Well, it has been a very busy week here at the MECC Software Repository with a lot of updates with more titles being added to the website. We have managed to completely reconstruct the Mac and PC Product Forums from the old data recieved from former MECC Employees.
Also, for those folks who have been viewing the website, you will notice that there is no longer a Mac or a PC Windows section under the software section of the site. This is due to the fact that there is now a Mac/PC Products menu on the website which contains all of the titles for these platforms specifically. We created a separate section in preparation for setting up emulation of all of the products and think it will be easier for parents and educators to navigate the site this way.
This past Christmas, we recieved a surprise package from Mr. Steve Taffee, curator of the MECC Alumni group and former MECC Employee. Steve was kind enough to provide The MECC Software Repository with the educational manuals from MayaQuest '96 and ’97 as well as all of his personal Product Catalogs ranging from years 1986 to 1993.
We are now in the process of scanning these catalogs and re-building the MECC databases based on these catalogs.
The 1986 catalog has already been scanned, OCR performed by Brian Wiser and added to the website. The other catalogs will be scanned over the coming week and should be available by 1 February.
We have also begun beta testing the new emulation of the Mac based products with our initial test base being Oregon Trail. Eventually we hope to have all 24 of the Mac/PC based products available in the browser but for now, we will be making the test page available in the next week.
For those folks who have been helping with the master database and the Virtual Apple ][ database, they have been involved in a big push to complete both with all of the vintage MECC items being listed in the new release of the Virtual Apple ][ database. That release for those using the iOS or the Android based emulators should occur by 10 February. This release will be the largest update of data to the database since its inception.
We must also thank this month, James friend, Brian Wiser, Philip Bouchard and Antoine Vignau for their help in making this site a reality. It has been their efforts that have been in the forefront of archiving everything digitally and helping to make these materials resurrect once again.
With everything that has been going on here in the depths of the MECC software repository, the project is far from complete. If you have materials you would like to donate to the project or know of somewhere that materials can be acquired, please feel free to contact us through the contact form.
Stay tuned for more!