About A.P.P.L.E.

And the Digital Civilization

28 Years +

www.callapple.org

Apple PugetSound Program library Exchange (A.P.P.L.E.) is an official Apple user group. The users group which provides support, information and software to its members is an all volunteer organization. All of the people associated with this users group are users of Apple computers themselves and provide this service in order to expand and share their understanding about Apple computers.

A.P.P.L.E. History

A.P.P.L.E. was initially established in 1978 by Val J. Golding. The company provided software, hardware and support services for the Apple world until 1990 when due to several problems the company reorganized into a users group once again. From 1990 to 2001, the group existed as a users group only providing support to local northwest computer users.

In 1999, Bill Martens began to look into the possibility of preserving the information associated with the company and in contacting many of the former writers, board members and staff, found that there was an interest in preserving and rebuilding the company. Thus in February 2002, this effort began in earnest with the latest issue of the magazine being prepared for release even as this is written.

A.P.P.L.E. Today

While much of the current group is still based in the Seattle area, production is now handled in Japan and Canada. A.P.P.L.E. is an all volunteer Apple / Macintosh users group. None of the members of the board or of the staff are paid and are dedicating their time to this project for the love of the computer world.

The purpose of the group is to provide information, software, hardware, documentation, and support to all levels of users regardless of the Apple computer that they are using. For those members who wish to support our efforts can check the section below on volunteering. We always encourage the enhancement of the "user helping user" concept and continue to believe that this is the best way for those who need help to gain the assistance they need.

Our production control office in Tokyo Japan handles all issues with the magazine and the web site. This allows us to provide round the clock coverage and to deal with issues during off hours. This in turn allows us to have less downtime and to allow magazine production in a timely manner. Our Winnipeg office handles subscription related issues including CD replacement and subscription renewals

Call-A.P.P.L.E. Magazine

Call A.P.P.L.E. magazine was started with a single one page flyer in 1978 by Val J. Golding and eventually grew to a 60-80 page glossy. The magazine was produced on a monthly basis and was once the cornerstone of many peoples experience with the Apple II series computers.

Onceagain we have revived the magazine and produce the magazine on a monthly basis. In the new magazine you will find programs, articles, interviews and even the original founder's note to the group each month. While we know that the magazine was once one of the largest distribution magazines in the world, we are not resting on our laurels. We try to provide content which is fresh, informative and useful to our readers.

Volunteering

If you would like to help A.P.P.L.E., you can volunteer in one of several areas. We are always looking for people who would like to write and article for our magazine or persons with content that they would like to share with the Apple community. We are also looking for people who are experts in their area of Apple computing to act as consultants for the users group. You can volunteer by sending email to editor@callapple.org. When you email, please let us know what area or speciality you are volunteering for and your full contact information.

The Directors

Val J. Golding	Val founded A.P.P.L.E. in 1978 with the help of Mike Thyng and Bob Huelsdonk at the suggestion of Max Cook, a manager at the Computerland where Val bought his Apple II. Val also wrote for Softdisk, On-three and other technology magazines over the years primarily making his mark in the early years of Apple computing. As the founder, Val has been instrumental in guiding the company to the position it is in now, with production of Call-A.P.P.L.E. magazine resuming, Val currently is the Managing Editor of Call-A.P.P.L.E. magazine and also serves as chairman of the board of directors. He still lives in Seattle with his wife and 2 children.
Bill Martens	Bill worked for Val and A.P.P.L.E. from 1981 to 1982. In 2001, he began archiving the materials which were distributed and sold by A.P.P.L.E.. That project led to the group that remained of A.P.P.L.E. Bill was involved in the financial industry in Tokyo and has over 20 major office infrastructure projects to his name. In March 2001, he retired to write books and to spend more time pursuing personal interests. As the resident of the users group, Bill is in charge of distribution of Call-A.P.P.L.E. magazine as well as the organization of this web site. Bill currently resides in Tokyo and Hawaii splitting time between the two places.
Rick Sutcliffe	Rick worked as a writer for A.P.P.L.E. in the early 1980's and currently is Professor of Mathematics and Computing Science at Trinity Western University in British Columbia. He represents Canada on international computing standards committees, and has written two textbooks and more than fifty papers, articles and reviews. He has been a columnist, software author, and active in electronic publishing. He has also been an invited speaker at numerous churches, educational and computing conferences, and technical symposia at local, national, and international levels. He presently resides in Bradner, B.C., with his wife, Joyce, and their two sons, Nathan and Joel.
Mike Pfaiffer	Mike Pfaiffer has been using computers since 1982. He bought his first Apple][+ in 1983 while attending the University of Winnipeg. After obtaining his first degree in 1984 he went on to get a Computer Science degree at the University of Manitoba. Since graduation Mike has been primarily a contractor as a Programmer / Analyst, Database Administrator, Data Retrieval Expert, and Technical Support Consultant. Mike has ventured into private industry during the past few years forming Digital Civilization Multimedia Productions Group which published Digital Civilization magazine. Mike currently resides in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (the third coldest area on the planet after Antarctica and Siberia). He also serves as the Vice President of the users group.
Jim Maricondo	Jim Maricondo has been using an Apple IIgs since 1989 and published the ever popular packages Twilight II and the Golden Orchard. Twilight II was one of the first screen saver programs for the Apple IIgs and has been modified to serve as photography slide show projectors as well. Golden Orchard has gone through 3 incarnations with the current version 1.2 being sold in the A.P.P.L.E. store.