Re: What happened to the Zip chip?!?!

[<sysop@lost-gonzo.com>]

just a note...even if the apple market was to re-vive...no one is making
hardware for it....i have friends who have gotten gs's cheap and wanted
to add on to them..but w/o being able to get a ramfast or ae twgs
card/accel or other odds ends (even bought at new prices) they lost
intrest and re-sold the items they intended to build back up their 'old'
apple // hobby again...so you add the fact that (assuming they kept
there old software doubtful) to get the masses you'd have to convince
them to purchase hardware (either to replace sold or broken stuff) and
to purchase software again (at the prices it takes to right any kind of
software..this stuff would be in the spec computer price range..so they
would have to feed the win whatever beast in hrdwr/software as well as
pay substanstially for software (assuming freeware/sharewware did not
make acomeback with this a2 revivial) on their newely re-purchased
revivied apple 2...well....it an't gonna happen even if ap2's took off
in a revival like lava lamps

on the other had..such a re-kindling of intrest has happened in the
amiga/c64 area..they don't much give a damn from what i can tell on
software copied 20yrs old and have manged to get a niche market going
with hardware as a result....

so if ap2 as a revival like some of the other old platforms is ever
gonna happen it will prob be in the a2 emul area (as they become more
sophisticated) and specialty software written to take advantage of those
emulators ...may just may re-kindle enough interst for new
software...but the hardware i'm afraid (baring build your own cray kits
sometime in the future ..in that case  design/hobby kit may be possible
for us in the future...say around 2120 a.d)

so my view is ....if you have the ap2 hardware by all means support the
authors of a2 stuff...if you are runing emulators and making .dsk images
of stuff .....whatever at least you are showing an intrest...but i've
yet to see anyone who has played/messed around with a few apple emul
games on an emulator that has walked by that a2 equip for 20 bucks in
the salvation army store....just cause i can emulate pong on the ap2
don't mean i would not get a kick out of owning an orig pong game...from
learning how to run a2 stuff via an emulator ...progresses the need for
hardware...or at least that is how it seems to progress in the amiga
world.

have a buddy who runs a pawn shop..every time we get a // or a //c in it
sells cause people remember them from their school days....and then i
mention they can get ap2 emul stuff also on the web...out of 10 or so
people i know who have done this 8 have no gotten back into a2's AFTER
re-learing geting comfortable on emul...sure they could have gotten the
equip first..if they could find complete units without bankrupting
themselves.they only did the salvaging around once they were
re-aquainted with the a2line

whatever my 2c worth...i'll go put on my lead underwear...flame
away...but with the way hardware is being lost/non-replaced that is the
only way i see
out...

brad
sysop@lost-gonzo.com
(and i practice what i preach i still have 2 apple //gs's up as doors on
my www site people can telnet into running old software..if nothing else
promote the hardware that way....it is bbs historical/novelty/and people
then have a place to ask questions about there uncles apple 2 they found
in the attic)

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