Re: What do you use your Apple for?

[Calibrator <calibrator@freenet.de>]

On 17 Feb., 17:22, dog_...@macgui.com (D Finnigan) wrote:
>
> People are probably tired of my talk by now. They want to see some results.

Oh - people *love* to see results. Especially Apple II fans that
always crave for new (or rediscovered) things like obscure, early
RPGs that only use low-resolution graphics or applications that
are completely useless today but evoke that warm, fuzzy
nostalgic feeling...

But don't make the mistake that people will be actually *using*
stuff like that! Sure, they always have the incoming directory
of the Asimov archive under close "surveillance" but if new
stuff becomes available it will be downloaded, toyed with,
saved in some sort of software library and then hunt for
new stuff again.
Yes, they will applaud you - but don't take more than a
handful of steady users for granted.

Apple II fans, at least the ones that take the time to post here,
are often collectors. They soak up everything new and there
will always be something new on the horizon.

Oh, sure, most people would be so experienced that they can
tackle the learning curve but will they actually take the time?
Most of us still have to work, have families and other interests.
"Why using a new OS if I get along with ProDOS?"

In my opinion pretty much any newly created software for retro
systems does first and foremost fulfill a single objective:
Having fun while writing the stuff.
That usually means that only one person is really affected by it.

Small tools, especially those that support emulators or the
file exchange between platforms are a different matter: These
are being used as far as I can see.
My "advice" if you so will is to decide between two things:
- either take the immense trouble to program an OS to enjoy
it yourself (and don't expect widespread adoption)
- or have fun doing a smaller project that you can realize in
a much shorter time that just may become a standard tool for
something.

bye
Marcus