Re: apple ii lineage?

[et472@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Michael Black)]

"Mad Scientist Jr" (usenet_daughter@yahoo.com) writes:
> I am interested in learning about the apple ii... By my knowledge, the
> plain "apple 2" came out first, then the plus, then the IIe, then IIc,
> then the IIgs? Is this accurate or were there other models inbetween?
> What was changed with each model? What would you say is the best to own
> just for having fun with? Which is the most historically significant?
> Is there a good apple museum web site? Thanks
> 
Well there was the Apple III in there.  Not quite an Apple II, but
closer to it than the Lisa and Mac that came later.  It did have a 6502
CPU, and had similarities to the II, though more expensive, more complicated
and aimed at the business market.

It would have come before the IIe, which came out in 1983 or so.

Surely the II is the most historically significant, since it did
a lot for the home/small computer field, and there wasn't anything much
like it before that.  The later variants were just variants, and at
their core were the same computer.

The IIGS is bound to be the best of the lot to actually use at this
point, since  it only came out in 1986 or so, and had a CPU that could
be switched from the 6502 into a completely different 16-bit CPU. 

But to play with, I'm not sure it matters that much.  The earlier
versions likely had more software for it, and likely it's more
available since there was a bigger user base for the II and IIe
compared to the IIGS.

Surely one can also go by what they find.  I can't say I've seen a IIe
in ten years of going to garage sales, though I used to find many a II
(or a II clone), though not so common in more recent years.  I've seen a
IIC or two, and a couple of IIGSs.  Since none of them are likely to
go for very much, one can buy what they find first, and then add
another one or the rest later.

  Michael