Tag: Macintosh

Posted on

Mac OS X Public Beta CD folder (2000)

On September 13, 2000, Steve Jobs released the Mac OS X Public Beta at Apple Expo in Paris. During the unveiling, Jobs said:

“Mac OS X is the future of the Macintosh, and the most technically advanced personal computer operating system ever. We’re excited to have our users test drive this public beta version and provide us with their valuable feedback.”

Somewhat controversially, Apple charged $29.95 for the software—a Beta version that was known to be buggy and not quite finished. The issue was not that the operating system was buggy and unfinished—that is the definition of a software “Beta”—but that Apple was charging faithful users to get an early look at the future of their products while testing it for the purpose of improving the final release. In an article at the time, a writer at Ars Technica provided a balanced opinion:

“Taken all together, ‘Mac OS X Public Beta’…means that for $29.95 you get an unfinished, buggy version of Apple’s next generation operating system. Charging for public beta software is increasingly common among the big software companies… If you don’t want to pay for buggy software, don’t buy the beta.”

The Mac OS X public beta was a completely new operating system for the Mac and provided the foundation of the macOS we still use today—over 20 years later. Apple’s press release described some highlights of Mac OS X:

“Mac OS X features true memory protection, pre-emptive multi-tasking, and symmetric multiprocessing when running on the new dual-processor Power Mac G4 line. Mac OS X includes Apple’s new Quartz 2D graphics engine (based on the Internet-standard Portable Document Format) for stunning graphics and broad font support; OpenGL for spectacular 3D graphics and gaming, and QuickTime for streaming audio and video. In addition, Mac OS X features Apple’s new user interface named ‘Aqua,’ which combines superior ease-of-use with amazing new functionality such as the ‘Dock,’ a breakthrough for organizing applications, documents and miniaturized windows.”

This white cardboard folder measures 8 x 9.5 x 0.25 inches and opens to reveal a compartment for a single CD. Unfortunately, the original installer CD is not included in this folder. The welcome message in the folder reads:

“Dear Mac OS X Beta Tester,

You are holding the future of the Macintosh in your hands.

Mac OS X is a new, super-modern operating system that will usher in a new era for the Macintosh. New from the ground up, Mac OS X is specifically designed for the Internet and includes advanced technologies for incredible improvements in stability and performance. It also features a stunning new interface called Aqua.

This Public Beta will give you a chance to start using Mac OS X and give us a chance to hear what you think. Let us know by visiting our website at www.apple.com/macosx.

Thanks for your help and for being a part of Apple history. We couldn’t do it without you.”

Sources: Ars Technica, Apple

Posted on

Macintosh Disability Resources letter, packet, and disk (1992)

As a company, Apple has historically focused upon making hardware and software that is accessible to all people. As of this writing in January 2023, Apple’s Accessibility features are available in categories of Vision, Hearing, Mobility, and Cognitive.

Apple’s Developer site provides a comprehensive set of tools for developers to use their Accessibility guidelines to create software, stating, “Apple operating systems provide extraordinary opportunities to deliver high-quality experiences to everyone, including people with disabilities.”

This letter, packet, and disk—now over 30 years old—attests to Apple’s long-time commitment to accessibility. Back in 1992, Apple called this division “Worldwide Disability Solutions.” This mailing was sent to education customers with a welcome letter, an information packet, and a 3.5-inch disk with a database of “Macintosh Disability Resources.” The disk contains “up-to-date information on the entire range of assistive hardware products for Macintosh computers.”

The aspirational welcome letter reads:

At Apple Computer, we have always believed that with a good idea and a lot of determination, anyone can do just about anything.
That’s the inspiration behind our company.
It’s the inspiration behind the computers we make.
And it’s the inspiration behind the people at Apple who are working to change the way the world understands disability. And what it means to be disabled.
Apple’s Worldwide Disability Solutions Group was formed in 1985. Our principal focus then, as now, was the individual. Young and old. His needs. Her wants. His dreams. Her imagination.
Technology, of course, was important to us, too. But our computers have always been secondary. People have always mattered most. Especially people who live with a label.
These are the people who, every day, tell us how Macintosh computers are helping them to express themselves. In words. In letters. In music. In pictures. In numbers. In whatever ways that matter to them.
These are the people who are now living their lives out loud. Or quietly. It’s their choice.
And that, in the end, is the point. Our technology. Their choices. Just as it should be.

Sources: Apple (Accessibility, Developer)

Posted on

eWorld 3.5-inch disk (1995)

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.”

Sources: Wikipedia, Remember eWorld, Cult of Mac, Business Insider, TechNotif

Posted on

Apple product poster (July 1993)

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.

Source: Apple

Posted on

Pirate T-shirt (black, rainbow, XXL, 2019)

This T-shirt features the skull-and-crossbones design that was hand-painted by Susan Kare and flown on a flag over the building housing the creators of the original Macintosh.

According to Susan Kare’s website:

“In 1983, Susan Kare painted the original pirate flag in response to one of Steve Job’s slogans at a Macintosh offsite: It’s better to be a pirate than join the Navy. The original that flew over Bandley 3, the Macintosh building at Apple, Inc. for more than a year…has since been lost…”

This shirt was purchased at the employee Apple Store at One Infinite Loop, Apple original headquarters before Apple Park. The shirt is a size XXL, unopened in its original box. The white box is printed with a white Apple logo and measures 195mm x 195mm x 35mm.

Source: Susan Kare

Posted on

Macintosh Products Guide CD (Spring 1999)

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.”

Source: Apple

Posted on

ClarisWorks 4.0 for Macintosh (6 3.5-inch disks, 1996)

In early days of personal computers, a series of “Works” applications were released with a few traits in common. Software packages such as Microsoft Works, AppleWorks GS (for the Apple II GS), and ClarisWorks, all contained a package of simplified applications sold as a set and were usually accessed through a launcher application. For example, when launching AppleWorks, a user would launch the application and decide if they wanted to create a word processing file, a spreadsheet, a drawing document, or a database by clicking the appropriate icon.

ClarisWorks has a complicated history. In general, it began as AppleWorks (with earlier versions under different names), switched to ClarisWorks, switched back to AppleWorks, and was replaced by iWork.

This set of six 3.5-inch floppy disks contain an installer for ClarisWorks 4.0.

A fascinating history of ClarisWorks/AppleWorks is available from Bob Hearn on a page published by MIT. I wholeheartedly agree with the author who writes, “RIP ClarisWorks, ‘the best-loved application for the Mac,’ 1991–2007.”

Interestingly, this history is somewhat preserved by Apple’s iWork concept. Currently, Apple’s three productivity apps—Keynote, Pages, and Numbers—are referred to collectively as iWork. Although the apps are separate, their user interfaces and behaviors make the apps function very much as a set. This may also be the reason so many users incorrectly refer to iWork as “iWorks.”

This set of disks was among the final 3.5-inch floppy disks produced by Apple since in 1998 Apple released the iMac and officially stopped including floppy drives in their products. My collection also includes a ClarisWorks 4.0 CD installer, also from 1996.

Sources: Wikipedia (AppleWorks, floppy disk), Macintosh Garden, MIT

Posted on

3.5-inch floppy disk stickers (c. 1984)

These disk labels were offered by Apple in the mid-1980s. At least one photo I located verifies that these stickers were included in the packaging with the original Macintosh (but they may have also been included in other products).

The labels are in their original package and measure 3 x 2.75 inches. The part number printed on the labels is 026-2001A. The back of the labels show disk use safety guidelines.

Originally introduced in 1981 by Sony, Apple used 3.5-inch floppy disks with the original Macintosh. The first 3.5-inch floppy disks were single-sided and held 400kB. In 1986, Apple introduced a double-sided 3.5-inch floppy disk that held 800kB. In 1987, a “high density” (HD) format of this disk was introduced that was advertised as holding 1.44 MB (although they actually held 1.40625 MB).

Sources: Digibarn, Wikipedia, LowEndMac

Posted on

We rewrote the book magazine insert (PowerBook G3, 1998)

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, part of Apple’s print advertising included magazine inserts. These inserts were “mini-magazines” within magazines. They were glued with a pliable rubber cement that could be easily removed.

This early magazine insert example is an advertisement for the Macintosh PowerBook G3 laptop. The images on the front, back, and inside covers are photographed with stunning black backgrounds using shadows and light to reveal interesting aspects of the laptop’s design. The cover reads, “We rewrote the book.”

Open, the 2-panel spread includes the copy: “Presenting the new PowerBook G3. It’s been rethought and reengineered from cover to cover. It’s sleek. It’s intelligent. It’s endlessly adaptable. Oh, and one other thing.”

The insert fully opens to reveal a mini-poster with a white background that shows an open PowerBook G3 with a screen showing a shark with teeth bared and the headline, “It eats Pentium notebooks for lunch.”

The back page lists product specifications with the headers “Good,” “Better,” and “Best” to represent the three configurations available.

Folded, the size of the insert is 7.5 x 10.25 inches. Fully unfolded the mini-poster is 15 x 20.5 inches.