The Visual Almanac is the earliest Apple Education multimedia product in my collection. According to the kit’s Laser Disc, pictured on the Domesday86 website:
“The Visual Almanac is composed of 3 parts: the Visual Almanac Videodisc, the Visual Almanac software, and the Visual Almanac Companion (a book). This two-sided videodisc contains an Introduction, over 7000 images and 2 channels of sound organized into 12 collections. It is designed to be used under control of a Macintosh computer.”
The printed materials include a guide (First Steps in the Visual Almanac) and a spiral-bound book. Media includes three 3.5-inch disks: HyperCard 1.2.2; Visual Almanac Home (home HyperCard stack; Collections Directory (pre-made collections), and a CD-ROM. The kit also includes a cable.
The cable is described as a “LaserDisc Player Serial Lead,” designed to “connect a Pioneer player (with a 15 pin D-Sub connector) to the Apple Macintosh mini-DIN serial port.”
The box containing all the items in the kit measures 12.75 inches square and is 1.5 inches deep. The accompanying spiral-bound book is titled The Visual Almanac: An Interactive Multimedia Kit Companion, measures 11 x 8.5 inches, and contains 216 pages, printed in full color.
The Preface of the book contains a welcome message that states the resource’s intent:
“Welcome to The Visual Almanac! We designed the The Visual Almanac to give everyone a glimpse of potential computer-centered futures and have tried to show how current multimedia technologies might be used to do something new. We tried to make something that could be used now, but would also provoke the development of methodologies, technologies and pedagogies for the future. It is an interactive multimedia kit aimed at children and all their teachers—in schools, in homes and in various public environments—as well as business people, researchers and developers who make educational and other materials for our youth.”
Although the full package is dated January 1990, the accompanying CD-ROM is dated 1989 and the CD (as well as the Laser Disc) specifies that it was “Produced by the Apple Multimedia Lab.”
The box in my collection is missing the accompanying 2-sided LaserDisc that contains the primary content in 78 “collections” for the kit:
Side A Collections Animals and Plants Earth View Everyday Physics Solar System Sounds Side A
Side B Collections American History Around the World History of Daily Life Everyday Objects Historical Portraits Sounds Side B Studies in Time
Special thanks to the Domesday86 website for providing an excellent, detailed entry about this kit that allowed me to better describe this early educational multimedia example.
“In this catalog, you’ll read about a lot of tremendously useful products. Products that could change your life. You’ll also read about the way some people really did change their lives—and a lot of other peoples’ lives—in significant ways.”
The Table of Contents includes:
Color Classic—Introducing the Macintosh Color Classic computer
Color made easy—Scan it, display it, and print it—all in color
PowerBook computers—Macintosh power in a notebook size
PowerBook accessories—Carrying cases, batteries, rechargers, and more
Printers—StyleWriter and ImageWriter printers and accessories
Laser printers—Personal LaserWriter NTR and LS printers and accessories
Desktop publishing—New tools for the black-and-white publisher
Multimedia—Bring full-color video, sound, and animation to your Macintosh screen
Disability solutions—Tools for people with disabilities
Software—Word processing, drawing, page layout, presentations, and more
Learning and communicating—Self-paced training, technical support, and communications software
Networks—Networking software and cables
Compatibility—How Macintosh works with other systems: AUX, SNA•ps, and MacX
Macintosh security—Anti-glare filters, security kits, and system savers
Macintosh add-ons—Keyboards, mice, and disk holders
Desk accessories—Accents for the well-appointed office
Apple wear—Apple clothing and accessories
Apple II, too—Products and accessories for Apple II computers
The Apple II on Macintosh—Plus a library of useful manuals
The Apple Catalog from Spring 1993 measures 9.125 x 11 inches and is printed in full color on a matte finish paper.
This collection of CD-ROMs is part of the Apple Education Series and is titled “Multimedia Learning Tools CD Library.” The CD booklet measures 7.5 x 9.25 inches and is made of clear vinyl. It has a side attachment that allows the book to be bound in a 3-ring binder. The booklet’s front and back cover design use a beige-on-beige woodcut pattern design with a bold rectangle woodcut image in the center depicting stylized characters and multimedia icon images.
The interior front and back flap have internal pockets for paperwork. Three inside pages contain pockets that can hold 4 CDs each (2 in front and 2 in back).
This Apple Learning Series Secondary Multimedia CD set contained 10 CD-ROM titles curated and sold by Apple Education as a bundle. The CDs were packaged in a 2-ring binder with vinyl pages that each held one CD-ROM.
The PDF spec sheet states that, “This product provides an outstanding collection of educator-evaluated software along with a comprehensive website that includes model student projects, step-by-step instructions, an online professional development course, and a tool that correlates the software and projects to select state and national standards.”
The set includes the following CDs:
Art Mania 12,000, Nova Development—A collection of clip art and quality photographic images on two CDs.
Cinema 4D XL, Maxon—A completely integrated 3D modeling, animation, and raytracing program.
Director 8 Academic, Macromedia—The standard for delivering powerful multimedia for the Internet, CD-ROMs, and DVD-ROMs.
Final Cut Pro 2, Apple—The all-in-one solution for professional digital video editing, compositing, and special effects. The set also included Boris Script LTD, Boris FX; Cinema 4D GO, Maxon; Commotion DV, Puffin Designs; Cleaner 5 EZ, Terran Interactive; EDL Access, Focal Point Systems; and QuickTime Pro, Apple.
Inspiration, Inspiration Software—A dynamic diagramming and outlining environments to help you organize ideas and information.
Painter Classic, Corel—An easy-to-use version of the world’s leading paint program.
Photoshop Elements, Adobe—An introduction to the world-standard image-editing solution.
SmartSound for Multimedia, Sonic Desktop—Tools to produce professional-quality soundtracks.
The Archives of History, MPI Multimedia—More than 100 QuickTime movies that can be used in presentations or viewed on their own.
The VR Worx, VR Toolbox—A complete suite of authoring tools for QuickTime VR (virtual reality).
Surprisingly, the PDF Spec Sheet for this product was still available on Apple’s website as a download as of January 2023.
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.
This quad-fold brochure from 1996 is titled “An Overview of Apple Products” with the subtitle “Choosing the system that’s right for you.” The opening 2-panel spread is an overview of the brochure with the headline “Apple Macintosh: Ease-of-use, power, compatibility, and multimedia.”
Fully unfolded, the brochure reveals 4-panel spreads that alternate between a photo featuring a product and overview, followed by a spread with a product specifications grid. The sections include: Macintosh Performa and Power Macintosh Computers, Macintosh PowerBook Computers, Displays and Printers, and Apple Servers and Services.
The end pages of the brochure shift focus to discuss ways to use Apple products. Each category uses a four-panel spread and includes Communications, Multimedia, and Publishing. These last three sections include several Apple peripherals from the time, including the GeoPort Telecom Adapter Kit, the Newton MessagePad 130, AppleCD 600e/600i drives, AppleDesign Powered Speakers II, Apple ColorOne Scanners, and QuickTake 150 digital cameras.
Folded, this brochure measures 3.875 x 8.25 inches. I also have a similar version of this brochure from 1995 with product specifications from that year.
Apparently, 1996 was a major year for Apple to focus on the advantages of using a Macintosh over Windows. According to EveryMac, Apple released almost 50 different Macintosh models in 1996 year including 21 Performa models, 18 Power Macintosh models, six server products, two PowerBooks (1400 model), and the Newton 130.
These three “Macintosh advantage” resources used facts, quotes, and testimonials to highlight the pros of using a Macintosh.
50 Macintosh Advantages book (1996)
The book titled 50 Macintosh Advantages is unambiguously subtitled, “Why Macintosh computers are better than PCs running Windows 95.” The book is divided into four sections, including Ease of Use, Power, Advanced Multimedia, and Compatibility. Each of the 50 advantages begins with a statement and is followed by an explanation—and often includes a screen capture or other supporting visuals. Quotes and testimonials are also included throughout this two-color-printed book (printed in black and dark purple). The 50 advantages listed in the book (from the Table of Contents) include:
Floppy disk management is easier with Macintosh computers.
Checking memory is easier on a Macintosh.
Macintosh computers offer more flexible monitor support.
Changing your mouse is easier and faster on a Macintosh.
Macintosh menus scroll, so they’re easier to use than Windows 95 menus.
Macintosh supports plug-and-play peripherals today.
Macintosh computers are easier to network.
The Mac OS keeps track of files and applications over a network.
Infrared networking is more powerful and more versatile with Macintosh computers.
Macintosh makes Internet access and publishing easier.
Filename limitations.
Filename incompatibilities between Windows 95 and Windows 3.1.
Pathname limitations.
Macintosh files stay linked to the applications that created them with Windows 95, that isn’t always the case.
Macintosh aliases are easier to work with than Windows 95 shortcuts.
The complexity of the Windows 95 Registry is a disadvantage compared with Macintosh.
The Mac OS provides active assistance: Windows 95 doesn’t.
It’s easier to add fonts and other resources to a Macintosh.
It’s easier to add an application to the Apple menu than to the Windows 95 Start Programs menu.
Applications launch once on the Macintosh, with Windows 95, some applications may launch multiple times.
It’s easier to cut and paste graphics between applications on the Macintosh.
An advanced industrial design makes Macintosh computers easier to work with.
The Macintosh desktop metaphor is easier to use.
Macintosh re-sorts folders when you add a new item: Windows 95 doesn’t.
The Macintosh Trash is easier to use.
Easier security and customization with the Macintosh.
Macintosh has easier access to alternate character sets.
Macintosh computers are faster.
The Macintosh speed advantage will increase.
Macintosh offers 32-bit computing today, PCs don’t.
With the RISC-based platform, Macintosh computers are better equipped to run more powerful applications.
Macintosh has integrated scripting.
Macintosh computers include features that cost extra on PCs.
Macintosh is the world’s most popular platform for multimedia.
It’s easier to add CD-ROM drives to a Macintosh system.
Installing and using CD-ROM titles is easier with Macintosh computers.
Recording and playing back desktop video works better on Macintosh.
Videoconferencing is easier on the Macintosh.
Macintosh computers provide better representations of color on screen, and a better match between screen images and printed output.
It’s easier to cut and paste multimedia data on a Macintosh.
Macintosh is ahead of Windows 95 in speech capabilities.
Macintosh is much better at handling three-dimensional graphics.
Virtual-reality software is more realistic on the Macintosh.
Macintosh computers provide more sophisticated type and graphics capabilities.
You can buy a Macintosh and still be compatible with MS-DOS 6.2, Windows 3.1, and Windows 95.
You can work with Windows 95 files on your Macintosh.
You can run applications for the Mac OS, MS-DOS 6.2, and Windows 95 on a Macintosh.
Macintosh computers are compatible with applications for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95.
You can connect a Macintosh computer to almost any network.
Macintosh users are more satisfied with their computers.
This book measures 8.5 x 11 inches and has 54 pages.
Why do People Prefer Macintosh? brochure (1996)
The brochure Why do People Prefer Macintosh? is subtitled “Why people think Macintosh computers are better than PCs running Windows, in their own words.” This brochure uses many of the same “Macintosh advantages” from the source above, but presents them as case studies and testimonials by Macintosh users. Users are identified by name and state or country, and most include a photo.
This brochure measures 8.5 x 11 inches and has 35 pages.
Why Macintosh? brochure (1996)
This Why Macintosh? brochure is a marketing piece and presents bold, full-color spreads printed on glossy paper. On the first page, this brochure declares:
“More than 10 years after the debut of the Apple Macintosh computer, Microsoft released its Windows 95 operating system. But while Microsoft is just now adding to its Windows operating system features that Macintosh users have enjoyed since 1984, Apple has been busy moving Macintosh to the next generation of personal computing.”
The next four 2-page spreads each focus on an aspect of the Macintosh: Ease of Use, Power, Multimedia, and Compatibility.
This brochure measures 8.5 x 11 inches and has 12 pages.
The Apple TV/Video System was a kit consisting of two hardware components, software, a handheld remote, and user manuals. The system allowed any Apple Power Macintosh, Macintosh Quadra, Macintosh LC, or Macintosh Performa to “Watch TV, capture video images, and create multimedia—all on your Macintosh.”
The specific components in the box included: Apple TV Tuner, Apple Video Player Card, Apple Video Player software, Remote control, and a User’s guide. The box also indicated that “your remote control might look different from the one shown here.” Indeed, the remote pictured on the box is not the one that shipped with any of the systems I have ever seen.
The box also lists the system’s features (in a bulleted list): “Lets you watch TV in a window that appears on the desktop of your Macintosh. Includes a remote control that lets you switch channels, adjust the volume, and control your CD player. Allows you to connect your camcorder or VCR to your Macintosh, and watch the video footage in a window on the display. Lets you capture a single image or a series of images that you can add to reports, letters, and presentations. Features an easy-to-use control panel that gives you one-button image and movie capture. Lets you resize the TV/video window up to the full size of your screen; you can place it anywhere on your desktop.”
Since this system was released before iMovie was created, it also included the Avid VideoShop 3.0 software on CD. At the time, this system was the easiest method for watching TV/video on a Macintosh, and it introduced a low-cost way to edit videos.
I remember that these systems were offered at no additional cost to education with certain Macintosh and Power Macintosh purchases.
