Looking for Five Apple II Books in PDF Format

[ballyalley]

I've been looking on and off for these five books in pdf format for some time now:

1. BASIC Apple BASIC - James S. Coan, 1982 (ISBN-10: 0810456265)
    
   
2. Compute's Easy BASIC programs for the Apple - By B. Flynn, 1985 (ISBN-10: 0942386884)
    
   
3. Compute!'s Second Book of Apple - Compute!, 1985 (ISBN-10: 0874550084)
    
   
4. Compute!'s Third Book of Apple - Compute!, (ISBN-10: 0874550637)
    
   
5. Einstein’s Beginner’s Guide To The Apple IIe - By Jeff Einstein, 1984 (ISBN-10: 0156004127)
   

It's easy to find a paper copy of some of these books, but I just want to browse 'em and see if there's anything interesting in them, so I don't need to buy them... yet. If I like them then I'll pick up a copy, though some of these books look quite hard to find... and others not as much. I've done this before with Atari books and finding them in pdf format was FAR easier.

 

I'm ESPECIALLY interested in the three COMPUTE! Books. Any specific leads are appreciated.

 

Thanks.

 

Adam

[Keatah]

As far as I know these have not been scanned. Eventually they will be. Sooner or later.

[ballyalley]

As far as I know these have not been scanned.

 

That's too bad that these books have never been scanned. It also strikes me as unusual. I DID search around the Internet for these books before I asked about them, but couldn't find them, but I just thought that I was overlooking them. I wonder why they haven't been scanned?

 

I find it surprising that these Compute! books are difficult to find, at reasonable prices, in paper format. I have most of the paperback Compute! books for the C64, Vic-20 and, especially, the Atari. Most of these were obtained for a penny through Amazon's used section. All of these books were pretty easy to find and purchase through Amazon (a few I had to pick up through Ebay, and a scattershot of others I found through other online retailers). Still, nearly all of these Compute! books I picked up for under five bucks, plus shipping. Since the Apple II was such a widely sold computer, I'd think that these books would have sold very well and would be widely available, even if not scanned and on the 'Net.

 

I see that Amazon.com has used copies of "BASIC Apple BASIC" and "Einstein’s Beginner’s Guide To The Apple IIe" available for reasonable prices (about six bucks together, plus shipping). "Easy BASIC Programs for the Apple" is also available, but at $54.83 for a used copy, it is out of my price range. A used copy of "Second Book of Apple" starts at $24.95 and "Third Book of Apple" isn't available (that I could find).

 

Maybe I'll pick one, or possibly, two of the inexpensive books. Are there any reviews available online for "BASIC Apple BASIC" and/or "Einstein’s Beginner’s Guide To The Apple IIe?" If not, then maybe these were reviewed "back in the day" in one of the Apple magazines. Does anyone know of any classic-era reviews of these two books?

 

Adam

[+Allan]

I find it surprising that these Compute! books are difficult to find, at reasonable prices, in paper format. I have most of the paperback Compute! books for the C64, Vic-20 and, especially, the Atari. Most of these were obtained for a penny through Amazon's used section. All of these books were pretty easy to find and purchase through Amazon (a few I had to pick up through Ebay, and a scattershot of others I found through other online retailers). Still, nearly all of these Compute! books I picked up for under five bucks, plus shipping. Since the Apple II was such a widely sold computer, I'd think that these books would have sold very well and would be widely available, even if not scanned and on the 'Net.

 

Apple users don't like to scan/archive stuff unless they can put it on a CD and sell it for $100.

 

I'm not into the Apples that much but if someone wants to send me a book/books I can scan them and send them back. Just understand that if they are not spiral bound, I will have to cut the spin. I can't do it manually.

 

Allan

[+wood_jl]

We should take up a collection, come up with the $100 and blow it open. I'd put in $10 if 9 other people would!!!

[+Allan]

We should take up a collection, come up with the $100 and blow it open. I'd put in $10 if 9 other people would!!!

 

I wouldn't take anybody else's scans and put them on the Net. Even though it would really be the same thing if we scanned them ourselves, I wouldn't want to throw fuel on a fire. I would rather just get my own physical copies of what ever they are and scan them myself. Besides, you get stuff cheaper if you buy real copies of it. For example, I just bought a copy of ATari Graphics & Arcade Game Design for 40 cents. My copy fell apart and it was so cheap I couldn't pass it up.

 

Allan

[Keatah]

The general consensus is that there's some kind of "problem" in the Apple community when it comes to documentation. What it is I don't know, other than that it's likely an attitude problem. But then again, if you look around you'll see hundreds of books and manuals already scanned! What more do they want?

 

A nice presentation? Granted the Apple community sucks at that.

 

It's great, though, to see the few new scans that come our way now and then. "Scans" can be done by taking pictures of the pages if the scanee doesn't want to destroy their only copy. But this is labor intensive and tedious . Perspective correcting and aligning 150 pages would not be a fun task.

[Osgeld]

Apple users don't like to scan/archive stuff unless they can put it on a CD and sell it for $100.

 

I almost take offence to that, its not the users, the users will share like mad ... but there is much more respect for copyright in the general population. The CD sellers are just clowns from a bygone era I have personally had the fortune to skip

[+Allan]

Yea, I'm sure most users are fine but it's just weird that people have scanned books and docs for Commodore, Atari, Coco, Timex, TI, and all the British computers but not a lot of Apple stuff is online. It's not that hard with today's doc feeders/scanners.

 

Allan

[Keatah]

I've said this before: Be aware that the Apple II has more in common with the early S-100 bus systems and discrete logic computers than any other classic machine like the 400/800. The Apple II has more in common with the likes of Altair and IMSAI, KIM-1, and COSMAC-VIP, than it does anything else.

 

This older crowd sees beyond the minutiae of scanning. Not only that they are a bunch of crabby old farts discussing geriatrics. Scanning documents are the last thing on their mind. If they can remember how. The C-64 crowd is younger and has other priorities, gaming, scanning, shit like that. And they know how to do it.

 

Of all the "classic computing crowd" Apple users are the most stuck up and set-in-their ways. Most are rude asses anyhow.

[+wood_jl]

I wouldn't take anybody else's scans and put them on the Net. Even though it would really be the same thing if we scanned them ourselves, I wouldn't want to throw fuel on a fire. I would rather just get my own physical copies of what ever they are and scan them myself. Besides, you get stuff cheaper if you buy real copies of it. For example, I just bought a copy of ATari Graphics & Arcade Game Design for 40 cents. My copy fell apart and it was so cheap I couldn't pass it up.

 

Allan

 

 

Hi, well, there's no questioning the fact that you're a man of integrity, and I can appreciate that! Also very grateful for the excellent work you've been doing with scanning.

 

But in reference to the scans - Apple or otherwise - I think there's really not a clear indication who "owns" them, anyway. From a philosophical standpoint (since a legal one is not only beyond my understanding, but probably some gray area), I don't see any problem with sharing stuff (for free) , the ownership-of which is unknown, but I find it rather audacious that these people are selling the stuff. I wouldn't even think of doing that.

 

Perfect example is this:

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 190724887313

 

......which is no worse (nor better) than someone who's selling Apple scans. These Compute scans have been bouncing around the torrent sites for a long time. To think that Ebay would allow them to be sold (and the many other similar listings), yet not allow a blank (no ROMs) flashcart to be sold - does not make sense in the slightest. I have trouble understanding how the Compute scans or the Apple stuff can be sold, and I have difficulty recognizing the material as "belonging" to someone who just burns someone else's stuff on discs and sells it. I do appreciate the significant sacrifice of effort and skill that people put into generating quality scans and sharing them, and it is representative of their enormous good will and a real boon to the retro-computing community. But selling it? Hmmmmm. Not quite sure what to think about that.

[akator]

Legally, the people scanning these books and magazines have no ownership. They are reproducing material already owned by someone else. If the legal intellectual property owner grants distribution rights to the person who scanned the work, that's different -- but except for Frank Kowatari and ANALOG, I don't know of any other examples of this happening.

 

So... scanning and distributing scanned books and magazines is piracy, in the exact same way as copying and distributing anything created by someone other than you. I don't see a problem "stealing" the already pirated and illegal content off one of these disks, distributing that content for free on the net, and hopefully destroying any revenue stream the crooks are making from piracy.

[Osgeld]

This older crowd sees beyond the minutiae of scanning. Not only that they are a bunch of crabby old farts discussing geriatrics. Scanning documents are the last thing on their mind. If they can remember how. The C-64 crowd is younger and has other priorities, gaming, scanning, shit like that. And they know how to do it.

 

Of all the "classic computing crowd" Apple users are the most stuck up and set-in-their ways. Most are rude asses anyhow.

 

this Apple II user, have been since the 80's, is only 34, and there are many apple II people like me, who will give you all the information that they know, so its a little unfair to say we are a bunch of crabby old gereatics who dont know how to use modern machines just cause you cant get a scan of a copywrited book.

[potatohead]

I second that, and cite it as one good reason to make a sub-forum here. IMHO, Apple ][ series computers are a great retro-playground. We don't have as much documentation scanned and available as we do for other machines, but the core stuff is there and some really great stuff is there and there is ongoing development.

 

Personally, I just want more Apple related discussion and don't care who and really don't care for poking fun at other Apple communities and users. Not productive in the end. Much better to just start doing and talking about the machines to attract people, who then may well go and explore other computers. That's how it happened for me years ago, and today the first thing I would recommend to an Apple user looking to branch out a little is go and get an Atari

 

Did you all know Bill Budge used an Apple ][ development system to build the Atari 800 version of "Pinball Construction Set?" Most of us know 2600 development of various kinds happened on Apple ][ computers, but I didn't know that cross computer development was going on. That's an Apple strength IMHO. One could run some pretty powerful stuff on an Apple, due to the ability to add hard disks, and all manner of hardware. Interesting!

 

I'm beginning to appreciate how powerful Merlin was, for example. As I work through building PoP, I'm impressed at how that whole setup could work.

[+Allan]

The big reason why I won't share other people's scans is because I don't want to get into any Internet arguments. I just don't want to waste my time. Time is too precious. It's just easier to scan them myself. So the offer still stands if somebody wants to send me any Apple stuff. In the mean time I'd rather scan Atari stuff. There is so much more to do. But that is for another Atariage forum.

 

Allan

[dudeslife]

I've been looking on and off for these five books in pdf format for some time now:

1. BASIC Apple BASIC - James S. Coan, 1982 (ISBN-10: 0810456265)
    
   
2. Compute's Easy BASIC programs for the Apple - By B. Flynn, 1985 (ISBN-10: 0942386884)
    
   
3. Compute!'s Second Book of Apple - Compute!, 1985 (ISBN-10: 0874550084)
    
   
4. Compute!'s Third Book of Apple - Compute!, (ISBN-10: 0874550637)
    
   
5. Einstein’s Beginner’s Guide To The Apple IIe - By Jeff Einstein, 1984 (ISBN-10: 0156004127)
   

It's easy to find a paper copy of some of these books, but I just want to browse 'em and see if there's anything interesting in them, so I don't need to buy them... yet. If I like them then I'll pick up a copy, though some of these books look quite hard to find... and others not as much. I've done this before with Atari books and finding them in pdf format was FAR easier.

 

I'm ESPECIALLY interested in the three COMPUTE! Books. Any specific leads are appreciated.

 

Thanks.

 

Adam

 

I have all of the original Computes Apple books including "Apple Games for Kids" and "Kids and the Apple". Just wanted to post to let you know, these books will not be lost. you can see what I have here, click on the photo for huge zoomed-in view.

 

Edited March 23, 2013 by dudeslife

[The Usotsuki]

this Apple II user, have been since the 80's, is only 34, and there are many apple II people like me, who will give you all the information that they know, so its a little unfair to say we are a bunch of crabby old gereatics who dont know how to use modern machines just cause you cant get a scan of a copywrited book.

I would think such Apple ][ users are the minority - the most are in their 40s and 50s and have been into it since 1977, 1978 (and tend to prefer their 48K machines)... while I wasn't born until 1980, and hadn't touched a ][ until 1983, and prefer my 128K //e.

[Keatah]

The Apple was used for development not because it was powerful, but because it was so non-specific. Didn't have custom chips to flavor the end result. One could almost liken the Apple II infrastructure as a viewport into the 6502.

 

ADDED - And everything was just so accessible, nothing was hidden. And this applied to a lot of the peripherals, like the monitor listings on the roms on the expansion cards.

 

All the cool things were direct from the programmer, not any magic from within the machine. One could say the Apple II was the most personality-less micro available. Aside from those no-name multi-board S-100 type systems.

Edited March 23, 2013 by Keatah

[ballyalley]

I have all of the original Computes Apple books including "Apple Games for Kids" and "Kids and the Apple". Just wanted to post to let you know, these books will not be lost. you can see what I have here [in this picture]

 

Nice collection, there! I have a very large collection myself of Atari, Commodore and other 8-bit books. Oh my!... the collection of Astrocade material that I have is enormous. At the end of last year we moved into another house and the big plus for me wasn't the size of the house, or the yard or the nice neighborhood. What I liked best about the house were the built-in bookshelves in the garage used to house the last owner's personal library. Now it's got many, many computer books on it. Now that they are all out of boxes I realize just how many of the silly things that I have... and I'm thrilled.

 

That picture makes me want to sort my book collection a bit and then take a nice picture of it. That would need a new thread though. I'll keep that in the back of my mind and get to it. Sounds like fun to me!

 

Adam

[Keatah]

That picture makes me want to sort my book collection a bit and then take a nice picture of it. That would need a new thread though. I'll keep that in the back of my mind and get to it. Sounds like fun to me!

 

Adam

 

Agreed! I've got 8 rubbermaid tubs full of Apple books, about 1/3rd being Apple published material. Would love to get them all displayed and organized. But the upside is that over the 30 years they have survived quite well, some with the original musty-computer-store smell intact!

[20ohm20]

These Compute scans have been bouncing around the torrent sites for a long time. To think that Ebay would allow them to be sold (and the many other similar listings), yet not allow a blank (no ROMs) flashcart to be sold - does not make sense in the slightest.

 

The last sentence of the sellers "disclaimer" on those Compute! scans always makes me chuckle: "These materials were published before 1972 and have fallen into the public domain on December 19, 1970."

[+HatNJ]

Hi, well, there's no questioning the fact that you're a man of integrity, and I can appreciate that! Also very grateful for the excellent work you've been doing with scanning.

 

But in reference to the scans - Apple or otherwise - I think there's really not a clear indication who "owns" them, anyway. From a philosophical standpoint (since a legal one is not only beyond my understanding, but probably some gray area), I don't see any problem with sharing stuff (for free) , the ownership-of which is unknown, but I find it rather audacious that these people are selling the stuff. I wouldn't even think of doing that.

 

Perfect example is this:

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 190724887313

 

 

I tried to ask a question inquiring about his 1970 disclaimer I wanted to know How publications made from 1979 to the mid 90's are public domain

 

BUT this is what ebay responded with (could not ask question)

[+Allan]

Legally, the people scanning these books and magazines have no ownership. They are reproducing material already owned by someone else. If the legal intellectual property owner grants distribution rights to the person who scanned the work, that's different -- but except for Frank Kowatari and ANALOG, I don't know of any other examples of this happening.

 

Every single thing on Atarimagazines.com and atariarchives.org was posted with the permission of the authors. Kevin won't post anything that he doesn't have permission to.

 

Allan

[akator]

Every single thing on Atarimagazines.com and atariarchives.org was posted with the permission of the authors. Kevin won't post anything that he doesn't have permission to.

 

Cool and commendable

[dudeslife]

Every single thing on Atarimagazines.com and atariarchives.org was posted with the permission of the authors. Kevin won't post anything that he doesn't have permission to.

 

Allan

 

Thankfully, the Internet Archive doesn't worry about this. Otherwise, tons would have been lost. The burden is put right where it should be, on the content rights holder. If they still exist, they are more than capable of speaking up. I know of someone who has a complete run of Creative Computing and asked nearly two years ago for permission to scan them and put them on his website.. to my knowledge he is still waiting.

 

Thankfully Kevin and Jason got together and put Kevin's CCs in the Internet Archive. Now, the other person sitting there waiting for permission that will never come will not endanger the loss of Creative Computing for future generations.

Edited March 25, 2013 by dudeslife