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Several historical references to eWorld noted its relatively high price.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

Newton 4MB Flash Storage Card (1994)

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.

Sources: Apple Newton UK, Engineering360

An Overview of Apple Products brochure (1996)

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.

eMate 300 Pen (unopened, 1997)

This eMate 300 Pen is a replacement stylus for the Newton eMate 300 device. The accessory is model number H0222Z/A and is unopened in the original packaging.

The eMate 300 was marketed to education as a low-cost laptop-like device, and was the only Newton with a built-in keyboard.

Source: Wikipedia

Newton MessagePad 130 (1996)

The Newton MessagePad 130 was the fifth and final 100-series device in the MessagePad lineup. It featured a 20 MHz ARM 610 processor, 8 MB of ROM, and 2.5 MB of RAM. It had infrared-beaming capabilities for wireless file sharing. Its display was a 320×240 pressure-sensitive, backlit monochrome display that used an included telescoping stylus that was stored in the Newton’s case.

The Newton was among the world’s first Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), a term that was created to describe the Newton. The MessagePad 130 was similar to the MessagePad 120, but added a backlit textured display, more RAM, and it ran the Newton 2.0 operating system. The texture on the screen was meant to simulate paper, however, this well-used example reveals that the texture wore off with use.

The MessagePad 130 could be powered by 4 AA batteries or an AC adapter. The batteries were easily accessed on the lower-back side of the device.

Like other Newton models, the case color was dark greenish-gray. It weighed just under 1 pound (0.45 kg) and measured 8 inches high x 4 inches wide x 1.18 inches deep. This model used a built-in hinged cover to protect the screen when not in use. The stylus used a spring-loaded telescoping design and slid into the case in the upper-right corner.

Sources: Everymac, Wikipedia

Newton Press box (1995)

Newton Press was a software application for the Newton, Apple’s handheld Personal Digital Assistant. On a two-page MessagePad Accessories sheet, Newton Press is described:

Newton Press
This easy-to-use software allows you to publish electronic documents such as travel itineraries, reference books, or sales charts on your personal computer for viewing and annotating on your MessagePad.

The box states:

“Create documents on your desktop computer, then publish them as Newton books. Drag and drop word processing documents, graphics files, or text created on your personal computer directly to the Newton Press application for simple, one-step creation of Newton electronic reference books. Or use the formatting capabilities to format your books, create tables of contents, establish paragraph links, and more. Anyone with a Newton personal digital assistant (PDA) can view, annotate, fax, or print the books you create.”

This copy of Newton Press is unopened and in its original shrink wrap.

Source: Apple

Apple CD and DVD media (1997)

My collection of Apple CD and DVD media includes operating systems, applications, software collections that shipped with devices, promotional media, diagnostic tools, and educational content. In general, Apple-branded CD or DVD examples in original packaging have been presented separately, while single discs or collections of discs are presented chronologically.

Apple CDs and DVDs from 1997 include:

  • eMate 300 Connectivity CD, Newtown (Version 1.1, 691-1630-A, 1997)
  • Disney/Pixar A Bug’s Life DVD (video, original packaging, 1997)
  • ClarisWorks 4.0 for Windows (1991–1997)
  • Power Pack CD Power of 10 (templates for Ad Pad materials, 1997)
  • Mac OS 8 (Version 8.0, 691-1773-A, U97073-049B, 1997)
  • Mac OS 7.6.1 (Version 7.6.1 V1.0.2, Z691-2046-A, 1997)
  • Drive Setup 1.3.1 (691-1796-A, U97073-131A, 1997)
  • Apple QuickTake 200 Software For Mac OS (Version 1.0, 691-1338-A, 1997)
  • The Apple Printer Software Collection for the Color StyleWriter 4500 (Version 1.0, 691-1415-A, 1997)
  • The Apple Printer Software Collection for the Apple LaserWriter Series (original packaging, Version 1.1, 691-1522-B, 1997)
  • Apple Macintosh CD, Power Macintosh G3 (SSW Version 8.0, CD Version 2-1.0, 691-1826-A, 1997)
  • Apple Macintosh CD, Power Macintosh 5400, 5500, and 6500 series (SSW Version 7.6.1, CD Version 1.0, 691-1559-A, 1997)
  • Apple Macintosh CD, Power Macintosh 9600 and 8600 series (SSW Version 7.6.1, CD Version 1.0, 691-1623-A, 1997)
  • AppleVision Software (Version 1.2, 691-1462-A, 1997)
  • AppleVision Software (Version 1.3, 691-1665-A, 1997)
  • AppleShare IP 5.0 CD (bundle, 1997)
  • AppleShare IP 5.0 (Version 5.0.2, Z97073-108A, 1997)
  • AppleShare IP 5.0 Companion CD (Version 5.0, Z96073-104A, 1997)
  • AppleShare IP 5.0 CD (bundle, 1997)
  • Mac OS 7.6 (Version 7.6, Z97073-038A, 1997)
  • AppleShare IP 5.0 (Version 5.0.1, Z96073-103B, 1997)
  • Apple Network Administrator Toolkit 2.0 (U96073-026B, 1997)
  • Mac OS 8 Tour (Mac OS 8 Demo Tour)
  • Mac OS 8, What a difference 8 makes. Version 8.0, Not for resale

In 1997 Macintosh computer system software was able to fit on a single CD. For Macintosh computers, Apple used a standard white CD envelope with a white cloth-like back and a clear plastic front. Since Macintosh servers required several CDs, Apple used a clear plastic CD book with space for a thin, square book at the front and pages with white backs and clear plastic covers. Each page held a single CD. The design of Apple CDs began to change in 1997 from the older black and silver design (with red accents) to a design with a single background color, black or white text, and with some CDs using few additional accent colors.

Newton MessagePad 100 (1993)

The Apple Newton MessagePad 100 was the same as the original Newton, but shipped with a newer version of the Newton operating system (Newton OS 1.2). All available Newton models included the MessagePad (Original MessagePad, OMP), followed by the MessagePad 100, 110, 120, 130, 2000, and 2100. In addition, the eMate 300 also ran the Newton OS.

The Newton MessagePad was the first device referred to as a “Personal Digital Assistant” (PDA). The MessagePad 100 was a handheld device with a 336×240 monochrome display that was touch-sensitive. Users could interact with the display with a stylus that came with the Newton stored in a compartment on the right side. The device used a 20 MHz ARM (Acorn RISC Machine) 610 processor and had a total of 604k of storage, although only 150k was usable. This Newton weighed just under 1 pound at 0.9 pounds.

The Newton MessagePad 100 could be plugged in to a Macintosh or Windows computer using a serial port connection, or data could be “beamed” to and from the device through infrared. It also had a PCMCIA card slot (later called a PC Card) accessed from the top to allow other programs to be run or the memory to be expanded.

The Newton was also among the first devices commercially available to use handwriting recognition as part of the operating system. However, this feature did not work well when first released, leading media and popular culture to ridicule and parody the feature. The Newton’s handwriting capabilities were featured on an episode of The Simpsons (“Lisa on Ice”) and in a week-long story of the Doonesbury comic strip by Garry Trudeau.

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1998, the Newton was one of the projects that was cancelled.

I used this Newton MessagePad 100 for 3 years while serving as a band director. This device allowed me to keep all my notes and contacts and I used it along with my Macintosh PowerBook 160. For the record, I did not experience the handwriting recognition issues with this device that were popular to reference at the time. In fact, I believe the Newton OS 1.2 handwriting recognition from around 1995 has the same, or better, accuracy than the “Scribble” text input on the Apple Watch in 2020.

Sources: EveryMac, Wikipedia

Newton 9W Power Adapter (1997)

The Newton 9W Power Adapter could be used with all Newton MessagePad products in the United States, Canada, and Japan. An Apple price list also noted that this adapter could “recharge the NiCd Rechargeable Battery Pack for the MessagePad 120 and 130, and the NiMH Rechargeable Battery Pack for the MessagePad 2000 and 2100.”

Source: Apple

eMate Replacement Pens (1997)

These boxes contain eMate Replacement Pens. The box is labeled “24 low-cost replacement pens for the Apple eMate 300 mobile computer.” One of the boxes I have is factory-shrink-wrapped and the other is an open partial box.

The eMate 300, a member of the Newton family, shipped with a stylus of the same design as these replacement pens. Comparing the pen that shipped with the eMate 300 and these replacement pens, the two appear identical.