Re: If the Apple II was continued...

[pausch@saaf.se (Paul Schlyter)]

In article <2007012400345516807-thingvolatyahoodotcom@news.panic.com>,
thingvol  <thingvol at yahoo dot com> wrote:

> What do you think would have been the next Apple II if it was continued?
> 
> I know this may be a bit of fantasy but the next incarnation of the 
> Apple II line intrigues me. My first Apple was the Apple IIGS (though I 
> was exposed to Apple II+ and IIe early on). I never got around to 
> maxing out my GS with memory or speed. I always desired more for my 
> computer but I couldn't afford it at the time and before you knew it, 
> Apple cancelled the line.
> 
> Things I wished the IIGS had from the very beginning:
> - faster microprocessor (10 - 20 Mhz)
> - fully addressable memory up to 16Mb
> - better graphics
> 
> As for the next incarnation:
> 
> - a fast W65C832 or W65T32
> - 24 - 32 bit addressable memory (16Mb - 4Gb)
> - just about any graphics configuration
> - able to hook up any pc or lcd monitor
> 
> 
> Ok, enough of my dreams. What ideas do you have?

By now, the Apple IIxs (let's assume the latest model would wear that
label) would have an Intel CPU, and would be able to run both Windows
and OS-X (perhaps that OS would be called OS-XS instead?).  I.e. it
would be pretty much like today's Macintosh, although it would be
called "Apple II" instead of "Macintosh".  Of course, in this
scenario there would be no Macintosh.  If the Mac hadn't killed the
Apple II, then the Apple II would have killed the Mac - there just wasn't
room enough for both of them within one company.

Convergence towards common standards are inevitable.  It was fun back
in those days when each computer brand had their own distinct
"personality".  But it was quite impractical to move software and data
between different computer brands - and it made the computers horribly
expensive!

-- 
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