Re: IIgs Woz Special Edn.: Questions----

[spector@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

In article sebugg@presby.edu (Stephen Buggie) writes...
> 
>The "Woz Special Edition" IIgs Rom 0 was the first model.  A free ROM
>upgrade was given to bring it to Rom 01.

	Actually, the ROM 00 lastest from September 1986 until August 1987.
Therefore quite a few machines without the "Limited Edition/WOZ" cover were 
released with the older ROM version (All GSes with serial number 724xxxx or 
lower on bottom).

>Does anyone know whether this Rom 01 upgrade for the Woz is still available?
>If so, how does one get it?
>
>If it has been discontinued, can the Rom 01 upgrade be done by the user,
>by buying the Roms and inserting then inthe ic sockets?  Does the upgrade
>involve an exchange of the entire motherboard or just the ICs?

	The Apple IIgs itself has been discontinued, but Apple dealers must 
still honour the ROM 00 to ROM 01 upgrade policy. Go to your local Apple
dealer and ask them to do the upgrade. Even if they don't have the ROMs in
stock they should be able to order them for you. The actual upgrade is
very simple, they just swap the 128k ROM chip at location I-10 on the
motherboard. 
	One other upgrade I should mention is the VGC chip (Video Graphic
Controller). Some early GSes have a faulty VGC that causes a pink fringe
in 80 columns text and monchrome Double-Hi-Res graphics. You'd easily be
able to tell if you needed the upgrade -- little bits of inversed and 
flashing pink-pixels appear inbetween text and DHR (mono) graphics. Like
the ROM upgrade, this too should be available and free of charge. The
VGC (location H-2) on the motherboard is swapped in this case. Note that
GSes with the serial number 703xxxx and lower require this upgrade.

>If it is too expensive or otherwise impossible to get the Rom 01
>upgrade, what difference will it make in the operation of the IIgs?

	Unlike the differences between the ROM 01 and ROM 3, it's
*very* important that you get your ROM 00 upgraded! First of all, the
ROM 00 is no longer supported so much software will not run on these 
machines (including GS/OS!). Secondly, the ROM 01 corrects a number of
bugs, such as in the system Monitor and toolsets, increased maximum size
of control panel RAM Disk from 4096k to 8128k, etc. The only new features 
in the ROM 01 are a Monitor command to put the 65C816 into 16-bit native-mode 
and the two programmer CDAs: "Visitor Monitor" and "Memory Peeker", which 
are invoked by the "#" command in Monitor. (What evil demon keeps invoking 
them in my ROM 3 is another story however... ;-)

>NEXT QUESTION:
> 
>I have several Apple IIe/IIc mice with the nine pin db-9 plug.
>Can these mice be used with the IIgs if you plug the interface card
>into a slot?

	The Apple IIe/IIc/Mac128/512/Plus mice will not function if plugged 
into the GS's joystick port (unlike the Apple //c), but yes, will function if
you plug into an Apple //e mouse-interface card. Of course, this is completely 
unnecessary since the the GS has built-in mouse support (via ADB port) and has 
always come shipped with a mouse. If your original mice were lost or damaged, 
any Macintosh ADB mouse (or rollerball) will work just fine as a replacement.

Mitchell Spector
sb_spec@pavo.concordia.ca / spector@vax2.concordia.ca