RetroConnector Announces Headphone Jack for the Apple IIc Plus

Charles Mangin of RetroConnector fame has posted photos of his Apple //c Plus Headphone Jack.  At press time, the only information we have outside of the photos of the unit are a promise from Charles that installation video and documentation will be available soon. To view the Apple //c Plus Headphone Jack information, check out the RetroConnector blog at: http://retroconnector.com/updates/

RetroMacCast 378 Posted

James and John have posted the latest edition of the RetroMacCast postcast.  Episode 378 takes a look at the MacCharlie, an IBM compatibility box for the Mac.   They also discuss the upcoming Apple event, their wild ebay finds for the week as well as the Steve Jobs movie poster. To listen to the RetroMacCast episode 378, go to the RetroMacCast website at: http://retromaccast.libsyn.com/rmc-episode-378-maccharlie

Brutal Deluxe Adds New Cassette to the Apple II Cassette Collection

Brutal Deluxe software has updated the Apple II cassette tape collection with a new addition.  Curator and Apple II aficionado, Antoine Vignau announced this week that Creative Computing’s Mission Impossible has been added to the collection bringing the total number of tapes to 634.  To view or download the collection, check out the Apple II Cassette Collection website at: http://www.brutaldeluxe.fr/projects/cassettes/

The MacCast Episode #539 Posted

Adam Christianson has posed the latest episode of the MacCast.  This weeks episode delves into the expected items from the upcoming Apple event as well as the problem of the 225,000 breached iCloud accounts.   To listen to this week’s episode, check out the MacCast website at: http://www.maccast.com/2015/09/04/maccast-2015-09-04/

Apple-1 to be auctioned by Bonhams

Another Apple-1 computer is being auctioned by Bonhams Auction House.  The Apple-1 owned by one Tom Romkey, a personal computer store owner in Florida, has owned the computer for the past 39 years.   The board, having sat on a shelf for the majority of that time, is in pristine condition and is expected to draw 300,000 to 500,000 USD at the auction. The Apple-1’s were built by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs in the garage of Steve Jobs home in…

The Byte Works’ Opus ][ and Juiced.GS Concentrate: 
GSoft BASIC now available

Press Release via Ken Gagne SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 — LEOMINSTER, MA — Gamebits, publisher of premier Apple II magazine Juiced.GS, is proud to announce its partnership with software developer The Byte Works to sell Opus ][: The Software and Opus ][: The Source. These products, which collect the majority of The Byte Works’ products and source code, are available immediately on CD and USB and as downloadable disk images, starting at $25 each or $40 for both. “Juiced.GS’s collaborations with…

The Northern Spy — Modula 2 R10 Templates

by Rick Sutcliffe Technology News and Views Since 1983 Modula-2 R10 Templates September 2015 Modula-2 R10 has been the Spy’s meat and potatoes in this space for a few months now. It is the fully modern dialect of Niklaus Wirth’s Modula-2 that he and Telecom engineer Benjamin Kowarsch have developed to address serious software engineering issues of safety, security, reliability, and extensibility. This month we consider the use of Generic templates to reach toward the software engineering grail of reusable…

Open Apple #50 (August 2015) : Rebecca Heineman, Plamen’s Clones, GS/OS Updates

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Rebecca “Burger Becky” Heineman. Becky is a legendary Apple II developer (not to mention many other platforms), and was the keynote speaker at KansasFest 2015. We discuss Becky’s KansasFest experiences then and now, how the community has changed, and what she’s up to now. She has a lot of Apple II gold archived away, and we’re starting to see more and more of it as a result of the continued warmth…

Retro Apple II Photo Contest – win an Uthernet II

Photo Contest

First prize donated by A2RetroSystems. What do you love most about using an Apple II? Probably that it’s an open system, will expand only to the limits of your imagination, and that it’s straightforward to understand and program. But be honest: you probably also love the retro feel of the machine: the curves, the glow of the CRT, the sounds of the Disk II, the rainbow Apple logo. The theme of this contest is to recreate that vintage feel in…

Ciderpress Version 4.0.1 Released

Ciderpress version 4.0.1 has been released.  The update to the disk utility was posted on the Ciderpress website, however change notes were not available at press time.  Ciderpress is a Windows based utility for manipulation of Apple II disks and runs on all Windows system from XP to the latest version. Updates in Version 4.0.1 include the following items: Added support for displaying hi-res images compressed with LZ4FH. Fixed handling of semicolons in Merlin assembly source conversion. Fixed “find” feature…

RetroMacCast Episode 377 Posted

John and James have posted the latest episode of the RetroMacCast.  This episode, number 377, includes their EBAY finds which include a laser Beach Towel and an interesting collection of Apple memorabilia.  They also take a look back atht eh August 1985 edition of MacWorld Magazine. To listen to the podcast, check out the RetroMacCast website at: http://retromaccast.libsyn.com/rmc-episode-377-pizzazz

New Visual Studio Language Service for Merlin32 Coming Soon

Oliver Guinart has announced a new Visual Studio language reference for the Merlin32 Assembler.  The announcement appeared in Oliver’s twitter feed last last night and promises some big things for the future of Apple IIgs programming. Prototype of a Visual Studio language service for Merlin32. Similar to the CC65 integration I demo’ed in France. pic.twitter.com/oZ2b2kBmzd — Olivier Guinart (@OlivierGuinart) August 26, 2015

Retro Computing Roundtable Episode 107

In RCR Episode 107, Paul Hagstrom and Earl Evans discuss the Host Topic: The End Of Retrocomputing We here on the speaking end of these microphones have a pretty similar timelines with computers, having been young and eager when computers were just entering the “personal” era. No doubt a part of the current interest in re-exploring that time is nostalgia. Will people who were 10 in 2003 (Bart Simpson aside) play around with old Dell Windows boxes when the mid…

Option8’s Apple II Audio Connectors Shipping

Option8 has announced that the Audio Connectors for the Apple II are now shipping.  Introduced by Option8 owner Charles Mangin at Kansasfest 2015, the Audio Connector allows the user to connect headphones or external speakers to the Apple II series computers. For more information, check out the Option8 website on Tindle at: https://www.tindie.com/products/option8/speaker-connector-for-apple-ii/ You can also check out the RetroConnector blog at http://retroconnector.com/

B-Side Ending Theme for Apple II Lady Tut Posted

Antoine Vignau has posted a Youtube video of the missing B-Side ending for the Apple II game Lady Tut.  While many cracks of the game have appeared over the years, somehow they all missed Programe’s Ending to the game. Originally published in 1983, this is the first time the ending has been seen in the wild. The video is available for viewing below: You can play the original game on Virtual Apple II at: http://www.virtualapple.org/ladytutdisk.html

The Man who Really Made Apple what it is

In 1975, Paul Terrell, owner of The Byte Shop, famously bought 50 Apple-1’s from Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs.   Of course, they had to build them first and with no money, Steve Jobs convinced companies to provide parts based on a 30 days payment plan using the promissory note from Paul Terrell. Most folks look at that event as the real event that started Apple.  However, it was Paul who convinced the Apple guys to make the computer a real…

A2Sudoku Version 1.3 Supports Real Time Clocks

From Jeremy Rand via the Kansasfest List: Today, I received the new No Slot Clock from Ultimate Apple 2 as found here on their store: https://www.ultimateapple2.com/catalogzen154/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_16&products_id=70 This inspired me to do some coding to try to use my new toy.  It turns out that cc65 will use a real time clock if one is present and supported by ProDOS.  The No Slot Clock just needs a special .system program to launch first to enable support for the clock in ProDOS. …

Rogue Invader: 1-bit Games Are Still Cool

  Do you miss the days of 1-bit Mac games? Squishy Games is finishing Rogue Invader – their nearly-complete, modern side-scrolling shooter, due to be released February 2016 in 720p black and white.  The early build I played looks impressive and shows a lot of promise. Creator Nathan Rees spoke with me as he was preparing to launch his Kickstarter: Brian Wiser:  What inspired you to create Rogue Invader and use retro 1-bit graphics?  Did you have a classic Mac growing up? Nathan Rees:  I grew up with…

Apple II Festival France Photos Posted

For those of us who were unable to attend the recent French version of KFest, Apple II Festival France, you can now check out some of the hardware and software which was displayed at the event.  A photo expose, courtesy of @apple2france, has been posted to the Apple II Festival France Flickr page from the event. You can view the photos on the Apple II Festival France FLickr Page at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/130765014@N06/sets/72157655669204220/

MacCast Episode 537 Posted

The MacCast, run by Adam Christianson, has posted their 537th episode.  The current edisode covers a number of Apple related topics including the rumored Apple Car as well as the forthcoming expected September launch of the iPhone 6s. You can listen to the current MacCast Episode at: http://www.maccast.com/2015/08/17/maccast-2015-08-17/