AppleII GS
| Case |
CPU |
RAM |
HD |
Video |
Drives |
OS |
Sound |
Monitor |
Modem |
Network |
| Desktop |
651602 |
4MB |
1GB |
Color 8bit |
31/2,51/4 |
OS 5 |
Stereo |
14" |
2400b |
???? |
The last and best of a long line of great computers that introduced the computer
as a consumer product. The Altair, and various other makes, take credit as
the first home machines, but they were hobbyist machines which required a
certain amount of knowledge and dedication from their owners. Most of them
were also in the form of kits, or even of a few components and a parts list.
The Apple was designed so that you could take it home, set it up, load the
software, and go. It also had some business applications written for it so
that it was possible to get some practical work done on it. Apple wisely
donated a large number of these computers to schools, which served to familiarize
an entire generation of students with computers---Apple computers. During
the seventies, and into the eighties, this was THE computer, much as the
IBM PC is today. Before the advent of the IBM, there was a vast array of
different computers and operating systems. These were brought together somewhat
by the introduction of C/PM, which became so popular that Apple introduced
a coprocessor card that would run it. Many of the original machines like
the old Altair, were still being sold when the first Apple came out. There
have been several huge cullings of the computer market since then, including
one shortly after the introduction of the IBM PC, which basically wiped out
every computer manufacturer except Apple and IBM. The amazing Apple survived
this melee only to be squashed by its' own company a few years later. The
final glory of this computer was the model which I own, the II GS. this is
a sixteen bit computer with built in sound and high quality (for the time)
graphics, thus the model designation GS. At the time this computer was introduced,
the old 8 bit Apple II was beginning to look a bit dated compared to the
new IBM. Even Apples' own Mac was eclipsing the veteran computer except among
some die hards. The Mac had been designed by Apple as a business machine,
while the old Apple II was to be aimed at the home market. Apple came up
with this strategy because the II market was so huge that it would have been
folly to abandon it, but they had to come out with a machine which used updated
technology in order to stay competitive. When this machine came out, the
contemporary computer was the 386, and there was still wide spread use of
the 286. The only real competitor for the GS was the Amiga, which would also
be abandoned by its' parent company. Windows was out, at this time, but it
had by no means become universal. I remember seeing an early windows operating
system running on a machine at school, and thinking "what's the point". Had
Apple gotten into the game with this machine a bit earlier the story might
have been different, but with the introduction of the 386 cpu, IBM/Intel
had a clear advantage in power. The tremendous lead of the II GS in graphics
and sound would soon be addressed by after market card manufacturers, and
by the GUI Windows. The Apple operating system was a true graphics run system,
but widespread use of Windows in the PC eliminated this advantage. Interestingly,
the Apple, the first consumer computer, has now become a hobbyist machine,
and a machine for people who have a liking for old computers, or for those
who can not accept the fact that the machine they spent thousands of dollars
on has faded away to nothing. The machine I own has the latest bios, and
an scsi card, along with a large (for the Apple) hard drive and both 3 1/2
and 5 1/4 inch drives. I have 4mb of RAM in this machine which is a large
amount for an Apple. In contrast to many of the PC compatibles out there,
the Apple is wonderfully crafted inside and out. There are no cables or wires
dangling around or tangled inside; beautiful. The machine has an imagwriter
II, and a 2400 baud (!!) modem. I am attempting to figure out how to put
the old Apple on my network. It is reputed to have some built in networking
features, but since its' abandonment, it is very difficult to get parts or
information on it. If I ever do manage to network the machine its' network
name will be "Annie". I still have my old Apple 2 C from my school days.
I was going to give it a site of its' own but thought I would put
it here instead. For those who are interested, the final operating system
for the GS (version 6) is available for download, free, from Apple's
website at: http://www.info.apple.com/support/oldersoftwarelist.html