Why the Apple II? What makes it so special? These are very good questions. Questions which have been asked many times and so far have been left unanswered.
There is something about the Apple II computer which endears itself to whoever uses it. We all know it is not the most technologically advanced system ever made, but we have yet to find the limits of it's abilities. It is no longer supported by anyone but the people who use it. In fact it has been disenfranchised by the very corporation which was created because of it. A corporation which survived and grew fat on the profits reaped from it's success. All in spite of the fact that this very same corporation tried relentlessly to eliminate the Apple II in lieu of another platform.
Alas, I can not explain the mystery that is the Apple II computer. All I can do is use it and enjoy the use of it. As a member of the Apple II community, I will try and share the joy I feel whenever I use my Apple II. I hope that in the sharing we will all benefit.
In that regard, I offer access to my web site for anyone. Whether they are current II users or simply curious. As the web space was donated to me I intend to honor their trust in me by taking take care of the site and files therein. I will offer no files which are not currently in the public domain or known freeware or shareware. Along with my own programming efforts you will find files and programming systems which I have found to be quite useful. I try to avoid the issues of copyright and software piracy for old and unsupported software I feel there are enough sites around for you to acquire these titles.
Depending upon available free time and my ability to ignore my physical problems, I will endeavor to expand this site and it's usefulness. I hope to eventually cover more programming environments as there are quite a few useful ones around. Each offers it's own benefits and of course pitfalls.
My aim on these pages is to supplement the knowledge of any who want to program the Apple II. If any of my fellow Apple II enthusiasts wish to help in this project, please feel free to donate. Credit will be given where due!
Attn: GS users, check out the BootGS Archive, it's a utility for booting straight to P8. This set of small programs allows access to GSOS after you have booted Prodos 8. I have found this to be very useful for those programs which misbehave when the GS is booted through GSOS. My thanks to the authors for creating these tools and to Kent Dickey (Kegs author) for making the SAMPLE_IMAGE available.
Update to Apple Oasis. Teodor has added a full screen mode. Very cool. You will need Direct Draw installed in your Windows system. Also, this mode requires a 32 bit system so Windows 3.x users will have to use one of the earlier versions. I am in the middle of testing this new feature and may have more info available at a later date..
Oops, somehow, the Atree disk got lost here. I have no idea what happened though. I have replaced it and verified the link. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Cheers and best wishes
Phoenyx
My attempt to document the Apex Development system. Well actually I will only support the latest 128k version which was released as copyrighted freeware. Please note, this text is currently under development so you should try back occasionally.
My apologies for the recent delays. I've been dealing with back problems and doctors. I am working on this as I am able.
Visit The Apple Oasis Site
Download current version of Apple Oasis
For those of you who still want to experience the Apple II but don't have the hardware, I offer access to Apple Oasis. This is an excellent set of programs which can be very useful. I often use it as an extension of my real Apple II's. You can manipulate files downloaded from the web. Prepare them for transfer to the Apple II. Test them out to ensure the quality, etc. The Disk Manager is a very useful tool for manipulating files between the PC disk and an Apple II disk image. Once the files are in Apple II format you can use the SLINK drivers to share the disks between the Apple II and the emulator. This sharing can work either way. For example, the real Apple II can be the server allowing the emulator to access the real Apple II floppy drives.
Please note: There is a problem with the SLINK and the internal ports on a GS and 2c systems. This is being worked on but my serial port experience is rather limited. If you have experience in this area and would like to help, contact me. I will have to get the ok from the author but I don't think there will be a problem as he would like to see it working also.
Kegs is my other, favorite Apple II emulator. It offers excellent emulation of the IIgs including low level access to disk hardware. You may find this useful if you have a transportable media, such as a scsi device, you can connect to both the PC and your real Apple II.
Note: Files are suffixed with the .BIN extensions. This is to facilitate downloading. You should remove the extension after transferring the file(s) to an Apple II.
Amperdos v101 A 128k application to replace Basic.system.
About Scramble Readme file for Scramble.
Scramble.sdk
A word game similar to Scrabble(R). Requires 64k.
About Stellar Readme file for Stellar Lanes.
Stellar Lanes Stellar Lanes, a game of Stellar business conquest. Requires double hi-res + 128k
Atree II Atree II is a P8 file manager. Requires 128k + 80 column text.
Apex 128k Program Disk Latest release of Apex Application Developer. This is the system supported by the on line document currently under development and displayed here. It offers advantages over the original. First, it contains my library, APEX.LIB with extended support for joystick use in lieu of mouse, extra string routines and sound routines. Supplied demos are adapted to use the library. Easily create applications for either mouse or joystick Apple II systems. Requires 128k.
It is recommended that you get all three files. Then setup Apex to run from a 3.5 disk or path on a hard drive. Apex was released in the early 90's by Microgram as (c) Freeware. Originally they only wanted mention of the PC version they were creating. As yet I have been unable to verify the status of this version, but mention of Microgram's (c) should at least be included in your documentations.
It should also be noted, I have original permission from the authors to distribute Apex however I needed. This was given to me by the author, Don Johansen in exchange for beta testing and ideas for expansion. As the system was released to the public, I only mention this to satisfy certain individuals who tend to get a bit over zealous.
Apex 128k Aux. Disk Additional programs for Apex. Also includes the source file for Apex.lib. There is also support for a dialog routine, modified from the Apex original to use APEX.LIB.
Apex Sample Programs Disk Some sample programs from earlier versions of Apex. These should be adapted to the final release and this has been left as an exercise for the user. Good practice for someone just learning the system.