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

[Gabriel Morales <Togega@Concentric.net>]

Supertimer wrote:
> 
> An emulator will never equal the real thing.  That's like saying a picture
> of a Mustang or Beetle is equivalent to the real thing.  No sane minded
> fanatic will believe that!  Emulators are but shadows of the Apple II.

	An Apple II emulator is not a "picture" of an Apple II, it is an Apple
II in software. Emulators are not "shadows", but rather the essence of
the Apple II.

	In a sense, automobiles and computers perform tasks on the opposite
ends of the spectrum. Automobiles are useful for their ability to
transport (physically move) individuals and objects. Computers are
useful for their ability to compute numbers and organize information.
So, the essence of an automobile is its hardware, but a computer's
essence is in software, its hardware existing as only as an interface
with the user and in order for the software to function.
 
> I want hardware that I can feel, circuit boards that I can hack,
> periherals that I can configure.  As long as I am able to keep it
> running, I will never trade in the real thing for an emulator.

	You want the actual hardware- the function along with its machinery. If
your intention is to be in physical contact with the machine, then, of
course, an emulator will not suffice.

	Indeed, software emulators can not duplicate the open hardware
architecture of the "real" Apple II, or any other hardware feature, but
in the long term, as computer hardware has and will change in the
future, the software is most important. I don't speak of utilities that
are no longer needed (although they were/are useful in their time), but
software of the imagination (such as games).
> 
> No, when the last Apple II stops running, the II would be truly dead.
> Just like when the last Mustang or last Beetle is retired, those
> legends would also have died.  Emulators and pictures are great
> for memories, but let's give the real hardware enough respect to
> say that great machines have lived, breathed, and passed on rather
> than try to pretend that some souless imitation can fill the all too
> large shoes left by the classic units...

	An emulator is not a "souless imitation". In fact, it encompasses the
spirit of the machine it is emulating. Hardware change- it would have
changed further on the Apple II would it have been continued. The
concept and purpose behind the machine and the software is what is most
important. - Remember, the Apple IIgs runs 8-bit software through
emulation. Would you call that a "souless imitation"?
-- 
Come visit my domain at http://www.concentric.net/~Togega/.

Gabriel Morales