Gravis PC GamePad
hardware: computer peripheral, game controller
<strong>Historical context</strong><br /><br />In the last two decades of the last century, personal computer industry was making rapid technological advances which, among other innovations, included the development of high performing input devices (such as game controllers) as well as sound and video cards. Array Technology Inc. (or ATI, founded in 1985), Creative Technology (1981), Logitech International (1981), Matrox Graphics (1976), and NVIDIA (1993) can serve as examples of world's leading manufacturers of such products.<br /><br />In Canada, several companies besides ATI and Matrox successfully designed and manufactured input devices and add-on cards for personal computers. One of such companies was Gravis Computer Peripherals Inc. (Gravis) founded in 1982 in Burnaby, British Columbia. In 1985, the company was renamed as International Gravis Computer Technology Inc. and, after amalgamation with Abaton Resources Ltd. in 1987, the company changed its name to Advanced Gravis Computer Technology, Ltd. In 1997, Gravis was acquired by Kensington Computer Products Group which incorporated the Gravis brand of entertainment gamepads and joysticks into its line of products. <br /><br />The "Company Background" published on Gravis' ftp site in 1997, described the company's origins this way<br /><br /><em>"Gravis originated in 1979 from the passion for computer games shared by two childhood friends, Grant Russell and Dennis Scott-Jackson. They soon found the joysticks and paddles on the market did not provide real arcade feel or precision, and they typically broke down within weeks of intensive game use. This started them on the quest to build a better joystick."</em><br /><br />In the period between 1985 and 1997, Gravis designed and manufactured several award-winning joysticks and game pads for desktop computers offered by companies such as Amiga, Apple, Atari, Commodore, IBM, and Tandy. Its first product was the Gravis Analog Joystick introduced in 1985 which quickly became a popular choice among computer gamers. The Gravis PC GamePad offered in 1991 was equally successful (adopted by many electronic entertainment companies such as Nintendo and Sega) and so was the Firebird programmable game controller offered in 1996.<br /><br />By 1996, the number of storefronts carrying Gravis products crossed 11,000 worldwide making the company one of the world's largest suppliers of computer joysticks and gamepads (according to some reports, e.g. by PC Data).<br /><br />The Gravis PC GamePad was introduced in November 1991. It was the first gamepad for the IBM and IBM compatible computers and one of the most popular gamepads for these platforms. The device offered a fast digital direction pad, 4 quick response digital buttons, left- or right-hand play switch, and a switch selectining a single or two pleyer use. A variant of the PC GamePad for Macintosh personal computers was introduced by Gravis under the name Mac GamePad.<br /><br />The museum has:<br />
<ul>
<li>Gravis PC GamePad manufactured in 1991, its user's manual and<em> Gravis Utilities </em>floppy diskette,</li>
<li>Gravis PC GamePad manufactured in 1998 and its <em>Quick Install</em> manual</li>
</ul>
Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Ltd.
donated by Zbigniew Stachniak
1991
world, 1991--
Research in Motion Inter@ctive Pager 900
hardware: mobile communications device
<strong>Historical Context</strong><br /><br />The Inter@ctive Pager (models 800 and 900) was the first hand-held communications device designed and built by Research In Motion Limited (RIM, now Blackberry), a Canadian company founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario. The Inter@ctive was announced in September 1996 during the Personal Communications Services conference (PCS'96) in San Francisco. The pager was the forerunner of RIM's successful line of BlackBerry smartphones.<br /><br />In the 1990s, pagers (small, portable, wireless communications devices) were used to display simple messages or alert users to messages and events. The first and, in 1995, the only two-way pager--the Motorola Tango--also allowed users to reply to messages with a limited number of canned responses. <br /><br />Taking advantage of rapidly expanding wireless telecommunications infrastructure, the Inter@ctive represented a new generation of "interactive" pagers by incorporating the benefits of email, paging, fax, and the Internet into one device. As a two-way pager, it was designed to receive and send messages. Furthermore, it offered a calendar, address book, task manager, real time clock, and an alarm function. <br /><br />Nicknamed "Bullfrog" (due to its rather bulky design), the Inter@ctive was a data-only device (no voice support) that run on the Ericsson's Mobitex and DataTAC networks in North America. The device featured a scroll wheel, a small QWERTY-style keyboard, and an LCD display for easier messaging as well as for entry and organization of data. It was provided with enough storage space for saving hundreds of names, e-mail addresses, fax numbers, incoming and outgoing messages in its calendar, address book, and task manager.<br /><br />At the time of its introduction, the Inter@ctive Pager was viewed as delivering the complete wireless communications solution, as an "e-mail on your belt", a device always on and always connected. It was named Top Product for 1997 in the category of "Innovative Devices: Voice and/or Data" by <em>Wireless for Corporate User</em> magazine. By early 1998, the company had signed a contract to supply IBM with Inter@ctive pagers for use by its field service representatives. Other notable customers included Panasonic Corp., Mobile Integrated Technologies, and Telxon Corp. The Inter@ctive Pager was followed by RIM's Inter@ctive 850 (or 950, depending on network) pager announced in July 1999, by the Wireless Handheld 857 (or 957, depending on network) introduced in April 2000, and finally by RIM's first smartphone--the Blackberry 5810--unveiled in March 2002.<br /><br /><strong>Technical Specifications:</strong> <br />
<ul>
<li>processor: Intel 80186 EB</li>
<li>memory: 650KB Flash ROM, 128KB Static RAM</li>
<li>message storage: 100KB received messages, 5KB canned responses</li>
<li>ports and connectors: RS-232C-compliant serial port, specialty mobile phone connector, interface adapter for cable</li>
<li>display: LCD, monochrome, 4 line by 30 character text</li>
<li>controls: keypad with cursor buttons, function buttons, and QWERTY-style keyboard with embedded numeric keypad</li>
<li>networks: DataTAC and Mobitex</li>
<li>Interface protocol: support for Native Control Language 1.2, MASC, and RIM's Radio Access Protocol</li>
<li>power: 2 x AA removable batteries</li>
</ul>
<strong>External Design:</strong> <br />
<ul>
<li>housing: clamshell, ruggedized, plastic housing</li>
<li>dimensions: 76mm(L) x 99mm(W) x 35mm(H)</li>
<li>weight: 277 grams (without batteries)</li>
</ul>
<strong>Main Features:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>sending and receiving Internet e-mails,</li>
<li>sending and receiving pager messages</li>
<li>sending FAX transmissions from the pager to any FAX machine</li>
<li>sending text to speech messages to a telephone</li>
<li>data transfer to and from an external computer through data port</li>
<li>configurable message notification: audible beeper and mechanical vibrator</li>
<li>real time clock</li>
</ul>
<strong>Software:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>communication software to enable device configuration and data transfer through serial port</li>
<li>third-party custom applications developed using RIM's Software Developer's Kit (SDK)</li>
</ul>
<br />The museum has Inter@ctive models 800 and 900 as well as <em>Inter@ctive Pager User's Guide</em>, Research in Motion, 1997.
Research in Motion
1996-
North America, 2nd half of the 1990s
RIM Blackberry 5790
hardware: mobile communication device
<strong>Historical Context:</strong><br /><br />Between 1996 and 2004, Research in Motion (RIM, Waterloo, Ontario) released several generations of wireless communications devices: the Inter@ctive 800, 900, 850, and 950 two-way pagers, the RIM Wireless Handsets 857 and 957 as well as the BlackBerry 5000-, 6000-, and 7000-series smartphones. By 2004, RIM was a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. By the end of that year, the Blackberry wireless platform (the Blackberry Enterprise Solution that featured integrated hardware, software, and service) was adopted by thousands of corporations and the company reported over two million subscribers worldwide. Although smartphones represented the main line of RIM's wireless handsets, wireless data-only devices, such as the 957 Wireless Handset, were still being sold to government and large enterprise customers to support secure data-only communications (such as emails and messages). For those customers, RIM upgraded its 957 handset and released it as the Blackberry 5790 in the mid 2004. <br /><br />According to RIM's October 26, 2004 press release, the Blackberry 5790 "integrates email and data access to allow users to manage all of their information and data communications with a single device. It is specifically designed for business and government customers that require a specialized data-only handheld with secure communications. The BlackBerry 5790 includes fully validated FIPS 140-2 embedded encryption technology to meet government security requirements."<br /><br />The 5790 was housed in the same enclosure as the 957 handset but was packed with updated hardware and Java-based software. The 5790 operated, for instance, on Velocita Wireless' Mobitex network and was offered in both the United States and Canada.<br /><br /><strong>Technical Specifications:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>processor: 32-bit</li>
<li>memory: 16 MB flash and 2 MB SRAM</li>
<li>display: full-graphic LCD (grey/monochrome, backlit), 160x160 pixel viewing area, 16 or 20 line display (user-selectable)</li>
<li>keyboard and controls: 34-key QWERTY-style (backlit), mouse-type scroll wheel</li>
<li>ports: RS-232C-compliant serial port</li>
<li>modem: embedded RIM modem</li>
<li>networks: 900MHz Mobitex</li>
<li>battery: internal lithium-ion rechargeable</li>
</ul>
<br /><strong>External Design:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>housing: palm-held, ruggedized, plastic</li>
<li>size: 11.7cm(L) x 7.85cm(W) x 1.8cm(H)</li>
<li>weight: 138g</li>
</ul>
<br /><strong>Main Features:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>email: integration with an existing enterprise email account or up to 10 personal/business email accounts (including Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes, MSN, Hotmail, AOL as well as POP3/Internet Service Provider email accounts)</li>
<li>attachment service</li>
<li>Web services: a variety of optional Web services that allowed mobile access to information including news, travel, business, and entertainment updates</li>
<li>designed to work with BlackBerry Enterprise Server supported by:</li>
</ul>
v. 2.1 or higher for Microsoft Exchange<br /> v. 2.0 with Service Pack 2 or higher from IBM Lotus Domino<br /> v. 4.0 or higher for Novell GroupWise<br />
<ul>
<li>icon and menu driven interface</li>
<li>wireless calendar</li>
<li>address book</li>
<li>task list</li>
<li>memo pad</li>
<li>calculator</li>
<li>alarm</li>
<li>notifications: tone, vibrate, on-screen, or LED indicator</li>
<li>configurable options</li>
<li>password protected device lock</li>
</ul>
<br /><strong>Software:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>BlackBerry OS, v. 3.x</li>
<li>Blackberry Desktop Software v. 1.6 or higher</li>
<li>The BlackBerry Java Development Environment (JDE)</li>
</ul>
Research in Motion (RIM)
2004
Gravis Analog Joystick
hardware: game controller
<strong>Historical Context<br /></strong><br />In the last two decades of the last century, personal computer industry was making rapid technological advances which, among other innovations, included the development of high performing input devices (such as game controllers) as well as sound and video cards. Array Technology Inc. (or ATI, founded in 1985), Creative Technology (1981), Logitech International (1981), Matrox Graphics (1976), and NVIDIA (1993) can serve as examples of world's leading manufacturers of such products.<br /><br />In Canada, several companies besides ATI and Matrox successfully designed and manufactured input devices and add-on cards for personal computers. One of such companies was Gravis Computer Peripherals Inc. (Gravis) founded in 1982 in Burnaby, British Columbia. In 1985, the company was renamed as International Gravis Computer Technology Inc. and, after amalgamation with Abaton Resources Ltd. in 1987, the company changed its name to Advanced Gravis Computer Technology, Ltd. In 1997, Gravis was acquired by Kensington Computer Products Group which incorporated the Gravis brand of entertainment gamepads and joysticks into its line of products. <br /><br />The "Company Background" published on Gravis' ftp site in 1997, described the company's origins this way<br /><br /><em>"Gravis originated in 1979 from the passion for computer games shared by two childhood friends, Grant Russell and Dennis Scott-Jackson. They soon found the joysticks and paddles on the market did not provide real arcade feel or precision, and they typically broke down within weeks of intensive game use. This started them on the quest to build a better joystick."</em><br /><br />In the period between 1985 and 1997, Gravis designed and manufactured several award-winning joysticks and game pads for desktop computers offered by companies such as Amiga, Apple, Atari, Commodore, IBM, and Tandy. Its first product was the Gravis Analog Joystick introduced in 1985 which quickly became a popular choice among computer gamers. The Gravis PC GamePad offered in 1991 was equally successful (adopted by many electronic entertainment companies such as Nintendo and Sega) and so was the Firebird programmable game controller offered in 1996.<br /><br />By 1996, the number of storefronts carrying Gravis products crossed 11,000 worldwide making the company one of the world's largest suppliers of computer joysticks and gamepads (according to some reports, e.g. by PC Data).<br /><br />The Gravis Analog Joystick was introduced in 1985 for a range of personal computers including the IBM and compatibles as well as the Tandy and the Apple II lines of computers. It was equipped with a handle tension adjustment wheel and three buttons, each with an individual "Button Function Selector" allowing each button to be configured as Button 1, Button 2, or turned off. In the 1990s, the joystick was sold with Game Utilities software that included a free copy of <em>Commander Keen: Invasion of the Vorticons, Episode One "Marooned on Mars,"</em> a highly successful game published by Apogee Software Productions.<br /><br />The museum has a Gravis Analog Joystick manufactured in 1990, <em>Gravis Utilities</em> software, and documentation.
Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Ltd.
1985s-1990s
Gravis Firebird 2 joystick
hardware: computer peripheral, game controller
<strong>Historical context</strong><br /><br />In the last two decades of the last century, personal computer industry was making rapid technological advances which, among other innovations, included the development of high performing input devices (such as game controllers) as well as sound and video cards. Array Technology Inc. (or ATI, founded in 1985), Creative Technology (1981), Logitech International (1981), Matrox Graphics (1976), and NVIDIA (1993) can serve as examples of world's leading manufacturers of such products.<br /><br />In Canada, several companies besides ATI and Matrox successfully designed and manufactured input devices and add-on cards for personal computers. One of such companies was Gravis Computer Peripherals Inc. (Gravis) founded in 1982 in Burnaby, British Columbia. In 1985, the company was renamed as International Gravis Computer Technology Inc. and, after amalgamation with Abaton Resources Ltd. in 1987, the company changed its name to Advanced Gravis Computer Technology, Ltd. In 1997, Gravis was acquired by Kensington Computer Products Group which incorporated the Gravis brand of entertainment gamepads and joysticks into its line of products. <br /><br />The "Company Background" published on Gravis' ftp site in 1997, described the company's origins this way<br /><br /><em>"Gravis originated in 1979 from the passion for computer games shared by two childhood friends, Grant Russell and Dennis Scott-Jackson. They soon found the joysticks and paddles on the market did not provide real arcade feel or precision, and they typically broke down within weeks of intensive game use. This started them on the quest to build a better joystick."</em><br /><br />In the period between 1985 and 1997, Gravis designed and manufactured several award-winning joysticks and game pads for desktop computers offered by companies such as Amiga, Apple, Atari, Commodore, IBM, and Tandy. Its first product was the Gravis Analog Joystick introduced in 1985 which quickly became a popular choice among computer gamers. The Gravis PC GamePad offered in 1991 was equally successful (adopted by many electronic entertainment companies such as Nintendo and Sega) and so was the Firebird 2 programmable game controller offered in 1996.<br /><br />By 1996, the number of storefronts carrying Gravis products crossed 11,000 worldwide making the company one of the world's largest suppliers of computer joysticks and gamepads (according to some reports, e.g. by PC Data).<br /><br />The Gravis Firebird 2 programmable game controller offere 13 programmable buttons and 8-way hat switch giving a player direct access to the majority of functions required by games of the late 1990s. The Firebird 2 software allowed an assignment of a single or a series of commands to a single button bypassing keyboard commands. <br /><br />The museum has a Firebird 2 programmable joystick together with the<em> Quick Install</em> manual and <em>The Gravis Game CD</em> (1997) which includes a full manual.
Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Ltd.
donated by Szabolcs Albertini
world, 1996--
AES-286 Personal Computer
hardware: desktop computer
AES-286 Personal Computer model number 286, serial number 100309.
AES, Montreal
Hardware
Hardware
H.102
Alias|Wavefront Maya 1.0
software: 3D animation and visual effects software
<strong>Historical Context</strong><br /><br />Since the 1950s, computer operators had used a variety of cathode ray tube (CRT) terminals for displaying information in a rudimentary graphical form during the execution of data processing tasks. Some computer users went further and, in their spare time, experimented with the use of computers and CRTs for entertainment. In 1958, an American physicist William Higinbotham created <em>Tennis</em> <span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">—</span></span> possibly the first video game. As rudimentary as it was, it attracted much attention during visits to Brookhaven National Lab where Higinbotham was employed as an engineer in charge of instrumentation design. Then came more sophisticated video games such as <em>Spacewar!</em> developed in 1962 at MIT by Steve Russell in collaboration with other MIT students, as well as the first experimentation with computers for the purpose of art creation and animation. By the early 1970s, these experiments resulted in the first generation of commercial-grade computer image editing systems (such as Richard Shoup's <em>SuperPaint,</em> 1973) and animation programs (such as National Research Council Canada's computer animation program, 1971). These developments were possible in large part due to the advancements in computer and semiconductor industries, such as the arrival of affordable minicomputers and the introduction of semiconductor memories.<br /><br />Computer animation in Canada began in 1971 when the National Research Council Canada (NRC) scientists Nestor Burtnyk and Marceli Wein offered their animation software that greatly simplified a traditional and labor-intensive frame-by-frame animation process, requiring animation artists to draw every single frame. Instead, their program required an artist to draw only key frames leaving the generation of frames linking the key ones entirely to the computer. Peter Foldès was the first artist to use NRC's animation software. His 1973 film <em>Hunger</em> won, among other distinctions, a Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival in 1974, the Best Animated Film award at the 1975 British Academy of Film & Television Awards, and an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the Academy) nomination in 1974 in the Best Animated Short Film category. In 1996, Burtnyk and Wein were presented with an Academy award for "for their pioneering work in the development of software techniques for Computer Assisted Key Framing for Character Animation."<br /><br />Burtnyk’s and Wein’s work was just the beginning of what would become one of the most innovative and impactful sectors in the Canadian software industry. Toronto-based Alias Systems Corporation founded in 1984, Softimage established in Montreal in 1986, and Side Effects Software incorporated in Toronto in 1987 quickly established themselves at the forefront in the development of tools supporting ever growing needs of digital artists and animators.<br /><br /><strong>Maya<br /></strong><br />The work on Maya 3D animation and visual effects software started in 1993 at Alias Systems Corporation <span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">—</span></span> the company founded a decade earlier as Alias Research by Stephen Bingham, Susan McKenna, Nigel McGrath, and David Springer. The company's early objective was to produce a practical software package for the creation of realistic 3D video animations and to support computer-aided design. Alias' first products<span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">—</span></span>the Alias/1 (1985) and Alias/2 (1986) 3D software packages<span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">—</span></span>were acquired by several automotive companies and employed in the production of special effects in blockbuster feature films including <em>The Abyss</em> <span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">—</span></span> a science fiction movie awarded the Academy's Oscar for Best Visual Effects in 1989. Alias' new 3D animation software<span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">—</span></span>the PowerAnimator introduced in 1990<span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">—</span></span>was even more successful. It was used in the production of special effects in <em>Terminator 2: Judgment Day</em> (1991) and <em>Jurassic Park</em> (1993), earning both movies Oscars in the Best Visual Effects category. In 1994, six blockbuster films employed PowerAnimator-generated special effects: <em>Forrest Gump, The Mask, Speed, The Flintstones, True Lies, and Star Trek: The Next Generation<span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">—</span></span>A Final Unity</em> with the Oscar awarded to <em>Forrest Gump</em>. <br /><br />The growing competition from other 3D companies as well as continuous pressure exerted by the entertainment and gaming industries upon 3D companies to deliver tools for even more realistic and sophisticated animation stimulated Alias to begin evolving its PowerAnimator into the next generation 3D animation software, Maya. In 1995, under the umbrella of Silicon Graphics, Alias merged with Santa Barbara, California-based Wavefront<span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">—</span></span>another successful computer graphics company<span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">—</span></span>to form Alias|Wavefront with headquarters in Toronto. This merger opened the door to an even more sophisticated world of 3D animation. In January 1998, the company released Maya Versio 1.0 <span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">—</span></span> its new 3D animation software package. The software was primarily based on Alias' PowerAnimator and Wavefront's successful Advanced Visualizer. In the subsequent years, Alias|Wavefront was continuously upgrading and expanding Maya beginning with the release of Maya Builder, Maya Complete, and Maya Unlimited in 1999.<br /><br />"<em>Maya Unlimited extends the realm of possibility for digital artists who want to shape the frontier of advanced 3D technology</em>," <br /><br />stated Alias|Wavefront in its corporate history published by the company in 2004.<br /><br />And indeed, it did. Maya quickly became the 3D modelling and animation software of choice for the animation and gaming industries. Since 1999, it has been used for the creation of special effects in numerous popular movies including <em>Matrix</em> (1999, Oscar in the Best Visual Effects category), <em>Star Wars: Episode I <span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">—</span></span> The Phantom Menace</em> (1999, Oscar nomination in the Best Visual Effects category), <em>Stuart Little</em> (1999, Oscar nomination in the Best Visual Effects category), <em>Dinosaur</em> (2000, the fifth highest-grossing film of that year), <em>The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring</em> (2001, Oscar in the Best Visual Effects category), <em>Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within</em> (2001), <em>Shre</em>k (2001, Oscar in the Best Animated Feature category), <em>The Birds</em> (2001, Oscar in the Best Animated Short Film category), <em>The Lord of the Rings: The Two Tower</em>s (2002, Oscar in the Best Visual Effects category), <em>Spider-Man</em> (2002, Oscar nomination in the Best Visual Effects category), <em>Ice Age</em> (2002, Oscar in the Animated Feature Film category), <em>The ChubbChubbs!</em> (2002, Oscar in the Animated Short Film category), <em>Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones</em> (2002, Oscar nomination in the Best Visual Effects category), <em>The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King</em> (2003, Oscar in the Best Visual Effects category), and many others.<br /><br />In 2002, Alias|Wavefront, was awarded an Oscar in the Technical Achievement category for its development of Maya. While this was Alias|Wavefront's first time to receive an Oscar, several employees had been honoured by the Academy previously for their achievements in the Scientific and Technical Awards categories. These Academy recognitions would continue to be bestowed upon the company's employees in the following years.<br /><br />In July 2003, the company changed its name to Alias. In October 2005, it was acquired by Autodesk of San Rafael, California. Since then, Autodesk has continued to develop Maya and other Alias' popular software packages including StudioTools, ImageStudio, and PortfolioWall <span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">—</span></span> Alias' key solutions for design and visualization.<br /><br /><strong>Maya major releases:<br /></strong><br />Maya version 1.0 (Alias|Wavefront, January 1998)<br />Maya Complete (Alias|Wavefront, 1999)<br />Maya Unlimited (Alias|Wavefront, 1999)<br />Maya 3 (Alias|Wavefront, June 2000)<br />Maya 4.5 (Alias|Wavefront, June 2002)<br />Maya 5 (Alias|Wavefront, April 2003)<br />Maya 6 (Alias, 2004)<br />Maya 6.5 (Alias, January 2005)<br />Maya 7 (Alias, August 2005)<br />Maya 8 (Autodesk, 2006)<br />Maya 8.5 (Autodesk, 2007)<br />Autodesk Maya 2009 (Autodesk, 2008)<br />Autodesk Maya 2010 (Autodesk, 2009)<br />Autodesk Maya 2011 (Autodesk, 2010) <br />......<br />Autodesk Maya 2023 (Autodesk, 2022)<br /><br /><strong>The museum has:</strong><br />- Maya 1.0, (box set), Alias|Wavefront, January 1998; the box set <br /> includes:<br /> * <em>Learning Maya Version 1.0</em>, Alias|Wavefront, January 1998<br /> * Using Maya Modelling, Alias|Wavefront, January 1998<br /> * <em>Maya 1.0 Release Notes</em>, Alias|Wavefront, February 1998<br /> * <em>Maya 1.0 Developer's Kit Release Notes</em>, Alias|Wavefront,<br /> February 1998<br /> * <em>Maya 1.0 Installing & Licensing</em>, Alias|Wavefront, 1998<br /> * <em>Maya 1.0 F/X, Artisan, and Developer's Kit</em> (DVD-ROM), <br /> Alias|Wavefront, 1998<br /> * <em>Using Maya Version 1.0, Basics</em>, Alias|Wavefront, January 1998<br /> * <em>Using Maya Version 1.0, Animatio</em>n, Alias|Wavefront, January 1998<br /> * <em>Using Maya Version 1.0, Dynamics</em>, Alias|Wavefront, January 1998<br /> * <em>Using Maya Version 1.0</em>, HyperGraph, Sets & Expressions,<br /> Alias|Wavefront, January 1998<br /> * <em>Using Maya Version 1.0</em>, Rendering, Alias|Wavefront, January 1998<br /> * <em>VIZPAINT 2D User's Guide 3.3</em>, Alias|Wavefront, January 1998<br /> * <em>Using MEL, ver. 1.0,</em> Alias|Wavefront, January 1998<br /> * <em>Discover Maya</em> (DVD-ROM), Alias|Wavefront, 1998<br /> * <em>Composer 4.5M</em> (DVD-ROM), Alias|Wavefront, 1998<br /> * several promotional and reference brochures, 1998<br />- <em>Character Animation in Maya,</em> Alias|Wavefront, January 1999; the front<br /> cover has a stamp "Property of Lucas Arts Entertainment Company Art<br /> Department"<br />- <em>Learning Maya 5, Foundation</em>, Alias|Wavefront, 2003; includes <br /> DVD-ROM<br />- <em>Learning Autodesk Maya 8, Foundation</em> (DVD-ROM), Autodesk, 2006<br />- G. Maestri and M. Larkins, <em>Maya 8 at a Glance</em>, Wiley Publishing<br /> Inc., 2006; includes DVD-ROM<br />- <em>Autodesk Maya 8.5</em>, (DVD-ROM), Autodesk, 2007<br />- <em>Learning Autodesk Maya 2009</em>, The Special Effects Handbook, <br /> Autodesk, 2008<br />- Eric Keller, <em>Mastering Maya 2009</em>, Wiley Publishing Inc., 2009; <br /> includes DVD-ROM<br />- Silicon Graphics Indigo^2 workstation, model nr. CMNB007BF195, with <br /> PowerAnimator installed.
Alias|Wavefront
1998
Artifacts donated by Robertson Holt
world, 1998--
ATI graphics cards
computer hardware: graphics cards
Graphics cards and GPUs manufactured by ATI of Markham, Ontario. For full listing of ATI hardware, consult ATI Collection.
ATI
1986-2008
ATI collection
Bell Alex Display Phone
Bell Canada ALEX tetetext service has its roots in the popularity of teletext systems (such as the French Minitel) and in Bell's Integrated Office Systems strategy, developed in mid 1980s, to integrate office systems with communications.<br />Bell ALEX provided on-line data services through Bell's commercially available packet-switching data network called Datapac.<br /><br />ALEX service required a dedicated terminal (rented from Bell) to be installed at a customer's location (later, the service could also be accessed using home computers). The ALEX terminal was designed by Norpak Corp. of Kanata, Ontario and manufactured by Northern Telecom. As opposed to text-based teletext services such as Minitel, the display of ALEX terminal was implemented in compliance with internationally acclaimed <span class="ILfuVd"><span class="hgKElc">NAPLPS</span></span> standards (North American Presentation Level Protocol Syntax) first developed for the Canadian Telidon system. <br /><br />The ALEX service was officially launched in 1989 in Montreal (following the 1988 trials) and soon after in Toronto. Initially, the services in categories such as communication, entertainment, games, education, government, and shopping were offered. By September 1990, there were over 580 services available in Toronto area. The service was discontinued in 1994.<br /><br /><strong>The museum Bell ALEX holdings</strong>:<br />
<ul>
<li>Bell Alex terminal model NT9 G52A1, serial number 140001170</li>
<li>ALEX Magazine, Bell, Toronto, May/June and September/October 1990</li>
</ul>
Bell Canada
Hardware
H.65
Micro Computer Machines: photographs and promotional brochures
computer literature and photographs
Photographs of former employees of Micro Computer Machines (MCM) and images of MCM promotional brochures used in the MCM exhibit and in the descriptions of MCM artifacts.<br /><br /><strong>From top to bottom, left to right:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>The photograph taken during the announcement of the MCM/70 in Toronto on 25 September 1973 in Royal York Hotel (photographer unknown).</li>
<li>Mers Kutt and Gordon Ramer <span class="aCOpRe"><span>—</span></span> the co-founders of MCM, 1973 (photographer unknown).</li>
<li>Ted Edwards demonstrating the Executive at the Technical University of Denmark during the APL Congress in Denmark, August 1973 (<span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"><b>© </b></span></span><em>Politiken</em>).</li>
<li>MCM's hardware engineer Jos<span lang="en">é Laraya in front of an MCM/70 and one of its prototypes at York University, 2011 (photograph by Zbigniew Stachniak).</span></li>
<li><span lang="en">Mers Kutt<span class="aCOpRe"><span>—a </span></span>co-founder of MCM<span class="aCOpRe"><span>—speaks at York University in 2001 (photograph by Zbigniew Stachniak).</span></span></span></li>
<li><span lang="en"><span class="aCOpRe"></span>Andr<span class="aCOpRe">é</span> Arpin discussing the principles of his virtual memory at York University in 2008 (<span class="aCOpRe"><span>photograph by Zbigniew Stachniak).</span></span></span></li>
<li><span lang="en">The Key-Cassette concept. Drawing by Mers Kutt, 1972.</span></li>
<li><span lang="en">A prototype of the MCM/70 used during the announcement of the MCM/70 in Toronto on 25 September 1973 in Royal York Hotel (photographer unknown).<br /></span></li>
<li><span lang="en">The MCM/70 assembly line at the MCM manufacturing facility in Kingston, Ontario, 1975(?) (photographer José Laraya).<br /></span></li>
<li><span lang="en">MCM company logo, 1973.<br /></span></li>
<li><span lang="en">An MCM/70 promotional brochure, 1974.<br /></span></li>
<li><span lang="en">The TEXT/700 word processor ad in <em>MCM NEWS</em> newsletter, 1976.<br /></span></li>
<li><span lang="en">Pension Actuarial Valuations and Plan Administration (PVAS) software promotional brochure, 1976.<br /></span></li>
<li><span lang="en">An <em>MCM System 800</em> promotional brochure, 1976.<br /></span></li>
<li><span lang="en">An <em>MCM Power</em> promotional brochure, 1980.<br /></span></li>
</ul>
brochures published by Micro Computer Machines; photographers as indicated in the descriptions
English
Canada, 1972-2011