David Schmenk, author of PLASMA for the Apple II Series, announced a new version of ROGUE for PLASMA. The disk image is downloadable for free in ProDOS Order format here. This disk image will work on Apple II emulators capable of emulating the Apple //e and is a fully self contained game disk. Introduction This version of ROGUE is somewhat different than others. It is very simple in most ways, but I have developed a (I think) unique visibility algorithm…
April 9, 2023: One of the more interesting retro Macintosh artists, Dana Sibera aka NanoRaptor, has set about reproducing the original Apple UCSD Pascal Poster, in print ready format with the original crops and bleeds as well as at the original size. The Apple UCSD Pascal Poster was originally produced in 1979 and was designed by the father of the Macintosh, Jef Raskin and well known San Francisco artist and creator of the Rainbow Apple, Tom Kamifuji. The poster, long…
The Steve Jobs Archive has announced the release of a new book showcasing letters, photos, notes and other materials from the late tech icon’s life. The ePub format ebook, which hit the wires on April 11th, contains a timeline of speeches, interviews, and personal correspondences from Steve Jobs himself. Established by Laurene Powell Jobs, Jony Ive, and others close to the Apple co-founder, the Steve Jobs Archive has been sharing snippets and quotes from Jobs’ life since September 2022. The…
Mihai Parparita’s project, Infinite Mac, aims to provide easy access to classic Mac emulation. His project page, https://infinitemac.org, includes every version of Mac OS from the very first version, 1.0, included on the Mac 128K all the way to the 9.0.4, released exactly 23 years ago this past week. All of the OS versions are setup to run in the browser window under Javascript. The project utilizes WebAssembly ports of popular emulators such as Mini vMac, Basilisk II, and SheepShaver,…
In episode 648 of the popular podcast “RetroMacCast” (RMC), hosts James Savage and John Leake took a trip down memory lane as they discussed some fascinating finds on eBay, as well as revisiting a classic issue of MacAddict from April 2003. The duo started the episode by discussing some exciting discoveries on eBay, including a large Macintosh banner, three banners from 1999, and five banners from 2023. Additionally, they talked about an Apple 2 clone that was up for sale….
The Kansasfest committee has announced a change in the way that the separate In-Person / Virtual events registrations will be handled. Initially, those who were planning on attending and presenting at the In-Person event being held in Kansas City, Mo in July, would have to also pay to attend the Virtual event. This is no longer the case. In an email from Kansasfest Committee member Chris Torrence, he says: Just a heads up that the in-person KansasFest registrations (double room,…
In the latest episode of RetroMacCast, episode 647, hosts James Savage and John Leake dive into some exciting eBay finds, including an original LaserWriter, a lot of Macs, and even a rare Newton prototype. The duo also shares some interesting tidbits about Apple mice, with John learning something new. Aside from eBay finds, the show also covers the latest news in the world of vintage Apple technology. The hosts discuss the recent auction prices at Juliens, the announcement of WWDC,…
Snafaru, a retro computing enthusiast and developer, has announced the full release of Wizardry 3.0. This project is a faithful recreation of the classic game Wizardry Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, released more than 40 years ago. The full release of Wizardry 3.0 is now ready for distribution and includes over 100 fixes and enhancements from the original game. With the included 140K 5.25″ diskette images, the game can be played using an Apple II emulator or copied onto…
Antoine Vignau, co-founder of Brutal Deluxe, has announced the availability of five new Apple II cassettes on the Apple II cassette project website. The cassettes are from Compu-Things, Haydenbook, Programma, and The Software House. The Apple II cassette project aims to preserve and promote the use of cassettes as a storage medium for the Apple II computer. The project website contains a collection of digitized cassettes, which can be downloaded and used with emulators or transferred to physical cassettes for…
Stephen Heumann and Kelvin Sherlock have just released a new version of ORCA/C, the C compiler for the Apple IIGS, which includes several new language and library features. ORCA/C 2.2.0 B7 is now available for download on GitHub. ORCA/C was originally written for the Apple IIgs by Mike Westerfield of Byteworks, Inc.. He has released the original source code and given permission to the Apple II community to update the project. According to Stephen Heumann, one of the community developers…
In a move that has delighted retro computer enthusiasts and programmers alike, Art Green has announced the successful port of LUA to the Apple IIgs platform. Green, a software developer based in Chicago and active member of the Apple II community, has brought an initial version of the powerful programming language, LUA, to the platform, providing a new level of flexibility and potential to users. Lua is an embeddable scripting language that supports various programming paradigms including procedural, object-oriented, functional,…
Kent Dickey, the author of KEGS, the popular Apple IIgs emulator, has announced the release of the latest version, KEGS v1.20. The new version comes with significant upgrades and fixes, making it more reliable and efficient. The new KEGS v1.20 comes with several changes and improvements, including the addition of Ctrl-F9 as Copy. With this update, the text screen can be easily copied to your host system clipboard. On a Mac, users can select Edit->Copy Text Screen to use this…
The latest release of the Ample MAC OS based front end for the MAME emulator has been announced. Version 0.253 brings the interface in line with the latest version of MAME and Includes experimental Uthernet II / WIZnet W5100 emulation. Marinetti, IP65, and A2osX have been tested and should work. Ample is an Apple II series / Retro Mac centric front end for the MAME emulator developed by famed Apple II programmer Kelvin Sherlock. The Ample App is a free download and…
For users of the Virtual II emulator, a new update has been released that resolves an issue with the Apple //c emulated mouse, which could cause it to cease functioning properly. The issue, which first appeared and affected the perviously released version of the program, version 11.3, is resolved by this update. The Virtual II emulator, developed by Gerard Putter, is a Shareware Apple II emulator designed for Mac OS-based systems. It is a popular tool for hobbyists, retro computing…
41 years after the release of Wizardry Proving Grounds 2.1 comes a new release of one of the best known games for the Apple II series computer. Wizardry Proving Grounds Version 3.0 is available in both DOS 3.3 and ProDOS disk formats on the Apple II and includes some of the following updates and changes: No more passwords! Something had to go to make room on the disks for all these fixes. We figured that nobody password-protects their characters any more,…
The latest alpha release of the Apple II Desktop graphical user interface is now available for download. Apple II Desktop version 1.3 alpha release 5 includes the following changes: General DeskTop Selector Disk Copy Desk Accessories Misc Downloads You can download the latest releases of the Apple II Desktop in one of eight languages from the A2D Github page at:https://github.com/a2stuff/a2d/releases/tag/v1.3-alpha5
The 2023 rendition of Kansasfest registration is now open. Options for this years event include both an in-person and a virtual event with the in-person including a host of new options for housing at the event. Currently, there are no COVID related requirements for the event and the policies of the event will follow those of Rockhurt University, where the event is being held. For more information about registration, options and other related items, check out the Kansasfest website at:…
The April Fool, A.K.A. The Northern Spy took a break from April foolishness this year, except to wake up the sleeping-over grandchildren with a clarion call to go outside and play in the snow. Believe it or not, ye who be denizens of Terra Incognito to our South, but this part of Canada does have snow-free months–unlike Calgary, place of the Spy’s birth, which has the occasional year where it snows at least once every month, and the saying is…
Today, I learned about two uncommon but risky situations with the VidHD card for the Apple II that can result in data loss. John Brooks and I discussed the details and I’ve edited and updated the manual on our website. In brief: Most users do not encounter the first problem as they boot to a menu, or boot from a hard drive or other mass storage in the first six seconds, so the 5.25″ drive is not active during the…
