Re: Apple IIgs enthusiast wannabe

[wbdesnoy@acs2.acs.ucalgary.ca (Byron Desnoyers Winmill)]

Hello,

I know what it is like to want to play with computers on a budget, but
(in a way) Supertimer is correct: if you want the world of your
machine, it does cost money.

That said, if you just want your machine to be useful for everyday
purposes, there you *can* do this on a tight budget.  But it does
involve taking several shortcuts.

For example: unless you have a 3.5" floppy, and a hard drive (or
simply an AppleTalk connection to a Macintosh with a hard drive), you
will not be able to run TCP/IP.  But you can run a variety of
communications packages (a.k.a. terminal emulators) to access a UNIX
shell account.  An ISP which provides a shell account will usually
provide lynx (for browsing the web), an e-mail and news client, an ftp
client (for downloading software), and many other goodies.  Kermit is
a good terminal emulator, and it is free (so you do not have to worry
about pirating software).

Word processing is just as easily accomplished.  The best package that
I have seen for the Apple II is AppleWorks.  But this program does
cost money, but second hand copies are also being sold through the
Internet.  But, if you are as cheap as I am, something like FrEd
Writer will be okay for word processing tasks.  It is another free
program (though I think that it may have been restricted to
educational uses).

The key thing here is: if you have a 5.25 drive, you are stuck with
generic 8-bit software, some of which will take advantage of the
IIgs's features while others will not.  If you have a 3.5" drive, you
can run as many IIgs programs as will fit into your memory.  For
example: for music, there is a program called NoiseTracker (thanks
Supertimer) which will run on a 1Mb IIgs.

So not all is lost!  Though you may find yourself going out and
spending a bundle on a IIgs one day, just to get everything.  I did,
and it was fun.  From what I understand, it was also quite a deal.
But I am still broke, and I still paid a lot for a ten year old
computer.

Oh well, if you can live and learn and have fun in the process, who am
I to complain.

Good luck with your IIgs,
byron.


jrteague@my-deja.com wrote:
: I've owned my IIgs for a period of six months.
: Prior to that six months, I was fascintated in
: the idea of collecting old computers.  My
: fascination was reinforced with the kaboodles of
: information on the nostalgia in collecting these
: classics.  Six months ago I finally found a IIgs,
: threw on a kensington system saver, rpg monitor,
: imagewriter ii, etc.  I did all of this for under
: ten dollars at a resale shop.  This is the beauty
: and part of the fascination with collecting
: these.  I do it for my own benefit, not for a
: chance of it ever being worth anything to the
: future.  Six months ago I brought home my new toy
: with various system software and a copy of print
: shop that I found laying around the shop.  About
: ten years ago, I learned the BASIC language on an
: Apple ][+ and was anxious to try it again on the
: IIgs.  I was happy for the time being, always
: knowing in the back of my mind of the tons of
: software titles that I would be able to download
: off the net for it.  Here I am now, a little
: disappointed.  You see, the only other computer I
: own I a pentium clone.  I am devastated to know
: that right now my IIgs is nothing other than a
: paperweight without any software.  You see, my
: ultimate goal is to use a classic computer for
: everyday purposes, fulfilling its intended
: purpose, if you will.  A web browser would be
: nice, or some really fun games, it would great to
: use it for email, or perhaps use it musically,
: for I am a musician.  You see, as far as I can
: tell, the only way to accomplish these things is
: to spend a lot of money that I don't have on
: practially obsolete software that most of the
: modern computer world doesn't even care about.
: Hopefully, this conception is utterly untrue, and
: believe me, I'm the first one to know if it
: isn't.  Would someone please let me know if I've
: hit the mark or if I'm living in a
: misconception?  Either way it would be greatly
: appreciated. If you would, reply directly to
: jrteague@pdq.net and help a guy open his eyes to
: this select world of collecting these gems of
: computing history.  Thank you.


: Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
: Share what you know. Learn what you don't.

--
Stopped (SIGTTOU)         byron.
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