Re: II GS manuals

[rubywand@aol.com]

In article <32A0078E.437B@primeline.com>, John Richardson
<jpr@primeline.com> writes:

>
>I have a friend who just bought an Apple II GS at a state surplus
>auction. It was sold as is and didn't come with any manuals. Could
>somebody suggest a source for operating manuals or secondary help
>manuals for the II GS?
>
>

     Your friend can call ByteWorks at 505-898-8183. They sell some of the
official Apple manuals. Going to local Apple User Group swap meets,
checking Used Book stores, and posting WTB ads on
comp.sys.apple2.marketplace are other tries.

     The two most important official manuals are The Apple IIGS Hardware
Reference and The Apple IIGS Firmware Reference. The Toolbox References
(three or four volumes) are nice to have, too. The Programmer's
Introduction ... manual is marginal may be of interest; but, it is not all
that good an introduction. Manuals such as Human Interface Guidelines ...
and A Technical Introduction ... are, basically, worthless.  

     The best single guide to the GS is a fat paperback by Fischer named
"Apple IIGS Technical Reference". It is kind of dated in terms of
operating systems (pre-GSOS and System 6);  but, the book does a good job
covering GS hardware and firmware features. In many cases, it explains
complicated topics (like memory shadowing) much more clearly than any of
the official manuals.

     Other good paperbacks include "Exploring the Apple IIGS" and
"Exploring Apple GS/OS and ProDOS 8" by Little. "The System 6 Book" by
Kindall is a very good guide to the current OS; it is supplied with the
System 6 package from SQC (800-777-3642).

     If your friend comes upon an old Apple II Reference Manual for the
II+ and he does not already own one, he should snap it up. It is an
excellent guide to the 'old Apple' features of the GS. The same goes for
Beneath Apple DOS and Beneath Apple ProDOS.

     You or your friend could, also, download all of the Apple2 FAQ's.
(Nathan Mates has just posted the latest versions on csa2.)  Having these
as Text files or printouts will save a lot of hunting through manuals;
and, there is much new info not included in any manual.
 

Rubywand