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Daily Apple
Friday
Apple II Projects
I have been writing this blog since April and I have run into some amazing projects that people are still doing with these machines. I was wondering what kind of Apple II projects were out there that I hadn’t run into, so I Googled Apple II Projects.
<Your favorite exclamation here!>
I would like to write about them all, but that would be a serious waste of time. Others have written about their projects and done a better job of it.
All I can fairly say is, try it yourself and be amazed. I’ve known for years there are some crazy smart people out there working on Apple II projects and this just reaffirmed it.
7″ iRulu
— Boring non Apple Stuff
Yesterday, I received a small tablet computer I purchased on eBay. I wanted something small and portable so I bought a 7″ iRulu. It runs on Android 4.2.2 and is like a big smart phone that can’t make calls.
The package contains the tablet, power cord, a Micro USB cord to connect it to a PC/Mac and another micro USB cord to plug USB devices into the iRulu. Of course there is also a very tiny booklet/user manual and a stylus.
In addition, mine came with a portfolio containing a small USB keyboard and a different stylus. I’ve spent quite a bit of my free time playing with it and getting it set up the way I like.
My oldest daughter saw it and wanted to try the keyboard to see if she could use it for writing. It is small, 8″ wide and unless you have really small hands would no be usable for touch typing. A hunt and pecker like me can use it fine, much better in fact than the touch screen keyboard. I got thinking about it later and plugged in a connector for a Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse set. They worked fine, but looked kind of silly with the 7″ screen.
Posted in Posts
Cricket //c
As I said yesterday and in other posts, I purchased a Cricket for my Apple //c back in the eighties. I primarily bought it for the clock calendar feature, however it was also known for its music and speech synthesizer.
Mine died several years after I bought it, but I keep an eye on ebay for one like it. I’ve only seen one in the last few years, and that was too expensive for me.
I’ve looked for more information on it and other than a reference on Apple2History, there wasn’t much out there. I did however find a press release for it dated April 2, 1984 which tells about the Cricket and another product called the Alphabits Serial Interface.
The cricket was a small box that plugged into a serial port on the Apple //c, usually the modem port. It provided Speech synthesis using the TI 5220 chip. The Cricket also provided sound effects and music generation.
I remember spending hours playing with the speech synthesizer and writing silly programs to use it. I wish I had some of those diskettes, but unfortunately, they have been lost due to reuse and time. I do remember one set of programs I was working on to create a message for our answering machine, but I don’t think we ever used it.
An Embarrassment of Riches
Back in the mid 80’s when I bought my Apple //c, all things Apple came at fairly high price for someone like me who was on a tight budget.
No we suffer from an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the Apple II. Hardware which we used to pay a premium for, can be had at a fraction of the cost today. Most software can be downloaded for free off the internet, with the help of the amazing ADTPro.
In 1985, I bought the Cricket by Street Electronics for around $150. This is a combination sound card and clock. Recently I bought a No Slot Clock on eBay for $10.50.
External diskette drives cost several hundred dollars each back in the 80’s. In the last few years, I have bought a duodrive and controller for my Apple //e for around $25.00. I’ve bought 3 1/2 external diskette drives for as little as $50.
Like I said above, look on the internet and you can find software that you might have wanted years ago, but couldn’t afford. I know I’ve seen several packages that originally cost as much as $150, available for download.
If you are new to the Apple II, just coming back to it or maybe you are one of the few who have kept on using it, look around. You might find that piece of hardware or software you always wanted to try out or own for a price that is more manageable than it was 25 year ago.
Posted in Apple //c, Apple IIe Tagged with: 3 1/2" Diskette Drive, Apple //c, Apple IIe, AppleWorks, Games, Printer
Roundup
I’ve spent the last week listening to some old podcasts and playing old games.
The podcasts have a treasure trove of information, some I will have to listen to a second time just to get it all. From first hand accounts and passed on stories the podcasts that I have listened to have brought some of computing history to life. Old software and new that I never knew about were discussed as well as the hardware.
The games run from the fairly sophisticated graphics of Prince of Persia to fairly unsophisticated graphics of Lemonade Stand. Some are all text based, while some have a light graphics element added in. It all depends on what you like.
One thing I do know is I haven’t had as much time to use my Apple II as I would like, this week, but I’m hoping that is going to change in the next week
Lemonade
Some of my earliest memories of games that I played on computers involved a simple business simulation called Lemonade or Lemonade Stand. The object is to sell lemonade and make a profit.
The first computer I ever used, PDP 11/70 had LEMON, a text only version, which I played quite a bit. It was written in BASIC-PLUS.
Several years later when I got my Apple //c, I got a copy of Lemonade Stand, which was very similar, except for a graphic display of the weather between turns. It was writtenn in AppleSoft.
Each turn, you choose how much lemonade to make, how much advertising and the price per glass. It is a simple educational game that probably would not get much play time now, without a major upgrade in the graphics and interface. Back then though, it was played by many students,
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