Category: Uncategorized
– One of the simplest cards I’ve ever used, just connect and run! For a long time, the Apple II has enjoyed a plethora of hardware that extends, connects, and enhances it. Among them, speed accelerators have been sought and venerated. The Apple IIe had a few of them: the TransWarp, Titan, Speed Demon, Zip Chip, and Rocket Chip. These products have not been manufactured for 30+ years and hence they are sometimes expensive and hard to obtain, leaving some…
Mountain View, CA, 18 May 2017 — Manila Gear today announced the No Slot Clock for the Apple II series of computers. The No Slot Clock lets your Apple II remember the date and time. No Slot Clock – Front Side No Slot Clock – Back Side This brings the amazing functionality of the Dallas Time Chip DS1215 to the Apple ][ and the Apple ][+ computer. No more typing in the date and time every time you boot up! It also…
Buckshot is a free to use, open-source image conversion utility for Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. It is based on a command-line image conversion tool called “bmp2dhr”. It’s mostly a toy to play around with, as it doesn’t support all features available in bmp2dhr, but it works well and is fun for checking out possible conversions. Get Buckshot
Huibert Allbers has announced the return of a number of his Apple IIgs apps from the 1980’s. According to Huibert, “I believed to have lost. However, Antoine Vignau was able to rescue most of the contents of my damaged HD 20SC drive. Now all of his apps are availebe for free download from his website. The Applications available include the following: Jigsaw! A very simple game, written in less than a week. It was never meant to be published but…
New version: ProDOS 2.4.2 is available here. Today, the 30-year anniversary of the Apple IIGS, a new version of the ProDOS operating system has been released. ProDOS 2.4 adds new features for all Apple II computers, including the 1977 Integer ROM Apple II. Apple IIGS features of ProDOS 2.4 Preserves GS/OS dormant state – Now multiple ProDOS games or programs can be booted and still return to GS/OS. New ‘Bitsy Boot’ utility allows programs to quit to the 8-bit…
A new web store with on demand printing has opened, check it and fulfill your retro wearable! Update: New products added: picasso style graphics, vintage games! http://store.apple2faq.com
I recently got one of the new RamFactor compatible cards from A2Heaven.com. The card is a modern clone of Applied Engineering’s RamFactor memory card. This new version is made with modern 8 MB SRAM, which uses less power and has extra features: a holder to add a small CR2032 type battery to hold the memory state just like the old RamFactor used to. It has a display that will show the current memory bank selected and RAM status. Although it…
A quick update that we have some new items now listed in the UA2 Store – The RAMWorks IIII Kit v1.0. This Kit is mainly designed and meant for the SolderFEST part of KFEST to help add to the show. We will however ship to users since there is a demand for the board and a fun “kit” project for the Apple II. KFEST Delivered Kit: https://goo.gl/SH6NUZ Shipped Kit: https://goo.gl/nc86dZ All details and pics are listed on the item’s page…
Three new memory cards have been announced from Bulgaria’s A2Heaven. The cards, for the Apple II family, add 8 Megabytes of memory and other features: Addon 8MB for Ramworks III Ramworks III expansion to 8MB card , also emulates original Applied Engineering piggyback 2MB card and 512 KB memory extension form Applied Engineering. This card also supports 80 column mode. The display on the card shows the current memory bank selected. RamFactor compatible card (…
Big Mess O’ Wires has the story of how they resurrected the first DB-19 connector to be made in the 21st century. From the article: “About 15 months ago, I first started looking into the idea of manufacturing new DB-19 connectors. So here’s the thing – how do you go about having something like this made? I had no clue, and it took me over a year. How do you find factories that might possibly build something like this, and…
Discounted early-bird registration for KansasFest 2016, the 28th annual Apple II convention, ends May 31. On June 1, prices rise $55, so reserve your spot now. Official KansasFest shirts are extra and optional and must be ordered by June 22; registration for staying on-site closes July 1. Users, programmers, hobbyists, and retrocomputing enthusiasts are invited to Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, from Tuesday, July 19, through Sunday, July 24, for six days and five nights of sessions, demos, announcements, contests, and…
Ultimate Micro just released the Scalable Oscillator v2 for use in the TransWarp GS and ZXIP-GSX. Each Scalable Oscillator is now custom tailored to fit each board better. It also now uses a better grade clock IC which provides a cleaner signal, although with this better signal came complexity of design. this item comes with a Power LED to let you know it’s working, and a resettable fuse on the +5v power line to protect the board from any damage…
A famous Apple collector from down under, send us this funny piece…
Retroconnector, the maker of modern connectors and 3D printed cases inspired in Apple II and retro computers, now offers Retro inspired jewelry, desktop gadgets, cases & docks. https://www.etsy.com/shop/RetroConnector?section_id=18668490
Ultimate Micro unveils the new A2DiskController! It’s a clone of the Apple 3.5″ Drive Controller card which allows 800k and HD 1.44MB 3.5″ Floppy Drives to be connected to your IIe and IIgs systems. It a great option to allow users to connect 3.5″ Floppy to their IIe, and the only one currently available. Here’s the link to their store product.
Ultimate Micro just announced two new products soon to be available: The IIgs ROM0 to ROM1 Adapter v2.0 is a redux of the v1 adapter where I used to Machine Pin Sockets stacked together to allow use of a standard ROM in the IIgs. There is hidden benefit to these new v2 Adapters however. Since they use a standard EEPROM, users can now do firmware development for the IIgs very simply. https://www.ultimateapple2.com/catalogzen154/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_17&products_id=99 SRAM SOJ to DIP Adapter and it is…
A few years ago I acquired a Franklin 500 computer. This was one of the few Apple //c clones that had extras and enhancements, as well as a “brick on a leash” power supply just like the //c. The excitement lasted me just a couple of days, then the power supply died. I looked around forums and groups in search of a replacement, but being such a ‘rare’ item, there were no replacements. I put away the computer but always…
A Word or Two November 2015 Apple’s sales saga continues to flummox many pundits. They forecast earnings estimates too low or too high, and when they miss, they criticize–not themselves, but Apple–as if it were Cupertino’s fault they aren’t more prescient. The latest take on this is that because Apple’s iPhone sales generate so large a percentage of the total income, and aren’t breaking records by a very wide margin these days, the company is somehow in trouble, and…
This year was my first Kansas Fest, and didn’t arrive on time for the Garage Giveaway. Regardless, I think the organizers do this from their hearts and spend a lot of time and money organizing, gathering, and transporting all goods. They deserve some help, so other than not selling what is giving away for free on eBay, we should chip in any way we can. Found about a GoFundMe page for helping them and I encourage everybody to contribute to…
Press Release from Ewen (Speccie): I have today updated a few items on my website, and released a blast-from-the-past… SAM2 goes to v2.0.5. This is a very minor bug fix. Spectrum goes to v2.5.4. A bug was fixed, and a couple of minor adjustments were made. More importantly, Spectrum is now released as a stand-alone bootable 2mg disk image, that can be booted and used “as is”. A new Installer is provided on the disk, which allows Spectrum to be…
