Apple II Bits

apl2bits.net · American English

From hacks and mods to unearthed historical arcana to mainstream news spottings, Ken Gagne reflects on Steve Wozniak\'s most popular 8-bit computer.

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Last post: Apr 27, 2020
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Site title: Apple II Bits — Ken Gagne's reflections on Woz's computer
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Ten years — time for a change
Apr 27, 2020 · original
Every spring brings new milestones. In the last month, I published the first issue of Juiced.GS ‘s 25th volume . I published the 100th episode of my Polygamer podcast . Sabriel and I concluded another season of our Transporter Lock podcast . And this week, Apple II Bits turns ten years old. Can I stop counting yet? (Photo courtesy Jaren Jai Wicklund / Shutterstock ) When Apple II Bits turned nine , I wondered if my energy and focus would support this blog beyond its tenth birthday. Now that we’re here, I find I have the same passion for the Apple II and a wealth of topics to blog about now as I did then. But other changes, I could not have anticipated. First, at KansasFest 2019, I received news that eventually led me to become a digital nomad. I now move to a different city every few months with whatever I can fit in my Prius — which doesn’t include an Apple II. What it does include are
A JUICED license plate
Apr 20, 2020 · original
In November 2016, I submitted my car, a 2007 Toyota Prius, for its annual state certification. It failed on one count: the license plate, which I’d had for twenty years, was insufficiently reflective. Which is a thing, apparently. I could request a shiny new license plate free of charge, but it would be a different number than the one I’d had memorized for two decades. The only way to keep the existing number was to pay a fee. I couldn’t justify paying for a new license plate — unless if it were a vanity plate . It was something I’d wanted as far back as 2011, when I used this blog to list some options and invite readers to vote . But I never acted on the readers’ selections because the poll excluded my top picks: APPLE2 , WOZ , and JUICED , that last one referring to Juiced.GS , the quarterly Apple II magazine I’ve been editing since 2006. But those plates were already taken, and I didn
Beta-testing Wolfenstein 3D
Apr 13, 2020 · original
Years after the last Apple II rolled off the production line, there was still a lot of commercial and shareware software being developed for the IIGS. In the heyday of the GEnie online service, I somehow fell into a group beta testers of new programs for companies such as InTrec and Seven Hills. One developer I especially enjoyed working for was Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd. His website of eponymous SheppyWare lists many programs I got to try before they were ready for prime time, such as gsAIM, Lemonade Stand, Shifty List, and WebWorks GS. But the beta I most enjoyed was that for Wolfenstein 3D . The port had been a long time in development , with many parties involved: id Software, Logicware, Burger Becky, and Ninjaforce, to name a few. It was Sheppy who developed and project-managed the final release of this first-person shooter that had been so popular on my friends’ MS-DOS machines. But I
The history of Maxster
Apr 6, 2020 · original
This summer marks twenty years since I released Maxster. Enough time has passed that I can finally tell the true story of its development. It was July 2000 at Avila College in Kansas City, Missouri, and I was attending my third KansasFest . HackFest had debuted two years earlier at my first KansasFest. Having entered and placed each year, I wanted to continue the streak. My toolkit was limited to Applesoft and Spectrum’s scripting language, but I’d learned that creativity and earnestness counted for a lot at HackFest. All I needed was an idea. As a college junior, I was aware of how popular Napster was for allowing my classmates to pirate free music. I wasn’t a fan myself, but I understood the concept enough to get how it worked — and to know that it’d be impossible to implement on the Apple II. It was the perfect project. And I knew just what to name it: Maxster, after Juiced.GS foundin
Ahh Ahh by Maggi Payne
Mar 30, 2020 · original
Chiptune music — original songs compused primarily using 8-bit microcomputers or their style — is nothing new; in particular, 8 Bit Weapon has been using the Apple II to perform in this genre since 1998. But we don’t often talk about music composed using the Apple II back during its heyday. Some computer games featured simple soundtracks, but was the computer itself ever used to produce musical products that were independent of any software? The answer is yes, with one example being musician Maggi Payne’s album Ahh Ahh . This album wasn’t released until 2012, but it features music Payne composed in the mid-1980s using a variety of instruments, including the Apple II computer. This six-track album was re-released last week by Aguirre Records and is now available on vinyl or can be downloaded from Bandcamp . While the LP costs 21, the digital version costs a mere 6, with three of the track
The Strong’s Hall of Fame candidates for 2020
Mar 24, 2020 · original
It’s time once again for the Strong Museum of Play to consider which video games are worth being inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame . Every year since 2015, the Strong’s International Center for the History of Electronic Games considers what software from the last century is notable for its "icon-status, longevity, geographic reach, and influence". Previous inductees familiar to Apple II users include Colossal Cave and Oregon Trail . One game is does not include is King’s Quest , which was nominated but not accepted into the Hall of Fame in 2018. It’ll get another chance this year as one of these dozen games that the Strong is currently considering : Welcome, class. Bejeweled Centipede Frogger GoldenEye 007 Guitar Hero King’s Quest Minecraft NBA Jam Nokia Snake Super Smash Bros. M l e Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Only six of these games will ma

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