Re: What is the quintessential Apple II?

["Nama" <forums6000@mac.com>]

Definitely the II+


Michael J. Mahon wrote:
> N.N. Thayer wrote:
> > I ran across a photo set of someone's platinum IIe, and they had
> > referred to it as "the quintessential Apple II."  The platinum //e
> > epitomizes Wozniak's creed of chip reduction - it has the fewest chips
> > of any Apple II, although some of them are custom, not-off-the-shelf
> > units.  It has a built-in numeric keypad, which some might say the II
> > should've had from the start, but at the same time, not everyone used
> > their computers for programming or heavy data input, and it raised
> > production costs (granted, not so much by 1987, when Apple had
> > economies of scale).  Seems to me the chief idea behind the II was to
> > build as you like.  The platinum IIe was also introduced during the
> > latter half of the II line's life cycle.
> >
> > Personally I think the Apple II+, while not the seller in sheer numbers
> > that the IIe was, fits the bill a little better.  It came at the height
> > of Apple's influence over the computer industry as a whole, not just in
> > educational or desktop publishing markets.  According to Woz, from
> > 1980-1982 it was the best-selling personal computer worldwide; games
> > and many apps were written first and foremost for the Apple II
> > platform.  Any microcomputer mag from that period reinforces this,
> > especially Computer Gaming World.  It had the basics that you'd expect
> > from a modern II - Autostart, the full color palette in hi-res, plus
> > plenty of ways to bring it close to IIe-level functionality if you
> > wanted to.
> >
> > Discuss!  It's a fun exploratory question if nothing else, I'm sure we
> > all have different criteria.
>
> I certainly felt that way about my ][+.  With autostart and Applesoft
> it was a clear winner over the ][ in late 1980 when I bought it.
>
> And, over the years, I extended it in many ways to make it more like
> a //e in capability.  In fact, around 1990 a business associate loaned
> me a //e just so that I could verify the compatibility of my "products"
> on that machine.  He chided me for sticking with my original ][+.
>
> Within a year, I had acquired a //e and was so satisfied with its
> compatibility with the ][+, in addition to its handy extensions, that
> I transitioned completely and put my souped-up ][+ away.
>
> I still feel that the ][/][+ (same electronics) are the "real" Apples,
> and the //e is a nice update/cost reduction.
>
> -michael
>
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>
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