Re: What's to become of the Apple II?

[Eric Chomko <chomko@haven.ios.com>]

In alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt Doug Manzer <dmanzer@wimsey.com> wrote:
: The Apple 2/2e was and still is an excellent platform for
: experimentation, circuit prototypes, hardware hacking and general
: messing about. If you need just a few lines of TTL i/o there's the
: game port ready to go, otherwise it's easy to breadboard a plug-in
: card or modify an existing one. Mountains of technical books were
: published, describing the machine's innards in fine detail. Right
: now used systems seem to be in plentiful supply; I've seen //e's in
: thrift stores and garage sales for $10 Canadian, and members of the
: local Apple user group bring their old 2 plus systems to give away. 

: However something about this situation bothers me; a lot of these
: machines must be thrown out every day, along with tons of
: documentation and software. A pile of plusses and clones had
: accumulated in my store room -- I couldn't even give them away so I
: had to heave some of them just to make room. But this rate of
: attrition can't go on indefinitely; they're not being made any
: more, and I think it would be a real loss if the breed disappeared
: completely and a new generation of kids never had access to these 
: heritage machines. Sure there will be lots of surplus PC's to play 
: with, but they can't match the elegant simplicity and friendliness 
: of the Plus as a platform for home brewing.

: Thoughts, anyone?

I started with the SWTPC 6800. Now there is a true hackers machine. I got
lucky and found a cache of SS-50 bus prototype cards from which I still
hack. Granted the Apple II is closer to the glory days of hacking than are
modern day surface mount systems but they aren't really ready for prime
time collectibles either. Don't get me wrong I picked up a IIe and a IIGS
just because I believe someday someone will appreciate it more than I will
and pay me significantly more than I did to have them. But by then it will
have to become of collectible status. Now WRT to hacking, to me it's
obvious that there are more hacker machines available than there are
hackers to own them. That is why they (PC era and pre-PC era) sell for so
little. But there is a collectibles market brewing for all of us hackers
that cannot possibly hack on all the machines we can now get for peanuts.
But we can still appreciate the machines, so that is why we collect them.

You sound like a collector in the making. Point your web browser to
"collectible computers" and explore. Also, check out
alt.folklore.computers.

Eric