Re: Apple Card Catalog

[A2Aviator <a2aviator@gmail.com>]

In my grand scheme here, that was even hatched a lot longer ago than
the FileMaker image, which actually goes back to the early 1990s when
I was doing all this for a living .. and has it's roots in the "A2 Web
Reference" at http://apple2.info - idea was to have all of it, not
just linked, but captured.

Documentation, if only in hard copy, so noted so that it can be
scanned should be a chance, need, demand, etc. Prioritized, of
course.
Software, any and all versions, in real hardware and emulator friendly
formats. Though emulator friendly formats are for the most part, moot
- there are times when for purely historical reasons, having access to
it may be desired. Or if say, Virtual II added support for said
hardware, then the support software is available.

My working version of this has evolved a bit more than the depicted
screen shot there, and has now about 400+ entries in it.

It is also oriented with a dual purpose, as a collector database and
with one field to report on, a web export can be done, I've got it
setup with an ODBC link to a local mysql server with the intent of
using either Drupal or such CMS as the front end. As a collector
database with an entry for each item, when you have one widget, and
come across another, by sorting you can determine at a glance how many
more you have, and by focusing on the middle instead of the top or
bottom of the list, if you have a "RAMWorks II" you'll see "RAMWorks"
above it, and "RAMWorks III" below it, and know what position in the
lineup you have. Entering a bin/location # so you know where it is
next time you need to find it. Of course it can mean "the back room",
"the basement", whatever.

Ticking the field, "X" for trade, for sale, for eBay, whatever, and
you can run a query and get a report on just those selected items.
Like when someone says, "what have you got to trade" .. well, here,
and spit out a report.

Web update? Added a bunch of hardware? Sync with mysql.

Import web additions back into it? .. same thing, sync it.


The parts list is a good idea, and can certainly be user contributed
by virtue of folks picking any item that has not already been entered,
and opening the full size picture and simply copying the IC #,
silkscreen designator, and such into the proper fields on the DB.

The end result here is to have as much of a record of reference online
of all this stuff possible so the next generation that comes along and
discovers what is the Apple II, is easiiy motivated to carry the torch
further as they don't have to figure it all out themselves without
anything to go on, and instead, loose interest.