Re: How will the Apple II survive?

[Chris M <chris@sorry.no.spam.com>]

On Sat, 17 Apr 2004 09:01:59 -0500, louis wu
<louiswu0@yahoo.IHATESPAM.com> wrote:

>On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 17:15:51 -0400, Chris M wrote:
>
> 
>> After the current generation of kids, that maybe grew up with Apple
>> II's in their classroom, interest in the Apple II will only be held by
>> those old enough to remember it, or those that were introduced to the
>> Apple II by those still using it.
>
>I'm the "IT person" for a school that still uses Apple //e's in addition
>to our Linux terminals and Windows machines. Despite their age, the Apples
>are in far better condition than most of the far younger PCs.

Yeah, they're pretty sturdy machines.. And the keyboards can take
quite a beating; not like today's $5 PC keyboards..

>The 20 year old "educational" software used on the Apples is far better
>than the expensive junk we have for the Windows machines.

Probably MECC disks, eh? :)  I've been trying to archive these before
they disappear.  There's a program called MECCOPY that lets you copy
the disks and de-protect them at the same time.  Then you can transfer
the image to a PC with ADT so you have a safe backup.  To back it up
even more, upload it to Asimov :)

>I keep them running with a supply of machines in a closet and swap out
>parts as needed. I've never seen a bad motherboard. The most common things
>to break are the power supply and the keyboards.

Well, I've yet to have ANYTHING break on me.  I had my original //e
from Jan '83 until the summer of '95.. No problems.. Unfortunately,
the friend I loaned it to (for her son) didn't remember me saying that
I wanted it back eventually.. So she got rid of it when she moved..
That hurt - I had a couple boxes stored with her that contained all my
old source code, books, backup disks.. I should have kept on top of
it, but we lost contact for a while.. then it was too late..

>I doubt any of the kids using these machines know how lucky they are. The
>administration just thinks they're old and obsolete and wants to replace
>them. I hope I'll be able to keep them from the dumpster when the time
>comes.

True, they probably don't.. I think the kids either have to be really
into it at school or have one at home .. but who would really have one
at home these days?  The kids want internet, modern games, etc...

When the time comes, I'm sure you can arrange for the Apple II's in
your school to be donated or sold, rather than simply throwing them in
a dumpster (if they do, please give me the address of said dumpster!)

Cheers!
// CHRIS