Totalvision Mac SE Card

[mikerm]

Hello everyone,

I recently bought another Macintosh SE, this time it came with a nice surprise inside. It's a "Totalvision TV1" card from Technology Fusion Inc.

I did find some information about it from this article: https://tidbits.com/1991/07/15/for-little-macs/

A little extra speed is nice, but you may have noticed that you spend an awful amount of time scrolling around on screen. Why do you think so many people buy full page monitors? Technology Fusion may have the cheap answer, TotalVision. The TotalVision board gives a Plus, SE, or Classic a virtual screen up to 1024 by 1024 pixels in size. Stepping Out, a software utility, did the same thing, but because Stepping Out ran in software, it could slow the Mac down by up to 25%. TotalVision does all of the graphics processing necessary to simulate the large screen in hardware, which makes it extremely fast. You can modify the screen size with a Control Panel, and a persistent menu lets you perform some other useful actions. You can increase the screen resolution from 72 dpi to 90 dpi, which allows you to see the entire width of a normal page on screen; you can instantly move to the upper left (home) of the virtual screen; you can zoom in two times; you can inverse the video, which some people prefer, though I suspect those people would also prefer working on an amber PC monitor; you can freeze the virtual panning; and finally, you can do a screen dump of the entire virtual screen.

Unfortunately, the drive that came with it is stone dead. I'm trying to work on possibly reviving it, but I don't have much hope. Either my Google-Fu is failing me, or the software for this card doesn't seem to be anywhere online. Does anyone happen to have the control panel and whatever else goodies that it might have come with in their archives somewhere?

 

[Johnnya101]

Worse case, if you can't find a driver, don't throw out the drive or anything, someone here can probably get it going.

 

[Byrd]

Interesting find - sure doesn't look like the "cheap answer", when software solutions were passable - and a gimmick, nobody likes scrolling around a small CRT!

 

[CircuitBored]

nobody likes scrolling around a small CRT!

Disagree! I'd absolutely love a virtual-resolution graphics card for compact Macs.

 

[mikerm]

Just a quick update for the interested. I got the drive working and it boots... to a clean install of System 7.0 with Works and Excel
Nothing in extensions, nothing in control panel... nothing.

 

[Johnnya101]

Darn... That would be my luck too.

Found an address at least, not that it would really help.
1667 Cole Blvd. ,
Suite 400, Golden, CO.

Can't find anything else on them.

 

[mg.man]

Have to confess... I'm a sucker for a good mystery / treasure hunt. Haven't found the treasure chest... but here are a few more clues...

- https://vintageapple.org/byte/pdf/199107_Byte_Magazine_Vol_16-07_DOS_5.0.pdf - page 54

- https://tidbits.com/1991/07/15/for-little-macs/ - mention

- https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/totalvision-boards-mac-se-classic-ii-1857563540 - anyone have a Worthpoint sign-in to see when those sold and potentially hunt down the buyer / seller??

Good luck!!

 

[mg.man]

Well... like I said... sucker for a mystery... another tidbit...

- https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1099780/000114420405031754/v027215.htm

Jack Harper, President, Chief Executive Officer, And Chairman of the Board

Mr. Harper has been President and Chairman of the Board of BSI since late 1995. Previously, from 1989 until 1994, Mr. Harper was President of Technology Fusion, Inc., a company that specialized in low-cost add-in video hardware products for the Apple Macintosh. Mr. Harper received an MBA from the University of Denver in 2000, having completed all studies in 1992; in 1975, Mr. Harper received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a B.A. in Mathematics with a Minor in Russian Language from the University of Houston.

No idea if he's still around... but there's a person who might know something...

 

[mg.man]

Still in the area...
- https://www.finduslocal.com/mfg-sur...do/lakewood/bsi-2000_12600-w-colfax-ave-b410/

 

[volvo242gt]

And, here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-harper-8b29815

 

[volvo242gt]

Unfortunately, this may be a dead end...

Jack Harper Jr.

Evergreen Memorial Park is a Full-Service Funeral Home, Cemetery and Crematory. We help families during a time of loss. Call (303) 674-7750 for more information.

www.evergreenmemorialpark.com

Pun not intended, btw.

 

[mg.man]

That is sad... I wonder if the family knows any of the former employees...

 

[mikerm]

Interesting detective work! It's cool to get a little more history.