Re: WANTED: Apple III info

[news@tyrell.net (*)]

 -=> Quoting Dalloff@freenet.columbus. to All <=-
 
 Da> Well, for starters, the Apple /// pre-dates the ][e (let alone the
 Da> IIgs!).  
 Da> Second, like the Lisa, the Apple /// was a huge debacle. 
 Da> Unlike the
 Da> Lisa (which, in 1984, became Macintosh), the Apple /// was pretty much
 
Yes, but for different reasons...The Lisa 1 failed because it was 
way too expensive (upwards of $10,000) -- it used wierd disk drives,
and it had essentially a built in dongle (copy protection).

The Apple /// was not immediately killed off -- it was produced for
about 5 years (from 1980 until about '85).  It originally shipped with
128k, then they upgraded that to 256k...and later Apple came out with a
Apple III plus.

 Da> killed off due to some technical problems with the early models, high
 Da> end-user cost, and less-than-stellar Apple ][ compatability.  
 
The operating system it shipped with was SOS -- the Sophisticated
Operating System.  It was more complicated and elegant that almost
anything on the market at that time. (except possibly OS/9) 
There was some really nice business software for that machine.

Suffice it to say, that without the /// and it's unique operating
system, there would be no ProDOS, and the Mac's operating system would
look very different -- as they are both outgrowths of SOS and Apple's
Pascal OS.

 Da> Finally,
 Da> Apple realized that what it needed was not a completely new machine
 Da> (the ///), but rather an enhanced version of their awesome Apple ][. 
 
Conjecture...Apple was working on the Lisa/Mac line for years before
they were released. They knew that that work would eventually top their
product line.

The Apple III coulda really taken off if it was say $1000 cheaper than
what it originally sold for ($2500). The fact that it needed an expensive
RGB monitor (or the more common green phosphor mon.) didn't help much.

The Apple III was fairly compatible with the apple II's of the day. It
could emulate a 48K apple II with integer or applesoft ROMs. If you
wire them right, even the joystick ports worked (it had two of them).
(as I recall, the 64K "language card" came out at about the same time
as the ///)

 Da> Hence, the Apple ][e, which was wildly successful, in spite of Apple's
 Da> attempts to kill it off since the arrival of the Macintosh.

Stress "in spite of".  The apple II carried the Mac for years -- that's
why the Apple IIgs was built -- because the Mac wasn't selling well
enough yet, but the Apple IIe was starting to lose ground to the PCs. 
Apple had to prop up that end until reinforcements arrived.

Mark Orr
penmarko@tyrell.net

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