Re: System 6.0.2?

[Phoenyx <quazar@dcnet2000.com>]

>    The potential of getting a GS (or remotely a IIe) hooked up to DSL
> is tempting prospect.  I have to say that what the II community comes
> up with still amazes me.  And I'd say that would be true of other
> orphaned computer systems as well.  
>
>    Too bad no one recognizes the fact that older computers can still do
> a ton of things that modern computers do.  Perhaps a little slower,
> maybe a little more cumbersome. But it CAN be done!  :)

You might be surprised. The folks with C64/128 systems are still pretty
active. I sometimes browse their sites to see what's going on. Not only
do they have a *nix oriented multitasking os, but they have taken GEOS
to
a whole new level.

There are several sites which offer Geos utils and tools to program for
it as well as updates of various sorts and even some user technical
support. It's too bad that the Apple II version of Geos never had the
support that the C64 version enjoyed. Since there is so little info
available, it would require some extensive hacking just to get started.

Speaking of programming, there are other options here. Besides the
native
development tools, they have PC tools for cross assembly or C
programming
both of which are available for free use. Ok, the C compiler has
recently
been upgraded to support the Apple II which is great since we don't have
our own, AFAIK, but it's not quite the same.

I know there is much more, such as new games, etc, and let's not forget
the new 65816 cpu replacement. Of course, the level of community
cooperation is very high which really makes a world of difference. At
least they don't have ethernet support. That or I just haven't found it
yet.

I haven't checked the other old systems such as Atari this deeply but I
think they may be just as active. One measure of this is the emulator
programs available for a particular system. Systems which have more or
better emulators available tend to have more active users. This may be
due to nostalgia which usually kicks in when folks start using an
emulator. As is often the case, they start remembering the fun they used
to have on these early model personal computers.

It is often very difficult to explain why we love these old systems. In
my case, I think they have more personality than today's crop of generic
boxes. I get a whole different 'feeling' when hacking around on my II
system than I have ever had on my pc's. The closest I have come is when
I am hacking at Linux and teaching myself something new.

What I really get a kick out of is hearing about a sysadmin or other
highly knowledgeable person in the computer industry rediscovering the
classic system. After using all that high powered hardware for so long
they have forgotten what these systems can do. I enjoy reading about
their 'new discoveries', and their amazement when hearing what some of 
us old timers still do on ours.

-- 

Thank you for your time and interest. I hope it was helpful
or at least interesting.

Phoenyx,

Apple2 user since March 1984

Links to Phoenyx's pages:
preferred..... http://zip.to/Phoenyx_A2
alternate..... http://www.tinyangeldesigns.com/Apple2