Re: Some IIGS Questions

[spec@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

In article "Mark Piazza" <piazza@servtech.com> writes...

>Is it a ROM 0, 1 or 3?
>0 (noted by the WOZ signature)

    You cannot always tell a ROM revision looking at the case, many
'Woz' signature cases have been upgraded to ROM 01 (not too mention
many people, myself included, put a 'Woz' cover on their ROM 3 box).

    The easiest way to determine the ROM revision is to switch it
on and look at the lower half of the splash screen (the ROM 01/3
report that information--the ROM 00 shows nothing in that space).

>and 1 have 256k of ram on the motherboard and the 3 has 1mb.

    To nit-pick here, the ROM 3 actually had 1.125 MB (or 1152K).
That has to do with the fact both motherboards had 128K of memory
for 'Slow RAM' (only the amount of memory in 'Fast RAM' changed--
from 128K to 1024K).

>Also they came with (usualy?) ram expansion cards, in the bottom right hand
>slot.

    The Apple IIgs Memory Expansion Card was originally sold as
an optional add-on from September 1986 until April 1988. After
that time they were included as standard with each system, and
at no extra cost.

>Apple made a Fast SCSI card, and lots of other Apple manufactures made SCSI
>cards too.  Check out Applide Engenering (???)

    Applied Engineering went out of business some 4 years ago, not
too mention they never sold a SCSI controller or a stand-alone IDE
controller (the Vulcan hardrive included a non-DMA IDE card, but
you couldn't purchase it separately and the firmware limited the
type and size of drives that could be used anyway).

>>3. What software titles are outthere and where I can buy them ?
>
>GS/OS 6.0.1 is on Apples FTP site, you need a Mac to decompress the disks
>though.

    You can manage quite fine without a Macintosh; you can download
the images on any system and then null-modem them over (or of course
you could download them on the IIgs directly with a modem). Assuming
you have a Macintosh that isn't flakey when creating GCR disks (some
are too accurate for the Apple 3.5) then it is admittely an easier
way to build bootable disks when downloading on a non-Apple II, but
not the _only_ way.

    I just wanted to dispell the myth that the Apple II would be
dead in the water without the help of a Macintosh. :-) Sure it's
more compatible having the same mother company in common, but you
won't be stuck (in any situtation) if you don't own or have access
to a Macintosh.

>>4. There is a card inside with the words "PC Transporter" etched on it.
>>Can anyone tell me what It does ?
>
>Sorry, I can't seem to remember what this does, but it probibly is some sort
>of serial interface for connections to a PC.

    Nope, it is an IBM hardware emulator. Since it uses a NEC V30
(equivalent to a fast 8086 with some extra goodies, like some 186
instructions and even a Z80/8080 emulation mode I believe), 640K
of usable memory and CGA graphics, it makes it closest to an IBM
XT compatible. You can run up to MS-DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.0, but
the latter would be of extremely limited use due to resolution,
speed, memory--and what applications would run.

    In Apple mode, it can act as a 768K "Slinky" RAM card and a
controller for MFM floppy drives and the Apple 3.5 (albeit very
slowly and you cannot boot directly from it).

    Good guess, but the name 'PC Transporter' was a common theme
AE used, relating mostly to Star Trek terminology. In this case it
was to imply that the card would "beam" your Apple into the PC
world. The TransWarp card and the Phasor card were other examples.
I suppose AE's marketing department decided the majority of Apple
II owners were sci-fi fans. :-)

Mitchell Spector
spec@vax2.concordia.ca