- published: 24 Aug 2012
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The Apple IIGS (styled as IIGS) is the fifth and most powerful model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The "GS" in the name stands for Graphics and Sound, referring to its enhanced multimedia capabilities, especially its state-of-the-art sound and music synthesis, which greatly surpassed previous models of the line and most contemporary machines like the Macintosh and IBM PC.
The machine was a radical departure from any previous Apple II, with its true 16-bit architecture, increased processing speed, direct access to megabytes of RAM, sample-based music synthesizer, graphical user interface, and mouse. While still maintaining full backwards compatibility with earlier Apple II models, it blended the Apple II and aspects of Macintosh technology into one. Keeping with Apple's "Apple II Forever" slogan of the time, the IIGS set forth a promising future and evolutionary advancement of the Apple II line, but Apple paid it relatively little attention as the company increasingly focused on the Macintosh platform.
The apple tree (Malus domestica) is a deciduous tree in the rose family best known for its sweet, pomaceous fruit, the apple. It is cultivated worldwide as a fruit tree, and is the most widely grown species in the genus Malus. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, is still found today. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Asia and Europe, and were brought to North America by European colonists. Apples have religious and mythological significance in many cultures, including Norse, Greek and European Christian traditions.
Apple trees are large if grown from seed, but small if grafted onto roots (rootstock). There are more than 7,500 known cultivars of apples, resulting in a range of desired characteristics. Different cultivars are bred for various tastes and uses, including cooking, eating raw and cider production. Apples are generally propagated by grafting, although wild apples grow readily from seed. Trees and fruit are prone to a number of fungal, bacterial and pest problems, which can be controlled by a number of organic and non-organic means. In 2010, the fruit's genome was decoded as part of research on disease control and selective breeding in apple production.
The Apple II (stylized as apple ][) is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak (Steve Jobs oversaw the development of the Apple II's unusual case and Rod Holt developed the unique power supply). It was introduced in 1977 at the West Coast Computer Faire by Jobs and was the first consumer product sold by Apple Computer. It is the first model in a series of computers which were produced until Apple IIe production ceased in November 1993.
The earliest Apple IIs were assembled in Silicon Valley, and later in Texas;printed circuit boards were manufactured in Ireland and Singapore. The first computers went on sale on June 10, 1977 with a MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor running at 1.023 MHz, two game paddles,4 kB of RAM, an audio cassette interface for loading programs and storing data, and the Integer BASIC programming language built into the ROMs. The video controller displays 24 lines by 40 columns of monochrome, upper-case-only (the original character set matches ASCII characters 20h to 5Fh) text on the screen, with NTSC composite video output suitable for display on a TV monitor, or on a regular TV set by way of a separate RF modulator. The original retail price of the computer was $1,298 USD (with 4 kB of RAM) and $2,638 USD (with the maximum 48 kB of RAM). To reflect the computer's color graphics capability, the Apple logo on the casing has rainbow stripes, which remained a part of Apple's corporate logo until early 1998.
The apple is the pomaceous edible fruit of a temperate-zone deciduous tree.
Apple, apples or APPLE may also refer to:
The Apple II was one of the first major successes in personal computing, and as a result Apple released several variants, culminating in the IIGS in 1986. Although soon phased out in favor of the Macintosh, the IIGS was a worthwhile machine for years. But is it still worth owning to a current collector of vintage computers? This is an overview of the history, hardware, and software of the IIGS from the perspective of a classic computer collector. How do the pros and cons stack up, and is it worth getting a IIGS considering the other, more popular 16-bit 80's computers?
Buy one on EBay: http://lon.tv/epawz (affiliate link) It's the holiday season which means it's time for my annual retro review! This year we're taking a look at my Apple IIgs that is in the background in my set here. See more retro: http://lon.tv/retrorev and subscribe! http://lon.tv/s VIDEO INDEX: 01:21 - Hardware internals 03:53 - CFFA 3000 flash storage card overview 05:30 - Transwarp GS accelerator card 07:11 - Uthernet ethernet card 09:37 - Floppy drive overview 10:15 - Monitor and ADB port for keyboard/mice 12:33 - Booting a 33 year old Apple II floppy with games! 14:20 - Booting GS/OS from an image file with CFFA 3000 16:25 - GS/OS overview and comparison to Mac 18:08 - Lack of multitasking / Appleworks GS / Desk accessories 20:16 - Memory management 20:55 - Arching old floppy di...
This is a gadget warehouse submission for the Weekly Daily Gizwiz with Leo Laporte and Dick DeBartolo. This was a computer I spent a lot of time with as a kid, and was the first device I ever took "online" - although online back in its day was GEnie and BBS systems. What's unique about this particular machine is some of the hardware I recently installed in it to make it how I always wanted it to be. I dramatically expanded the RAM, found a Transwarp GS accelerator that brings it up to a whopping 14 mhz, and even added ethernet! The most unique feature is a brand new CFFA 3000 card that allows the IIgs to work with compact flash cards and USB sticks. Disk "images" can be downloaded, copied to a USB stick, and the GS can boot right off of them. Real floppies can also be written to flash m...
The IIGS was Apple's first computer with a color graphical user interface, and provided a 16-bit CPU with graphics and sound comparable to the Amiga and Atari ST, while retaining full Apple II hardware and software compatibility. It was also the first computer to use the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) interface for the keyboard and mouse, which later became standard across the Macintosh lineup for many years.
A list of my favorite Apple IIGS games, in no particular order. Recorded using Camtasia while playing the Kegs emulator (the bad frame rate and the appearance of the cursor on the screen don't occur on an actual IIGS).
Today they're called Macs but way back in the 1980's, Apple users were in love with the Apple II. Despite the introduction of the Mac in 1984, the Apple II continued to have its devoted fans. This program looks at the Apple II culture during the early Mac era. Included are the Apple IIc+, the Apple II-GS, and a rare Apple I. Guests include John Sculley and Gary Kildall. Software demonstrations are of Math Blaster, Paintworks Gold, and Microsoft Bookshelf. Also a look at the newest Macintosh at the time, the Mac IIx. Originally broadcast in 1988.
A brief review of the Apple IIGS and a look at its history. Summary: The Apple IIGS was released in September, 1986. It introduced several new features to Apple computers such as a new operating system (GS/OS) and a new bit-serial computer bus called ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) which was subsequently used by Macintosh computers well into the 90's until USB replaced it. It was a 16-bit machine capable of running at over 10mhz through accelerator cards and upgradable to 8MB of RAM.
An old Apple IIgs from 1986 booting up the game Uninvited.
The first episode in a miniseries about Steve Jobs' and Apple Computer's mistakes. I take a look at their two leading products in 1986.
When someone gives you an Apple IIgs for FREE, you don't say no. This also gave me a great excuse to dabble in making (and using) Retrobrite. Short story long? THE STUFF WORKS!
In this video, we finish up the Retr0briting of the Apple IIGS, ImageWriter, and RGB monitor.
Dive into the heart of the Apple IIgs to see how the tools work. Details will include how to write a tool set and how to patch tools. A talk presented at KansasFest July 18, 2012 Website: http://www.gwlink.net/geoff/
Japanese on the Apple IIGS... continued -- Ian Johnson New Product Annoucements -- Various
All and all I feel I'm loosing all control
It's like spinning round
spinning until my feel can't touch the floor
it's like everything you've known is all wrong
and I feel them turn and stand me in a row
like there's something wrong
Tell me how was I to know
All this time tell me how was I to know
but if it's right, then it's right
and I should have known
but there's something wrong?
If I speed too fast I'm sure to lose control
cause you fooled me once
and if you fool me twice I know I'll lose it all