Differences between the 2001 & 2007 Editions of afternoon
There are no immediate discernible differences in the art and copy of the 2001 and 2007 CD-ROM editions of Joyce's afternoon, a story. The publisher's website makes no mention that there are two editions published on CD-ROM. Thankfully, scholar Terry Harpold does identify them in his book, Ex-foliations: Reading Machines and the Upgrade Path. But unless readers are familiar with Harpold's scholarship, they would not have been aware that there are both a 13th and a 14th Edition of the novel––that is, until they tried to read the 2001 Edition on a Macintosh running MacOS X 10.5 or higher,
The 2001 CD-ROM Edition (13th Edition) was produced with Storyspace 2.0 and combines the the Macintosh and Windows versions of the work into one file for the CD-ROM format. It requires computers running Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, and me or Macintosh computers running System Software 7-9 and early MacOS X running the Classic operating system.
The release of the 2001 CD-ROM Edition meant that it had been seven years since the company had released a new version of the novel. Gone is the bookish folio filled with promotional brochures and a manual providing directions for how to install the work. By the early 21st century, the reading public had years to become inculcated by Web culture, and Joyce's audience did not need to believe they were interacting with a book in order to be enticed to read it. The novel's art changes, too. The insert cover features a black and white drawing of woods, an image inspired by the those found near the publisher's office. The CD-ROM does not have a label, so its silver surface is printed with the graphic in black along with publication information. The launcher icon, which is titled "afternoon CD", opens to a VISE installer. The graphic of the woods appears on the installation screen, which simply states "Eastgate Systems, Inc." and "Michael Joyce afternoon, a story." Following its installation, a folder containing launcher icon with the yoni symbol found in the previous versions, a manual created as an Acrobat document entitled "Reading _afternoon, a story_", and a free coupon appears. It is notable to mention that the launcher icon is colored blue and red, the first time color is used in the work. Both the Title and Start Screens are the same as those featured in the 4th Edition. This means that though released in 2001, the 13th Edition is said to be the "3rd Edition 1992." A look at the file date reveals that it is listed as Macintosh System Software 6.07.
The need to migrate afternoon, a story from the 3.5-inch floppy disk format was predicated not by aesthetics, but rather by technology: the elimination of the floppy disk drive from Apple computers, beginning 1998. Eastgate Systems, Inc. had already begun to publish new titles, like Rob Swigart's Downtime and M. D. Coverley's Califia, straight to CD-ROM in 2000 and was, by 1997, releasing titles, like Stephanie Strickland's True North and Bill Bly's We Descend, simultaneously on both 3.5-inch floppy disk and CD-ROM formats. What is clear by looking at this version of the CD-ROM is that it functions as a breadcrumb leading readers from the conventions put into place by the company for its floppy disks in the early to mid 1990s. The bitmapped graphic and information found on its screen, as well as the need to double-click on the hyperlinks, give way a gradual update to its interface and overall reader experience.