Apple II History

In my History editing and revision I am up to the first chapter on Languages. In reviewing additional information about Applesoft that I found, I made two discoveries that I thought were pretty interesting.

First of all: The 6502 floating-point BASIC that Apple licensed from Microsoft in 1977 was, like many products that Microsoft made in those days, marked to put the company’s name within the code. And it was done in such a way as to make it non-obvious to anyone viewing the code with a hex and ASCII dump.

With this information, I wrote an Applesoft program that will take the encoded bytes and print them out. Here is the program:

 100 REM Applesoft Easter Egg Printer
 110 REM
 120 REM The original author of Applesoft put his company name
 130 REM into the ROM, encoded from $F094-$F09D, in reverse,
 140 REM and doing an EOR with $87 (10000111).
 150 REM
 160 DATA 173,9,3,73,135,141,9,3,96,0
 170 S = 768:E = 777: REM $300-$309
 180 A = 61588:B = 61597: REM $F094-$F09D
 182 REM
 190 REM Poke EOR routine into page 3
 192 REM
 200 FOR I = S TO E: READ X: POKE I,X: NEXT I
 202 REM
 210 REM Now get each byte from $F09D to $F094,
 220 REM EOR it, and print the CHR$ of each byte.
 222 REM
 230 FOR I = B TO A STEP - 1
 240 POKE E, PEEK (I): CALL 768: PRINT CHR$ ( PEEK (E));
 250 NEXT
 260 PRINT : PRINT

If you want to just download this and run in your favorite emulator, here are disk images:

EasterEgg.po   EasterEggDOS.dsk

The second, and more interesting bit of trivia has to do with that fateful month, December 1993, when Apple removed the Apple IIe from the dealer price lists, effectively discontinuing the final surviving member of the Apple II family. Other than just spite on their part, finally killing the unloved elder brother in the Apple family, I never really considered the significance of that date. However, with my further reading on Applesoft, I believe I have a very good financial reason for Apple to have plugged the plug when they did.

I had originally believed the license contract with Microsoft for Applesoft was for ten years, and my History for years has stated such. I cannot find, however, any place that clearly identifies the contract length as ten years. However, in the chapter about MacBasic on Andy Hertzfeld’s excellent Folklore.org website, Hertzfeld says the original Applesoft license was for eight years, and was due to expire in September 1985. This is when Bill Gates of Microsoft could have asked for and demanded nearly anything that he wanted for a continuation of the Applesoft license. Apple still desperately needed this for the Apple IIe and IIc product lines, which were financially carrying the company, while the Macintosh was floundering. However, Gates did not demand money; what he wanted and got was MacBasic, which was a major disappointment to the Apple programmer for that product, Donn Denman.

My one supposition here (because I cannot find any absolute proof) is that the license for Applesoft that was renewed at this time was again for an eight year span. The consequences of this license were far-reaching. Had it not been for the relicensing of Applesoft, Apple could not have continued to sell the IIe and IIc as they were (since they had Applesoft in ROM), and retreating back to Wozniak’s Integer BASIC would have been extremely detrimental to the Apple II line, due to the large library of Applesoft-specific software available. Furthermore, there would have been no Apple IIGS if Applesoft had not been renewed.

Finally, if this second contract was indeed for eight years, that span of time ran from 1985 to … (drum roll, please) 1993. According to sales of computers documented on Jeremy Reimer’s blog on 11/2/09, the year 1993 was significant in that the sales of Apple II models was down to 30,000 for the year (it had been 100,000 the year before), and sales of the Macintosh were up to 3.3 million (2.5 million the year before), which was clearly up into the self-sustaining range.

A further renewal of Applesoft in 1993 would have likely been more expensive than the company would want to bother paying, and the decision to discontinue the IIe was an obvious business decision. Obvious now; a sad conclusion back then to an illustrious career for the Apple II.

What I didn’t mention in my last post was what content has changed (and is then particularly in need of review):

Chapter 9 – Disk Evolution and The Apple IIc Plus – more information about mass storage was added. En masse.

Chapter 12 – The Apple II Abroad & Clones – more info, more pictures, more stuff!

Chapter 13 – Peripherals – whoo boy, is there more here now.

Chapter 15 – DOS 3.3, ProDOS & Beyond – more screen shots, a little more about GS/OS.

And thank you for your support!

I have been asked numerous times over the years to consider taking the Apple II History and to put out a print version of it. I’ve turned down the idea in the past (“It’s already online for free – why would anyone pay to have a print version of it?”), but in the past year I’ve been warming up to the idea. Over the couple of months I’ve been working on porting it from HTML to DOC, and I would like to announce today that, Lord willing, there will be a printed version of this History available for the first time ever. I expect to get involved in learning how to use iBooks Author and make this an iPad book as well.

What I’d like to ask for is help from the fans of the Apple II History site. I have a bit of updating to do with the History – there are parts of it that have not been touched in twenty years, despite the fact that things have happened with the Apple II since 1992. I am finding and updating the things that I can see need attention, but I know that there are important parts of the Apple II story that I don’t know, or don’t know well enough to make this the definitive story that it should be.

Here is what I could use:

• Comments about content that is just wrong. If you know of anything I have put in this history that desparately needs correction, let me know.
• Comments on things that need to be added. I don’t expect to be able to include every bit of trivia about the Apple II that I can scrape together, but if there is a company or product that you think I should discuss, let’s talk about it. To be able to tell a story about a product or company will require that someone TELL me about it (if I knew about it already, I would have already included it).
• I would also be interested to collect stories from Apple II owners or users that tells your story, about how you got started with the Apple II, why you liked (or still like) the Apple II, etc. If you want to tell a story but don’t want to be mentioned in the book by name, just let me know and I’ll make it an anonymous entry.

Any product photos that you would iike to contribute would also be accepted, though I cannot commit to using all that might be donated, nor can I afford to purchase photos.

Any information that you might want to tell me about should be sent to here on this site. I will get back to you with additional questions if I have any.

I would really like to have my additional content and revision of old content completed in time to have a print book available for distribution by summer. So repost this, blog about it, and spread the word! I will post informtion later about how I’m going to work out funding for this project; I don’t yet know if a Kickstarter-type of funding will be necessary. I will also start posting comments in the blog here about progress on work to update existing or to add extra chapters to the story.

Sorry, this just hit my funny bone today, and I had to make this picture (inspired by this Autocowrecks post):

And just because it was requested, here is a way to get this on a T-shirt: http://www.cafepress.com/AppleIIHistoryShop

No, this is not a post about a post-apolyptic world in which all books are burned (like Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451), nor is it about a world in which everything is beige (which almost happened with computers in the 1990s, until Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997). It is about a great article on the web site for Seven Days, “Vermont’s Independent Voice”, from Burlington. It was cited in an article today on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) here. The article “here” is about Jerry Manock, who was hired by Apple in the early days to design the case for the Apple II computer. The exact beige color picked, which I’ve never had a name for, was #453 on the color list for Pantone‘s standard list of colors used in industry for standardization in products and paints. In terms of web colors, it appears to be #D5D5B4.

The article is an interesting read, as it gives some insight to one of the most important origins of the Apple II and its success: The case. Although it was Steve Jobs who approved the design and color of the case, it was Manock who created it (to fit Wozniak’s motherboard), included the ventilation slots (that were missing on some of the earliest cases that were shipped out). Manock is also credited with design on the appearance of the venerable Disk II.

Manock later was on the team that was involved in the design of the Apple III and the Macintosh.

If you want to know whether or not your Apple II is still the right color, use this check it out!

The latest edition of the Open Apple, the Apple II community’s only actively updated podcast (hint, hint, Mr. Vanston!) is now available for download. Ken and Mike speak with Michael Mahon, the creator of NadaNet, the AppleCrate parallel processing Apple II, and co-creator of the recently released DMS Drummer. They also discuss 8 Bit Weapon (also part of the DMS Drummer project) and chiptunes. Ken and Mike also discuss some classic Apple II games. Go to the Open Apple site to listen to the episode and check out the links, or find it in the iTunes store.

(By the way: Best. Intro. Ever.)

Back in the days of GEnieLamp A2 and A2-Central-On-Disk, Doug Cuff was the editor and I was a contributing writer. On one occasion, we had some fun mimicking David Letterman’s Top 10 Lists, applying it to the Apple II. And, having dug this out of the archives, I decided to share it today.

From the April 1995 edition of GEnieLamp A2, reprinted from its original appearance in the December 1994 edition of A2-Central-On-Disk, here are two top 10 lists. If you understand all of the points listed here, you are a true Apple II fan!

>>> APPLE II TOP TEN LISTS <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Copyright 1994 by ICON.
Reprinted in GEnieLamp A2 by special permission.

From Overland Park, Kansas, "I don't think we're in Oz anymore", 
it's the A2-Central Show, with Doug and Steve!

And now, from the home office in London, Ontario:

TOP TEN REASONS THE APPLE IIe IS BETTER THAN THE IIgs
-----------------------------------------------------

9. Looks so much like the original machine Woz designed
   that we don't need to put his name on the case.
8. Don't have to deal with cretins who ask "What kind of Mac is that?"
7. The Running Man.
6. Typing "IIe" takes one fewer key-press than "IIgs".
5. The mouse is optional.
4. Friends don't mistake Reset key for rewind button.
3. Most IIe's labelled with cool original corporate Apple font,
   not some wimpy version of Garamond.
2. Can't lose keyboard.
1. An adequate disk operating system will actually fit into 16K of RAM.

And the Number 0 reason the Apple IIe is better than the IIgs...

0. Power light doubles as finger-warmer.

But wait! There's more!! That's right, an A2-Central Show exclusive;
not one but two Top Ten lists!!!

Again, from the home office in London, Ontario:

TOP TEN REASONS THE APPLE II-PLUS IS BETTER THAN THE IIe OR IIgs
----------------------------------------------------------------

9. Provides practical use for lonely monophonic cassette recorder
   gathering dust on shelf.
8. FlAsHiNg TeXt Is LoTs cOoLeR tHaN mOuSeTeXt.
7. Get to make up entertaining lies to explain the REPT key to youngsters.
6. Only two graphics modes to keep track of.
5. If the original 6502 was good enough for Woz, it's good enough for me!
4. Slot 0 sure to impress the babes.
3. Freed from worry of clothes washer mangling disks left in shirt pocket.
2. Can afford one for every room in the house.
1. Reset key conveniently located just above Return key, making word
   processor double as a game of skill.

And the Number 0 reason that the Apple II Plus is better than
the IIe or IIgs... whoa, we have a tie!

0. Spouse can't yell at you for leaving the Caps Lock key down.

0. LIFE IS SIMPLER IN UPPER CASE

I’ve just finished the new book about Steve Jobs, written by Walter Isaacson (I listened to the CD audiobook version). I was not sure what to expect as I started it; there had been much said about this book when it was first released last fall. Isaacson’s account was reputed to be very negative in his presentation of Jobs; some comments I read felt that it was too negative.

For my part, I really found no surprises, as regards his behavior. I have enjoyed learning about the inside story of Apple Computer through other books I’ve read about Apple in the past, and they have always prominently featured recounts of Jobs and his famous temper, his poor social skills in dealing with people, and his maddening perfectionism. The Little Kingdom by Michael Moritz (1984), West Of Eden by Frank Rose (1989), and The Second Coming Of Steve Jobs by Alan Deutschman (2000) are all in agreement about how hard Jobs was to deal with. The first two books deal with him before he left Apple, and the third takes the story up through his rejoining the company and bringing it out of near-bankruptcy.

This newest book, Steve Jobs, bares his conduct no less graphically than any of the previous ones. It adds details of his personal life that I have not previously seen in print. The stories of the creation and introduction of the Apple II and the Macintosh were already familiar to me, though in this book they were naturally more Jobs-focused than others. Personally, I found some of the most interesting and satisfying parts were those about the creation of the wildly successful products Apple has released during Jobs’ second tenure at the company: The iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Certainly, during this segment it appeared that Jobs had his head together better than he had previously – he had focus and a sensibility that he did not seem to demonstrate in his past efforts at leading his company. (An example of his previous lack of common sense was his demands that the assembly-line robotic equipment at the factory making the original Mac be painted different colors than they way they were designed, thus causing them to malfunction.)

As much as I enjoyed these parts, the chronicle of Apple’s ascendancy from a computer company to a media company, it was painful to hear the story of his cancer, his choices to ignore medical advice, and the tragic consequences of those choices. The entire book is, in a way, another rise and fall story (with a number of rises and falls happening along the way). The fall of Steve Jobs was a personal choice that was as much a part of him as were any of his successes. The book illustrates how he was able to accomplish so much by almost literally willing it to happen (his so-called “reality distortion field”), and how that personal disbelief in his illness was his undoing.

His complex personality, with its binary view of everything (good/bad, winner/loser, brilliant/sucky) was a part of him from his earliest days, was molded by adherence to Zen Buddhism, by his experimentation with mind-altering drugs, and by the era in which he grew up. Certainly, if Jobs had been a “nice guy” like his co-founder Steve Wozniak, he would have been unable to build the company that Apple became. He would not have been able to push so strongly for the various advancements that appeared under his leadership: a home computer that looked good in the home (the Apple II), the commercialization and distribution of the concept of the graphic user interface, a personal music player that was light-years beyond Sony’s original Walkman, a phone that was unlike anything else that came before it, and a tablet computer that really worked well and was usable by anyone. Not only did Jobs have the ability to push to create these great products, he also had the power and influence to push for changes in related businesses (consider the difference in the music industry today compared with where it was in the 1990s). A “nice guy” might have wanted such things to exist, but would not have had the demanding perfectionism that would enable them to appear, and to appear in the perfect minimalistic way in which they did.

Issacson’s book is a great read for anyone who wants to know the whole story of where these great inventions came from, and how they were conceived. I would hesitate to recommend it as a model for anyone to use as a lifestyle; Jobs had many faults, and the world would not be a better place if more people acted like he did. But he did what his “Think Different” commercial talked about – he pushed forward the human race. And the world without Jobs would have not advanced technologically as fast as it did with him. Despite his idiosyncrasies, our world is lessened by his passing.

I’ve not mentioned it much before this, but one of the ways in which the retrocomputing community is telling the world about their interests and “what’s new about what’s old” is via web sites and podcasts. There are several retrocomputing podcasts to which I regularly listen, and one of my favorites is the Open Apple podcast, hosted by Ken Gagne and Mike Maginnis. I had the opportunity to be a guest on the Open Apple podcast #4 back in May 2011, and again was asked to be on the most recent episode, #11, released on 1/11/12. The guest on this episode was David Greelish, who was mentioned in my last post with regard to his interview with former Apple Computer CEO, John Sculley. During the Retroviews segment, Greelish and I discussed more about John Sculley and his role at Apple, particularly in relation to the Apple II. It was fun to discuss it “live” with others!

You can listen to this podcast episode via iTunes at this link, or go to the Open Apple website to listen online.