Apples And Oranges Redux
Inspired by last weekend, I attempted to purchase an Apple IIGS system (not just any, mind you, a loaded one, with TransWarp GS, huge memory expansion, internal SCSI disk, etc, etc). With just 30 seconds left in the auction, it was at about $360. I playfully bid $658.16, only expecting to pay $380. I was outbid.
Yes, that Apple IIGS ended up going for nearly 700 bucks, just 20 years too late. From that incident, I decided a radical shift was in order, if I was to resume dedication to 8 and 16 bit computers. To wit, the artificial scarcity of the 'vintage' market, coupled with the restraints of using only vanilla hardware (when we can easily extend the GS to have SVGA graphics and a 20MHz processor because it is, after all, the year 2000 and freakin 7) are nasty things to have to deal with. You may already see where this is going.
At least two people have successfully implemented the Apple IIe in VHDL/Verilog, and I'm going to gently prod them (donating hardware or cash if I have to) into releasing at least binary hexdumps, but preferably full source for platforms such at the Spartan 3E Starter Kit or the C-One Reconfigurable Computer. If you haven't read about these things yet, you should. With the right gang of people, this kind of thing could open "vintage" computing wide open, even make it cool for people who tend to shun such things.
I've only begun prodding people and gathering equipment and knowledge (all I have is a Digilent Spartan-3 Starter Kit board, I'd like a 3E and maybe a C-One, and in the meantime I'm hacking Jeri's C-64 DTV joystick for inspiration). But even though these wheels will turn slowly, I'm working to make the Apple II available in a meaningful way, and without scarcity. I don't want to say any more on this subject because I don't want to offer false hopes. But I do mean to assure you that I'm working on it. First, I will document the building of a C64 based on the C-64 DTV unit here, then I hope to document the building of an Apple IIe based on a Spartan-3 or C-One. Then, finally, dare I dream it, the GS.
Carbon Fiber Holster
Upon reviewing my concealed-carry stance, I decided the single most awkward thing about it was the shoulder rig. I've played with many different tensions and configurations of the shoulder rig, and have never been able to make it anything other than obvious. Really obvious. Neon sign obvious. I now think that only a "big guy" can pull off a shoulder rig. I have something of a medium frame, and the gun just won't hide under my arm or on my kidney, without showing off an enormous bulge in my suit jacket. I'm trying a new set of tailored suits, as well as this carbon fiber holster from Magill's. Concealment isn't just some crazy right we have in most of the States of our Union. It's a duty you have to your own defense. You can confirm this for yourself by reading any newspaper. Persons failing in this duty have recently suffered increasingly severe and horrific consequences. It is imperative that you end the lives of carjackers and home invaders without mercy.