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Category: Apple II

Apple IIe Platinum

Apple IIe Platinum

Published on January 3, 2021

In 1987, the Apple II was ten years old. It had ably carried Apple through the dramatic rise of the personal computing revolution. By the mid-80s, Apple suspected the end was near, but the Apple II faithful—with stacks of software—were not ready to let go. In response, Apple released the Apple IIe Platinum, providing an “enhanced” IIe with an expanded keyboard and a new greyish-colored case. In 1987, I was still exploring the wonders of CP/M thanks to my venerable Osborne One.  I could only dream of color graphics and a mountain of gaming titles.  Instead, I passed the time learning WordStar and SuperCalc and enjoying the text-based Colossal Cave Adventure game. The Apple IIe Platinum was a follow-up to…

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Apple IIGS

Apple IIGS

Published on August 23, 2020

The original Apple II first rolled off the assembly line in 1977, and Apple offered only modest improvements for nearly a decade. While the IIc provided a new form factor, the introduction of the IIGS in 1986 took the Apple II family to another level. While I remember a television ad or two, I never had the opportunity to use a IIGS in its prime. Only recently did I realize how capably it bridged the 8-bit and later 32-bit eras of home computing.   Apple begrudgingly advanced the Apple II platform after the collapse of the Lisa and Apple III (and with a sluggish start for the Macintosh). A new wave of personal computers emerged in the mid-80s that eclipsed…

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Apple IIc

Apple IIc

Published on July 19, 2020

The Apple II is an 8-bit wonder and was Apple Computer’s first success. It was also arguably the first big hit of the personal computer revolution. Steve Wozniak famously hand-built the original Apple computer kit in 1976, then he and Steve Jobs became tech darlings after the introduction of the Apple II. Part of the “1977 Trinity” when introduced that year, the Apple II significantly outlived its contemporaries: the Commodore PET and TRS-80. Until discontinued in 1993, the Apple II line defined home computing. I watched the Apple II from afar. I saw the ads and software reviews in magazines, toyed with one or two briefly in school, but I only had direct access to CP/M and DOS machines in…

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