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Re: AppleIIgs program and questions
Great, thanks. I don't have the money together right now (I am 14 well,
almost 14)
but it's nice to see. I had used a //c before, and right around christmas,
my teacher said that she was cleaning out the attic, and she had this old
apple with a bunch of software she was going to throw out. I told her
"that's a pretty nice computer, especially for it's time," and looked it up
a little further. I was disappointed to find out that she hadn't put in a
hard drive (but amazed that it could handle one), but I took it, and have
been playing around with it for a while. do you have any opinion on the
program attached to the previous message? especially the logarithm question
for anybody who has used a RPN before?
"Supertimer" <supertimer@aol.com> wrote in message
20000425205431.10354.00003875@ng-bj1.aol.com">news:20000425205431.10354.00003875@ng-bj1.aol.com...
> "Andrew Rodland" <arodland@ptdprolog.net> wrote:
>
> > Second, I have a ROM 01 IIgs with 256k ram, color composite monitor,
> >5 1/4" disk drive, 3 1/2" disk drive, and Imagewriter II printer.
>
> Welcome. Since you are new to the IIGS, I am including
> the full specifications following this message.
>
> > Can anyone give me ballpark price info for such things as:
> > Memory (a few meg is nice)
>
> Go to http://www.allelec.com/ Alltech Electronics and
> check out the prices for their 0MB to 8MB Sirius RAM
> card. It takes 1MB 30-pin SIMMs which bumps up the
> IIGS' memory one megabyte at a time up to the card's
> maximum of 8MB.
>
> You want at least 4MB
>
> > Hard drive
>
> Check out http://www.allelec.com/ Alltech Electronics'
> Focus hard drive line. These are cards with integrated
> hard drives that plug into a IIGS slot. Comes with the
> OS preinstalled and a library of shareware and freeware.
>
> > Ribbon for the Imagewriter
>
> Alltech would have it. I would forget the ribbon,
> however. For the price of such a ribbon you could get
> the Harmonie package of drivers from Shareware
> Solutions II. With Harmonie, you can use DeskJet,
> DeskWriter, LaserJet, BubbleJet, or Stylus ink jet
> and laser printers.
>
> Therefore, simply get Harmonie, get a cable, and
> share your Mac or PC printer with your IIGS.
>
> > Processor accellerator
>
> Available only used. This is a rare hardware item
> and is usually traded for a little over $100 US
> depending on the speed.
>
> > anything you think would be nice to have on a GS.
>
> Welcome to csa2. Since you are a new Apple IIGS user,
> allow me to give you a tour of the unit.
>
> Here are pictures of the IIGS in action with great
> software:
>
> http://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/Misc/advertisegs.gif
> http://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/Misc/a2gsintro.gif
>
> The IIGS is an amazing machine given its age. It
> can run a free version of Wolfenstein 3D, has its
> own UNIX, and even its own TCP/IP capable of
> 32 simultaneous sockets! Email and ftp is already
> here.
>
> Want to connect to your ISP using regular TCP/IP
> on the IIGS and access your email through a IIGS
> email client? Spectrum Automated Mailer (SAM)
> is what you need. See Shareware Solutions II for
> more information (web links at the end of this
> article).
>
> Here are some information and specs for the IIGS:
>
> There are two things you need to do to get the IIGS usable.
> First, get a hard drive for it. http://www.allelec.com/ Alltech
> Electronics sells an internal hard drive for the IIGS that is
> a hard drive on a card. No extra controller needed. It is
> an IDE controller plus notebook mechanism. It costs $79.
> For that price, you also get the most modern Apple IIGS
> System Software, GS/OS (System 6.0.1), which is normally
> on six separate floppy disks (a hard drive is needed to get
> the most out of it). You also get tons of freewares and
> sharewares. The hard drive is called the Focus hard
> drive card. Look for it on the Alltech site.
>
> The other thing is memory. Alltech (see above for web
> site) also sells the Sirius RAM card. They are revising
> their web site, so this product may not yet be on there,
> but just call them and ask. It is a 0-8MB memory card
> that can be expanded in 1MB increments using 1MB
> 30 pin SIMMs. I'm sure you have an old 386 lying around
> that you can gut.
>
> The IIGS' minimum recommended standard is 4MB.
>
> Here are the specs for the IIGS:
>
> 1. Make and Model:
> Apple IIGS
>
> 2. Released:
> 1986 (256K model) and 1989 (1.125MB model)
>
> 3. Follows:
> Apple IIc
>
> 4. Followed by:
> Apple IIc Plus
>
> 5. CPU:
> Western Design Center (not to be confused with Western
> Digital, the hard drive maker) 65C816 running at 2.8Mhz.
> Processor has 24-bit addressing (16MB memory space).
> Speed can be dropped down to 1Mhz for compatibility
> with emulation of IIe applications. Speed can be
> increased to 15Mhz with an add-on CPU card.
>
> 6. ROM:
> 128K in the 1986 "ROM 1" model
> 256K in the 1989 "ROM 3" model (Apple skipped ROM 2
> so as not to confuse "Apple II" with "ROM 2")
> ROM is expandable to 8MB (some cards use ROM
> space as non-volatile battery backed virtual disk
> storage for instant on applications [RamKeeper]).
> The ROM contains much of the GS Toolbox routines.
> These routines are patched by disk loaded code in
> later system software revisions.
>
> 7. RAM:
> The 1986 model has 256K built-in to the motherboard.
> The 1989 "ROM 3" revision has 1.125MB built into
> memory. The Apple IIGS is expandable to 8MB of RAM
> with the right memory card. Many applications, such
> as Apple Computer's HyperCard program for the GS (GS
> version of the famous Macintosh program) need at
> least 2MB. Extra RAM goes into a special memory
> expansion slot on the motherboard. Both Alltech
> Electronic (http://www.allelec.com ) and Sequential Systems
> (http://www.sequential.com ) are selling 8MB memory cards
> as of October 1998.
>
> 8. Case:
> Attractive platinum ABS impact resistant plastic. The
> keyboard and mouse are separate from the unit, as are
> all disk drives.
>
> 9. Keyboard:
> Full layout keyboard with numeric keypad. The keys
> have good tactile feel and click slightly with each
> keypress. They have rollover for fast typist. The
> Apple IIGS uses Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) standard
> keyboards and mice. This means it can use many such
> input devices designed with the Macintosh in mind.
> Any Mac made after 1986 has an ADB port, but the IIGS
> was the first computer with one.
>
> 10. Display:
> The Video Graphics Chip (VGC) is a custom video chip
> that provides all of the GS' graphics modes. All modes
> use a 12-bit palette for 4096 colors.
> --320x200 with 16 colors
> --320x200 with 256 colors: in this mode, the VGC
> is taking advantage of the fact that it has memory
> for 16 separate palettes. Each scan line can be
> assigned any one of these 16 palettes for a total
> of 256 possible colors. This mode requires no CPU
> assistance and is often used in games.
> --320x200 with 3200 colors: in this mode, the CPU
> is used to swap palettes into and out of video
> memory such that a separate 16 color palette can
> be used on each of the 200 scan lines for 3200
> possible colors. This mode is often used for
> viewing graphics.
> --640x200 with 4 pure colors: this mode is bland
> and is not often used.
> --640x200 with 16 dithered colors: in this mode, the
> pixels in the graphic screen are grouped into
> even and odd columns. The even columns can have a
> palette of 4 pure colors out of a of 4096 possible.
> The odd columns can have a second palette of 4
> pure colors. The GS dithers the adjacent colors
> for 4x4=16 dithered colors. This mode is widely
> used in productivity programs and also in Apple's
> Finder for the GS.
> --Fill mode: for faster rendering of graphics, the
> fill mode is a hardware mode in which an outline
> of a graphic can be drawn and the outline filled
> by a solid color without needing to draw in all the
> pixels.
> --Combinations and variations: the Apple IIGS has
> scan line interrupts. Part of the screen can
> be in 640x200 mode and part of it can be in 320x200
> resolution. Such split modes are sometimes used
> in paint programs, where the menu bar is in 640x200
> while the graphic is in 320x200.
>
> SVGA modes with 24-bit color can be added with an additional
> video card (see the Second Sight SVGA card at Sequential
> Systems http://www.sequential.com/ ). The card is capable
> 1024x768 resolutions with an SVGA monitor.
>
> The Apple IIGS also has all the graphics modes found on
> the Apple IIc.
> --Text mode: 40x24 and 80x24. Characters are formed
> by a 7x8 pixel matrix. Text mode is monochrome but
> can be set to a specific color. The background
> and boarder can each be set to different colors.
> Text mode is rarely used in GS programs since the
> OS, GS/OS, has a graphic desktop.
> --Low Resolution: 40x48 pixels in 16 colors.
> --Double Low Resolution: 80x48 pixels in 16 colors.
> --High Resolution: 280x192 pixels in 6 colors
> --Double High Resolution: 560x192 pixels in 16 colors.
> --Combinations/Variations: 4 lines of text mode can
> be mixed with a truncated Low Resolution or High
> Resolution mode graphic. The text in mixed mode can
> be either 40 column or 80 column.
>
> 11. Audio:
> The Apple IIGS uses the 32 channel Ensoniq 5503 DOC
> wavetable sound chip used in Ensoniq's Mirage and ESQ-1
> synthesizers. Although classics today, the Mirage and
> the ESQ-1 were professional synthesizers into the late
> 1980s. The 32 channels are commonly paired by the OS
> tools of the GS into 16 stereo voices, with one voice
> being reserved by the system for timing and the system
> beep. The GS is commonly called a 15 voice unit.
> Programs that don't use the OS and hit the hardware
> directly (games and demos) can use the 32 channels as
> 32 separate voices.
>
> See this link for more information:
>
> http://www.ensoniq.com/multimedia/semi_html/index.htm
>
> 12. Media:
> The "SmartPort" external drive port supports both Apple
> IIe/IIc UniDisks (3.5" and 5.25" models) and Apple IIGS
> daisy-chain 3.5" drives and Apple 5.25" disks. It is
> also designed to support the Chinook CT-series 20MB to
> 100MB SmartPort hard drives, but Apple IIGS users
> usually add an SCSI card to the system for faster hard
> drive access.
>
> The difference between a UniDisk and a IIGS 3.5" drive
> is that the IIGS drive is controlled directly by the
> computer while the UniDisk has a separate processor.
> The UniDisk is thus much slower (up to 4x slower) than
> a IIGS 3.5" drive.
>
> The SmartPort can support two 800K 3.5" drives, two
> 140K 5.25" drives, and one 100MB CT100 hard drive
> simultaneously daisy-chained to each other.
>
> The Apple IIGS often shipped with the Apple High Speed
> (DMA) SCSI controller in an expansion slot for
> controlling SCSI devices. Even 100MB Zip Drives and
> 1GB Jazz Drives work on this SCSI port.
>
> A SuperDrive controller card can be added for using
> 1.44MB high density floppy drives.
>
> The Apple IIGS' operating system, GS/OS, is modular.
> Like the Macintosh OS, INIT, extension, Desk Accessory
> and Control Panel files can be added. These appear
> under the Apple menu in GS/OS programs such as Finder.
> GS/OS also supports the installable file system concept.
> Apple made several file system translators (FST)
> available: ProDOS, DOS 3.3, Pascal (UCSD), MS-DOS,
> ISO9660 (CD-ROM), and HFS (Mac). Using the HFS file
> system, the GS can access a single storage partition
> of up to 2GB. It also supports multiple partitions,
> some ProDOS (32MB per partition) and some HFS.
>
>
> 13. Input/Output:
> Two RS-423 ports (uses Zilog chip, same as Mac, for
> Appletalk and 56.7k serial port max)
> Composite display output (NTSC or PAL depending on the
> country)
> ADB port (for keyboard and mice)
> RGB monitor output (Drives an analog RGB monitor.
> Besides Apple's, Amiga and Atari ST
> monitors work with the right cable)
> External Drive "SmartPort" (IIGS daisy chain 3.5" or
> UniDisks 3.5" drives, Apple 5.25"
> drives, and CT-series 20MB to 100MB
> hard drives)
> Joystick port
> Headphone connector
> Seven Apple Bus expansion slots (inherited from IIe)
> One Ensoniq sound connector (for input to the ADC for
> recording samples and access to the raw synthesizer
> output signals).
> One special memory expansion slot (supports up to 8MB
> of RAM expansion and 8MB of ROM expansion).
>
>
> 14. Trivia:
> The Apple IIGS was designed in response to the
> Amiga 1000 and Atari 520ST computers. It was and is
> a quantum leap for the Apple II line. Sales were
> strong initially and the IIGS even outsold the
> black and white Macintosh units that were its
> contemporary. Sadly, Apple wanted Macintosh to be
> its future. The total number of advertisements and
> commercials can probably be counted on one hand. If
> the computer had been introduced a year or two earlier,
> things might have been different. As things stood,
> the Apple IIGS disappeared from the market in 1992.
>
> In one final gasp, the Apple II supporters at Apple
> designed the Apple IIGS Plus, code named "Mark Twain."
> It had an 8Mhz 65C816, a built in SuperDrive, 2MB
> on the motherboard, and a hard drive. Prototypes
> were leaked and one user group has one and wrote a
> series of articles about it. Apple management vetoed
> this unit.
>
> The Ensoniq chip in the Apple IIGS was a brilliant
> move by Apple, but it drew a lawsuit by Apple Records,
> the Beatles' company. Apple never again put a synth
> chip in any computer. Even today, Macintosh does not
> have hardware synthesizers. Macintosh needs to go
> around this with software based synthesis.
>
> In a twist of irony, you can currently do preemptive
> multitasking (like Amiga) on the Apple IIGS with the
> addition of a free product called GNO/ME, providing a
> UNIX like multitasking kernal under the GUI, much like
> AmigaDOS...while Macintosh lacks such a capability
> until Rhapsody is released (well, there was a UNIX
> variant for Macintosh, but it was discontinued by Apple).
> The Apple IIGS also has the ability to do cooperative
> multitasking (Macintosh style) with a product called
> The Manager...works to turn the GS Finder into a
> Macintosh type Finder (allows more than one program
> open and overlapping on the GUI and cooperative time
> slicing).
>
> 15. Emphasis:
> Small business, Home, Education, Gaming, Programming
>
> 16. Net Resources:
> http://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/ (1.7GB A2 knowledge and
> software repository)
> http://www.sequential.com/ (Video cards and storage)
> http://www.allelec.com/ (Various hardware and software)
> http://www.hypermall.com/byteworks (OS, programming,
> books, and software)
> http://www.byteworks.org/ (new URL to the previous site?)
> http://www.wbwip.com/juiced.gs (IIGS specific magazine)
> http://users.foxvalley.net/~joko (General Apple II newsletter and
> email client for the IIGS)
>
> 17. Picture
> http://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/Misc/a2gsintro.gif
> http://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/Misc/advertisegs.gif