Re: USA TODAY! - June 27 Yes!

[gbmaidsf@wco.com (Ric Sanz)]

In article <3spgmf$9un@crl9.crl.com>, joko@crl.com (Joe Kohn) wrote:

> Soenke Behrens (sbehrens@contech.demon.co.uk) wrote:
> 
>  >Kewl. For those of us that simply can't get USA
>  >Today (like, us Scots :), is there an online source
>  >for that article? Inet or CIS maybe?
> 
> Curious about an Apple II related article in USA Today, I found
> that USA Today has a home page on the world wide web:
> 
> http://www.usatoday.com/pnd1.htm
> 
> I just checked, and it did have today's news, but not anything
> about the Apple II.
> 
> Joe Kohn
> Publisher, Shareware Solutions II
> 
>          (e-mail or finger joko@crl.com for subscription info)
>          (       or point your favorite web browser to       )
>          (    http://www.ericse.ohio-state.edu/SSII.html     )
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This is an extract from the 'USA Today' June 27, 1995 article on page 4D -
HOME TECH
"Loyal users cling to comfortable old computers" by Leslie Miller

The extracts and content that follow, only pertain to information text,
regarding the Apple II computers.  Relating, distribution via electronic
media and posting of this Apple II extracted text was granted to me, by
the authority of USA Today publication.
I've put this together for review by those who are visually impaired
and/or those that can't get the USA Today article to read, for one reason
or the other. So, please distribute it far and wide. Post or include it
where ever you feel it will be useful.

Charles T. (Dr. Tom) Turley, Ph.D.
Executive Coordinator -1WSW
115 Santa Clara St.
Brisbane, CA. 94005
v(415) 468-1609
email: gbmaidsf@wco.com

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'Apple IIs... developed in the late 1970s and early '80s are dinosaurs in
a world where technology moves so fast that today's top-of-the-line
machine may seem barely adequate in a matter of months.

Computer makers, of course, would love to see people go out and drop
thousands of dollars on new models.  But stalwart loyalist...want to show
the world that their old machines, often bought used for less than $100,
still haves lots of life left in them.

Several million people are estimated to still be using these "orphan"
computers, so-called because they're no longer made or supported by their
manufacturers.  ...The
best thing these people can do is get a modem.  Once they get a modem,
they will find there is a lot of support available (on-line) and, more
importantly, find out they are not alone.

Many users have souped up setups with add-on hard drives, printers, even
CD-ROMs and scanners.  You can go right up to the big boys... from playing
games to writing your novel to surfing the Internet.

Some may wonder why anyone would want a clunky old dinosaur when new
computers are more powerful and often easier to use.  One reason is
money.  Some orphan computer owners stay because they don't want to keep
spending $2000 every couple of years.  Others know them from the inside
out and can do everything they need to do with what they have.

For some, taking in orphans is almost a matter of principle.  It's sort of
like rooting for the underdog.  PCs and Macs have plenty of advocates, or
at least buyers, so they don't need us.  Even if it wasn't the most
popular thing, it seemed like everyone else had Apples...

For technical types, the antiques hold other attractions.  Orphans'
programmer parents love to wax poetic about the concise, elegant code
written for the old machines, although its beauty was probably lost on
most laymen'...

"And while do-it-yourselfers may adore tinkering with the hardware, the
single reason for keeping an old computer has nothing to do with the
computer itself, but the software" says Adrian Vance, "if you are used to,
happy with and hooked on a particular program, why change?"  Vance runs AV
Systems Inc., a Santa Barbara, Calif. producer of Apple II software,
primarily for schools.  He estimates 1.4 million Apple IIs are in school
use, but there's also a loyal following in the home market.  "We get daily
phone calls from people with trembling voices seeking software", he says.

'Although software continues to  be developed for orphans...anybody who's
still doing it is in it for the love of the machine, not for money...
There's sort of a charm in using something that came out before PCs were
invented.  ...They're a lot cheaper, too... You can buy all the software
you need and pay less than one title on a PC.

Orphans aren't for everybody - they're not exactly plug-and-play... there
users are fiercely loyal... Until those people all go away, old computers
are going to stick around.'

Resources for vintage models

> Apple IIs.  To find a user group near you, call the Apple User Group
Connection (800-538-9696) or call Quality Computers (800-777-3642), which
publishes a newsletter and keeps a list of local groups.

Many links to Apple resources and FAQs are on Nathan Mates' home page on
the World Wide Web 
(http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~nathan/apl2.resourc.html); Sequential
Systems of Lafayette, Colo., which has supported and serviced Apple IIs
for 10 years, also has a home page (http://www.hypermall.com/sequential/).

Where to find good homes for those orphan machines

> Sell it on-line   Many Usenet news groups on the Internet are devoted to
various kinds of computer, such as Apple IIs (comp.sys.apple2)...
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