Apple ][ l00zers...k-k00l, d00d!

[dalloff@freenet.columbus.oh.us (Dave Althoff)]

(I can't thread articles, so I figured I'd have some fun with the title!)

Anyway, my obligatory response to the PC windowhead who  has been
group-flaming us...

So?  The 6500-series is used in game machines.  What is your point?  Game
manufacturers choose components for their suitability, availability,
reliability, and price.  Yeah, a 6502 is only about $5 these days...but so
is an 8088, and it is 16-bit architecture...how come those game machines are 
using the 6500s if the Intel chips are so much better?

And at least the Apple ][ has developed in a reasonable fashion, with
reasonable standards and tremendous flexibility built into the machine.  I
have a ][e, and I can still get support for it in the form of hardware and
software.  I have  to look hard sometimes, but there are people out there,
both on the 'net and in the 'real world', who don't automatically write-off my
computer just because it has 128k of RAM (48k direct-addressable), two
143k  5.25" floppy drives and a 2400 baud modem.  On the other hand, what
support REALLY exists for a 640k PC with no clock, no ports, and no hard
drive?  That machine can't even run the current operating system!  With my
machine completely stripped, I can run the latest version of ProDOS-8.

And speaking of outdated...I still use Apple's DOS 3.3 on my machine, and
this 10k wonder is more advanced (from a users point of view) than MS-DOS
will ever be simply because of its elegant simplicity.  I admit  I can't
do directories...but remember, I only  have 143k disks.  MS-DOS, on the
other hand, is stuck in the early '70s, since IBM didn't have the
foresight to write an operating system especially  tailored to the
computer.  So we end up with that kludged and hacked mess of CP/M that was
 never able to fully exploit the machine's capabilities...

The more I work with MS-DOS machines, the more I like Macintosh for
high-power, high-compatability stuff. If I  want raw ability, though, the
sheer power to get things done, and don't bother me with this GUI garbage,
then I'll take my ][e any day of the week.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.
  (another dedicated Apple ][ 'loser')