tysko@pdp.cs.OHIOU.EDU (John Tysko) (12/29/87)
We have an unenhanced //e with a 512k Ramworks II, and want to
move up to a GS. My wife depends on Appleworks (1.3) a lot for mailing
lists and school newsletters. Our 4 year old son and 2 year old daughter
love to sit in front of our apple and play games (with a monochrome
monitor, even). And I even get to play on it sometimes :-).
The question is, what to buy? Apples IIe upgrade package doesn't
sound like such a good deal, so I would like to sell ours and just
buy a new GS.
Does anyone have any advice on memory cards (and how much extra memory)
to buy? How about nice software (especially games for the kids - I am
tired of looking at the old ones.) Any other advice would help (like
cost-justifying a MAC II that runs Appleworks :-)).
Thanks in advance.
John Tysko Disclaimer: They gave me an office with no windows
...cbosgd!oucs!tysko so I have no views. Any views you seem
to read here must be your own.gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn ) (01/06/88)
In article <653@pdp.cs.OHIOU.EDU> tysko@pdp.cs.OHIOU.EDU (John Tysko) writes: > The question is, what to buy? Apples IIe upgrade package doesn't >sound like such a good deal, so I would like to sell ours and just >buy a new GS. I too had a //e and quickly determined that I was better off buying a IIGS instead of upgrading the //e. To really exploit the IIGS, you need several peripherals that you probably don't already have, such as a mouse, a couple of 3.5" disk drives, and an analog RGB monitor. By the time you tally up the total cost, little is really saved by going the //e upgrade route. In my case, instead of transporting all my //e peripherals to the IIGS, I found it was better to buy mostly new ones, so the remaining //e was still a complete, useful system (now donated to my parents). It sure would make the //e easier to sell! > Does anyone have any advice on memory cards (and how much extra memory) >to buy? How about nice software (especially games for the kids - I am >tired of looking at the old ones.) Any other advice would help (like >cost-justifying a MAC II that runs Appleworks :-)). The IIGS can use as much memory as you can afford to buy. Mine has 2MB, half allocated as a RAM disk and the other half main memory. There are several memory expansions available; some of them don't coexist properly with DMA, which is used by devices such as a video digitizer you might want some day. In fact, mine has this problem (MDIdeas OctoRAM, which is unique in using SIMMs) but I haven't had to deal with it yet. The 256K supplied with the IIGS is the minimum amount necessary to just emulate a //e. Real IIGS desktop software needs more, at least 512K and often 768K. For the IIGS desktop environment, games, etc. the Apple analog RGB monitor (or equivalent) is essential, even though it costs a lot. If you do a lot of AppleWorks stuff, you may also want a separate monochrome composite monitor, which you can transport from your //e. Try out AppleWorks on a IIGS in your local computer store to see if the RBG monitor is good enough for that use. (My guess is that it is adequate.) The IIGS standard disk drive is the Apple 3.5. One is barely sufficient; I recommend two. You can use (almost) all your existing //e disk drives by moving your controllers to the IIGS and configuring the control panel properly. You will eventually want a hard disk -- 20MB at least -- but it isn't necessary if you're not accustomed to having one. It is almost essential once you get into digitized sound and/or video. The IIGS already has a clock, so you don't need to transport your clock card if you have one. It also has a mouse, so your AppleMouse II can stay with the //e. You need to transport your joystick. If you have a parallel printer you need to transport its interface card (Grappler or whatever). A serial printer such as the ImageWriter can use the built-in IIGS serial port (you may need a new cable). Most current IIGS-specific software supports only the ImageWriter II or its clones. Any //e aux slot (80-col) card is not usable in the IIGS, which in effect has the usual 80-column stuff already built-in. MDIdeas has some affordable stereo sound interface and digitizing cards that are nice to have but not essential unless you're really into music and stereo (my IIGS is hooked into my stereo system). I suggest a cheap pair of "Walkman style" stereo headphones, which will be fed monaural from the IIGS phone jack (even with the stereo card installed). As an AppleWorks user, you should subscribe to Open Apple for technical tips. Sorry -- I don't have the address at hand, but there is probably a subscription card in one of your Beagle Bros. software boxes. It is in Open Apple, for instance, that I read that AppleWorks 2.0 exploits some of the 16-bit capability of the IIGS (but not the desktop environment). A lot of really nifty IIGS-specific software is now available. Most of it supports only the ImageWriter for a printer, and most of it requires at least 512K memory, often more. You almost certainly want a paint program, which may come bundled with your IIGS. If you're into music, you'll want some sort of music program. It looks like Deluxe Music Construction Set might be the best choice, only it is not yet available! I like MouseTalk for a communication program/terminal emulator (you need an external modem, or you could use an internal one if you happen to already have one -- the IIGS already has a serial modem port). Avoid buying any "old Apple II family" software for your IIGS whenever there is a IIGS-specific version available; the 16-bit desktop environment is really much better and the IIGS graphics and sound far surpass anything the old Apple IIs could provide. The IIGS is a great game machine! I particularly want to single out Sierra (formerly On-Line Systems), of Coarsegold, CA as a game company that really cares about quality. They have several IIGS games, all of them really good. Try one of the King's Quest series for starters, along with Thexder if you like arcade games. PBI software (apparently a sister company to MDIdeas) also has some IIGS games; the only one I've tried is Tower of Myraglen, which is worth having, especially if you have a stereo card. There are also two games that might be more appropriate for kids, ages say 10 through 18, although I like them too: Tass Times in ToneTown, and Dream Zone (which I'm currently working my way through). Some people find Shanghai addictive. In general, people have bad things to say about "copy protectors" such as Activision and Electronic Arts -- apparently their disks do not run properly on some non-Apple 3.5 drives, and they're sometimes not readily usable when copied to a hard disk, although some do work once the "key disk" has been inserted and recognized. This also applies to much of the available non-game software, although for many such items one can obtain an unprotected version from the manufacturer for a few more $$. Some "old Apple II family" games are still good, although if they involve real-time response you need to enter the control panel to slow the system down to 1MHz. My favorites are the Ultima series, the Wizardry series (you need to start with the first scenario of Wizardry; any Ultima is suitable but be warned that Ultima IV will keep you busy for weeks!), and some old classics such as the Wizard and the Princess. SpinDizzy is also addictive (slow that system clock down!). I would include Flight Simulator II, except once one sees what the IIGS is capable of, it is annoying to think how much better a IIGS-specific Flight Simulator would be. If you're into programming, the IIGS is much more interesting and useful than the old Apple II, although it requires more work to fully exploit the desktop environment. Serious programmers should join APDA, although at this point most of the interesting documentation and Apple IIGS Programmer's WorkShop is either generally available or about to become so.