Category: Software
CiderPress II, a specialized software tool tailored for managing disk images and file archives related to vintage Apple computers such as the Apple II series and early Macintoshes, is now available in its v0.3.0-dev1 iteration. This application is designed to run seamlessly on contemporary desktop and embedded systems. Key Functionalities: CiderPress II empowers users with a comprehensive suite of file operations for disk images and file archives, including but not limited to: listing, adding, extracting, importing, exporting, copying, renaming, moving,…
Apple II enthusiasts now have the opportunity to relive the thrill of old school high-speed racing with the port of the Commodore 64 classic, Stunt Car Racer. This technical feat, executed by Patai Gergely, brings the adrenaline-pumping action of the original game to the Apple II platform. The machine requirement is any Apple II computer with at least 48K of RAM. Streamlined for Performance Adapting Stunt Car Racer for the Apple II required strategic choices to fit within the hardware…
For Apple II enthusiasts, one of the essential tools in their arsenal just got even better. The Card Cat project, known for its dedication to preserving and recognizing the vast array of Apple II family cards, has released Card Cat version 1.4, bringing a host of improvements and enhancements. Card Cat, which is both free and community-supported Apple II software, continues to pursue the ultimate goal of identifying all Apple II cards for those seeking to identify and understand the…
Colin Leroy-Mira has announced the immediate availability of the latest version of his Apple II series Mastodon client package. The client software will run on any Apple II series computer or compatible Apple II series emulation system with at least 64k of memory. The Apple II series Mastodon client features include the following: Installation instructions and the download of the latest version of the Apple II series Mastodon client are available from the website at:https://www.colino.net/wordpress/en/mastodon-for-apple-ii/
Fabrizio Caruso, author of the CROSS-LIB game library, has released a new multi-platform game for a number of 8-bit computers including the Apple II. Stinger is a Tank attack type game in which the tanks advance down the screen shooting at the player. The player must repel the tanks by shooting them and eventually eliminating them. Avoid the shots, the bombs and collect the crosses and the first aid packs. This is a fast paced game with exciting potential and…
Brandan Bellina has released the Apple II Technical Notes HyperCard stack which is now available for download from the Silverwand Apple II site. The stack includes all June 1992 A2 technical notes and file type notes as well as additional documents. Note that this stack requires Hypercard GS in order to work. You can download the Apple II Technical Notes Hypercard stack and many other Hypercard GS stacks from the Silverwands website at:https://sites.google.com/view/silverwandsoftware/
Back in 1985, Transylvania was a popular adventure game written by Antonio Antiochia and published by Penguin Software. Henning Stams, a fan of the game, wanted a version in his native German language and created one! He dubbed the conversion “Transsylvanien: Ein Spannendes High-Resolution-Spiel” (a fascinating high-resolution game). Previously, I wrote about the Transsylvanien 5.25″ disk that I recovered in 2019, courtesy of Mark Pelczarski (Penguin Software president) who gave me a box of his disks to recover. Some of that…
In the realm of Apple II computing, there are a few enthusiasts like Joshua Bell who continue to breathe new life into the classic machines, pushing the boundaries of what these vintage computers can achieve. Joshua’s ongoing development of the Apple II Desktop is a testament to this desire to push the limits of the Apple II’s capabilities. Today’s release of Apple II Desktop version 1.4 Alpha 1 offers a sneak peek into the future of what is possible with…
Colin Leroy-Mira, a passionate retro computing enthusiast, has made a significant stride in the world of integration of vintage tech and modern tech with the release of his Mastodon client for the Apple II series, including the //c, IIe, and IIgs models. If you’re intrigued by the idea of bringing a piece of the modern internet to these classic machines, Colin’s creation is bound to either make you giggle incessantly at the idea of posting from your Apple II or…
Apple II gaming enthusiasts, brace yourselves for a game-changing release! Anti-M, the ultimate solution for running early Apple II games on any Apple II model, version 2.0 was just released. Developed to provide compatibility across the entire Apple II range, Anti-M allows you to enjoy classic games that were once restricted by overly aggressive copy protection and hardware limitations. Breaking Down Anti-M: What Does It Do? In the early days of Apple II gaming, some titles were notorious for refusing…
In a move that’s sure to delight many Apple II enthusiasts, Mark Percival’s DiskMaker 8 software has been set free as open source! This announcement comes as a result of a collaboration between Mark Percival and David Schmidt, with the goal of preserving and extending the life of this classic 8-bit Apple II utility. The source code for both ORCA/M (8-bit) and ca65-based versions of the software are now available on GitHub. DiskMaker 8, originally inspired by Eric Shepherd’s 16-bit…
A New Apple II Demo from Daniel Henderson is available. The demo, Star Wars Episode 6 – The Empire is Mildly Offended, is a tongue in cheek, satirical look at Star Wars, the main characters and political, societal stances through the low resolution graphics of the Apple II Computer. The look is taken through a visit to each of 6 planets and the occupying main character with a new perspective on line and then once you have gone through each…
If you need a really good run-through of the various Karateka versions and the different platforms it was produced for, Ernst Krogtoft, shared his collection this month with the world. In a wildly extensive posting on the Retro365 Blog at https://retro365.blog/2023/08/05/karateka-a-stellar-debut/, Ernst shares the various boxes as well as a ton of information and tidbits about Jordan Mechner’s extremely popular game.
Henry Lowe has released the latest version of his Apple II card recognition software, Card Cat. Version 1.2 now has the ability to recognize more than 70 different peripheral cards in the Apple II computer. There also have been a number of bug fixes included in the latest release. Card Cat version 1.2 includes better detection for the new A2 Analog Cards. You can download the latest version of Card Cat from the Card Cat homepage at:https://henrylowe.net/card-cat/
A.P.P.L.E. has introduced a new Apple II series computer related Games release page which lists games introduced over the past several years. While still in the works, the game page now contains 2022-203 games that have been released by some of the great programmers of the Apple II community. This collection is freely accessible to everyone. The goal of the page is to be a one stop shop for recent game releases announced on the A.P.P.L.E. website or in Call-A.P.P.L.E….
An announcement in the Apple II Software Enthusiasts group by Fabrizio Caruso heralds the 7th game created with the CrossLib library that allows games to be written quickly for more than 200 retro computing platforms. This library was highlighted last year in Call-A.P.P.P.L.E. magazine and has been in the works for a number of years now. According to the announcement: Hi everyone! I present Shuriken, the seventh game I have written in C with my Cross-Lib framework (https://github.com/Fabrizio-Caruso/CROSS-LIB), which provides…
Henry Lowe, the programmer of Card Cat, has announced that version 1.1 is now available for download. The program is a machine card identifying program that runs on the Apple II computer. This update includes: This program has been tested on Apple II emulators as well as actual Apple II machines as well as clones and should work in just about any Apple II environment you are working in. If Card Cat finds a card with a signature but cannot…
In a groundbreaking development for the Apple IIGS community, Alex Lee and Jesse Blue have announced version v0.7 of their “What is the Apple IIGS? Launcher”, a revolutionary way enthusiasts can launch and play their favorite IIGS games. This release, announced as part of Kansasfest 2023, aims to address longstanding issues such as slow read and write speeds of 3.5” disks and compatibility problems between different operating systems and launching methods. The brainchild of a dedicated group of developers, this…
Notes from the Applesauce Floppy Disc Controller client software update: Improvements and Fixes in 1.85 You can download the latest version of the software through the Applesauce FDC Client or from the Applesauce website at: https://applesaucefdc.com/software/
Brendan Belina has been busy with his new bits of hypercard stacks and other goodies just in time for the pre-Kansasfest festivities or Christmas in July. According to his posting, : Recent releases posted on my Silverwand Software Apple II Forever page include updated versions of the HyperCard IIGS stacks Word Fu (a Wordle for English and French speakers), HyperTuneMaker (create tunes using a piano style keyboard), Xmas Display ’23 (songs and graphics displays for the Christmas season), and the…
