Re: Just picked up Apple IIe

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

In article rigby@ptd.net (Jon H.) writes...

>Is it possible to hook a 3.5" drive up to the IIe?  I believe that the
>seller (it was a business downtown) had a 3.5 drive on the other IIe they
>were selling.  I didn't buy that one because it did not have a color
>monitor.

    Yes, but you'll need a controller card. The only one still available
and sold today is the BlueDisk (from Germany) which works with PC drives
operating off a separate powersource. Other options are the UniDisk 3.5
controller or PC-Transporter, both of which are rather slow, or you can
try and locate a SuperDrive controller or UDC controller (yet keep in
mind the latter two, although very decent options, are extremely rare).

>I must comment on how FAST the ImageWriter II is with the IIe.  I use a
>switchbox so my SE/30 and IIe can share the ImageWriter and you can really
>see the difference in the speed of the ImageWriter with the IIe.

    Probably because your printing in draft mode using the built-in text
font, whereas on the Macintosh it's sending out bitmapped/TrueType fonts
in NLQ mode. You may be able to achieve the same speed on the Mac if you
tell it to print in draft-mode (lowest quality output). I do this on my
Apple IIgs under AppleWorks GS before I'm ready to print the final draft
with TrueType fonts. In draft-mode the ImageWriter II prints at 250 CPS.
I was always impressed by its speed for a dotmatrix printer. :) 

    It was a neat printer, you could add a RAM buffer or LocalTalk
board, even a motorized sheet-feeder. It also prints in color if you 
pop in a 4 or 6 color ribbon. Mine doesn't see much use these days
though, I prefer to print documents on a laser if I can get access
to one (mostly use the IW2 as a backup now, why it's disconnected).

>Also...should I get a mouse?  I mean, is it something that is a must-have
>for a IIe?

    A mouse will also require an interface board (you can use either the
Apple interface or the one from Sequential Systems that works with serial
PC mice). It is definitely not a must-have accessory, you can certainly
do without one. It _is_ nice for the handful of programs that support a
mouse (e.g. MouseDesk, 816/Paint, Publish-It, MultiScribe, AppleWorks 5,
ProTERM 3.x, etc) but not at all a requirement like for IIgs or Macintosh.

Mitchell Spector
spec@vax2.concordia.ca