Re: Apple 2 s/w and accs

["Steven F. Eisenberg" <stevee@locke.ccil.org>]

James Poore writes:
 
 >I have just become a grandad and I want to start accumulating
 >the software and accessory items (oversize k/b etc) for when my
 >grandson comes of age (10 days old now).  BTW he will be a 4th
 >generation Apple user.  Any and all ideas and suggestions will
 >be greatly appreciated.
 
My youngest is now 4, so I've got rather recent experience.
 
For oversize keyboards, you can contact Sunburst Communications, 101
Castleton Street, Pleasantville, NY 10570 U.S.A. (800-321-7511) and ask
for their current catalog.  By coincidence their catalog arived in my
(snail)mailbox yesterday.  The catalog lists the "Muppet Kindergarden
Curriculum" at (gulp!) US$225.  This includes the Muppet Learning
Keyboard bundled with three OK but very old ProDOS software titles.  In
my experience over many years, the durability of Sunburst's keyboard,
despite the intended audience, is not as high as that of regular
keyboards made by Apple.  (So I don't have one in perfect working order
to sell to you.)
 
There are many ways any child old enough to walk, or maybe just old
enough to crawl, can have fun playing with any Apple II.  If they
destroy equipment, it's not that hard to replace cheaply.  But the only
computer item any child of mine has ever damaged is the Muppet Learning
Keys!  (Well, OK, David at ago 2 did stop several floppy disk drives
from working by stuffing them with baseball cards.  But the drives
worked fine after I got out all the cards.  And, come to think of it,
Daniella at ago 9 did somehow lose the ball from inside her IIc+ mouse.
But my point is that old Apple hardware can stand up to a lot of
kid-induced abuse.)
 
A few years ago I wrote a simple GS program, "Babytalk," and uploaded
the archive to GEnie.  Babytalk makes colorful screen designs, a few fun
noises, and talks, responding to joystick input only.  If you have
Hyperstudio, you can change the talking to be the recorded voice of your
own family members.  I estimate this software to be of most interest to
children age 10-30 months.  The read-me file in the GEnie archive
encourages people to upload the software elsewhere, but I doubt anyone
ever did.  If you or someone else wants me to upload this to
comp.binaries.apple2, or to the incoming directory of one of the FTP
sites, let me know.  I also have a non-GS version, if I can find it, but
the talking is less distinct and cannot be easily changed to that of
your own family members.
 
For ages 1-3, the Magee series for the GS (Magee, Magee Goes to the Fun
Fair, and Katie's Farm) is popular.
 
As for when your grandson gets a little older--maybe starting at age
3--I really like Kinderlogo running under Terrapin Logo.  Terrapin Logo
is sometimes offered on marketplace for a reasonable price, but you
would probably have to get Kinderlogo itself at full price from the
publisher, Terrapin Software, 400 Riverside Street, Portland, Maine
04103 U.S.A. (800-972-8200).
 
Steve Eisenberg     Pennsylvania, U.S.A.     e@prc.org