld was a relatively short-lived online service operated by Apple from June 1994—March 1996. eWorld’s services included email, news, a bulletin board system, and access to Apple software. According to the website, Remember eWorld, “eWorld competed directly against AOL, CompuServe, and MSN, and finally lost this competition.”
The service was available for Apple IIGS, Macintosh, and offered limited support for the Newton. Although AOL (America Online) was, by far, the most popular service of the time, Cult of Mac author Rob LeFebvre wrote fondly about eWorld, remembering, “When eWorld went online…the combination of real time chat and a distinct graphical style really made it stand out.”
Several historical references to eWorld noted its relatively high price. A Business Insider article reported that eWorld cost “$8.95 per month, which included two hours of evening or weekend use, with each additional hour costing $4.95.”
This 3.5-inch disk contains the software (Version 1.1) that allowed a Macintosh to access eWorld. According to TechNotif, “Users accessed eWorld through Apple’s custom client software and connected by way of a dial-up modem. Once you connected, the eWorld software displayed a playfully illustrated aerial view of a small city.”
This fold-out poster is from July 1993 and lists product names and feature grids of every Apple product available at the time. Its headline reads “Everything you need to know about Apple products” in Apple Garamond, Apple’s corporate font used between 1984 and 2003. Folded, the poster measures 8.5 x 11 inches—but it unfolds into 16 panels to reveal a 34-inch wide x 44-inch long poster (nearly 3 x 4 feet).
The poster is printed on one side and includes the following product categories:
Macintosh Computers (25 options)
PowerBook Computers (11 options)
Displays (9 options)
Printers (12 options)
Networking
Peripherals
The list of devices offered included separate devices with different names and configurations—creating a dizzying array of options for consumers.
I was able to unfold this poster, perhaps for the first time, carefully enough to provide a photo from above that offers high enough resolution to read most of the grids.
The poster is printed on heavy white paper (yellowing slightly with age), primarily with black ink and dark green accents.
This catalog is titled StartingLine: Apple Marketing Communications Catalog and was released in Spring 1993. It measures 8.5 x 11 inches and is spiral-bound with white plastic. The front and back covers feature colorful, brush-stroke stylized graphics of the types of products featured in the catalog. The cover describes the contents of the catalog as containing:
Ad Slicks Literature Product Art Merchandise Photography Videos Data Sheets Over 150 new items to choose from
The Table of Contents reveals four major sections: Product Materials, Merchandising, Markets and Solutions, and Additional Information. The catalog provides a welcome message:
“Welcome to the Spring 1993 edition of StartingLine, Apple’s marketing communications catalog. As you can see, there have been some exciting changes. We’ve combined the Print, Revue, Merch, and Video catalogs into a single volume with hundreds of new items to line up to all your marketing and sales support programs. Plus, as always, we’ve included a completely updated Apple Media ToolKit CD-ROM, Apple’s electronic source for customizable marketing communications materials.”
For a collector, the Merchandising section of this catalog is a treasure trove of Apple-logo item information from the time. Included below are photos of the entire Merchandising section that provide product shots and descriptions. This source has allowed me to confirm provenance, date, and an “official” description for several items in my collection.
Various versions of the Apple Universal Dock were offered as iPod devices were updated and new iPod models were released. Apple described an earlier version of the Dock in the iPod User’s Guide:
“The iPod Dock holds iPod upright as it charges or transfers music. Connect the Dock to your computer using the same cable you use with iPod… Using the iPod Dock, you can play music from iPod over external powered speakers or a home stereo. You need an audio cable with a standard 3.5 millimeter stereo miniplug…”
This version of the Universal Dock (A1153) used the 30-pin connector and provided two outputs—Line Out and S-Video Out. This allowed a docked iPod to be charging while connected to a stereo/speaker system and/or an external video source (i.e., TV) with an S-Video input.
Apple created the Universal Dock with an opening large enough to accommodate the largest iPod offered and shipped the dock with a set of adapters to ensure a perfect fit if you owned an iPod with a different design.
This set of adapters was made for:
iPod mini (4GB, 6GB)
iPod (20GB) and U2 Special Edition
iPod (40GB)
iPod with color display (20GB, 30GB) and U2 Special Edition
If you are an educational leader who wants to learn about managing technology—in 1995—this historic snapshot is for you!
This glossy white folder (measuring 9.25 x 11.75 inches) has a metallic red Apple logo in the lower-right corner and contains everything that was used in an Apple Education event on August 3, 1995, titled “Managing Technology in the 90’s.” This was one of three events held in Illinois (Drury Lane Theatre, Oak Brook Terrace) during August 1995.
The folder contains the following items:
Embossed invitation to the event
Agenda
2 brochures: Recommended Products At a Glance, Apple Education Series At a Glance
3 handouts: Finding the Promise of Educational Technology (David Dwyer, 1993); Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow Research: Teacher Beliefs and Practices; and a Bibliography of Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow sources
Packet of detailed information about Apple devices available at the time
Apple Facts (product booklet, April 1995)
Pad of paper for note taking
Apple Education’s aims at the time—ideas that are still viable today—were discussed in one of the brochures:
“Welcome to the Apple Education Series. We know that educators today are eager to integrate technology into the classroom. But that need requires more than just a computer—you need well-thought-out, education-specific products and programs that include hardware, software, technical support, and curriculum tools flexible enough to accommodate different teaching styles and individual student needs.”
The AppleCD 150 was among a few nearly identical SCSI-connected external CD-ROM drives manufactured by Apple. All AppleCD models used a SCSI (Small Computer System Interface, pronounced “scuzzy”) connection. According to PC Magazine, SCSI was “used in mainframes, servers and storage arrays in the late 1980s and 1990s… The SCSI bus connects up to 15 devices in a daisy chain topology, and any two can communicate at one time: host-to-peripheral and peripheral-to-peripheral.”
The AppleCD had a 1x Read-Only CD-ROM that could read CDs with with up to 750 MB of data. Ports on the back of the device included two 50-pin Centronics SCSI connectors, red and white audio RCA connectors, and device power input. A front input included a mini-headphone audio jack. The AppleCD could read five CD formats: CD-Audio, CD-ROM, HFS, ProDOS, and High Sierra.
To insert a CD in the AppleCD 150, a “CD Caddy” was required. The CD Caddy was a tray that slid out of the CD-ROM drive and required the user to pinch the edges of the tray to open a clear plastic hinged lid, insert the CD-ROM, and then slide the tray into the drive so it could be read by the drive.
Several models of the AppleCD drive were made, including the SC, SC Plus, 150, 300, 300e, 300i plus, 600i, 600e plus, and 1200i.
This CD was packaged in an orange sleeve from the ADC (Apple Developer Connection). The packaging lists the contents:
Macintosh Products Guide
“Have you ever wondered if the right software or hardware existed to perform a specific task on your Mac? Or have you heard about some of the latest products for your Mac and wished you had a convenient resource to learn more about them?
On this CD you’ll find Apple’s Macintosh Products Guide, the only tool you need to help you locate information on over 12,000 software and hardware products for the Macintosh platform. Here you’ll learn about the hottest products available for your Mac, including games, productivity applications, printers, scanners, image editing applications, utilities, digital cameras, USB peripherals for the iMac, and much, much more. And many of the products listed in the Macintosh Products Guide have direct links for easy online purchase.
We’re sure you’ll find the Macintosh Products Guide on the web an invaluable resource for all your product information needs—one you’ll turn to again and again. With that in mind, be sure to visit the Macintosh Products Guide web site for the latest information on the wide range of products available for your Mac. Point your browser to www.apple.com/guide.”
This collection of CDs include original cardboard packaging with each package containing 1–3 CD-ROM discs. Each CD package is titled “The Apple Sales and Marketing Resource Library” and features a color photo of an Apple product. Each package is also dated.
March 1999 (2 CDs) Pictured: G3 Blue & White tower and matching Blue & White display CD 1 USB FAQ K-12 Seminar # 1 Education QuickFacts New/Revised Data Sheets Mac Products Guide 02.99 Studio Display QTVRs FireWire Fact Sheet iMac Photography iMac Sales Pres CD 2 “A Day in the Life of an SAP Order” “Learn & Earn 1999” “Part lI SAP” Exec. Commentary: Wane Kozlow
May 1999 (2CDs) Pictured: Strawberry iMac CD 1 PowerSales May 1999 Apple Loan Ad Slicks ColorSync White Paper Final Cut DataSheet & FAQ QuickTime 4.0 Data & Fact Sheets Mac OS X Server Data Sheet & FAQ Mac OS X Server Presentation Mac Products Guide 04.99 Mac OS Promos CD 2 Mac OS X Server Training
June 1999 (3 CDs) Pictured: PowerBook G3 CD 1 PowerSales June 99 PowerBook G3 Series Photography PowerBook G3 Series Data Sheet PowerBook G3 Series Presentation Final Cut Pro Data Sheet Final Cut Pro White Paper Final Cut Pro Overview Movie Final Cut Pro Presentation QuickTime 4.0 Pro Data Sheet QuickTime 4.0 Pro Fact Sheet WebObjects Success Stories CD 2 WWDC 99 Taped Kevnote Speeches: Jon Rubenstein & Phil Schiller Mitch Mandich CD 3 WWDC 99 Taped Sessions: Mac OS 8 Overview Mac OS X Overview QuickTime-What’s New
July 1999 (1 CD) Pictured: G3 Blue & White tower CD 1 PowerSales July 99 QuickTime 4 Glossary WebObjects Success Stories Mac OS X Server Presentation Macintosh Server G3 Presentation QuickMail Pro Client Demo Electrifier® Pro 1.0.1 Quickevs 4.0 Demo Informed 2.6.2 4D v6.5
August 1999 (1 CD) CD only (no cardboard insert) CD 1 PowerSales August 99 iBook Sales Presentation Macworld NY 99 Keynote Speech iBook Data Sheets, Take One and FAQ iBook and AirPort Product Photography Design & Publishing Sales Presentations AppleShare IP 6.2 Sales Presentation AppleCare Data Sheets and FAQs QuickTime 4 Sales Presentation WebObjects Success Stories AppleShare IP 6.2 (NFR)
October 1999 (2 CDs) Pictured: Mac OS 9 retail box CD 1 PowerSales October 1999 Mac OS 9 Sales Presentation Macintosh and DV White Paper Digital Moviemaking with iMac DV Mac OS 9 Data Sheet, FAQ & Take One iMac DV Data Sheets, FAQ & Take One iMac DV Product Photography WebObjects Success Stories iMac DV Sales Presentation iMovie Fact Sheet & FAQ CD 2 Flint Center Event – Steve Jobs Electrifier® Pro 1.0.2 Spell Catcher 8 Demo Soundlam MP v1.1.1 Demo Conflict Catcher 8.0.6 Demo Informed Designer®v2.7 Demo Informed Filler® v2.7 Demo Version Master Mac 2.0.2 REALbasic 2.02 Demo FMSync for JFile
November 1999 (2 CDs) Pictured: Graphite iMac SE CD 1 PowerSales November 1999 iBook Demo Fall ’99 V2 PowerBook G3 Demo Fall ’99 Power Mac G4 Demo Fall ’99 V2 iMac Demo Fall ’99 V2 AppleShare IP 6.3 CD 2 iBook First Impressions AppleShare IP 6.3 Data Sheet AppleCare Protection Plan Data Sheet Design & Publishing Sales Presentations AppleShare IP 6.3 Sales Presentation Apple Corporate & Reseller Logos Reseller Advertising Guidelines Mac OS 9 Reseller Ad Kit iMac Reseller Ad Kit
January 2000 (1 CD) Pictured: 5 slot-loading iMacs (tangerine, strawberry, blueberry, grape, and lime) PowerSales January 2000 AppleWorks 6 Data Sheet Apple Internet Services FAQ Apple Internet Services Sales Preso Apple Studio Display 15″ Data Sheet Mac OS X Server Data Sheet & FAQ Apple Displays Sales Presentation Adobe Web Collection Promo AirPort FAQ
