Re: About Mark Twain (was Re: August 1988 Issue of inCider magazine....)

[rubywand@swbell.net]

Mitchell Spector writes ...

>>rubywand@swbell.net wrote:

>     Maybe. "Mark Twain" was, after all, a turkey at the time of its
>construction. It is difficult to believe that the machine was a genuine
>Apple effort.
>
>     Some day, the company may officially admit that MT was a serious Apple,
>Inc. GS development attempt. For now, we have plenty of interesting rumors,
>all sorts of claims, and a computer which looks more like a club project
>which turned into a hoax.

    A hoax, right. Joe Kohn and Tony Diaz made the whole thing up,
building a complex motherboard revision of the Apple IIgs in their
spare time, just to stir things up in the Apple II world. In fact,
they must have also come up with a time-travel device too, since
_someone_ must have been planting prototypes of the Mark Twain to
various developers in the year 1990 (that explains how I knew about
most of the feature of the Mark Twain years before I even knew who
Joe or Tony were).

[sarcasm mode off]
<<

     Really, sarcasm or not, the above is a bit of a distortion. When did 
anyone even remotely suggest that Joe or Tony had anything to do with 
building the so-called "Mark Twain prototypes"? When did anyone suggest that 
Joe or Tony or Dr. Tom or anyone else was being dishonest in their claims of 
belief that the MT was a genuine Apple Computer attempt at a GS upgrade?


>>    I don't understand you, you honestly believe the Mark Twain
is some fabricated myth that is completely implausiable,
<<

     Essentially, the original post reviewing the "Mark Twain" issue looks at 
the machines known to exist and concludes that they-- i.e. the "Mark Twain 
prototypes"-- can not, reasonably, be taken as products coming from any 
serious project by Apple Computer to upgrade the GS.

     The analysis goes on to suggest that those who originated the "Mark 
Twain Project" story may well have intended a hoax. Clearly, no hoax 'worth 
its salt' is "completely implausiable".


>> yet at
the same time, seem to believe Apple is secretly building a new
line of Apple II computers (to replace the Macintosh) to make
the company profitable again. No offense, but you seem to be
mixing up fantasy and reality here.
<<

     As for Apple working on some machine they will introduce as "The New 
Apple ][" (e.g. the "Apple ][ Millenium"), you have a point. It is a useful 
illustration of how what one wishes to believe impacts what one believes.

     Did Apple Computer launch a serious GS upgrade project some time after 
release of the ROM-03? What ][ user would not wish to believe they did? 
Indeed, such an expression of interest in the ][ series would significantly 
bolster an expectation that a 1997 New ][ is in the works.


>>      Seriously, the Mark Twain is real. The case may just be an
original Apple IIgs case that Apple engineerings hacked a few
cut-out openings into it, but the internal parts that make up the
computer were the beginnings of a new IIgs _Apple Computer_ was
planning to finish and release. It does not take a expert to
see the motherboard was not some homebrewed project someone in
their basement hacked together!
<<

     At Computist, Chuck Haight came up with a few interesting prototypes for 
][ upgrades. The boards were professionally masked and produced by one of 
many small companies specializing in circuit board production. The cost of a 
series of small add-on boards, board sections, and larger boards is well 
within the capacity of a club.

     Could the modified machines have been produced at Apple? Certainly. 
Apple has many project groups. It is entirely possible that, among whatever 
remained of the Apple ][ groups, one group undertook to do some modifications 
in the hope of coming up with something they could sell to Apple's 
leadership.

     It is possible that, during GS ROM-03 prototyping, any number of 
experimental circuit boards were run off at Apple. This is a very common 
practice and, usually, a machine development team will end up with several 
odd circuit boards stacked in some cabinet. Instead of just dumping the 
boards, a project team member could have given them to a local club.

     My point is that there are any number of plausible scenarios leading to 
the appearance of a few "Mark Twain" machines which have nothing to do with 
any interest by Apple Computer in a post-ROM-03 GS upgrade.

     Finally, as you may recall, one Mark Twain owner, Joe Kohn, has recently 
sought to support the notion that Mark Twain was an official Apple Computer 
project to upgrade the GS. He mentions an account of a 1991 users' group 
convention in an issue of his magazine. He says that, at this convention, 
Apple officially announced the Mark Twain project.

     You may wish to reflect upon the meaning of the above. Remember, in 1991 
(1992, ...) the Apple ][ world was starving for the least shred of positive 
news regarding the ][ series.

     Now, check back through your issues of inCider/A+ for, say, the period 
January, 1991- June, 1992. You will find cover spashes for "Home Finance", 
CD-ROM, "Kid Pix", "Sim Ant", CAD, at least four for HyperCard developments, 
"Logo Express", "Used Apples at Bargain Prices", ... . But, you will find not 
_one_ mention, on any of the covers, of the "Mark Twain Project"; not a 
single mention of Apple's new GS???

( ... Are we, like, getting through? Is Earth's signal reaching the Winged 
Warrior's Moon Fortress? ...)


     Look, if you, Joe, Dr. Tom, and whoever are just bound and determined to 
believe a screwed-up mess like "Mark Twain" came from a serious Apple 
Computer Company GS upgrade project, then clap your hands, hop around, and 
chant "I believe in Mark Twain". Maybe it will help; and, after all, none of 
the evidence presented, however overwhelming, absolutely proves anything.


Rubywand