vernonw@msb.com (Vernon L. Williams) (05/19/91)
Many changes have occurred around these here parts. As an indirect result of my mother buying me an Apple IIc in 1984, I now have a new job. (Some of you may remember that I used to work at Columbia University) I've also decided that I really should start getting into programming and will be ordering Orca/M today. I will undoubtedly have many questions as I move from being a mediocre Apple II enthusiast to a mediocre programmer. So I'm glad that I still have access to this news group (though I haven't figured out my net address yet) I hope to get a hard disk sometime in the near future (I hear that you can't do without one once you begin programming) and was wondering if anyone had suggestions for something cheap but reliable (I'm currenly salivating over the $600 A2-Central deal -- 100 Megs!! But that is certainly too expensive for the likes of me) I'm also debating the usefulness of becoming an Apple II Developer (Partner? What is it that they're called nowadays??) What are the perks? Or should I just join APDA and leave it at that? Well, that's all for now. There'll be more to come in the near future I'm sure. ------------- Vernon L. Williams No longer at Columbia Temporarily (?) off America Online Apple II Enthusiast in training
mattd@Apple.COM (Matt Deatherage) (05/20/91)
In article <1991May19.124849.12521@msb.com> vernonw@msb.com (Vernon L. Williams) writes: >I hope to get a hard disk sometime in the near future (I hear that you can't >do without one once you begin programming) and was wondering if anyone had >suggestions for something cheap but reliable (I'm currenly salivating over the >$600 A2-Central deal -- 100 Megs!! But that is certainly too expensive for the >likes of me) > In my personal and hardly ever humble <sigh> opinion, save your money and get the larger hard drive. You can save a couple of hundred dollars by buying a smaller hard drive now, but when you eventually outgrow it you'll spend lots more than the couple hundred you saved in getting a bigger one, even after selling the old one. I had a 20 MB drive which I had to replace with a 40 MB drive, and then I had to replace it with a much larger drive (160 MB, if anyone cares). Take some other stuff easy for a while and wait until you can afford the A2-Central drive you want. >I'm also debating the usefulness of becoming an Apple II Developer (Partner? >What is it that they're called nowadays??) What are the perks? Or should I just >join APDA and leave it at that? > >Vernon L. Williams Well, this is slightly dangerous territory for me, since what I do is ADG support (Apple Developer Group) for a living, but I'll try to summarize. Remember that this is personal opinion, though, and not anyone else's on the record. There are basically three support programs. The APDA program is a fancy name for being an APDA member. This is $20 a year and gets you an APDAlog catalog four times a year. You can purchase (through APDA) Technical Notes, AppleLink (only currently useful if you have a Macintosh), _develop_ subscriptions, and many of the items that the other programs include as part of the package. This way you can pick and choose what you like, but there are some things that APDA doesn't carry. The Associates program is currently the preferred choice for most Macintosh developers (and maybe for Apple II developers). It includes as part of the package several things you must purchase if you're an APDA member: a monthly mailing that includes _Apple Direct_, Technical Notes, technical information, system software updates, product announcements, marketing information and other things. The Associates program also includes a subscription to _develop_. Things not available from APDA include the right to purchase several machines per year at very attractive discounts, the Developer CD series (which is a superset of the _develop_ CD-ROM; for example, the Developer CD contains the full HyperCard IIgs package while the _develop_ CD only contains a very minimal subset), an invitation to the annual (just- completed, actually) world-wide developer's conference, an AppleLink account and a bit more. You won't find many of these items in the APDAlog. The cost of the program is $350/year for generic developers, or $150/year if you're exclusively developing Apple II software. The Partners program contains all the benefits of the Associates program plus more AppleLink fees paid, more systems per year on a discount basis, plus direct access to Developer Technical Support through AppleLink or MCI Mail. Associates questions to DTS are refused because the workload requires it. Furthermore, we only seed pre-release products to a subset of the Partners; Associates or APDA members are not seedable. (Not every Partner gets seeded, but all who get seeded are Partners.) The cost of the program is $600/year, or $300/year for Apple II only developers. Apple II Partners are still being accepted; generic (Mac also) Partnership applications are not currently being accepted. To get more information about these programs, you can call (408) 974-4987 between 8 AM and 5 PM Pacific time (maybe longer, but I know at least those hours), or you can request information by writing the same people at address DEVHOTLINE@applelink.apple.com. If you write, please ask for the information on the programs you're interested in (APDA, Partners, Associates) and specify that you're an Apple II only developer if you want Partners information. Include your name, your company's name and your full address so they can send it to you without having to write back and ask for it. -- ============================================================================ Matt Deatherage, Developer Technical | The opinions expressed herein are Support, Apple Computer, Inc. | not those of Apple Computer, and Personal mail only, please. Thanks. | shame on you for thinking otherwise. ^^^^^^^^ Technical questions are not personal. Please post them instead. ============================================================================
jefft@panix.uucp (Jeff Tarr) (05/20/91)
Perks of programming the Apple II world?? LOL... I don't know if any exist anymore.. I've been programming the Apple II for 7 years, and the only use of it now is to occasionally point out that those big machines (Macs, IBMS, etc) use ideas/programs that originally were for the Apple II. I joined APDA, but have found it only to be a waste of money. I don't plan on resubscribing when my yearly dues are to be collected. Oh well, a year ago I probably wouldn't be so pessimistic. But from what I've seen from Apple, I'm not sure what to think of the II line anymore. I have found that lately I have been programming my HP-calculator more than computers. Oh well.... It is nice to learn on the II, that is one thing I forgot to point out. --Jeff -- --- Jeff Tarr, Jr. Sysop: AppleSauce BBS - 212/721-4122 Apple II and Macintosh Support.