Re: IIgs Manuals / General Info wanted

[pubpc1@library.ucla.edu]

rhart37663@aol.com (RHart37663) wrote:
>Hi,
>This is my first posting into this newsgroup.
>
>I need some help locating manuals for the IIgs, where should I start?
>
>I would like to obtain in particular the following info..
>               1 - Schematics
>               2 - OS Source code and Dev. Tools
>               3 - File Transfers to/from Macintosh ( is it thru' ADB
>port? )
>               4 - List of H/W and S/W vendors
>
>I hope this isn't asking too much!
>
>Hello to everyone!
><Richard>
>
>There appears to be a general resurgence of interest in 6502 based
>machines. Even the Atari 8bits are getting more feedback lately!!

Try Sun Remarketing, which as the manuals (http://www.sunrem.com/).
The Byte Works currently publishes the technical manuals, C compiler,
and toolbox references.

Transfer files via disk.  The GS can format HFS floppies that are
Macintosh standard (get System 6.0.1 and install the HFS file system
translator).

As for commercial GS products, the answer to this question follows.

Short answer:
Alltech Electronics (http://www.allelec.com/)
Sequential Systems (http://www.sequential.com/)
Seven Hills (http://www.sevenhills.com/applesoftware/iigs/)

Long Answer:
Friend, you are in for a treat.  GS software has come a long way
since the time when the "desktop" was an optional program.  The
GS's native OS is GS/OS, a modular OS that can accept drivers and
foreign filesystems with ease and has an integrated GUI that is
almost identical to MacOS.  It is not a precursor to MacOS, but
an independent creation of Apple.  The latest version can read
and write Macintosh disks and read MS-DOS disks (with the right
drive).

Even more good news, if you are a linux fan, you may like to
investigate the version of UNIX called GNO/ME for the GS.  Sold
by EGO Systems, GNO/ME will give you a UNIX style shell and
command line that you are familiar with.  And yes, it implements
pre-emtive multitasking of processes.

All this progress comes at a cost.  Modern GS software requires
4MB to 8MB of memory.  The good news is that if you have any 1MB
SIMM modules lying around, you can use these with the Sirius
memory board for the GS.  You should also get a hard drive for
the computer (it can use both SCSI and IDE/EIDE hard drives with
the right controller card).

Hop over to Alltech Electronics (http://www.allelec.com/) and
Sequential Systems (http://www.sequential.com/) to find the
needed upgrade peripherals.  I recommend you get a Sirius memory
board from Alltech Electronics and fill it with your spare 1MB
SIMM modules to boost your GS computer's memory to 8 megabytes.
You might also want to pick up a 500 megabyte Focus hard disk
drive from Alltech.  Alltech sells the Focus drive preformatted
with GS/OS with System 6.0.1, so you get the OS preinstalled.

For software, I recommend AppleWorks GS v1.1, also from Alltech.
They carry it for $15 and it includes a nice graphical GUI
word processor, a draw/paint program, spreadsheet, a nice DB
module that supports graphics, and a page layout module that
resembles an early version of PageMaker.  With the right addon,
you can use TrueType fonts on the GS.

If you have an spare SCSI CD-ROM drive lying around, there are
CD-ROMs for the GS!  Look at them at http://www.crl.com/~joko
(Joe Kohn's SSII organization) and http://www.sequential.com/
(Sequential Systems).

There is also a Netscape-like graphical web browser for it, but
it requires a 4MB-8MB GS and for all practical purposes a hard
drive and a 14.4 or faster modem (the GS can handle 33.6 ones
just fine, but 14.4 will do).  See Seven Hills' site for details
(http://www.sevenhills.com/applesoftware/iigs/)

For FTP sites, try ground. (http://ground.isca.uiowa.edu/)

As you well know with your PCs, more memory and hard drive space
is better.  The same thing applies on the GS.  Have fun!

If you have any more questions, feel free to post them to csa2,
the friendly Apple IIGS group.

-Scott G.