Re: a USB for the Apple II smoke test

[salfter@salfter.diespammersdie.dyndns.org (Scott Alfter)]

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In article <V8bGe.607$gQ5.566@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com>,
Sean Fahey <a2fan@hotmail.com> wrote:
>"Michael J. Mahon" <mjmahon@aol.com> wrote in message
>K_SdnZmLEtPVgnTfRVn-og@comcast.com">news:K_SdnZmLEtPVgnTfRVn-og@comcast.com...
>> The fact that it delivered power without burning anything
>> out is miracle enough.  That it pulsed a data line randomly
>> to produce the illusion of data is just luck.
>
>Exactly. I'm not aware of any serial mouse support in GS/OS either but, then
>again, I'm not an expert on it's innermost, undocumented workings.

IIRC, there was a mouse card for the II that took a serial (as in RS-232)
mouse and got it working in the same manner as the Apple mouse card (so that
existing software would work).  A couple minutes' googling turned up this:

http://www.apple2.org/A2WebRef/A2Reference26.html

    The bitMouse by Sequential Systems is a 100% Apple compatible mouse card
    for use with the II+ and IIe. It uses a standard IBM type serial mouse.

    The mouse must be a Microsoft or compatible mouse. 

Theoretically, you could've written a mouse driver that would talk to a
serial mouse through a serial card.  Given information on the protocols used
(the two main protocols used were from Microsoft and Mouse Systems, with
many mice supporting both), it should've been doable.  It wouldn't have been
compatible with existing software, though.

  _/_
 / v \ Scott Alfter (remove the obvious to send mail)
(IIGS( http://alfter.us/            Top-posting!
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