wh@houxz.UUCP (10/01/83)
Does anyone know anything about the new operating system for
the Apple IIs? I just finished reading the articles on
personal computers in this week's Business Week (dated Oct.
3). One of the articles is about Apple Computer and their
moves to compete against IBM. A picture shows both a Lisa
and Apple //e. The //e has windows, icons and a mouse just
like the Lisa! The article mentioned the new OS was
expected by January '84.
Let's start the questions.
- Does it require a hard disk? (If yes, then maybe its
really MacIntosh.)
- Are they planning new drives or disk formats for the
IIs?
- Will the new OS run on the old II/II+? (Maybe it will
require hardware additions for the older machines?)
- What will be its compatibility with DOS 3.3
(II;II+;//e), SOS (///) and Lisa's OS?
- Will there be an integrated package of software like
the Lisa?
- What languages will be available under the new OS?
- How much will it cost?
- What other questions should I ask a dealer when I
finally see the new OS?
I'd appreciate hearing whatever anyone else knows. Have
there been any other mentions or articles about the new
Apple OS? (P.S. Anyone that thinks I've got room on my
desk to push around a mouse has another think coming!)
Wayne Heinmiller
houxz!wh
AT&T Bell Laboratories
Holmdel NJjeh@ritcv.UUCP (James E Heliotis) (10/01/83)
My first thought at reading Wayne's letter was that he did see a MacIntosh.
Also, what I have heard is that MacIntosh's will NOT have hard discs; they
are a ~$1K machine with one or two mini-mini (4") Sony floppy disc drives.
Jim Heliotis
{allegra,seismo}!rochester!ritcv!jeh
rocksvax!ritcv!jeh
ritcv!jeh@RochesterCSvax:Pucc-H:ags@pur-ee.UUCP (10/03/83)
Apple has announced a new operating system for the Apple II series, but I have not heard anything about windows or icons being involved in the new system. Possibly the press releases in Business Week may have confused the Apple II with the MacIntosh. On the other hand, it is quite possible that independent software developers have done some interesting things already with the new system. The new Apple II operating system is called ProDOS. According to a story in InfoWorld, July 18, 1983, the new system will not be available for retail sale to users until early 1984, but Apple is now licensing the system to software developers for application development. Some commercial programs using the new system should start appearing soon. Some features of ProDOS (according to Apple): 1. Apple III - style file structure (Hierarchical File structure, file naming and data formats are those of Apple III SOS -- Sophisticated Operating System). 2. Ability to move ProDOS data files and data disks between an Apple II running ProDOS and an Apple III running SOS. (Only data files, not programs, are interchangeable) 3. Ability to handle files larger than 143K (the capacity of a disk). 4. Support for interrupt-driven processing, for networking and data communications applications. 5. Faster response to keyboard commands. The new system is not intended to replace any of the existing Apple operating systems (DOS 3.3, Pascal, or SOS) -- all will continue to be available, says Apple. ProDOS itself will be available only on the Apple II, not Apple III. No hardware changes are needed on any Apple II that has at least 64K of "internal memory" [presumably meaning RAM?]. ProDOS-based applications written in Applesoft BASIC will run on an Apple II Plus or IIe. Those written in assembly language will also run on the old Apple II. The current Disk II interface will still work. Dave Seaman ..!pur-ee!pucc-h:ags