The cover story on Juiced.GS‘s December 2011 issue is the Tiger Learning Computer. Released in 1996, this portable machine used licensed technology based on the Apple IIe, offering the promise of a new lease on life for Apple Computer Inc.’s longest-running product. Alas, the TLC never made it out of the test market phase, but a few units do exist in the wild — including in the hands of Juiced.GS associate editor Andy Molloy, who not only reviewed the hardware but also interviewed Kristi Petters, the former Apple employee who negotiated the license with Tiger Electronics (now part of Hasbro).
Andy shot many photographs before we settled on the one that graced our front page. If you’ve read his articles and want to see what was left on the cutting room floor, please enjoy these additional photos!
Back of retail box. Photo by Kristi Petters.
Front of retail box. Photo by Kristi Petters.
From back of retail box. This is a list of additional programs that Tiger planned to release. Photo by Kristi Petters.
These 2×2 inch program cartridges were the primary media used in the Tiger.
Tiger program cartridges.
The Tiger keyboard’s open/close Apple keys also had “Player 1” and “Player 2”.
The cartridges were stored on the underside of the upper lid. They snapped into place, but were not very secure unless you also used the removable cover.
MECC and Scholastic were two of the software developers represented on the cartridge list.
The RAMdisk was 128 MB and could be formatted as ProDOS or DOS 3.3 to save your typed-in programs or AppleWorks documents.
Notice the ‘Apple Technology’ logo below the speaker grill.
A rare instance of licensed Apple technology.
A cartridge of AppleWorks 4.3 by Scantron, formerly Quality Computers.
The TLC motherboard
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