Re: Apple 2C Question

[CUTjefbla@bconnex.net (Jeff Blakeney)]

On Fri, 22 May 1998 02:07:28 GMT, edhel@LOSETHECAPITALWORDSbigfoot.com
(Edhel Iaur, Esq.) wrote:

>On Thu, 21 May 1998 03:31:13 GMT, CUTjefbla@bconnex.net (Jeff
>Blakeney) wrote:
>
>>Having never owned a //c I need to ask.  Does the //c enable the 80
>>column firmware on startup?  I was under the assumption that it worked
>>the same as all the other Apple II models and it didn't enable the 80
>>column firmware until you specifically told it to do so by typing
>>PR#3.
>
>Yes.  Or, if you're in BASIC,
>
>Esc, Apple-8

>For some odd reason, the //c has better 80-column support--you can hit
>Esc, Apple-4 when you're in the regular 40-column mode, and you will
>be shoved into the "sepcial" 40-column mode, as provided by the
>80-column firmware.

Cool.  I learned my something new for the day.  :)

I never had any idea that the //c had this capability.  I'll have to
try it on my IIgs and see what happens.  They may have included this
little upgrade when they added the DLR graphics support (see below).

>Also, on a //c, the double-low resolution (80 x
>40 x 16 colors) mode is supported in BASIC.  I was quite confused when
>my //c-made double-low resolution programs didn't work on my school's
>//e's...

Double-lo-res is also supported in Applesoft on the IIgs.  It is
pretty cool for doing simple things but I always wanted built in
support for  double-hi-res or super-hi-res.  At least there were
add-ons for Applesoft to allow these capabilities.

>But don't even get me started about the //c's 80/40 column
>switch!  How many programs supported it?  Two?  The only programs that
>I can get to use that switch are System Utilities and Copy ][+!
>Otherwise, that switch is totally useless.

As it was the only model of Apple II that had a switch, I'm not
surprised it didn't get used much.  After all, if a program is written
for the //e, it will run without modification on the //c so why bother
writing code to check what machine it is running on and checking the
80/40 switch position (if on a //c) in addition to checking for an 80
column card and disabling the 80 column support if the switch is in
the 40 position (again, only on a //c).  All that code would be
useless on a II+, //e or IIgs.

Besides, many programs stated that they required 80 column
capabilities.  So these programs wouldn't work in 40 columns on a //e
without an 80 column card so why bother checking the switch on the //c
as it won't work in 40 columns anyways.

Just a few thoughts on the matter.  This is the way I always saw it.
I'm sure others might disagree.

=== I've had enough SPAM.  Cut the obvious from my address to email me. ===
         Jeff Blakeney - Dean of the Apple II University on Delphi