Re: Boot Dos3.3 progs/games from .dsk image on HD? (REAL IIgs)?

[a_specto@alcor.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

"william strutts" <wrstrutts1@home.com> wrote:

>"Mitchell Spector" <a_specto@alcor.concordia.ca> wrote in message
>>     It's always been my opinion that an emulator can never replace the
>> feel of the real thing. That's why I'm actively looking to find a C64
>> and Amiga to tinker with (I missed out on these machines having
>> gone the path of the Apple II Plus and then IIgs). :)
>
>I was never much interested in the C64 

    I seriously considered the C64 in the early 80's--especially
because of its graphic, animation and sound capabilities, but 
ended up going the Apple II route. In retrospect I feel it was
the better path, I enjoyed games just as much as my friends
with C64's (I was envious of the sound mind you!) and it didn't
take an eternity waiting for them to load! :)

    The real advantage was the expendability, being able to
plug in cards to extend its features over the years. Though
what I really value looking back now, was being able to open
the system up; both satisfying my curiosity about the electronics
inside AND handling and tinkering with the hardware inside.
I learned more about hardware than friends with Commodores.
The C64 may have been nice game system, but they were as
closed up as a Nintendo (granted with a bit more expandability,
but they still came off as glorified game systems to most kids).

>but an Amiga would be way cool. :-)  I always wanted one but it was 
>supported by Commodore. :-/

    Thinking back, I may have been better off going from my
Apple II Plus to an Amiga rather than the IIgs. One big reason
was third party support and software, I was struggling to find
software and other GS users as far back as late 1987, and
it just got worse with each year (until I found the Internet by
around 1991-92). Apple pretty much abandoned the system
a year or two after I bought it, and it wasn't cheap either.

    An Amiga would have cost me about a third the price, had
support from the beginning well through to the mid 90's (and
even continuing on today somewhat) and I would have had
a more powerful system in several respects. Not that I dislike
the IIgs, it was and still is a very cool machine, only it was
prevented from being what it could have been because of 
Apple. The Amiga suffered because of Commodore too, but
at least the system wasn't purposely crippled and overpriced.

>I myself started on the TRS-80 Coco 1 & 3's
>then moved to the Mac Plus.

    I actually have a CoCo 3 in my collection. I'm tempted to
find a floppy drive since it has such impressive sounding
features.

>Being a programmer, I was forced
>into the Windows world by my company at the time.  They wanted
>me to have a Windows machine with CD-ROM capability so
>that I could run tutorial software that they wanted me to use. Fortunately,
>Windows 95 came out a month around that time and I was able to
>skip Windows 3.1.

    I generally despised PC's during the era between 1990 and 1994.
Windows 3.11, MCGA (blocky) graphics and AdLib/FM didn't exactly
win me over. Apart from a lack of software support, I always felt my
Apple IIgs made a nice alternative back then.

    It wasn't until Windows 95 was introduced, along with wavetable
synthesis and machines fast enough to handle VGA/SVGA modes
that I felt the time was right to move on. Of course I was still quite
stubborn, I continued to stick with my IIgs as my only system right
up until early 1997. Even then I still was hesitant to adopt the PC
as a main platform. I guess my fondness for Apple II's still hasn't
worn off as I never retired my GS and keep it on my desk (and
running!) to this very day.

Mitchell Spector
a_specto@alcor.concordia.ca