Virtual II, the Apple //e emulator for Mac OS X created by Gerard Putter, has been updated. Version 8.0 includes a bevy of updated features including: A disk image file can now be double-clicked in the Finder to start a virtual machine with that disk inserted. Added the feature to speak the text on the Apple II screen, using the Mac voice synthesizer. Fixed an issue that could cause a new virtual machine window to appear with a very small…
We’re baaaack! Sorry for the unscheduled hiatus folks, but your intrepid hosts had some family matters to attend to. This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Seth Steinberger of 8-bit Weapon. We talk about their new album Class Apples, which was made entirely on an Apple II. Yes, every sound on the album is generated by real Apple II hardware with no add-on cards. Apple IIs can make good sound with the right software and in the hands…
Tom Charlesworth, the curator and programmer of the Applewin Apple IIe emulator, has released a new experimental version of the application. Applewin 1.26.3.6 has a number of changes and fixes included in it including: Changes: [Bug #504] Full-screen: hide mouse pointer after 2 seconds of inactivity (and show again if mouse is moved) [Bug #469] New -no-printscreen-key switch to prevent the PrintScreen key from being registered. [Bug #488] New -fs-height=<best|nnnn> switch to select a better resolution for full-screen mode. best:…
The Fetch FTP client for Mac OS X has been updated. Fetch is a popular FTP client which runs on most newer macs and requires Mac OS X version 10.5 or newer. It supports both standard FTP as well as SFTP protocols. The package is available from Fetch Softworks for $29.95 for the full package. Some of the new features in Fetch include: View the overall progress and time remaining of multi-file transfers Sync shortcuts between Macs using Dropbox or…
The venerable Carbon Copy Cloner backup software has been updated to version 5.05. The software has been maintained and regularly upgraded since 2002, with version 5.0 first appearing in August 2017 to more fully support macOS High Sierra and Apple’s APFS filesystem. It has features like bootable backups, updating only files that have been added or modified, checksums, as well as scheduled and manual backups. It can even backup Macs remotely and supports macOS 10.10 through 10.13. One of my…
If you were not able to attend the Australian version of Kansasfest, OZ KFest 2017, Sean McNamara has a thorough wrap up of the event for your enjoyment at https://the.europlus.zone/ For more information on OZ KFest or for announcements of the next event, you can follow the official Twitter account at: https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&q=%23ozkfest2017&src=typd
Daniele Liverani has released his latest rendition of the Genius arcade game. Genius 2 – Into the Toy Caves introduces another 80 levels of the graphical arcade / adventure game, take the player deeper and deeper into the toy caves. The game comes complete with Manual, Disk Image and Diskette Label for those who want to produce their own copy of the the original. You can download Genius 2 — Into The Toy Caves from A.P.P.L.E. at: http://www.callapple.org/soft/ap2/genius/Genius-2.zip The original…
Andy McFadden has announced the official release of Ciderpress version 4.0.3. According to the official Ciderpress release page, the update includes the following changes: This is a minor update. Bug fixes and features since v4.0.2: Changed the behavior of file extraction so that file extensions are never added unless “add file extension” is checked. Previously, files whose contents were converted for use in Windows always had the file extension added. Added support for MouseText and inverse text in AppleWorks 5…
RetroMacCast has in quick succession posted both Episodes 451 and 452 of their podcast. Episode 451 covers a number of topics including: “eBay finds: Apple playing cards, set of 6 classic Macs, and unused Mac box. They discuss the Mac EvangeList, and news includes the end of Apple fanboyism, Apple MacBook sleeve, and Steve Jobs’ BMW auction.” Episode 452 is the RetroMacCast Holiday Buying guide. Both episodes can be heard on Flickr or iTunes via the RetroMacCast website for free…
James Friend, the Australian programmer who ported the Mac 128 and Mac Plus to run in a browser, has a new port which is making the initial rounds. Basilisk II, is now available in your browser thanks to the efforts of James. According to the posting on his website, he says: I recently ported the Basilisk II classic Macintosh emulator to run in a web browser. I’ve been hoping to get it running for some time, and originally attempting to…
Ever wish you could cool off your Apple II without all of the fan noise from the Kensington System Saver? Watch as we tear apart the System Saver and replace the fan with an ultra-quiet version: https://youtu.be/KnliZMbmGQA See more Assembly Lines podcast videos at: http://www.youtube.com/c/ChrisTorrence1
Tom Charlesworth has released a new experimental version of the Applewin Apple II Emulator. Applewin Version 1.26.3.5 is available on the Applewin website and includes the following changes: [Bug #504] Full-screen: hide mouse pointer after 2 seconds of inactivity (and show again if mouse is moved) [Bug #469] New -no-printscreen-key switch to prevent the PrintScreen key from being registered. [Bug #488] New -fs-height=<best|nnnn> switch to select a better resolution for full-screen mode. best: picks the highest resolution where the height…
I came across documentation about the popular Apple II copy program EDD 4 that experts like Anthony Martino at UltimateApple2, the creator of the “EDD 4 Plus” clone card, were not familiar with and asked me to share. That information is within three documents I scanned and linked here as PDFs. Highlights from those documents: EDD 4 Program Information List #4-13, February 1993: download PDF This may be one of the last EDD program lists created. It also mentions…
Denis Molony has released a new version of his Java based Apple II Disk management utility, Apple II Disk Browser. This disk image utility was covered in the Summer 2017 issue of Call-A.P.P.L.E. magazine and is one of the hottest net utilities available for management of Apple II disk images, allowing users to see the real content of the files in a host of different programs and program types. Apple II Disk Browser Version 1.0.24 is the result of several…
Andy McFadden, curator of the CiderPress GitHub repository, has made his latest changes to the app available through the CiderPress releases page. According to his posting, this latest version includes the following changes: Changed the behavior of file extraction so that file extensions are never added unless “add file extension” is checked. Previously, files whose contents were converted for use in Windows always had the file extension added. For more information about current releases or to download the latest version…
In one of its not-so-loud updates to iTunes, Apple has re-introduced the ability to control your iOS apps from your computer with a release of iTunes 12.6.3. According to the website, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208079, Deploy apps in a business environment with iTunes Learn how to deploy apps with iTunes. Apple offers Volume Purchase Programs and Apple Configurator on Mac to help enterprise environments manage and mass-deploy apps on iOS devices. But certain business partners might still need to use iTunes to install apps. Install apps…
December 2017 Under his hat as a sometimes web hosting and domain name provider (Webnamehost.com and WebNameSource.com) the Spy must monitor the spam arriving at his server. Numerous filters and subscriptions to spam services cut the volume of mail by forty percent in a slack month and as much as ninety-five precent during time when the BlackHats think they’re on to something new. Usually, this is a good thing. But recently, spam sent out from another server at the data…
Gil Megidish, known for his Apple II binary file emulator, has captured and released the Apple IIe Hebrew Character ROM. This ROM allows the Apple II to display the Hebrew alphabet. According to Antoine Vignau’s Apple II Documentation Project RTF file included with the files, “This is the Apple IIe Hebrew ROM kindly provided by Gil Megidish. It comes from an Apple IIe motherboard 820-188-A. You might need that when renaming the video ROM. The associated files are: 1. 8KB…
The PLASMA (PLASMA: Proto Language AsSeMbler for Apple)programming language, developed and curated by David Schmenk has gotten an overhaul and update. For those who have never used PLASMA, ” PLASMA is a medium level programming language targeting the 8-bit 6502 processor. Historically, there were simple languages developed in the early years of computers that improved on the tedium of assembly language programming while still being low level enough for system coding. Languages like B, FORTH, and PLASMA fall into this…
Chris Torrence comes to us once again with an interesting Assembly Language problem. Wizardry, one of the early Apple RPG’s, on the Apple II and II plus runs normally, however, running it on the Apple IIe causes an issue with the computer switching to 80 column mode and causing weird issues with the displayed text. Suddenly instead of the normal display of the text, it puts spaces between each character of the text. While most people who have played the…
