Re: IIgs -to- MAC?

[lorin.evans@tcs.wap.org (Lorin Evans)]

James bought a IIgs and asked:
 
>1.   Where can I get software for the IIgs?
==>    You can buy it from from Solutions II, Quality Computers, local user
groups, etc.
 
>2.   Can the IIgs be upgraded to, say, MAC OS?
==>  No, however, if you run System 6 on your IIGS, you can format a Mac 800k
disk, and read/write some data to it.
 
>3.   Will the IIgs take an internal HD?
==> Yes, Alltech Electronics makes a SCSI card with a HD mounted to it.  Call
them at (619) 721-7733.  Or you can buy a IIGS SCSI card (SCSI is not built-in
as it is on a Mac) and any new or used Mac external HD.
 
>4.   The CPU and keyboard are separate.  Is this the norm?
==>  Yes, although there was a retrofit kit to allow the IIGS motherboard to be
inserted in a IIe (which has an attached keyboard)
 
>5.   What sort of application software do people norrmally run
>     on the IIgs?  Is the computer still in serous use anywhere?
==>You can find all the major categories of applications you would run on a Mac
available in IIGS specific format.  The IIGS runs bulletin boards, monitors
testing in labs, steers satellite dishes, is used to write music, design a
house, write War and Peace, and even help compose a letter to grandma.   The
Apple II line and the IIGS specifically are found in schools by the boxful.
Most have been moved out of middle and high schools (replaced by Macs) and into
pre-school and elementary schools.
 
>6.   Why does the RGB monitor . . . not run when connected to a
>     Macintosh IIcx . . ?
==> The GS monitor has a different pixel size and sync rate from that which
your Mac will accept.
 
>7.   What would be the top spec for one of the machines?
==>  If you are serious about using that machine, you should install at least 4
megs of memory, add a hard drive (internal or external), install a ZIP
accelerator card and use System 6.0.1 system software.
 
>I suppose one of the reasons I got the IIgs was it's [sic] family >resemblance
to a Mac, and the thought that it could perhaps work
>on an old Mac OS.
==> Different machine, different OS.  Look at it this way:  if we had not
purchased all those Apple IIs, you wouldn't have a Mac anything today.
 
     Lorin Evans
     Washington Apple Pi
     lorin.evans@tcs.wap.org