Re: What happened to MECC, Mastery Development, etc?

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

"Mr. Boffo" writes ...
> 
> What is the status of MECC in general? Did it go bankrupt? Is it
> defunct? Or was it bought out by some other company?
> 
> What is the status of older MECC Apple II programs? Who owns them at
> this point? Have any of the really old Apple II programs like "MECC
> Write" shifted to the public domain? I do know that at one time people
> paid yearly license fees for MECC Apple II education software, but now
> nobody does it anymore so I would have to guess that the company must
> have died.
>


     My recollection is that Dr. Tom (who was working on reclassification of
MECC stuff) managed to identify the current owner as Mattel.

     Before Mattel, it seems like MECC was bought out by The Learning Company
(back in the early 1990's)-- not really sure about that.


> I ask because I would be interested in starting a free website archive
> of this old software. I have access to some 300-500 Apple II MECC
> masters, and it seems a pity that nobody can get this software
> anymore. I'd like to make it available on the Internet for people
> whose floppies have gone bad or their Digicard or MD hard drive died.
> 
 ....

     There is no particular reason to believe that the owner of MECC wares
would object to your idea for an Apple II MECC stuff web site.



> 
> Also, would you know anything about the status of Mastery Development,
> an old Apple II networking and education company? Like the original
> Apple II MECC, they have no web presence and as far as I can tell
> their company is dead.
>
 ....

     Mattel seems to have acquired several old Apple II edu lines. They may own
Mastery Development.



Rubywand