Past Events

Introduction of committee members; tips and tricks for having a fantastic week.

In 1978, Wigginton was a brilliant young high school student working alongside Apple co-founder Wozniak. Wigginton was an early member of the famous Homebrew Computer Club, often caught rides to club meetings with Wozniak, and was there for the unveiling of the Apple I. At age 14, Wigginton started writing software for the Apple I. He assisted with the early design of and software for the Apple II and manned the booth at the West Coast Computer Faire introducing the…

Sheppy unveils his latest top secret Apple IIgs project.

Rob Walch of Today in iOS podcast joins us for a look at tips, tricks, and the latest in Apple’s iOS and related hardware.

Charles with demonstrate his new RetroConnector kits, which allow you to use an Apple IIe or IIc key-board with a modern computer via USB. He'll also show his USB keyboard interface that connects a USB keyboard to an Apple //e.

Is it rare?  Is it original?  What's the history?  Bring your hardware and get an evaluation from Apple II expert Tony Diaz.

This session will focus on the restoration of the Apple IIe computer and its many variants. The session will include repairing broken key switches, disassembly, cleaning motherboards, expansion cards, and keyboards. It will also cover tips on repairing things that usually go wrong on the IIe; where to find parts; cleaning the case and other parts; testing and diagnostics.

This will be a live demonstration of "boot tracing" a copy-protected game. Starting with an un-copyable disk and an Apple II monitor prompt, we'll proceed step-by-step through the initial load of a game until we (hopefully) locate and disable its copy-protection code. Knowledge of 6502 assembly language is helpful but not required to enjoy the session.

Want to take a look at the micro-micro cheaper-than-cheap desktop computer everyone's been buzzing about? Come for this intro session on the Raspberry Pi, which is quite possibly the Apple II of our time. You'll learn about what it is, what it does, and get a brief primer on its Linux operating system

I'll show how to use Sweet16, the Apple IIgs emulator, from getting initially set up and running to advanced capabilities of the software. Learn how to get and install your ROM image, where to get disk images and how to install GS/OS onto a virtual hard drive, and start it up. Learn about useful configuration options and all the power user features that you may never have noticed.

Topics include: archiving and servicing the disk drive, tweaking it for working with floppy disks that are shedding magnetic particles, and more.

None of us has the free time or patience we once had, both of which were necessary when playing the epic role playing games of our youth. Coming back to an RPG these days can be a nostalgic trip, but frustrating, since they often require hours of hacking, questing, and dying (repeatedly) at the hands of a lower level enemy, before getting to the good parts we all remember. Using The Bard’s Tale, an Apple II emulator, and a hex…

In his article "Teach US Kids to Write Computer Programs", Douglas Rushkoff notes the following lay-man's analogy regarding our relationship with computers today: Programming a computer is not like being a mechanic. It is the difference between being a driver and a passenger. As a passenger, you rely on your driver to take you where you want to go and even tell you that a certain place exists. Today, most consumers are passengers, but it wasn't always this way. The…

This session will present a variety of hardware innovations that I have developed over the years. Each will be demonstrated and discussed. BUGG-POWER: This is an adaptation of IBM-style power supplies for the IIgs and IIe to eliminate low-power hassles. It was was shown at the 1996 KansasFest meeting and later presented in a magazine article(Juiced GS, Fall 1996). Separate versions are used for the IIgs and IIe/II+. THREE DISK II ENHANCEMENTS: The classic Disk II drive is 35 years…

A companion hands-on workshop where participants bring their own disks and computers, and I (and hopefully some other knowledgeable volunteers) help them boot-trace the disks and de-protect them. All are welcome to participate or watch.

Journey through the world of Joss Whedon's Firefly TV series & Serenity movie, through shiny behind-the-scenes photos, personal experiences, official props, and fan-made props

A historical overview of Apple II data storage and operating systems, from cassette to USB.

A brief demonstration of Apple IIgs cross development using Apple's MPW IIgs development tools.

Do you want a tiny, silent, $35 network drive for your Apple II? Wait no longer. The Raspberry Pi is here, and A2SERVER easily turns it into a file server for your Apple II computers. At this session, you'll see A2SERVER and the Raspberry Pi in action, and learn how to put it it to work. If you came to the A2SERVER presentation two years ago, you'll see some cool new tricks this time! Note: Ivan might transition from this…

Using the VSDRIVE capability of ADTPro, I will show how even an Apple IIc can have mass storage hosted on a Raspberry Pi...or hosted on a server across the internet...even over WiFi.

A general overview of historical Disk Copiers and Packers. Copy II Plus, Locksmith and EDD were the best-known copiers, but Disk Muncher, Nibbles Away and others were also used. We all used Shrinkit, but who remembers Blu and Dalton's Disk Disintegrator? Also includes a side trip into the world of BBSs, Ascii Express and Proterm.

In 1985, computer networking, such as sharing files and printers between computers, was an expensive hodge-podge of proprietary technologies. Apple introduced AppleTalk networking to the foray alongside the original Macintosh. Support for the Apple IIe and IIgs followed. AppleTalk was uniquely low cost, about $50 per computer, and easy to setup. For about 10 years, AppleTalk was Apple’s answer to networking until the Internet with TCP/IP supplanted the technology. I’ll discuss the history of AppleTalk and dig into the technical…

After years of traveling from town to town, learning the secrets of the publishing masters, Juiced.GS has won the Apple II tournament, defeating every other retrocomputing magazine. But rather than slaking its thirst for dominance, the competition has driven Juiced.GS to extend its grasp even further. What realm will next fall before its relentless march? What legacy will Juiced.GS leave? History is written by the victors; in this session, we will write the next chapter — and the world will…

Attendees will learn to, cut, fold, and glue their own 5.25" floppy sleeves. The session will start with a short instructional section and then continue with a workshop. We will provide tools for attendees to share and some basic cardstock and other materials. It’s not necessary to bring anything to participate; however, attendees are encouraged to bring special paper or decorating supplies such as markers, colored pencils, magazine pages, etc., to create their own unique style.

Two examples will be shown: The Coveted Mirror by Penguin Software and Return Of Heracles by Quality Software. Both originally worked on the 48K Apple 2 Plus. After the conversion, both these versions work on a 64K Apple 2 Plus.

Over the years, millions of 5.25" floppy drives have been discarded because of an easily repaired defect: Loss of track-centering alignment. This problem is easily repaired with simple tools such as a screwdriver, a computer/monitor, and a software disk. Track-centering misalignment is suggested when a floppy drive can read its own written disks, but gives disk-errors when attempting to read disks written on other drivers. Likewise, the disks written on the misaligned drive give error messages when read on other…

Presented by Peter Neubauer. The Apple IIgs shipped with a fantastic but often overlooked feature -- AppleTalk networking. AppleTalk is a low-cost, easy-to-maintain network technology that enables network booting, file sharing, and printer sharing between your Apple IIgs, Workstation Card equipped Apple IIe, and classic Macintosh machines. As of March 2014, GSport is the first modern emulator with support for AppleTalk. Now, you can just "drag and drop" files between your machines without thinking about disk images, FTP, or serial…

Rob Walch of Today in iOS podcast joins us for a look at tips, tricks, and the latest in Apple’s iOS and related hardware.

Presented by Sarah Walkowiak. Pre-registration was required for this workshop, but everyone is welcome to spectate. Learn to stitch your own Apple IIe ornament as featured in the December 2012 issue of Juiced.GS! In this workshop you will be creating your own plastic canvas Apple IIe ornament in your choice of monitor color scheme: rainbow, green monochrome or amber monochrome. This workshop will cover the basics of counting and cutting plastic canvas shapes, stitching techniques, reading sewing patterns, joining sides…

Presented by James Littlejohn. James will describe differences in the IIc+ motherboards REV and the ASIC chip, and will then explain how to accelerate the IIc+ and the software to control it. Includes an onsite upgrade service/workshop for those interested in accelerating their IIc+s to 8Mhz and even 10Mhz.

Presented by Mark Pilgrim. Is it possible for an Apple II program to detect that it is running in an emulator? Mark will present some promising original research.

Presented by Stephen Buggie. Of the various Apple II models, the IIc is the closest we have to a laptop, but it is not optimized for portability. The IIc CPU weighs 7.2 lbs., its external power brick weighs 2.6 lbs., and any of our cathode-ray video monitors weigh plenty. As a system, the IIc is “luggable,” rather than portable. To make the IIc truly portable, two challenges must be met: (A) Weight and size must be reduced as much as…

Presented by Ivan Hogan and Andrew Hogan. Demonstration of an Apple //e controlling a knex roller coaster and a 2L plastic bottle rocket launcher via the game port I/O. Discussing how old tech can be put to new uses as well as how the Apple // technology is still a great platform for hobbyists and experimenters.

Presented by Ivan Drucker. Ready for your Apple II to get with the times? A2CLOUD puts any Apple II (except, maybe, the original II) on the Internet and makes converting images to floppy disks and back a breeze, and provides virtual hard drives, and lets you access files on ProDOS disk images like they were real disks. A2SERVER lets a IIgs or IIe access shared files with any other Mac, PC, or other computer on your network, and even boot…

Presented by Tony Diaz. From top to bottom, front to back. Unbox, er, reboxing the /// .. ever wonder what exactly is in an Apple /// ? We're gonna find out. The care and feeding of the beast.

Presented by Geoff Weiss. This is an introduction to the git revision control system.  Git out of here--it can be used to manage Apple IIgs software development.  This is a live demonstration of the general use of git with some specifics for Apple IIgs code management.

Presented by Ken Gagne. Interactive fiction has taken on a new life... in fact, it is *literally alive*. Come play a text adventure where the parser has been replaced with a human being. Two-word input has never been more fun! Bring a paper and pen for mapping and notes. ATTEND SESSION and HAVE FUN!

Presented by Vince Briel. Pre-registration was required for this workshop, but everyone is welcome to watch. Build a computer workshop is an opportunity to build a fully functional computer from a kit. Build a working replica of the Apple 1, KIM-1, Altair 8800 or the newest kit the OSI 600 Superboard II clone. The workshop will guide you through the steps of soldering the components to a blank printed circuit board, inserting chips and testing your kit. If you have…

Presented by Carrington Vanston. How to set up the cc65 cross-compiler on Mac OS X to write Apple II software in C. A hands-on session. cc65 is exciting because it can take a plain text C program listing on your Mac and automatically generate an Apple II disk image with your complete, compiled, ready-to-run Apple II program on it. How cool is that?! Bring your Mac, and come away with a rapid-fire Apple II programming environment all set up and…

Presented by Daniel Krusznya. A performance of three Apple //c computers: video and sound generated by the machine's unique circuitry. Don’t miss the show!

Join Brian Wiser as he showcases Adam Baldwin's career, spanning films from My Bodyguard to Full Metal Jacket, and TV hits like Chuck and Firefly.

Coordinated by Michael Sternberg. Michael will be running a single elimination Structris competition. If you haven’t tried Martin Haye’s fun take on the Tetris genre -- practice, practice! https://bitbucket.org/martin.haye/structris/downloads

Presented by Andrés Lozano. As Andy Warhol's disks recently recovered, we have restored a 5.25-inch floppy of Chris Marker, a famous french director who made the "pier" in 1962 (the remake is "12 Monkeys" by Terry Gillian). On this disk "5.25", Chris Marker wrote (from scratch) a conversational program called "Dialector" with pictures and sound early features. He wrote in Applesoft Basic over the years, and it was completed in 1988. This artwork is one of the first created as…

Presented by Jason Scott. It's been an enormously productive year on the Apple II and Vintage Computing side of things at the Internet Archive. Jason Scott, who's mentioned what he's been up to in years past, will go over all the improvements and changes to archive.org over the last year, so that there's awareness of just how much is available.

Presented by Mike Maginnis. Earlier this year, fully functioning Apple /// emulation was achieved in the MESS package. Egan Ford, aka Datajerk wasted no time putting together a "Ready to Run" stand-alone package that requires a minimum of setup time and effort. We'll take a look at the ins and outs of Egan's efforts and maybe learn a thing or two about the Apple /// along the way.

Presented by Charles Mangin. 3D printing has often been compared to the first wave of personal computers - at first, only those willing to tinker and hack them to work paid much attention. Then they got easier to use, and the tools more accessible. Pretty soon you may not have one on your desk, but you'll know someone who does. I will demonstrate some basic techniques and free software anyone can use to create a simple replacement part or custom…

Presented by Quinn Dunki. A couple of years ago, Quinn set out to duplicate Steve Wozniak's efforts to build his own computer from scratch. With no formal training in electrical engineering, she set off to do just that. Veronica is the result -- a functional 6502-based computer with VGA display, Nintendo gamepads, ROM monitor, and the associated toolchains. This session will be a walkthrough of the machine, what worked, what didn't, and what was learned from the experience.

Presented by Michael Sternberg. "STAR SAGA: ONE - Beyond the Boundary" is a hybrid role-playing/tabletop/computer game developed by R. Dutton, W. Freitag, A. Greenberg, and M. Massamilla and released in 1988 for the Apple II/IIgs family of computers and the IBM PC and its clones. Due to the scarcity of surviving physical copies of the game and its reliance on a hefty set of non-digital components (booklets, maps, etc), a present-day Apple II user may miss the opportunity to explore…

Presented by David Schmenk. Using the Apple II Pi for emulation, a modern desktop computer, and development. David will bring a few examples of Apple II Pis for on-hand use. Maybe a product announcement thrown in for fun.

Juiced.GS finished this session yesterday, so please enjoy extra sleep. Juiced.GS has been in production for nearly twenty years. With so many backstories, characters, and crossovers, new readers don't know where to begin -- so it's time to streamline the EU and redefine our canon. Today we'll announce our vision for the present and future of Juiced.GS, with reboots of such flagship products as "The Apple League of America", "Dark Flapple Bird Saga", "Rockhurst Knights", "Days of Future Mac", "Superwoz"…

Join Bill Martens and Brian Wiser for a brief overview of the A.P.P.L.E. user's group and Call-A.P.P.L.E. magazine. Hear about our current projects and new product announcements.

Presented by Mike Maginnis. A brief history of the life and times of the Apple ///.

Presented by Martin Haye. Lawless Legends is a western-themed RPG in development for the Apple II platform (well, c64 also). A widely dispersed international team is making progress on many fronts. Martin Haye will demo whatever's working, in whatever state it's in, and share stories of the game's development. The goal for this KFest is a "vertical slice" from top to bottom showing the bones of a real game, including the enhanced Outlaw editor, drag-n-drop scripting, 2D maps, and 3D…

Presented by Ian Johnson. Apple never released Japanese language support for the Apple II, but thanks to the work of developers in the FAPPLE user group, a full Japanese environment is available for the IIGS. This session will demonstrate the capabilities of the Japanese Manager, FepGS, SysFont NDA, and related software, look back on the history of FAPPLE and their work, and discuss future possibilities for Japanese on the IIGS.

If you have a new product announcement, this is the time to share it!

Introduction of committee members; tips and tricks for having a fantastic week.

Announcements direct from UltimateApple2 and ReActiveMicro about the new brand: UltimateMicro. Related projects, possible demos, and Q&A.

Rob Walch of Today in iOS podcast joins us for a look at tips, tricks, and the latest in Apple’s iOS and related hardware.

Have you dreamed of bringing your Applesoft BASIC programming skills into ANOTHER DIMENSION? If so, then this workshop is for you! Be DAZZLED by stunning graphics, created by YOU in a full rainbow of sixteen LUMINOUS colors* with an UNPRECEDENTED resolution of forty by forty rectangular pixels! This workshop will cover:        Designing low-res graphics for the Apple II        Creating and programming Applesoft BASIC graphics in low-res mode        Adding simple animation to your graphics (time permitting) Requirements:        An Apple II** computer…

Come with a Mac OS X laptop running 10.9 or 10.10 and leave with all the tools installed and setup so you can write your own Apple // programs in C or assembly using Xcode. Build the sample project and learn a tiny bit of C as your launch pad for creating your own projects.

Most computer equipment contain EPROMs on their circuits: CPUs, printers, interface cards, or peripherals. The EPROM chips contain firmware code to control operation of the device. An EPROM looks like a large IC chip: It is wide, with 24 to 40 pins. There is a small round window in the center of the upper side of the chip, with a microlattice of fine metal wires visible through the clear quartz-glass window. The EPROM chips can be erased and reconfigured by…

Presented by Quinn Dunki. Mouse programming on the Apple II is a fascinating mix of old and new software paradigms. It's old fashioned ROM-entry-point style programming, but with slight nods towards modern API design and relocatable driver code. I spent some time working out all the gotchas in this, and will share that hard-earned knowledge with you. You'll leave the session with a basic mouse driver that you can tweak and use in your own programs.

Presented by Jay Graham. This session will briefly cover the Pascal operating system and compare the various Pascal compilers and interpreters for the Apple II. It give an overview of the Pascal language itself, provide a useful guide to learning Pascal and then compare and contrast the available Pascal programming environments for the Apple II series of computers. This session is perfect for those of you who have mastered BASIC and want to delve into structured programming languages. No knowledge…

Javier Rivera explains his techniques and tricks to convert Apple monitors to LCD. He will show his LCD conversion and also a small "show and tell" of past conversions and techniques.

Jason Scott describes five times he has had to crash Apple IIs into popular culture in the past year, the experience of it, and why we can expect many more crashes in the future.

Eminent Apple IIgs enthusiast Dagen Brock will give 30 slides in 30 minutes on why his Apple II's are having the best year ever. Hold on to your seats and buckle your face as he exposes an immense set of events and details that will forever change your view of computing and the human condition.

Presented by Mark Pilgrim. Learn the secret behind the bitstream that revolutionized Apple II copy protection: a runtime routine that could determine if it was running on an original disk.

Presented by Charles Mangin. A deep dive into the Apple M0100 Mouse, the Apple II mouse interface, and updating them for the modern era.

Presented by Martin Haye. Quick demo of game engine and artwork developments during the past year for Lawless Legends, the 8-bit wild-west RPG.

Three Atari Podcasters: Kevin Savetz, Wade Ripkowski and Rob McMullen invite you to hear how Apple and Atari founders briefly crossed paths, and learn the similarities and differences between the Apple ][ sales will also be discussed.

Presented by Charles Mangin. "Does your otherwise perfect realization of Woznian Perfection have +gasp!+ missing keys? Broken or missing keycaps? Switches that have clicked their last? Suffer no more! Even you, yes YOU, can replace those unsightly blemishes, and bring the gap-toothed smile of your your Apple II back from the brink. Bring along your Apple II, II+, IIe or IIc with its broken embarrassment of a keyboard and a soldering iron (or borrow one). Some* replacement key switches and…

Presented by Chris Torrence. Hands-on session to enable you to make your very own connector to go from the Apple //c video expansion port to the NightOwl LCD screen. I'll provide the DA-15 connectors and connector hoods, as well as heat shrink tubing. You provide a DC barrel jack (5.5mm outer diameter, 2.1mm inner diameter) with at least 2 feet of wire still attached, as well as an RCA composite video cable, also at least 2 feet. I have 1…

Presented by John Linville. This talk will present information on the Tandy Color Computer, a system which was a contemporary of the Apple II line from the II+ through the IIgs. While this is a different system from a different vendor, there are some interesting points of comparison between the CoCo and the Apple II line. This talk will offer both historical and technical information about the Tandy Color Computer.

Presented by Quinn Dunki. WeeGUI is a new tool for generating quick and easy graphical user interfaces for your AppleSoft BASIC or assembly language programs. Whether you want to write the next ProTERM, or just want a nicer looking way to launch your rockets, WeeGUI has you covered. Keyboard control? No problem. Got mouse? Easy peasy. Come to this session and learn how WeeGUI works, get your free copy, and start building cooler programs!

Javier Rivera discusses his experience retrobriting, his techniques, disassembly, and examples of success. Includes an outdoor demonstration.

Michael Mahon describes a wavetable music synthesis program for 8-bit Apple II's that is controlled by an external sequencer. Both the method of real-time synthesis and the method of external control is explained. Includes a demonstration of the system by Charles Mangin.

Jan Saggiori recounts his journey from a passion for the ZX Spectrum at age 12, to the Apple IIe in high school, to working IT for large corporations. He worked on one of the largest cases in the world of corporate piracy by pay-TV smart card maker NDS (owned by Rupert Murdoch) and Cisco.

"Unboxing" videos are big on YouTube, with millions of people tuning in to watch your first impressions of a commercial product. When it comes to software, "Let's Play" is an unboxing's natural successor: a video that combines A/V capture of your favorite computer games with original audio commentary and narrative. Rather than provide a direct, unadulterated recording of a product, you share with your audience your personal experience and history with the software. In this session, the host of YouTube…

Presented by David Schmenk. Covers the development of PLASMA - Proto Language Assembler for Apple. Includes the history of VMs, development timeline, and usage in Lawless Legends/Rogue.

Presented by Charles Mangin. Updated and new products from RetroConnector.

Presented by Ken Gagne. Interactive fiction has taken on a new life… in fact, it is *literally alive*. Come play a text adventure where the parser has been replaced with a human being. You awake from cryonic suspension aboard a space station, apparently the only surviving crew member. You feel the station shake as an explosion impacts its shields, but will they hold? Two-word input has never been more fun! Bring a paper and pen for mapping and notes. ATTEND…

This is an informal time for Apple II programmers to gather to discuss and share resources.

Video chat with Australian Apple II enthusiasts gathering in Sydney.

I have done dozens of interviews of Atari people for the ANTIC podcast, from CEOs, to coders, magazine publishers to manual writers, to at-home crackers. By doing so, I've created a trove of oral history about the early computing community. (Bonus: In the process, I've unearthed source code and design documents that have never before been public.) I'll share some particularly interesting snippets, and tell you exactly how I do this -- including my philosophy, research tools, and technical bits…

The Logo programming language was popular for teaching children among educators and academics during the heydey of the Apple II. Logo promised to revolutionize education through the limitless microworlds that personal computers enabled. By the end of the 1980s, there was growing disillusionment with Logo. Two Logo vendors, Terrapin and LCSI, survive today, but the world of Logo is much different. Why did the excitement about Logo fade? Where can we see the influences of Logo today? What happened? How…

This talk covers Fahrfall, a long term project of mine. Fahrfall has been the subject of several of my Retrochallenge projects over the past few years, and it has developed a strong following among users of the Tandy Color Computer. Fahrfall recently became the first Tandy CoCo software released on ROM cartridge in 20+ years. My Retrochallenge 2015/01 project involved porting Fahrfall to the Apple IIe/IIc/IIgs line of machines. This talk will recap that effort and discuss future plans and…

Join Brian Wiser and Bill Martens for a brief overview of the A.P.P.L.E. Users Group and Call-A.P.P.L.E. Hear new product announcements and a few surprises.

Presented by Ian Johnson. Last year, Ian shared the history of the GS/OS Japanese environment developed by users of the NIftyServe Apple II & GS Forum (FAPPLE) in the early 1990s, showing how applications can be localized using existing software. This year he will demonstrate solutions to some remaining problem areas, with a focus on the Toolbox.

If you have a new product announcement, this is the time to share it!

Bring out your gear, set it up, and we can all enjoy each other’s hacks, machines, etc. This is also a good time to lay out your wares for sale.