Re: What is Apple II

[Don Bruder <dakidd@sonic.net>]

In article <5lr7kv055k4tmg6f3chs4plulpskl0anh8@4ax.com>,
 Sergei Gnezdov <sergei-gnezdov-pub@pobox.com> wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> I came across this newsgroup and I can't figure out why it is named
> apple2.  Why do the people use Apple IIe?
> 
> 
> Thank you

Apple I  = a $666.66 naked circuit board that you went out and bought 
parts to solder onto, built a case and keyboard for, and otherwise "put 
together" to give you a real live computer of your own for a sum of 
money that, while large, was *WAY* more reasonable than anything else 
available at the time. A mind-bogglingly HUGE step in the so-called 
"computer revolution". Without it, humanity may well have never seen any 
such thing as the information age - It broke new ground in so many ways 
that I can't even begin to list them all.

Apple II (roman numeral 2) = The followup to the Apple I - Came in a 
case, fully assembled, ready to connect to your display device 
(purchased separately, of course), power up, and start being a computer 
nerd. No more soldering! The first widely popular home computer. 
Millions and millions landed in schools, giving Apple Inc. the lion's 
share of computers in education for years to come, and incidentally, 
biasing a whole generation of schoolkids in Apple's favor. (Think kid's 
mind-set: "Computer = Apple - I want a computer, so that means I want an 
Apple")

Apple ][+ (read it "two plus") = The next widely popular home computer. 
An improvement on the Apple ][ in several ways, most obviously, the 
existence of "AppleSoft BASIC" (a language that could do floating-point 
arithmetic) instead of "Integer BASIC" (which was restricted to, as the 
name hints, math that used integer values only) in ROM.

Apple ][e, later //e, and even later, //e Enhanced = Another improvement 
in the long-lived Apple II line - too many refinements to list.

Apple //c = A portable, or at least semi-portable, (and depending on who 
you ask, improved) version of the IIe. The direct predecessor of today's 
"notebook" and "laptop" computers.

Apple //gs = The Apple IIe's "big brother" - In some ways, could almost 
be considered a "prototype Macintosh" since many of the ideas that were 
"just barely there" or "just barely usable" in that machine have have 
been refined and incorporated into the current Macintosh computers.

Hence, the newsgroup name "Apple2" - A newsgroup dealing with all things 
related to the Apple II line of computers.

-- 
Don Bruder -  dakidd@sonic.net <--- Preferred Email - unmunged, SpamAssassinated
Hate SPAM? See <http://www.spamassassin.org> for some seriously great info.
I will choose a path that's clear: I will choose Free Will! - N. Peart
Fly trap info pages: <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/Horses/FlyTrap/index.html>