Re: A2 Users: Endanged Species? I think not.

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

luvisi@andru.sonoma.edu wrote:

>obsbedia2@aol.com (Obsbedia2) writes:
>> 	There are, afterall, millions of Apple 2 computers out there--and
they're
>> still being used!!!  What we, Apple II users are, somewhat, are
evolutionaryly
>> delayed.  We're Neanderthals; still living, learning and growing, but not at
>> the rate of our neighbors, Homosapians.  
>> 
>> 	"Can we live together?" 
>> 	"Sure," Apple said when it came out with the Macintosh, but we've
learned
>> otherwise.  
>
>as another poster said, it's difficult to evolve without the ability
>to reproduce.  I'll add "and mutate".  if someone were to release a
>set of roms and a ProDOS compatible OS that were Free Software
>(http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html), thereby allowing clones
>to be easily made and sold, and allowing users to modify and enhance
>the OS, I would consider the apple 2's chances of improving and
>gaining users to be much higher than it is now.

Given the Herculean effort it took for Video Technologies to bring the
Laser 128 series, with its cleanroom clone ROM, to the marketplace,
perhaps they would be willing to release the Laser ROM or sell it to
an interested party.  Better yet, why not start with the Laser 128EX/2's
design.  That unit was already well ahead of any Apple II except the
IIGS in development.

A palmtop computer based on the Laser 128EX/2 with 1MB of RAM,
a 3.6Mhz processor, and built in AppleWorks selling for say $100
would be rather neat, if I do say so myself.  I mean, Franklin spell
checkers sell for around the same price and AppleWorks has a
spelling checker built in!