Keatah

Back in the day we all had preferences for what micro we wanted. So what made you choose an Apple II over other available rigs? In my case the expansion slots were a key feature. I knew for a solid undeniable fact that years later I'd be able stay current with technological advances. The second reason was it had a lot of chips, 86 in total. That meant to us kids it was a smart system. The third reason was aesthetics - a nice angular wedge shape with an easily removable top to see inside. Amusingly it was the removable snap-secured top that was in the computer's favor. A feature that contributed to its longevity when in my hands. I was able to take a look inside without unscrewing stuff or breaking anything. A simple operation with moving the monitor aside being the hardest part. Other "complex" stuff I still took apart of course but never got it back together - and thus the item would be used for spare parts or get thrown out. The Apple II mostly survived that. Mostly I say because we found other ways to mess it up. The programming style/accessibility of the Apple II was wholly not important at purchase time. As long as I could program it. All I knew is it had BASIC and I already knew some stuff. And there was color graphics and all the cool stuff at Compu-Shop and DataDomain. Had to have it even though I already had the Atari VCS - which obviously had much better sound and graphics, especially its color palette - so vibrant. But the Apple II programmable and I could command it unlike cartridge-only systems. Originally I really wanted a TRS-80, but my elders had strongly talked me out of it saying I'd be completely bored with b/w only graphics.

I suppose the incentive for developing for an add-on or expansion module is the added capability. Better game. More involved game. Or simply making something possible in the first place. Charge more money too. I suppose there's a balance there. Or some formula that gives the green light for an expanded game. Of course demographics and the current gaming landscape can and do change that formula. IDK.. When a game is made and it's all about money I find the game to be less enjoyable with less replay value. When it's done for the love of the art, the value and longevity is so much more.

Ha! Yes indeed. There was a time when I was asked to NOT scan something for the Apple II, because value. Screw that! Can never have too much scanned documentation & manuals.

If they can integrate it with the VCS core, make the ARM code run on the ARM processor, and keep all the timing intact. Probably yes. It's like MAME. It's warez. Flying cross-country with "preservation" as the call sign to ease the conscience and state noble intentions. OTH, in order to preserve something "interactive" you must save and replicate the behavior and responses. So a side-effect of "preservation" is that the games are playable. As so stated in the MAME charter.

Wouldn't it be up to the emulator/simulator to acquire the capacity to run whatever new games come out? Yes. I dislike seeing developers modify their games to run on emus or to accommodate an emulator's shortcomings. Real hardware always always comes first. And it's up to the emu devs to match it. New bankswitch schemes. These can be hardware based, such as new circuitry & wiring in the cartridge. Stella needs to be modified/extended to understand the new circuitry in the cartridge. After all, if it is an emulator of hardware, new hardware means new versions. In other words, Stella emulates the original VCS out to and through the cartridge slot, through a standard cartridge PCB, through the ROM addressing in the ROM itself, ending at the actual "game program" instructions. If you start changing that "last-mile hardware" then it's really a whole new ballgame. You've got a new console. Need new emu code to accommodate that new PCB and socket and ROM layout. Over the years Stella has advanced quite considerably. And I consider it a gold standard when it comes to exploring nuances of a game or trying to break a game. Thing is the MiSTer core is incomplete. It isn't aware of newer bank switch schemes and certainly not aware of the hardware in recent Champ or Spiceware games. MiSTer isn't going that last mile. MiSTer isn't recognizing the fact that the original VCS becomes a dual-processor system with Harmony/Melody/ARM carts. Again it's MiSTer's responsibility to gain compatibility. MiSTer must consider the new circuitry and not just what's in the console.

The ad is very true in that it shows you Pac-Man on the 5200. And it shows you Pac-Man on the Colecovision. Can't detect any deception. Allow me to disagree. I don't see pinning any failure here. Back then it was what it was. True enough. As I kid I liked the add-ons. At the same time I didn't and couldn't quite figure out why. Today we understand more, yes, annoyances, swapping, space for storage..

Yes. Is the top of the metal case actually grounded it's screwed together? No paint acting as an insulator? No problem with the rubber insulating the screw heads?

I've been playing with this on and off over the years. First version I recall dick'n'round with would've been COLEMDOS 0.2.5 in 1996!

You should learn to be civil and polite. And don’t make the OP feel bad when he tries an unimplementable solution.

Yes it could be enough. I was thinking outside because it needn't be cut precisely and for safety. Don't want it falling onto live wiring and stuff.

That's right. I had to do this 2 times this year to date. Always seems to happen near Chicago and the FoxValley sorting stations. But they did get it moving again. I'm always impressed that when I order cheap china electronic parts and "speedpaks", that the stuff arrives very quickly. Seemingly always beating the 1-month estimates by a week or two. With USPS being the last-mile, they only two days at most.

Tell us if the cover is magnetic or not. Not confident an aluminum foil sheet will work. But yes. Try a ferrous metal sheet. Especially if the top cover is plastic or non-ferrous. Use something that will shield against magnetic lines of force/flux. It may have to be slightly larger than the powerstrip itself. It may have to overhang and cover the back and sides - maybe. But it does not have to be inside the powerstrip. Ground it for bonus points. Farting around with repositioning wires is going to be tedious. You will need to do something to hold them in place and keep the right spacing, if you can discover it. I'll buy you a beer if you're successful with this method. Shit. I'll buy you beer either way.

Well..maybe.. Its natural behavior that the faster something is, the "more faster" the user wants it to be. Example when copying a file on the Apple II, it could take several seconds to move 32K or 48K.. But I demand my i9 copy a gig a second. Anything else is painstakingly slow and annoying. E-Commerce is instant compared to the 4-6 weeks we'd wait for mail order in the 70's and early 80's.