Apple// CD-ROM

[sturner@pro-ssor.cts.com (Sean Turner)]

Does anyone know whatever happened to this?

GEM-CD / Apple II

The Generous Efforts of Many, a CD-ROM of software for the Apple II.

o What is the GEM-CD / Apple II?

GEM is an acronym for the Generous Efforts of Many, an acknowledgement of the
many user groups and individuals that have contributed their software and
time to the development of this CD, one of the very few CD-ROMs that contains
only software for the Apple II. While the Macintosh has seen hundreds of
CD-ROM releases, few (if any) publishers are producing CD-ROMs for the Apple
II. We hope that this disc is a start of a new trend, and an encouragement to
those developers who are hesitant to support the Apple II.

o What is InterChange?

InterChange is the business that was created to handle the organization of
the 1990 National Apple User Group Conference, which was held on the weekend
of April 20th to 22nd, 1990, in Arlington Heights, Illinois, a suburb of
Chicago. Representatives of user groups from around the United States,
Canada, and a few other countries, participated in the event, which was
targeted to the leaders and organizers of Apple user groups. Conferences and
chat sessions were convened to discuss a variety of topics, from BBS
operation to motivating user group members to participate in their group.

This was the fifth NAUGC; and the fourth different location for the event.
The next NAUGC is tentively scheduled for the spring of 1991. InterChange is
planning a regional user group meeting for the Chicago area, to be held in
the fall of 1991.

o Why produce a CD-ROM?

At previous NAUGC meetings, a "disk swap" of public domain software was
offered, using contributions from the user groups that were sponsoring that
year's event. But this year, we decided to improve upon the technology of the
disk swap: instead of trading fifty or so 3.5-inch disks, which usually cost
the attending groups approximately $100 for the set, we would be creating two
CD-ROMs which contained public domain and shareware programs. These CD-ROMs
would be cheaper than an equivalent amount of 3.5-inch disks, and would also
be much easier to handle. We also felt that CD-ROM technology had reached
enough user groups to ensure that a CD-ROM drive would be available to most
groups when they needed to copy files from the CDs that were available at the
NAUGC meeting.

In the case of the Apple II, we also felt that commercial developers needed a
sign that the Apple II is capable of using CD-ROM technology, a fact of which
most developers are not aware. Judging by the initial sales of the Apple II
GEM-CD, we've concluded that there is a market for Apple II CD-ROM, only no
one has yet tapped into it.

o What's on the GEM-CD / Apple II, Volume 1?

Quite a few items: about 150 megabytes of Apple IIgs and II software, plus
Macpaint graphics that can be converted for IIgs clip art.

o Where can you buy a GEM-CD / Apple II?

For more information, please write to

GEM-CD / Apple II
c/o InterChange
1113 Wheaton Oaks Drive
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
708/665-6319

o Does the GEM-CD / Apple II have a future?

Certainly! Volume II is now in preparation, and will contain even more public
domain and shareware applications and data files than Volume I.

If you are a commercial software developer, and you have a demonstration
program that you would like to see included on the next edition of the
GEM-CD / Apple II, please contact us at the address given above. And if
you're a shareware or freeware author who wishes to give wider distribution
to your work, we'd like to hear from you too.

For the GEM-CD / Apple II Project Team,

Edward Floden
GEM-CD / Apple II CD-ROM Project Co-ordinator

CompuServe: 73220,1624          America Online: EdwardF4
GEnie: E.FLODEN                 BIX: edward2
ProLine: edward@pro-harvest     Internet: crash!edward@pro-harvest.cts.com

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