Apple Cleaning Cassette (c. 1996)

This Apple Cleaning Cassette was included with Apple Workgroup Server models equipped with a DDS DAT drive. DAT, Digital Audio Tape, was a generic term used for all 4mm audio and data tapes. DDS, or Digital Data Storage, drives could store 2GB–18GB of data on a 4mm tape housed in a mini-cassette (depending upon the version of the DDS and capacity of the tape).

Apple Workgroup Servers that shipped with an optional internal DDS-2 DAT drive included one of these cleaning cassettes. According to Apple’s user manual:

“When you insert the cleaning cassette into the drive, the drive automatically loads it and cleans the heads. When the cleaning process is completed, the drive automatically ejects the cassette. Keep a record of how many times you use the cleaning cassette. After 25 uses, replace it. The interval at which you clean the tape drive depends on how often you use it. In general, if you back up daily, you should clean the drive weekly. If you back up weekly, you should clean the tape drive once a month.”

This quote is sourced from Apple’s User Manual for the Workgroup Server 8550 from 1996.

Sources: Apple, Apple History, 4crawler

Xserve brochure (2003)

This brochure provides information about Apple’s Xserve line of rack-mounted servers, produced between 2002–2011. According to Apple, Xserve was a:

“powerful 1U rack-mount server designed with Apple’s legendary ease-of-use for groundbreakingly simple set up and remote management. Designed from the ground up as the perfect complement to Apple’s UNIX-based Mac OS X Server software, Xserve is ideal for business and education customers. Xserve provides exceptional performance in a compact 1U rack-mount server… Xserve includes an unlimited user license to Mac OS X Server software, offering users a perfect combination for file/print service, video streaming, database applications, computational clustering and web and mail serving.”

Three basic Xserve models were sold: Xserve G4, Xserve G5, and Xserve Xeon.

This brochure is 9 x 12 inches, printed on matte paper, and features a side pocket on the back cover in which current product data sheets could be inserted. The brochure profiles several uses for Xserve including mission-critical applications for fraud prevention, UNIX development, public school network services, and fast file sharing in a creative environment.

My brochure included education-oriented materials in the back pocket, including Apple Remote Desktop, Mac OS X Server, Xserve, and Xserve RAID. In the various school districts where I served, I have used all of those products in the past.

Sources: Wikipedia, Apple

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.

Mac OS X Server box (2003)

This box is the retail packaging for Mac OS X Server, Version 10.3 Panther. The artwork on the box changed considerably from the previous Jaguar-fur-covered X in Apple Garamond to a new, more blocky serif font with a metallic finish.

This version was released on October 24, 2003, and added LDAP-based Open Directory user and file management.

A new Workgroup Manager application allowed for a vast improvement for configuration. Other network services were added or improved including SNMP, Apache web server, mail server, OpenLDAP, AFP, print server, SMB version 3 (improved Windows compatibility), MySQL (4.0.16), and PHP (4.3.7).

The box indicates that it contains Mac OS X Server v10.3, Admin Tools, Xcode, getting started guide, electronic documentation.

Source: Wikipedia (Panther, Mac OS X Server)

Mac OS X Server 10.6 box (2011)

The Mac OS X Server Version 10.6 Snow Leopard Server retail box was white and used a photo of a snow leopard as the front box art.

Its tagline, shown on the back of the box, was: “More power to your business. Communicate, collaborate, and share with Snow Leopard Server.” Six featured technologies shown on the box back included:

  • Server Preferences
  • Wiki Server 2
  • Podcast Producer 2
  • iCal Server 2
  • Mail Server
  • Address Book Server

This was the first Mac OS X Server version to include Mobile Access Server to allow iPhone and Mac users to access secured network services with SSL encryption and authentication between a user’s iPhone or Mac and a private network.

Snow Leopard Server was only available in an unlimited client license and cost $499.

Source: Wikipedia

AppleShare Server 3.0 box (1992)

AppleShare 3 is an early implementation of a networking system by Apple that connected several network services in one package. This version, AppleShare 3.0, predates the Internet and serves primarily as a file sharing system and print server. AppleShare ran on a Macintosh Plus, Macintosh SE, or Macintosh Classic with 4 MB of RAM, and also on a Power Macintosh.

Low End Mac compiled information about AppleShare and published the following features:

  • requires System 7.0 or later
  • runs on 68000 or later with at least 4 MB RAM

For file services, Low End Mac reports that AppleShare 3 allows up to:

  • 120 connected users (v. 10 for file sharing)
  • 346 unique files open at one time
  • 50 shared volumes (vs. 10 for file sharing)
  • 8,192 users and groups (vs. 100 for file sharing)
  • 65,536 files per volume (limited by HFS file system)
  • 4 GB volume size (System 7.0 through 7.1 are limited to 2 GB)
  • 2 GB file size (requires AppleShare Workstation 3.5 or later on clients)

File sharing in AppleShare 3 was accomplished through AFP, Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), a proprietary network protocol that offered file services for the classic Mac OS.

This boxed version of AppleShare 3 is from 1992 and includes the original manuals and floppy disks required to install AppleShare on a Macintosh of the time.

Sources: Low End Mac, Wikipedia (AppleShare, AFP)

Apple CD and DVD media (2008)

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 2008 include:

  • Mac Pro Mac OS X Install Disc 1 (Mac OS X version 10.5.2, AHT version 3A146, Disc version 1.2, 2Z691-6202-A, 2008)
  • AppleSeed, Mac OS X Server Leopard Install DVD (Version 10.5.4, Build 9E26, 2008)
  • AppleSeed, Mac OS X Leopard Install DVD (Version 10.5.4, Build 9E25, 2008)
  • Aperture 2 Install (Version 2.1, 0Z691-6229-A, 2008)
  • AppleCare Protection Plan (0Z691-6203-A, 2008)
  • Xsan 2 Install Disc (Version 2, 0Z691-6025-A, 2008)
  • Software Bundle (unopened, 607-3207, AirPort Extreme, 2008)
  • A Tour of 21st-Century Learning, February 2008 (L361532A)

AirPort Express 802.11n (Generation 2, 2012)

The AirPort Express Generation 2 functioned as a wireless access point, to extend the range of a network, as an Ethernet-to-wireless bridge, as a print server, and/or as an audio server. This model allowed up to 50 networked users using the 802.11a/n Wi-Fi standard.

Connectors included an audio connector that combined a 3.5 mm minijack socket and a mini-TOSLINK optical digital connection. On August 28, 2018, AirPlay 2 support was added to the Generation 2 AirPort Express, giving it features similar to HomePod.

Source: Wikipedia