Author: Bill Martens
Dave Cheney has posted an Apple-1 Replica build project which utilizes the Arduino platform. The build covers all aspects of the Apple-1 and is small enough to actually be inserted into almost any case. The Mega6502 is basically a two chip Apple-1 computer improving in the same tradition of the great Steve Wozniak (@woz on twitter), reduction of the number of chips required for the computer. For more information about the Mega6502, check out Dave Cheney’s blog at: http://dave.cheney.net/2014/12/26/make-your-own-apple-1-replica
We wish to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It has been an interesting 2014 and we look forward to serving our members once again in 2015. Stay tuned for more exciting products coming in the new year. Happy Holidays!
Nishida Radio, makers of the disk emulator, UNISDisk, have announce that all units have sold out for 2014. No new orders will be taken for some time. According to Koichi Nishida’s posting on his website, he needs some time off to deal with some health issues that have arisen. For more information about the UNISDisk or orther Nishida Radio products, check out their website at: http://tulip-house.ddo.jp/DIGITAL/english.html
X-Plane 10 for the iPad has been released. The latest version of the ultra-realistic flight simulation package for the iPad has a number of features which put it on a par with the desktop version of X-Plane. These features include: 5 scenery regions A brand new combat system Multiplayer over the Internet Access to the brand new challenges & tutorials The Cessna 172 aircraft model. An additional 9 aircraft (including the Airbus A320, A-10 Warthog, and F-22 Raptor) are available as in-app purchases. These…
David Schmenk, the creator of the PLASMA SDK for the Apple II has released a proof of concept game for the Apple II. Rogue, an old school adventure game is intended to prove that PLASMA is capable of handling real algorithmic conceptual development. David’s full release statement: To prove that PLASMA is capable of real algorithmic development, and looking forward to some Lawless Legends investigations, I built an intermediate project for your amusement. Harking back to the days of yore,…
The Virtual Apple II website database version 1.27 is now available. Those users who are using emulator apps which rely upon the Virtual Apple II database for their apps and data can download the latest version. This latest update includes new data for over 200 apps as well as a number of new games that were not in the previous version. Virtual Apple is an online disk repository for the Apple II computer which features disks, manuals, as well as…
Assembly Lines: The Complete Book has been released. Roger Wagner’s Assembly Lines was an important information source for many programmers in the 1980’s. The article ran in Softtalk magazine over 33 issues. Chris Torrence has edited and published this book in close coordination with Roger Wagner under the Creative Commons 2.0 license and it is now available in hard cover from LULU.com for the production only pricing of $21.74. To order a copy of the book, you can go to…
Randy Brandt announced the availability of the 30th Anniversary Edition of the Beagle Bros Game I.O. Silver. According to his posting, “Looks like we made it! The 30th anniversary Edition of Beagle Bros’ I. O. Silver is now available for free download (with in-app purchases) from the Apple store. It’s been a labor of love for the past few years. Please support us by downloading it and giving it a try for free!” I.O. Silver was originally released by Beagle…
The Wozpak Special Edition is now priced for the Christmas Holidays. The 350 page book with the notes from Steve Wozniaks’s Apple-1 and Apple II notes was produced in coordination with Steve Woznaik by Brian Wiser and Bill Martens. It includes a number of interesting items and introductions from the men who made the Apple II computer what it became. It is normally available for the list price of $49.95, but during the holidays, it is 20% off at just…
Ivan Drucker has once again released a plugin for Applesoft on the Apple II computer. His new Magic Goto allows for labels to be used instead of line numbers. Accrding to his posting: Magic Goto is now available, so you can program in Applesoft without ever having to think about line numbers, yielding better organized and much more readable code. It lets you GOTO, GOSUB, or ONERR GOTO a label in a REM statement. For example, GOSUB “showMainMenu” will find…
Mike Maginnis, the curator of the Apple II Scans website (http://www.apple2scans.net) has made available all of the issues of the Apple /// related Open Apple Gazette online. The Open Apple Gazette was the newsletter produced by the San Francisco based Apple ///’rs, an Apple /// centric users group. You can download all nine of the issues of the Open Apple Gazette as well as the Promo edition from the Apple II Scans website at: http://www.apple2scans.net/magazines/open-apple-gazette/
David Schmenk has posted an update to his self developed PLASMA SDK. According to the posting on the Apple II Enthusiasts PLASMA for the Holidays (For all you programmer types looking to escape from the relatives this week) Just like last year, here is an update to the PLASMA sandbox (an Apple II IDE to play around with PLASMA). It is (sort of) self-documenting progression through some PLASMA example code. PLASMA has grown up a lot since last year. With…
The third section of the Ben Heckendorn Apple-1 replica build has been posted on The Ben Heck Show page on YouTube. This section completed the build and shows how to build the case with the CNC machine. Ben even tries his hand at entertaining the masses with his singing in this episode.
The Virtual Apple II website has updated their database to version 1.25. The latest version contains dozens of new box blurbs and box covers as well as a number of new games including Daniele Liverani’s new game, Genius – A Rock Game. The Virtual Apple database is used by the ActiveGS App and other Apple II emulator apps to supply all the game information and disks to their apps. To download the latest version of the app, click the update…
Ben Heckendorn has posted the second episode of his retro build of an Apple-1 clone. This episode covers adding the keyboard and display of the data to the build. For those of you who missed the first episode, you can catch it in an earlier posting here at: http://www.callapple.org/hardware/ben-heck-building-an-apple-1-from-scratch/ The third episode is scheduled for next week and will complete the build with the case and other final adjustments to the build. Episode 2:
According to reports, famed Apple programmer Bob Bishop passed away September 29th. Bob was known for many early Apple II programs which highlighted the capabilities of the Apple II computer and was constantly pushing the boundaries. Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison receiving his PhD. He went on to work at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and his missions included working on Apollo 17, the last mission to the moon. He published a number of titles for…
Apple Computer Inc went through many versions of standards with their brand, products and product presentation over the years. A recent Acquisition by Apple II Enthusiast Javier Rivera shows the standards which were followed when presenting the Apple brand from the early 1980’s in a much clearer light. This 42 page book is a gold mine of information and shows the purest essence of the Apple II and the beginnings of the company we know today. To download the PDF,…
While we don’t often comment on politics, earlier today, president Obama laid forth a proposal to the Federal Communications Commission to enact the toughest Open Net-Neutrality laws possible. His commentary that the Internet should remain unregulated with respect to control of content access is the first real proposal for such openness from his administration. Obama’s detailed proposal came through an open letter to the people on Whitehouse.gov and is as follows: An open Internet is essential to the American economy,…
Ben Heckendorn’s latest video series is now covering the building of an Apple-1 computer from scratch. The Apple-1 was Steve Wozniak’s first commercially available computer and was sold initially by Steve Jobs through The Byte Shop in Mountain View, California. Ben Heckendorn is famous for his hacks of vintage and modern gaming and computing platforms. His videos over the past few years have come to represent the leading edge of hacks for these platforms. The Apple-1 shown by Ben in…
The programming group, French Touch, has released a new 3-Dimensional demo on the Apple II. The Unlimited Bobs demo was programmed on a Standard 1 MHz Apple //e computer and is shown in the video below: The demo will run in emulation on Applewin, JACE, and ActiveGS. For more information about the French Touch or Unlimited Bobs, check out the French Touch home page at : http://www.ctrl-pomme-reset.fr/french-touch/ You can also download the disk image in Emulator format from the…
