The major code refactoring/modernization effort has continued with this release. Lots of improvements all over, but a huge feature coming out of this work is what I call the “curiosity engine”. Previously, the disk analyzer only really detected copy protections and other abnormalities via finding unusual structures or errors at the raw sector level. While much of that is still happening in the same way, the curiosity engine now performs an analysis of the disk along with the help of…
From the author, Richard Soberka: Hi everyone, I just wanted to let the Apple II community know that I’ve made my game Zephyr available for download as a disk image (.DSK). It’s available for free on my personal website:https://www.soberka.com/games/ Zephyr is an action game — a combat flight simulator in double hi-res monochrome (DHGR, 560 × 192 pixels), designed for Apple IIe (128K), Apple IIc, or Apple IIgs computers. I wrote Zephyr in 1987 for the French publisher Froggy Software. The game was scheduled for…
A lot of people my age that touched Macintoshes in the nineties know that game, Glider, written by John Calhoun. I recently started wanting to try and program a game for the Apple II as it is something I never attempted before, and I wanted to see if I got good enough at 6502 assembly for that. After a difficult start, I managed to have the project take off (pun intended) and decided to make a Glider reimplementation for the…
When nostalgia for my childhood computer first hit me as an adult, the first thing I did was look for a way to emulate the system on my modern setup. Having already experimented with emulators like Catakig and Stop the Madness in the ’90s and early 2000s, it wasn’t difficult to find Virtual ][—one of the best Apple II emulators for modern Macintosh computers. However, after moving to “bare metal” and using real Apple IIe Platinum and Apple IIc machines,…
Thomas Harte, Developer of the Clock Signal Emulator, has announced a bug fix update to the emulator. The latest version includes the following Macintosh related bug fixes: The Clock Signal Emulator is a clock accurate multi-platform emulator and is available for free download from: https://github.com/TomHarte/CLK
While the evenings of KansasFest are renowned for their spontaneity, the days are reserved for sessions spanning a variety of uses, extensions, and applications of the Apple II family. Just as varied as these sessions are the good people who volunteer to present them. If you have a topic you’d like to present, please fill out the session proposal form. Past sessions have included hardware, software and game demonstrations, and tutorials; integration of the Apple II with other devices; emulators; programming;…
From our friend David Greelish of Before Macintosh: There are currently three Apple Lisa computers being auctioned with RR Auctions, all ending on March 20th. One of them is an original Lisa 1. – Apple Lisa Computer with ‘Twiggy’ Drives, ProFile Hard Drive, Mouse, and Keyboard:https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/349773707146055-apple-lisa-computer-with-twiggy-drives-profile-hard-drive-mouse-and-keyboard/ – Apple Lisa 2 Prototype with Mouse, Keyboard, and ProFile Drive:https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/349916807146061-apple-lisa-2-prototype-with-mouse-keyboard-and-profile-drive/ – Apple Lisa 2 Computer Set with Keyboard, Mouse, and ProFile Hard Drive:https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/348390407146054-apple-lisa-2-computer-set-with-keyboard-mouse-and-profile-hard-drive/ There is also an original Apple 1 and two reproductions. A…
For those of you who are fans of the flying toasters of yesteryear, there is now reason to celebrate! Matthew Pierce (CybernetixZero) has modified the AfterDark program and the modules to run smoothly on MacOS 9.2.2. This release is a celebration of everything After Dark! For many years I’ve been on a mission to see After Dark running stable on Mac OS 9.2.2. Some time ago, a user by the name of Daxeria released a patched version of the After…
The Ample interface for the MAME emulation platform on MacOS has been updated. Ample version 0.275 includes the following additions: Ample is a graphical user interface which according to the author, Kelvin Sherlock, provides a more friendly interface for the MAME Emulation platform. Originally only supporting Apple and Macintosh based emulation, the latest version of Ample includes support for Dragon 32, Tandy computers, Commodore 64 and BBC Micro as well as a host of other retro computing platforms. You can…
Technology News and Views Since 1983March 2025 That title isn’ta reference to bus drivers on strike at the beginning of a bright sunny week. Rather, it is a reflection on how quickly worldly honours (glories) can vanish into oblivion, whether through conquest, or self-destruction via overweening hubris. Take, for instance politicians. (Please.) OTOH, they paint a glorious picture of how great will be their reign if the electorate will hand them and their party the keys to the empire. But…
From the Kansasfest 2025 Committee: KansasFest: a community united in passion, learning, and respect for the Apple ][ For over three decades, KansasFest has brought together enthusiasts, experts, and newcomers alike to celebrate the legacy of Apple II computing. More than just a gathering, KansasFest is a community—one built on a foundation of learning, fun, respect, and collaboration. We take great pride in fostering a safe and welcoming environment where attendees can share their passion, exchange knowledge, and build lasting…
The CLK Clock Signal multi-platform Emulator has been updated. 26 Feb 2025 release of CLK introduced the following changes to the platform: Clock Signal (‘CLK’) is an emulator that seeks to be invisible. Users directly launch classic software, avoiding the learning curves associated with emulators and with classic machines. The platform is for MacOS and includes emulation for the following platforms: It currently contains emulations of the: Acorn Electron;Amstrad CPC;Apple II/II+ and IIe;Atari 2600;Atari ST;ColecoVision;Commodore Vic-20; Enterprise 64/128;Macintosh 128K, 512K,…
The Apple II Cassette project, run by Brutal Deluxe Software, has added four new cassettes to its growing collection. Now reaching a total of nearly 700 cassettes, the project aims to gather all of the cassette based software items from the early days of the Apple II computing world. The new items include the following items: You can download the latest additions to the collection as well as many others at the Apple II Cassette Project webpage at: https://www.brutaldeluxe.fr/projects/cassettes/
The latest version of Card Cat, version 1.8, is now available for download. Card Cat is a system identification program created by Henry Lowe that identifies your Apple II series hardware information, memory and the cards in the slots. The latest release of Card Cat contains a number of new options and fixes including:
Joshua Bell has announced the latest pre-release of the Apple II Desktop, version 1.5 alpha 2, a Graphical User Interface operating system for the Apple II. This release has a number of new features enhancing the user experience for Apple II enthusiasts, offering a range of new features, bug fixes, text updates and improvements. As always, the developer warns users to use alpha and beta software with caution, as the latest release of Apple II desktop is still in the…
First up is Murphy who is very well known in politics, the military, engineering, and, of course, computing. – “Murphy was an optimist.”–a former Mrs. Murphy. – It only appears to work now; it’s still in the process of going wrong. – The law of small scale software development: There’s always one more bug. – The law of large scale software development: We can make a statistical estimate within one or two orders of magnitude for how many bugs there…
The SPIISD with an OLED display, V2, has debuted. This new version features an SPI OLED screen and UP, DOWN, and ENTER buttons, allowing users to select and save multiple ProDOS images stored on a FAT32-formatted MicroSD card. A configuration file, Config.txt, is generated in the root of the SD card, enabling up to four boot images to be selected and saved. In terms of speed and stability, it inherits the specifications of the previous version, V1.17. SPIISD V2.0 is…
MacEffects has announced their latest hardware upgrade for Macintosh 68030 machines. According to the product information, “the MacEffects Performer accelerator is the perfect hardware upgrade for your Macintosh SE. The Performer accelerator features a 68030 clocked to 16mhz and a 68882 FPU (math coprocessor) to speed up CPU performance and math calculations. With the Performer accelerator you can enjoy a new level of performance from your Macintosh. “ According to the product information on the Mac Effects website, this upgrade…
Briel Computers, best known for their Replica-1 computer boards and their Altair 8800 related kits have announced the release of their Micro-Kim project to the Open Source domain. The project is a single board that aims to perform all the same functionality as the original Commodore Kim-1. The board consists of 5K RAM, 2K EPROM, a 6532 RIOT for I/O, a 23 key keyboard and a 6 digit display. Originally selling for $99, all of the project files, manuals and…
The MAC OS X based Ample MAME interface has been updated. Kelvin Sherlock, the curator of the Ample Interface introduced additional support for the retro Macintosh Portables as well as support for the ACORN BBC Micro series of computers and the Commodore 64. This release of the Ample interface marks the 66th release of the emulator and brings the Ample package up to MAME 0.274 and includes a modified MAME package which allows emulation of those machines included in the…
