Re: A 21st Century Apple II?

[apple2freak@gmail.com]

On Mar 6, 2:15 pm, "Simon D. Williams" <bb...@chebucto.ns.ca> wrote:
> While this whole thread has taken a turn into somehwat bewildering
> territory, I have to chime in wrt the original topic:
>
Yeah, sorry about that.

> This is an idea that's been batted around a few times on CSA2 in one form
> or another and it usually meets with a good deal of scepticism.
>
> While it's true that an emulator running on a modern laptop serves the
> purpose rather well, I do understand the desire to have aself-contained
> machine. I'm no programming wizard, but I do find I make a lot more
> progress when I'm in front of a real Apple II than I do when I'm running
> an emulator (some of us lack discipline, Michael ;-)
>
> I'm not all that jazzed on the idea of going 32-bit, but that's because my
> chances of understanding anything beyond 8-bits is practically nil. What I
> would like to see is an Apple II clone that can run mutliple "shells"...
> I'm not talking about multi-tasking or anything like that -- just the
> ability to switch between virtual machines. Functionally the same as if
> you had say an 8-way KVM switch hooked up to a stack of Apple IIs.
>
I think this is a wonderful idea, sort of extending on what MJM
brought up earlier.

I don't see any reason why Alex & Steve's FPGA implementation of the
Apple //e could not be modified to implement such a system.  The limit
on the number of //e systems would be the number of gates on the FPGA.

> VGA support is a definite plus since that would allow the use of LCD
> monitors. I like the idea of it being a much more energy-efficient system
> than the original. Maybe something that could even run on batteries?
>
Good points.  I'd enjoy this too.

I'm looking at an Altera Cyclone-3-based system with an extra board
that has a color LCD touchscreen on it and supports VGA+USB+CF
+ethernet as well.  Price is around $450 which is a lot less than the
dev board Alex & Steve are using.  The downside is that it would not
(without some additional hardware support) accept Apple II cards to be
plugged in.  In any event, if the system were to be portable (and
these cards are quite small) and battery operated, that would be
precluded anyway.

> Did anyone mention ethernet support yet?
>
Yes!

> Of course the problem with pursuing a project like this is that it
> inevitably turns into a business. Though I think the success of relatively
> pricey Apple II cards like Uther and CFFA would make me somewhat
> optimistic, but it all depends on what it does and for how much. I can see
> myself dropping maybe $200 and providing my own monitor, keyboard and
> case. It would also be quite feasible to source some small cheap keyboards
> and monochrome LCDs and put together something like the Tandy 100, though
> I imagine that be a fair bit more expensive to produce and sell. TBH
> that's something I've sort of fantasized about since I got into Apple
> II... a small, battery-powered A2 that I can throw in my backpack and pull
> out at those inevitable moments when I get a sudden flash of A2 brilliance
> while I'm on the bus (or wherever).
>
I have no interest in making this a business.  This is my hobby and
I'm just happy that there are other people out there with similar
interests I can share it with.

If you're limited to the $200 price range, there are other FPGA dev
boards by www.knjn.com which may interest you.  Check out the Xylo-EM
which has an Altera Cyclone II FPGA + VGA + Ethernet (10baseT) support
on it all for $129!

--
Apple2Freak