{"id":2548,"date":"2018-12-10T13:33:57","date_gmt":"2018-12-10T12:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/?page_id=2548"},"modified":"2019-08-09T10:01:06","modified_gmt":"2019-08-09T09:01:06","slug":"apple-visual-almanac","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/?page_id=2548","title":{"rendered":"Apple Visual Almanac"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Apple Visual Almanac is a LaserDisc based multimedia kit designed by Apple for use in American schools as a teaching aid.&nbsp; The kit was only released to schools and never sold as a commercial product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" src=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Visual_Almanac_box.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2545\"\/><figcaption>Visual Almanac Box<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Visual Almanac was designed to work with an Apple Macintosh computer connected (via serial) to a LaserDisc player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Supported hardware<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Visual Almanac supported the following Apple Macintosh computers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Macintosh Plus<\/li><li>Macintosh SE<br><\/li><li>Macintosh II<br><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, the following NTSC LaserDisc players were supported (although the Pioneer LD-V4200 was the recommended player):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Pioneer LD-V4200<\/li><li>Pioneer LD-V6000A<\/li><li>Sony LDP-1500<\/li><li>Sony LDP-2000<br><\/li><li>Hitachi 9550<br><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kit contents<br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The kit consisted of a LaserDisc, 3 floppy discs, a CD-ROM and the Visual Almanac Companion guide.&nbsp; These items are described in more detail below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">LaserDisc<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The LaserDisc is an NTSC format LaserDisc with analogue audio.&nbsp; The following picture shows the front cover of the disc (the cover illustration is credited to <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"The LaserDisc was a NTSC format LaserDisc with analogue audio.&nbsp; The following picture shows the front cover of the disc (the cover illustration is credited to Laura Tarrish): (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/designobserver.com\/profile\/lauratarrish\/271\/\" target=\"_blank\">Laura Tarrish<\/a>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"2045\" src=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Visual_Almanac_LaserDisc_cover_front.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2549\"\/><figcaption>The Visual Almanac LaserDisc front cover<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The following picture shows the back cover of the disc:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"2047\" src=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Visual_Almanac_LaserDisc_cover_back.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2550\"\/><figcaption>The Visual Almanac LaserDisc back cover<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The LaserDisc is divided into Side A and Side B collections.&nbsp; The side A collections are (note the numbers are chapter numbers on the disc):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>1 - Index to the Collection Side A<\/li><li>Solar System Collection<ul><li>2 - Earth's Orbit<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>3 - Moon's Orbit<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>4 - Humans in Space<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>5 - Planets<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>6 - Solar System Model<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Everyday Physics Collection<ul><li>7 - Playground Physics<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>8 - Amusement Park Physics<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>9 - Kitchen Physics<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>10 - Objects in Motion<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>11 - Science Grab Bag<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Earth View Collection<ul><li>12 - Weather<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>13 - Calendar<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>14 - Aerial Views<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>15 - Geology and the Elements<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Animal and Plant Collection<ul><li>16 - Plants<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>17 - Invertebrates<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>18 - Fish<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>19 - Reptiles and Amphibians<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>20 - Birds<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>21 - Mammals<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>22 - Evolution<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>23 - Dinosaurs<\/li><li>24 - Credits<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The side B collections are (note the numbers are chapter numbers on the disc):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>25 - Chapter stop (required by LaserDisc production)<\/li><li>26 - Index to the Collections on Side B<\/li><li>American History Collection<ul><li>27 - Historical Atlas<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>28 - California Missions<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>29 - Native Americans<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>30 - Civil War<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>31 - American West<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>32 - 20th Century at a Glance<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>33 - Cold War<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Historical Portraits Collection<ul><li>35 - U.S. Presidents<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>36 - Political Leaders<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>37 - Thinkers<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>38 - Artists<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>39 - Miscellaneous<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>40 - Profile: Thomas A. Edison<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>41 - Profile: Marie Curie<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>42 - Profile: Albert Einstein<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>43 - Profile: Franklin D. Roosevelt<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>44 - Profile: Mahatma Gandhi<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>45 - Profile: John F. Kennedy<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>46 - Profile: Martin Luther King, Jr.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>History of Daily Life Collection<ul><li>47 - Food<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>48 - Clothing<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>49 - Shelter<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>50 - Work<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>51 - Transport<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>52 - Trade<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>53 - Media<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>54 - Science<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>55 - Health<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>56 - Leisure<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>57 - Arts<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>58 - Religion<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>59 - Politics<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Around the World Collection<ul><li>60 - A Day in the Life of Japan<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>61 - A Day in the Life of America<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>62 - A Day in the Life of the Soviet Union<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>63 - People Around the World<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>64 - A Day in Rio<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>65 - Weaving in Bolivia<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>66 - China<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>67 - Paths of Things<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Everyday Objects Collection<ul><li>68 - Coins<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>69 - Odds and Ends<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>70 - Connectors<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>71 - Blocks<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>72 - Games<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>73 - Fruit Slices<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>74 - What Is It?<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>75 - Studies in Time Collection<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>76 - Time Expansion<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>77 - Time Keeping<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>78 - Main Streets: Then and Now<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The material on the LaserDisc is a collection of pictures, video and sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" src=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Visual_Almanac_LaserDisc_A.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2551\"\/><figcaption>The Visual Almanac LaserDisc<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">CD-ROM<br><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The included CR-ROM was a multi-mode CD containing both data and audio tracks.&nbsp; The layout of the disc is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">Track   Mode    Flags  Start                Length<br>------------------------------------------------------------<br> 1      DATA    4      00:00:00(     0)     03:19:22( 14947)<br> 2      AUDIO   0      03:19:22( 14947)     58:42:00(264150)<br>Leadout AUDIO   0      62:01:22(279097)<\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>The audio track is a digital copy of the sound collections found on the LaserDisc and was not directly used by the released version of the Almanac.&nbsp; The data is in Apple HFS format (and is not readable on a Windows PC).<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The following picture shows the front cover of the CD-ROM:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"2039\" src=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Visual_Almanac_cdrom_frontcover.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2554\"\/><figcaption>The Visual Almanac CD-ROM front cover<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The following picture shows the artwork on the CD-ROM itself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"2039\" src=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Visual_Almanac_cdrom.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2556\"\/><figcaption>The Visual Almanac CD-ROM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to run the CD-ROM it was necessary to install the HyperCard contents of the disc to the computers hard drive (it was not recommended to run the application directly from the CD-ROM itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A copy of the CD-ROM's contents can be downloaded from the following link:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/VisualAlmanac.zip\">Visual Almanac CD-ROM image<br><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/VisualAlmanac.zip\" class=\"wp-block-file__button\" download>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The image was produced from the original CD-ROM using the Ubuntu cdrdao application and can be copied to a writeable CD-ROM using the following command (unzip the .bin and .toc files from the supplied zip before executing):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">cdrdao write -v 2 --device \/dev\/sr0 --speed 4 --buffers 64 VisualAlmanac.toc<\/pre>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Floppy Discs<br><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Visual Almanac kit included 3 floppy discs as shown in the following picture:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"715\" src=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Visual_Almanac_floppies.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2557\"\/><figcaption>The Visual Almanac Floppy Discs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The included floppy disks were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>HyperCard 1.2.2 - The Apple HyperCard application<br><\/li><li>Visual Almanac Home - The Home HyperCard stack<br><\/li><li>Collections Directory - Some pre-made collections for use with the Almanac<br><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The contents of all three floppy discs is also included on the CD-ROM (meaning that the floppies were not necessary for most installations).&nbsp; Macintosh .image files for the three (800K Single Density) floppy discs are in the following .sit file (Use StuffIt Expander 5.5 on a Macintosh to uncompress the .sit):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/AlmanacDiscs.sit\">Visual Almanac Floppy Discs<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/AlmanacDiscs.sit\" class=\"wp-block-file__button\" download>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Visual Almanac Companion<br><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Visual Almanac Companion is a 216 page book included with the kit covering a wide-range of topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3913\" height=\"2609\" src=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/manual-sealed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2558\"\/><figcaption>The Visual Almanac Companion Book<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The book is divided into the following chapters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Preface<\/li><li>The Brief View<\/li><li>The Big Idea<\/li><li>The Activities<br><\/li><li>The Collections<\/li><li>How to Make a Composition<\/li><li>Reference<\/li><li>Epilogue<\/li><li>Photo and Art Credits<\/li><li>Index<br><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A copy of the book in PDF format is available from the following link:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/The-Visual-Almanac-Companion.pdf\">The Visual Almanac Companion PDF<br><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/The-Visual-Almanac-Companion.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button\" download>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">LaserDisc Player Serial Lead<br><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The kit also included a serial lead designed to connect a Pioneer player (with a 15 pin D-Sub connector) to the Apple Macintosh mini-DIN serial port:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" src=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Visual_Almanac_serialcable.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2560\"\/><figcaption>The Visual Almanac LaserDisc Player Serial Lead<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Connection of components<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The following diagram shows the overall connection between components of the Visual Almanac:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2478\" height=\"1461\" src=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Visual-Almanac-connection-diagram.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2585\"\/><figcaption>System Connections<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Environment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Visual Almanac runs well in a System 6 environment and has been tested using 6.0.8L on a Macintosh LC II.&nbsp; Installation requires access to an external CD-ROM drive (in order to copy the hypercard stack to the local hard-drive).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" src=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Almanac-Mac-Small.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2591\"\/><figcaption>The Visual Almanac running on a Mac LC II<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The included serial cable connects from the modem port of the Macintosh to a Pioneer LaserDisc player.&nbsp; When testing a Pioneer LD-V4300D was used which provides the same serial command set as the Pioneer 4200 supported by the Almanac software.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Emulation<br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It is possible to run the Visual Almanac on a Macintosh emulator such as SheepShaver using MacOS 7.5.3 (select the Quadra 900 mode and appropriate OS ROM).&nbsp; A real LaserDisc player (such as the Pioneer LD-V4300D) can be connected to the applications serial port output or the CD-ROM can be used standalone (with greatly reduced functionality).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For installation instructions and other set-up information please see the reference section in the Visual Almanac Companion guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Credits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The following people are credited with the creation of the Visual Almanac (on the LaserDisc - for Companion credits, please see the Companion PDF above):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Kristina Hooper (Executive Director)\n\u2028Robert Mohl\u2028Fabrice Florin\u2028Steven Gano\u2028Margo Nanny\u2028Kristee Kreitman\u2028Nick West\u2028Nancy Hechinger\n (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kristina_Hooper_Woolsey\" target=\"_blank\">Kristina Hooper<\/a> (Executive Director)<br><\/li><li>Robert Mohl<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Kristina Hooper (Executive Director)\n\u2028Robert Mohl\u2028Fabrice Florin\u2028Steven Gano\u2028Margo Nanny\u2028Kristee Kreitman\u2028Nick West\u2028Nancy Hechinger\n (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/fabriceflorin.com\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\">Fabrice Florin<\/a><\/li><li>Steven Gano<\/li><li>Margo Nanny<\/li><li>Kristee Kreitman (Art Director)<br><\/li><li>Nick West<\/li><li>Nancy Hechinger (Principal Writer and Editor)<br><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Note: Extended credits for the Visual Almanac are on the LaserDisc - chapter 24 (side A) and chapter 79 (side B).<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Apple Visual Almanac is a LaserDisc based multimedia kit designed by Apple for use in American schools as a teaching aid.&nbsp; The kit was only released to schools and never sold as a commercial product. The Visual Almanac was designed to work with an Apple Macintosh computer connected (via serial) to a LaserDisc player. Supported hardware The Visual Almanac <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/?page_id=2548\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Apple Visual Almanac<\/span><span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2545,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2548","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2548"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2548\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2854,"href":"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2548\/revisions\/2854"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.domesday86.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}