Why did you buy an Apple II?

[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.

Edited May 27, 2021 by Keatah

[bikeguychicago]

I got my IIGS and a //e from a Facebook marketplace post for free. I had worked on Apples in school when I was growing up and picked these up because of the price and because of the nostalgia itch. I wound up selling the //e mostly because I didn't have room or need for both machines.

The best thing I did for my 2gs was to install a CFFA3000 card and bump the memory up to 4 MB. Still looking for an elusive transwarp at a good price.

Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk

[magnusfalkirk]

I started with home computers back in the dark ages, 1981. Bought a TRS-80 Model 1 level 2, 16k of memory and a cassette drive, because a friend recommended it. About a year later another friend told me about a sale on Apple ][+ at a local computer store, she had used the ][ in college and said it was a great computer. Bought the computer, a disk drive and an RF adapter, because I didn't have the money to buy a monitor. Worked my way up through a //e, //c and eventually GS.

 

Moved up to the Mac world in 95. Sold the Apple //'s, except for the GS. Did a stupid thing early 2000's an accidentally killed the GS. Instead of buying a new motherboard simply got rid of it and everything else I had for the // line. A few years alter got back into the ][ via emulation on the Mac and then eventually got a //e at an estate sale. Currently own an Apple //c+ and a GS with the CFFA 3000, 4MB.

[Papalapa]

I used this computer at the school when I was young (long time ago ?) so, I buyed an Apple II for nostalgia.

[BydoEmpire]

When I was about 14 or so, I ended up getting a //c at home because my school had Apple 2s and I'd spend every lunch hour and extra time before/after classes programming them.  I wanted to continue doing that at home.

[Baldrick]

While I'd like to say we got an Apple II because of it's popularity or superiority, in reality we got into the Apple II (by building several clone II+) because of VisiCalc and AppleWriter.

 

My dad needed something to help with his business, and the Apple II was the least expensive way to go about it.  

At the time our "home" computer was a VIC20 and I was studying at school with Commodore PETs, with the occasional foray into Apple II when some topic warranted, but there was only one Apple in the lab of 20 or so PETs at the school.

 

Anyway, because of that business related top-down-trickle effect I became quite involved with the Apple II, and have been ever since (with a few years hiatus in the 90s and early aughts).

 

 

[20ohm20]

My dad bought a //e in 1983 as a means of working remotely without having to make a 250 mile round trip drive once or twice a week.  I wasn't really allowed to use it (I had a TI-99/4A, VIC-20, and C-64 at the time) but I remember playing Zork I on it occasionally.  When the company bought him an IBM PC in 1986, he basically gave me the Apple //e, which I still have to this day:  non-enhanced, 128k RAM/80 column card, DuoDrive, Apple Personal Modem, Imagewriter I printer, and an Apple monochrome monitor.  All but the monitor (which kicked the bucket in the mid-90's) still works to this day.

[Asaki]

I always kind of wanted one, and the lady at the thrift store said I could have it for $25 B)

[nick3092]

I got a //c for Christmas of '84 when I was around 6 or so. The teachers my family knew recommended the Apple II line. And they probably went with the //c since it was basically an all in one solution. Plus it was shiny and new back then.

 

By the time we started having computer classes in school (my district was all Apple II and eventually Mac until probably the mid 90s), I was irritating our computer instructor because I knew as much (maybe more) than her due to all of the time I spent on it. I'd finish her assignments in lightning speed and always knew the answers to her questions off the top of my head before anyone else could answer. 

 

Fast forward 30 or so years, and I finally picked up a IIgs that I always wanted back in the day. But my childhood //c is still my go to for nostalgia reasons. I also picked up a ColorMonitor IIc last year. I had always wanted one. To fill the void back in the day, I frequently used the RF adapter and an old color tv next to my //c growing up. But there is something to be said for that 9" green screen. 

Edited June 4, 2021 by nick3092

[DeathAdderSF]

My first ever computer, the Apple IIc, was in fact purchased for me by my grandmother.

 

"Some buy greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."

 

Good ol' granny used to get a kick out of standing in my doorway as I played the various country anthems on Summer Games, that meant a lot to her because she was happy I was enjoying the computer. And it was probably a relief too, since the whole set cost her big buck$.

 

I adored that computer as a kid, and still think it's pretty g-damn awesome now. I still have a minor obsession with the Apple II line, even pretty nifty clones like the Trackstar series: complete Apple II computers on a PC ISA card.

 

And that's that.

 

Edited June 6, 2021 by DeathAdderSF

[KevKelley]

My parents bought the IIc after the TI99/4a, presumably for the all-in-one nature of the computer and versatility for business, education, and games.

[ClausB]

In 1980 I wanted an Apple II with its color graphics after reading good things in BYTE, but it was too expensive for this poor college student. In a local store I discovered the Atari 400 for half the price and got one.

 

In 84 I went to Macy's in Manhattan and saw the cool, brightly lit with black walls, Apple showroom. There was the lovely little IIc, still too expensive though.

 

A few years ago I found a ratty IIc on eBay for $20 and snapped it up. I cleaned it up and saw that it worked fine though it was missing two keys. An old PC keyboard donated keys which fit well but looked sad. Finally a II of my own! Some time later I bought the two missing keys for nearly as much as I paid for the IIc.

[ussexplorer]

So growing up. I worked for, found, purchased or was given different computers. I also tore apart and thus, broke more than I fixed them. Dear to my heart. Trs-80 coco 1 from a thrift store. Worked for a trs-80 model 1 from a relative. Then my parents purchased a used apple ii plus on consignment at a pawn shop. Some place in the mix was a trip to Computer Land and not understanding what credit was. The guy was just like oh yea you an sign up on credit and pay the rest of it off. I think they was talking about an Amiga. My parents turned that down. Anyway back to the apple. I really didn't want to get rid of the apple. But since I was now working in PC's and wanted to upgrade my PC. Plus the fact that even looking at Sun remaketing from Utah and seeing apple stuff cost more than PC stuff. Even though I had a job. The PC won out for upgrade and thus, needed more money. Thus, fast forward to now and me trying to decide what vintage computer I wanted to have. Looking into the system and seeing what they could do. I went with the apple II plus. Esp. when I found out I could run cpm, and finish my dream of running apple works on it.  I still have a few more goodies I want to add to my collection. I'll get to the point. TTFN, Josh

[desiv]

Didn't have an Apple II back in the day.

First computer was a Vic-20 (that I loved) and then went C64, SX64, Amiga, etc.. (with PCs creeping in there also).  Wasn't unhappy with that progression.  Had fun and it worked out great for me...

 

That said, my friend in high school had an Apple ][+ and we played Ultima II and CanonBall Blitz on that thing...

I wanted an Apple ][ (or really a Franklin Ace back then for some reason; fuzzy memory), but financially it wasn't an option.

 

When I had a chance to pick up a used Apple //c system from a school auction years later tho, I jumped on that.  And then I had to get the //e, of course.

Edited June 16, 2021 by desiv

[MarkO]

JAN-1982:  Discover the Three Apple ][+ 48KB in the High School Business Classroom.  Bought some blank disks and started "collecting" Software..

 

SEP-1982:   All Apple ][+ were moved to dedicated classroom, no longer "free access"..

 

APR-1983:  My Uncle and Dad both got Sinclair ZX-81 "kits" to Build...   Works Great, but no Disks and Membrane Keyboard..

 

NOV-1983:  High School friend, Randy and I form Partnership.. We each bring $600.00, ( US Dollars ) to purchase a 6 month old, used Apple ][e, 64KB, one Disk ][ and Monitor /// with that little stand..

 

APR-1984, ( or ), Randy buys out my Half, my Dad contributes $600.00 and we get another of the, now 12 month old, used Apple ][e, 64KB, one Disk ][ and Monitor /// with that little stand..

 

My dad buys a Star Gemini 10, I get a Microbuffer, 64KB with Parallel and Serial Interfaces, a RAMWORKS III with 512KB, Ace Calc, ( a little better than Vis-a-Calc ) and Word Juggler ][e for Word Processing..

 

My dad gets the Apple Monitor 100 and Apple Memory/RGB card, and stores the Monitor ///

 

My dad uses this setup until 1994, when he "upgrades" to a i386 Compatible..

 

 

Attached Picture: I'm the "guy" on the Left..  Randy is on the Right..

[gferluga]

The real PC!!!

[Flack]

My dad sold our TRS-80 Model III and purchased an Apple II compatible (the Franklin Ace 1000) for two reasons: one, it was literally cheaper to buy a complete Apple II system than it was to add two floppy drives to the TRS-80 at that time, and two, our elementary school had purchased an Apple II, and that seemed to be the way things were going. 

 

I got my first Apple II many years ago at Goodwill for $1.98, complete with two floppy drives. I bought an Apple IIc at a gaming event in 2005 for $20. Over the years I've picked up four or five Apple II machines, including one black Bell and Howell model. They're pretty easy to repair and fun to play with. I still have one in my office with a CFFA300 installed. 

[Hwlngmad]

14 hours ago, Flack said:

My dad sold our TRS-80 Model III and purchased an Apple II compatible (the Franklin Ace 1000) for two reasons: one, it was literally cheaper to buy a complete Apple II system than it was to add two floppy drives to the TRS-80 at that time, and two, our elementary school had purchased an Apple II, and that seemed to be the way things were going. 

 

I got my first Apple II many years ago at Goodwill for $1.98, complete with two floppy drives. I bought an Apple IIc at a gaming event in 2005 for $20. Over the years I've picked up four or five Apple II machines, including one black Bell and Howell model. They're pretty easy to repair and fun to play with. I still have one in my office with a CFFA300 installed. 

Those black Bell and Howell Apple IIs a pretty slick looking.  Probably my personal favorite model.

[newtmonkey]

I didn't have an Apple II back in the day, but I managed to get a great deal on an Apple IIc on Ebay of all places 5 years ago or so, for just under $100 USD shipped (with the monochrome IIc monitor included!).  The seller listed it as "not tested" but had included a photo of the system running something off the disk drive, so I knew it worked to some degree.  I was expecting I'd have to replace some parts and do some repairs... but it actually worked perfectly right away (still does to this day).

 

I originally wanted it to (1) learn 6502 assembly and (2) play RPGs.  I never got much of anywhere with either goal, due to general laziness (1) and difficulty finding (and running) non-cracked software.

[Keatah]

Cracked & pirated software was a huge monster-sized subculture in the Apple II world. Why the issue with cracked software?

[JamesD]

I didn't have and Apple back in the day, but a friend had a II+. 
Spent a lot of time on it.
It was also one of the first machines I programmed in assembly on.

So I have a couple

 

[Asaki]

15 hours ago, newtmonkey said:

I never got much of anywhere with either goal, due to general laziness (1) and difficulty finding (and running) non-cracked software.

As far as I know, non-cracked software won't run?

But sometimes you can find cracked disk images that don't have the cracker's name hacked all over the intro screens.

[newtmonkey]

8 hours ago, Keatah said:

Cracked & pirated software was a huge monster-sized subculture in the Apple II world. Why the issue with cracked software?

I have an issue with it only because you never know whether the cracker screwed the game up.  It wouldn't matter so much for a quick action game, but getting halfway through a massive RPG only to find the rest of the game doesn't work would be a nightmare.  For example, the most common cracked version of Deathlord (a massive 100+ hour game) is broken once you get out of the first continent.

[Keatah]

Seek out .WOZ images.

 

They’re complete with copy protection intact, works on some emulators, and should be unmolested by script kiddies.

[Keatah]

I remember quite clearly from back in the day all the crack screens advertising BBSes and groups and "courier services". They're forever a part of the ecosphere's history. And it's how we remember the software anyways.

 

I preferred the ones that popped up instantly on booting for 5 or 10 seconds and then continuing on as if it were an original - with the rest of the stuff unaltered. I really really hated it when they modified the game's own title screens or messed with the hi-score table.

 

Today there is some effort at providing clean cracks all over again. And with the internet it's super easy to "report" a bad crack. Whereas years ago in the 80's. You got what you got and there was zero hope of casual gamers getting it re-done or a different copy altogether.

 

BTW: Did anyone have good performance from the earlier bit-copiers like Locksmith or Nibbles Away or Copy II Plue? I didn't and parameters weren't always correct because there seemed to be different schemes. I mean I had some successes, but nowhere near what was advertised possible.