Call-A.P.P.L.E. Magazine Volume 36, Number 2 — February 2026

World’s Largest Apple User Group Magazine — Since 1978

Issue Summary

This milestone February 2026 issue marks A.P.P.L.E.’s 48th year as the world’s largest Apple user group. The issue leads with a tribute to Robert Tinney, the visionary illustrator whose airbrushed covers defined Byte magazine’s golden era, who passed away February 1, 2026. The issue also mourns the loss of Paul Brainerd, founder of Aldus and inventor of desktop publishing. Alongside these remembrances, the issue bursts with new software releases, interactive fiction adventures, emulator updates, retro game history, assembly language deep dives, and a rich retrospective on A.P.P.L.E.’s own 48-year journey.

Table of Contents

The Editor Still Bytes Back! by The Editor (Bill Martens) The editor reflects on 48 years of A.P.P.L.E., the ongoing vitality of the Apple II community, and previews new tools including the InfocomGen Apple II Floppy Disk Generator.

Apple II Series Emulators: The Complete Rundown Updated by A.P.P.L.E. Staff A comprehensive, alphabetically organized directory of every known Apple II series emulator — from 8BitWorkshop to XGS — with URLs, authors, and notes on current status. Highlights the newly released GSSquared as a notable addition.

RetroMacCast Episode #726: Lasers for the Future by A.P.P.L.E. Staff A recap of the RetroMacCast episode in which hosts James and John discuss recent eBay finds, revisit February 1986 in Macworld, and cover news including a Rockbox iPod mod and the return of the “I’m a Mac/I’m a PC” campaign.

Floppy Days #158: Interview with David Kay, Kaypro Computers by Randy Kindig / A.P.P.L.E. Staff A candid, wide-ranging interview with KayPro co-founder David Kay covering the company’s relationship with Microsoft, the impossibility of manufacturing competitively in the US, channel conflicts, family business tensions, the failed laptop venture, and David’s post-KayPro ambitions to democratize knowledge through smartphone-based learning.

Robert Tinney: The Visionary Illustrator of the Microcomputer Revolution Passed Away by A.P.P.L.E. Staff An in-depth obituary and career retrospective for Robert Frank Tinney (November 22, 1947 – February 1, 2026), whose surrealist airbrushed covers for Byte magazine became iconic symbols of the personal computing era. Covers his early life, education, military service, his long collaboration with Byte founder Carl Helmers, his signature technique using Designer’s Gouache, notable cover works, and his quiet personal life in Louisiana.

48 Years of A.P.P.L.E. — A Look Back by A.P.P.L.E. Staff A detailed history of the Apple Pugetsound Program Library Exchange from its founding on February 21, 1978 in a Federal Way ComputerLand store, through explosive growth in the early 1980s, the challenges of the late 1980s decline, a quiet hiatus, the 2002 digital revival under Bill Martens, and the organization’s thriving present in 2026.

VCF PNW 2026 Registration by A.P.P.L.E. Staff Registration and participation details for the Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest 2026, to be held May 2–3 at the Tukwila Community Center. Includes guidelines for exhibitors, presenters, and volunteers.

Another One from a Long Time Ago — Apple II by Ed Solie / A.P.P.L.E. Staff A short Applesoft BASIC program listing for a hysteresis loop animation with phase shift, written within the 1,024-byte kiloliner constraint, complete with source listing and a screenshot of the animated output.

An A.P.P.L.E. Review: Froggo by Charles Cabbage / A.P.P.L.E. Staff A warm, enthusiastic review of Paul Wasson’s new Apple IIe game Froggo, a Frogger/Crossy Road-inspired arcade title featuring 24 levels, two game modes (casual and challenge), smooth pixel scrolling, and a free download at lasermego.com. The reviewer praises its nostalgic charm and nearly-addictive gameplay.

Froggo — A New Apple II Game (Press Release & Version 1.2.2 Update) by A.P.P.L.E. Staff The official press release for Froggo detailing its full feature set — double-buffered hi-res graphics, 25 levels, original two-tone music, configurable controls, and an included graphics editor — followed by release notes for the version 1.2.2 update addressing collision detection and other fixes.

The Tower — A Revamped Eamon Adventure by Bill Martens / A.P.P.L.E. Staff Bill Martens describes the conversion of his 1984 Eamon adventure data set into a full Inform 6 interactive fiction game. Set in a dystopian future Seattle, players infiltrate the abandoned Seafirst Tower to uncover the mystery of the Ablehurst fortune and a missing spacecraft. Currently in beta for A.P.P.L.E. members.

Apple Folklore — Early Demos by Andy Hertzfeld / A.P.P.L.E. Staff Andy Hertzfeld recounts the earliest Macintosh demo programs from 1981–1982, including the “hello” screen, ball-bouncing routines, the “Stretching Muppets” waterfall effect, the first QuickDraw menus, and the early Finder prototype he co-wrote with Bruce Horn — a glimpse at roads not taken in the Mac’s interface history.

Castle Alethra — A First Step by Bill Martens and Brian Wiser An introduction to Castle Alethra, a small but deviously challenging Inform 6 interactive fiction game serving as a prototype for an upcoming fully graphical Comprehend/Polarware adventure. Despite its roughly 15 rooms, the puzzle density is described as among the finest in small-form IF.

RETRO365 — Air Traffic Controller by Ernst Krogtoft / A.P.P.L.E. Staff A thoroughly researched history of Dave Mannering’s Air Traffic Controller, originally written on a TRS-80 after Mannering left his real-world ATC career. The article traces the game’s publication through Creative Computing, its 1980 Apple II port, its demanding text-based gameplay, and its lasting influence on the simulation genre.

SAB 4K Pilot — Part V by Forrest Lowe / A.P.P.L.E. Staff The fifth installment in the ongoing series recovering and analyzing James A. Baker’s 4K PILOT language interpreter for the Apple II. This entry covers the Fail command processor and the Jump (J:) command processor in detail, with annotated original and revised assembly listings, symbol tables, and notes on discovered bugs and optimization opportunities.

GSSquared: Apple Series Emulator 0.6.0 Released by Jawaid Bazyar / A.P.P.L.E. Staff Release notes for GSSquared v0.6.0, a C++ Apple II series emulator for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Notable additions include 100% accurate Apple IIgs RGB video rendering, cycle-accurate PAL mode, a 65816 CPU core, Apple IIgs SHR display support, improved Mockingboard sync, revised game controller defaults, and significant internal work toward full Apple IIgs emulation.

Genius 1-3 for the Apple II Release 20 Downloads by A.P.P.L.E. Staff Download links for all three Genius game episodes across Apple II, Atari, Commodore 64, and Commodore Plus/4 platforms.

Applesauce FDC: 2.06.2 Software Update by A.P.P.L.E. Staff / John Morris Cumulative release notes for Applesauce FDC versions 2.06 through 2.06.2, covering new disk format support (HP 9885/9895, Amstrad CPC, Tandy Coco RS-DOS), data recovery improvements, IMA/VFD image loading, and firmware updates for the upcoming xpand-o-rama hardware.

URLs used in this month’s issue

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