Info-Mac CD
26-Year-Old Macintosh CD
This week ClassicMac we take a quick look back at Info-Mac CD collection: InfoMac VI - August 1995.
The CD was built on August 1, 1995, just in the for MacWorld Boston 1995. That particular show featured the PowerMac 8500, 7500, and 7200. I believe that I got the CD from the tradeshow.
Note: Windows 95 came out on August 24, 1995.
The Info-Mac CD collection was a collection of shareware applications. At the time, it was pretty much how developers were able to get their shareware applications out.
Info-Mac is still around at info-mac.org. The website host the "original online Mac user community." The only problem is that the community has gone quiet. The last post in the forum (as of today) was on June 18th, 2021.
Welcome to Info-Mac VI!
This is the sixth volume of the compact disc archives of the Internet site at sumex-aim.stanford.edu, also known as Info-Mac. The Info-Mac archive is the definitive site for Macintosh shareware and freeware. Thousands of programs are uploaded to this site per year, featuring some of the best programs available anywhere for the Mac. The Info-Mac archive is mirrored by ftp sites all over the world, including our own ftp server (ftp://ftp.pht.com/).
This Info-Mac series is an attempt to archive and catalog the programs that have been uploaded, but more importantly, make the archive available to those who do not have access to the Internet or don't have several gigabytes of hard drive space to download it all! Having this collection on CD allows you to search though the archive at your leisure without worrying about on-line costs and lets you test all the software yourself immediately.
A new addition to this disc is the Tool Chest. There are a certain few shareware or freeware programs that every Mac user should have. [You know, the ones that line the bottom of your desktop right now.] However, these would only appear on these discs if they have been updated in the time period covered. Even if they do appear, people may not have heard of all of these programs. That's where the Tool Chest comes in. On every disc we will collect the best 15 or 20 programs that are indispensable to any Mac user and put them all in one folder. If you feel that your favorite utility or program was left out, please let us know. If enough people feel the same way, we'll make sure it gets into the next edition of the Tool Chest.
You may have noticed that Info-Mac V was a two-disc edition while this disc is just one. Some people found it annoying to have to switch discs constantly to browse the collection. We have decided to keep Info-Mac a one disc collection and release it more frequently so that you can have the latest files on your desktop, as well as keep it easier to browse through. We have also lowered the price of the disc to reflect this change.
Some Apps on the CD
These are some of the notable apps that are on the CD collection.
KitCat
KitCat is a clock for the Macintosh that looks like a black cat with an analog clock in it's belly. It works on system 7 and earlier.
Stop the Madness 0.851r
Stop The Madness is an Apple II+ emulator for the Macintosh. See the Read Me for more information. The original definitive FTP site is located at ftp://cassandra.ucr.edu/pub/apple2.
Minimalist Clock 1.0
Minimalist Clock is a very small application which displays a clock on your screen. You can move the clock wherever you like. You can also view the current date by clicking the clock once. Code Warrior C source code included.
WolfEdit 1.1
This program allows the user to create new levels for Wolfenstein 3D. The upgrade (from 1.0) includes some bug fixes and minor changes. Support for the Second Encounter is also added.
FPUseless 1.0b
WARNING!!! This program is potentially dangerous. It should be used with caution and NEVER put on a machine without everyone who uses that machine knowing about it! Probably meant as a joke, this control panel introduces small round-off errors in floating point math (FPU and native PPC math is not affected).
BBEdit Lite 3.0
BBEdit Lite is a freeware derivative of BBEdit 3.1, it is a popular text editor for programmers, on-line-service users, and anyone else who needs to edit plain text files. It also has features for writing HTML documents. This is an application we thought needed to go in the Tool Chest