Re: Number of known Apple II clones (maybe?)

[et472@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Michael Black)]

Jeff Thomas (a2forever@usa.net) writes:
> Ernest wrote:
> 
>> No. I have plenty of images of the 2020 but I don't have one of my own...
>> yet. The MB of the 2020 was built by Apple (it was the Apple II+ board)
>> so Apple II software *should* run pretty darn good on it. Hehe.
> 
> I started out with one of those, back in the late '70s before disk drives
> became the norm.
> 
> There were a few compatibly problems. I remember clearly that the games:
> "Transylvania" and "Masquerade" won't work, among others.
> 
> It's unlikely that Apple computer would assemble motherboards to be shipped
> in 'clones' competing in the same marketplace, especially considering they
> took legal action against them.
> 
> Did you get the 'Banana' computer, Apple II clone? That was a real lemon!
> 
> 
I can't remember how they came about, if it was explained, but a long time
ago there was a Canadian hobby electronic magazine ETI (it was originally
a local version of a UK magazine) and it ran an article on clone building.
This was fairly early on.  It mentioned that this started when there
was a source of European Apple II boards, that when jumpered could run
in North America.  The supply ran out, and that started the clone industry.

Note by "clone", I'm not talking of the Apple like computers from big
manufacturers, but the nearly underground business where you could get
blank boards that were identical to Apple II motherboards (and a whole
variety of accesory boards), and populate them yourself.  At least here
in Canada, there were plenty of stores that rose up to sell the blanks, and
the parts that went with them.  Ostensibly "electronic stores" you could
tell what they were, if they did not disguise themselves, by the odd list
of components they carried.  Not a limited list of common parts, but a limited
list of parts that included some odd parts that didn't see much use, but
did happen to appear in the Apple II.  Later, or maybe at the same
time, these same places sold fully built units.  They were very generic,
and had nothing unique about them.

   Michael