carlsson Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! About 7-10 years ago, I could've bought a loose CPC464 for 1/20 of that price. While all prices have skyrocketed lately, I think that one is greatly overpriced. Even 1/4 of the asked price, after discount, would be too much. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted July 30, 2016 Author Share Posted July 30, 2016 eBay asking prices are ridiculous sometimes... If I wanted a functioning //e with a DuoDisk and an Apple monitor, I SHOULD be looking at between $150-$200 based on Completed auctions... They have some on eBay now for 3 times that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatPix Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 I found a CPC 464 in the trashbin Mre seriously, a CPC 464/6128 here (France) is around 30/40€, less if you are patient, and about 80/100€ for a CPC Plus series. Glad you liked the computer, even if I guessed that only the ZX would appeal to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 (edited) One day, I decided to start up.again, only THIS time, on my TI. Got out my trusty TI WRITER package and went to work. I banged out another 80 pages in just a couple of days and absolutely loved the experience. I went back and tried to rewrite what I lost on my PC, but it was not the same. I am kind of a keyboard snob as well, though you may just need a better keyboard for your PC I actually used an IBM Model M on my desktop until very recently and still have it sitting next to my desk for the day it inevitably returns as my main source of input. I'm currently using a Corsair mechanical gaming keyboard, which is different but still nice (and quite a bit smaller than the IBM) but it is amazing how a little thing like the double-sized keys requiring more force to press (because of their stabilizers) can drive me nuts for actual typing. Luckily I don't do much actual typing on that machine anymore; I mostly use my laptop and reserve the desktop for gaming. I have used a TI 99/4A but it was literally one or two times at a family friend's house, and probably 35 years ago. I unfortunately can't remember the keyboard feel or what machines might be similar (or better). But I know in those days it was really rare for keyboards to have anything but a linear actuation (where the keys go down smoothly until bottoming out). The IBM was the only early 80's computer I personally know of with a click in the middle of a keypress, and that eventually became sort of standard until some of the linear mechanical keyboards we have today. Ironically those can feel pretty close to some of the non-IBM classic computers. The way you describe the TI keyboard does sound like a pretty good match for the Apple IIe, though. I'm not sure if there's a difference between the IIe and IIe Platinum keyboard (it's the original IIe that I have experience with), but if I were buying a IIe, I'd probably look for a Platinum for other reasons. Edit: Here's a video of a guy programming BASIC on his IIe; you can maybe get a little feel for what typing is like on it: Edited July 30, 2016 by spacecadet 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled_Pink Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! About 7-10 years ago, I could've bought a loose CPC464 for 1/20 of that price. While all prices have skyrocketed lately, I think that one is greatly overpriced. Even 1/4 of the asked price, after discount, would be too much. I guessed that the Schneider might be easier to find in the US than an actual Amstrad model. Actually the first time I'd seen a Schneider. Kind of disappointing to see that it's no different to an actual Amstrad. Over here, a CPC464 seems to go for about £75 on eBay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatPix Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 It is different in that it's using standard PC printer connectors instead of the usual edge connectors. Other than that (and aside from the Schneider rebranding of course), it's an CPC like all others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 I stopped writing that novel and stopped computing for a good while. To this day, I have not returned to my novel... Still have the 130 original pages, but it is only half complete, and the passion was lost. There is a moral in there somewhere, but it escapes me somehow. ..save and save often..? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 (edited) eBay asking prices are ridiculous sometimes... If I wanted a functioning //e with a DuoDisk and an Apple monitor, I SHOULD be looking at between $150-$200 based on Completed auctions... They have some on eBay now for 3 times that. I don't think those overpriced setups are moving all that well, obviously, as they aren't showing up in the "completed" listings? Right? Having been at the beginning of the single-board micro revolution, just around and after the S-100 systems' heyday in the mid-70's, I got to watch the industry grow from garages to the commercialized and commoditized mess it is now. For a nice //e with 128k/80column card, enhancement kit, SuperSerialCard, clock, color monitor, and 2 5.25" drives + interface, I would personally pay no more than $275 - $300.. As time goes on this will increase. I wouldn't get fixated on the keyboard. There are adapters to let you connect a modern-day PS/2 or even a 5150-style keyboard. I also prefer the II+ //e arrow-style case as opposed to the IIgs, because the arrow-case is the embodiment of classic Apple II styling. It is roomy inside to mount many things inside. I also like the Apple II system because it has a comprehensive set of tools on the PC that greatly enhance the experience. A good emulator. A good PC-to-Apple disk transfer solution. Several Flash-based storage options. Awesome telecommunications programs that make use of tons of modems. And a nice set of disk image manipulation tools that exist on both sides Apple<>PC. Once you get everything set up, you segue back and forth between the two environments efficiently, as if they were extensions of each other. One and the same. The modern PC has given our old classic machines a whole new dimension to play in. And the support they provide has increased ease of use by leaps and bounds. This goes for other 8-bit machines, too. And I must not forget the excellent documentation for the II series. The early II+ Family System came with both newbie and engineering styles of manuals. Superb mom'n'pop tutorials and monitor ROM listings and schematics all in the same box. I swear I had a personal tutor right beside me when reading these manuals. The same can even be said of most peripherals and add-on boards. As much as I like vintage Apple, I personally wouldn't go after the IIgs. I mean you can of course. Getting a IIgs won't hinder your experience at all. If I really wanted to get into exploring 16-bit "stuff" I'd tip my hat toward the Amiga for this, or an early Mac Classic. Development tools were aplenty. And the Mac and Amiga pushed the envelope more than any other system of the 16-bit era. IMHO, which may be biased because I didn't get into the IIgs till late in the game. And then I moved into a 486 DX2/50. Also, you are not restricted to making one purchase and then forever having to be stuck with it. You can always add another system later. But it *IS* refreshing to see more and more people focusing on one or two platforms and getting into their finer points as opposed to building a mound of stuff that never gets used or played with. Edited July 30, 2016 by Keatah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 As much as I like vintage Apple, I personally wouldn't go after the IIgs. I mean you can of course. Getting a IIgs won't hinder your experience at all. If I really wanted to get into exploring 16-bit "stuff" I'd tip my hat toward the Amiga for this, or an early Mac Classic. Development tools were aplenty. And the Mac and Amiga pushed the envelope more than any other system of the 16-bit era. IMHO, which may be biased because I did get into the IIgs till late in the game. And then I moved into a 486 DX2/50. The only two reasons I recommended the IIGS are: 1) It can run the most software of any Apple II (including both 8 bit and 16 bit software), and 2) It can run any Apple II software, including 8 bit stuff, at 2.8mhz. This can make a huge difference. Of course, some stuff runs too fast like that, so you just turn the speed back to "normal". But a lot of older II stuff ran really slow to begin with, and the IIGS fixes that. I have nothing but good things to say about the IIe. But the II line was one of those systems where each variant just added more stuff you could do. I think it's totally valid to buy a classic computer for some subjective reason, like it just looks cooler, but I used a IIc as my main computer for a long time when I was younger and some of the software I had was just painfully slow. I suppose you can look for a IIe accelerator if needed/wanted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 Yes those can be valid reasons for recommending the IIgs. I find it amusing to run some software in Applewin emulator at thousands of MHz. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 Also, you are not restricted to making one purchase and then forever having to be stuck with it. You can always add another system later. But it *IS* refreshing to see more and more people focusing on one or two platforms and getting into their finer points as opposed to building a mound of stuff that never gets used or played with. I am looking for one system here... I often toggle my console gaming interests between VCS, Intellivision, NES, and Genesis, but my computing interests are far more monogamous. The system I buy will be with me forever, and will be used regularly. I have no need for 5 vintage computer systems. Imagine if you had 5 girlfriends... you'd disappoint all of them and wouldn't have enough quality time to spend with any one of them. I have a genuine love for my TI system. It has been my companion for many years. I hope to have that same kind of relationship with my new computer as well.... Whatever system that may be. I am leaning Apple //e, as I do have SOME history with it, and it checks all the boxes vis a vis my requirements. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 (edited) For a nice //e with 128k/80column card, enhancement kit, SuperSerialCard, clock, color monitor, and 2 5.25" drives + interface, I would personally pay no more than $275 - $300.. As time goes on this will increase. What about a nice standard //e with a DuoDisk, monochrome monitor, and all hookups? And how flexible is the //e with drive configuration? Could external 3.5" drives be used? 5.25" floppies are getting expensive these days!! Edited July 31, 2016 by Opry99er 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Usotsuki Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 You'd need an addon card but you can use 3.5" drives with a //e. Of course since most games simply assumed you were running off a 5.25" drive, you'd need specially ported software. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 Nothing should need to be ported for media type, I wouldn't imagine... As long as the drive selections were correct... My TI-99 has 5.25s and 3.5s attached. They are just storage devices. If you put a book in a drawer or if you put that same book in the closet, when it is removed, it is still the same book. Thanks for the info on the card add on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 What about a nice standard //e with a DuoDisk, monochrome monitor, and all hookups? And how flexible is the //e with drive configuration? Could external 3.5" drives be used? 5.25" floppies are getting expensive these days!! It's not going to be that much less than the $275-$300 you saw before - the only real difference is the monitor. All the other stuff is basically required; they were standard IIe upgrades that pretty much everyone had - without them you would be severely limited in what you could do. That also means it's going to be tough to find a IIe setup *without* most of that stuff, unless someone's parting out a system and selling everything separately. An exception might be the Enhancement Kit, which is required for a lot of later software but I'll bet a lot of people stopped using their IIe's by then. But this is one reason why I'd just look for an Enhanced IIe or Platinum IIe to begin with, which had that built in (or a IIGS, which had everything built in). The Duo Drive might actually add a few bucks vs. the standard separate drives. As for the drive config, as mentioned you can use 3.5" drives with a second controller card, but just be aware that the IIe and previous II's really didn't use 3.5" drives for much of anything. 3.5" was standard for the IIGS and there are some later 8 bit titles that would run off 3.5" disks on either machine, but about 98% of all ][ / ][+ / IIe software is on 5.25" disk, and that's what applications expect even for data. Unless you know you have a specific software need, it's probably better to just stick with 5.25" for a IIe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 (edited) yea there's a small amount of software for the 8 bit machines that run off the 3.5 inch disk, and the majority of that is the same software as 5.25 inch disk ported for the short lived //c+ now sometimes it might be handy cause its 4 5.25's vs 1 3.5 or something but its not that common also PS just cause you have a floppy drive for a pc doesnt mean you can write apple disks, I mention that cause its usually the case people see 3.5 <> 3.5 but before 1.44 meg disks apple used a variable drive speed to cram a little more data on the disks. Which is why PC DSDD 3.5's are 720K and II's and Mac's are 800K Edited July 31, 2016 by Osgeld Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 Understood! Thanks. I think my primary plan was to transfer programs from the PC to the //e and save them to 3.5 diskette. It is efficient and works well with my current setup... Then again, I know very little about Apple system configuration or serial interfacing. Anyone know of a reliable and inexpensive source for 5.25" floppy disks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 Imagine if you had 5 girlfriends... you'd disappoint all of them and wouldn't have enough quality time to spend with any one of them. Also imagine the forum where someone would ask for advice which kind of girlfriend to obtain, pros and cons with different ones. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 LOL!!! I often sought advice on my love life as a young man... Now I have my wife of 8 years and all is well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesD Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 If you go with a IIe, I'd try to get a CFFA3000. If enough people are interested, he'll make another production run. http://dreher.net/?c=projects/CFforAppleII/main.php 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 I've been considering a CFFA3000, but it is a bit rich for me given how seldom I use my Apple ][+ clone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 Shame I am not looking for a //c... This is 30 minutes away from my house. http://www.lsn.com/1985-apple-iic-computer/4902907.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 (edited) Pricey, but this is also a nice //+ 15 minutes from my house. http://www.lsn.com/apple-ii-computer/4497369.html Edited July 31, 2016 by Opry99er Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 (edited) If you go with a IIe, I'd try to get a CFFA3000. If enough people are interested, he'll make another production run. http://dreher.net/?c=projects/CFforAppleII/main.php I would have been interested but didn't want to wait. I recently bought a Floppy Emu and it's great. It's a bit slower than the CFFA3000 from what I understand but I like that it's external, which makes it easy to hot-swap SD cards. I'd recommend this, and it's available now: http://www.bigmessowires.com/floppy-emu/ Opry99er: both of those setups seem too expensive to me. There are some systems on Ebay right now that seem like a better deal even with shipping. I wouldn't buy a ][+ at all at this point, personally. At this stage, I wouldn't buy a IIc either. (I own one, but mine was bought new when price was a factor.) It sounds like you really want a IIe, so I'd get one of the IIe's on Ebay right now over either of those local setups. Edited August 1, 2016 by spacecadet 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 (edited) Yea, I want the //e. Neither of those rigs is exactly what I want, so I will be passing on them. Crazy that they're local though. Look on a map.... We are parsecs away from any major city, and it is rare as hell to even find an Atari 2600 game out here in the wild. Crazy that 2 (TWO!!!) Apple systems are out there at the same time. Edited August 1, 2016 by Opry99er 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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