24/12/2014: It's Christmas Time!

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you'll have some enjoyable time off as I've been having, spending time with my young new family.

Luckily, I've found just enough time to share some Christmas cheer with you all, not to mention clearing out a backlog of submitted material from some generous contributors.

Antoine's found quite the rarity - Disk Util II by FWB for the IIGS. I had no idea of its existance before! It provides easy ways of cracking and/or hard drive installation of games and applications. Alas, its included selection of copying parameters did not include anything we didn't already have previously cracked or hard drive installable. Never-the-less, this came as a total surprise as FWB was very well known for the SCSI utilities on the Mac and I had no idea they ever released anything for the Apple II.

After a curious enquiry by Quinn Dunki via the Open Apple Podcast, Mitch Spector has been able to provide what no-one else has: the 'Crude Sounds' hack for classic IIGS game Task Force. It replaces some sound effects with some over-the-top four letter words and it's a hoot to play all over again. Just download the .zip archive again to get at both versions.

After discussion with François Michaud about one of his recent acqusitions, the AST RamStak Plus memory card for the IIGS, it turned out I had a scan of it all along, although apologies to whoever sent it - I have no record of your submission. But the card itself can now be visually scrutinised at least.

Another more recent hardware find is the Checkmate Memory Saver card - thanks to Giorgio Morocutti for sending in an image of it. It appears to be a memory expansion card that allows you to plug-in another memory card, and keeping the RAM backed up via a battery. Almost like a solid state hard drive I guess, by making RAM non-volatile.

I've also got some Christmas gifts to share: a box scan for Math Blaster Mystery and KidWriter Gold. I've also got some new 8-bit eduwares on 3.5" - Speed Reader, Classmate and Homeworker (I'll add archives for these soon!). Much thanks to Antoine for cracking them! Additionally, Antoine's also been able to supply a scan for KidTalk's box and manual.

François Michaud has been able to supply the manual and supplementary materials for Milliken Story Teller.

For something a little bit different, the feature length story of Naughty Dog's 30th Anniversary is currently available in full - catch snippets of Apple II and IIGS action at the beginning.

25/10/2014: Programming Additions and Time Out for a Baby

We've got some programming related additions to the site. Andrew Roughan let me know that Merlin 16+ was missing complete documentation, as the 8/16 manual was missing - that has now been rectified.

Also, I've added the ProDOS 16 Exerciser and the Hodge Podge C and assembly source for easing your way into using the IIGS toolbox.

In other news, it's the due date for our baby today. Who knows exactly when he or she will arrive, but I'm planning to take time out from updating content on the site so I can focus on helping my beautiful partner Bronwen in raising our first newborn. Keep sending in new content to add to the site, I just won't be able to respond quite as quickly.

With whatever spare time I can find, I'm planning on working on final layouts for the 'What is the Apple IIGS?' coffee table book. I've been able to make great progress on this over the past few months, and it's shaping up to be the ultimate visual history ever given to a single computer platform that I've always hoped it would be. Thanks for your patience everyone - it will be worth the wait!

21/09/2014: Major Apps Update - New Apps! Updated Apps! New App Manuals and box scans!

At last, I've found time to finally unleash the last of the application related content additions I archived a good 12 months ago amongst Tony Diaz's collection - a veritable cornacopia of interesting material. Let's begin!

First up, an archive for Addressed for Success, including versions 1.0 and 1.1beta, as well as the manual.

Secondly, an equally complete archive for Desktop Enhancer v2.0, a functional but user unfriendly suite of utilities providing desktop appearance, sound event, screen saver and desktop clock options to System 5.0.4 and System 6.0.x.

Thirdly, we now have on archive the Beagle Bros Clip Art (which I think was originally released through Styleware, Beagle Bros picking up that title along with most of Styleware's back catalogue when they got bought out by Claris).

And then we've got a tonne of updates:

discQuest versions 1.3 and 1.4 allow for more discPassage titles to be used on the IIGS, as well as making use of the Second Sight card to display their graphics as they were originally intended without conversion.

FAXination updates, including v1.0.4 and v1.0.5b - these might be able to make the software actually work! I don't know myself, not having an old modem around.

Calendar Crafter v1.3 has no copy protection and runs from a hard drive / large ProDOS volume fine now.

Platinum Paint v2.0.1 has been discovered - what this actually adds or fixes I don't know unfortunately, as no release notes were found along with it.

Styleware / Beagle Bros Font Library 1 disk replaced as previous disk image was corrupted from my original 3.5" disk.

Plus - a load of manual scans:

Super Menu Pack, Nexus, Image Master: Basic Paint, Transprog III (in addition to the existing French manual), Twilight II addendums, Auto Ark v1.1 (in addition to the original v1.0 manual, although the archive still only includes v1.0 because v1.1 is still sold by Syndicomm).

And last but not least, some box scans:

ANSITerm, Hyperstudio (rare v3 box), Salvation Backup, Salvation Deliverance, Salvation Exorciser, Salvation Renaissance, Show Off Graphics Collection, Super Convert, Switch It, Graphic Writer (Original), Quick Click Morph, Super Graphix 256, Quick Click Calc, Prism, PMP-FAX, Nexus.

Some of these are manual cover scans (as there was no box for Super Convert, Switch It or PMP FAX) and I did scan the manuals as well, but discovered all too late there were issues with them which I didn't have time to fix before having to fly back to Australia from Tony's. Aargh!

14/09/2014: Beef up your IIGS Based HyperMedia and 3.5" Disk Labels with Software From Triad Venture

Getting back to what I had archived when I visited Tony Diaz's place and rummaging through his extensive collection (which was about this time last year! How time flies!) I've got a new collection of software previously unarchived - that of Triad Venture. There's ways of making your Hyper Media projects easier thanks to the Hyperstuff Collection, including Clip Tunes, Animated Icons, Clip Art and Sound Converter. Additionally, spice up your back-ups with some printed labels - right on your IIGS itself thanks to the Graphic Disk Labeller (GDL). As a bonus, we've also got complete documentation for GDL, Animated Icons and ClipTunes.

31/08/2014: Word Attack Plus French Found! Complete GNO/ME Documentation! Pegasus Pascal Demo Found! More Carmen Sandiego Updates!

I'm pleased to announce that thanks to Petar Puskarich's archive and Antoine Vignau's deprotection skills, we now have the elusive Word Attack Plus! French program in our archive.

Antoine's also been able to provide documentation for GNO/ME - a lot of which was edited by Andrew Roughan.

Speaking of Andrew, he's found a demo for the even more elusive Pegasus Pascal, but we're still hunting around for the original two disk set of the full program, which even its author, Ken O. Burtch doesn't have or can't make disk images of. Be sure to check in your own archives to see if Pegasus Pascal shows up.

Andrew's also organising the next OzKFest, the Australian equivalent to KFest, to be tentatively scheduled for April 17-19 2015 in Melbourne. I'm hoping to go myself, but it's a bit too early for me to commit just yet. If you're in Australia and want to meet other Apple II users, this is a great time having flown up to Brisbane last year for OzKFest.

Back to Antoine - he's found some more Carmen Sandiego curios - a self running demo for the IIGS specific version of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego and a playable demo of the 8-bit Where in Europe is Carmen Sandiego. I've also found crack screen free versions of the full Where in Europe is Carmen Sandiego and Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego - love a clean crack! Each of these new additions are included in the .zip file archives, so download them again to get at these.

24/08/2014: More IIGS Educational Software from Orange Cherry and Unicorn Now Archived

Thanks to Petar Puskarich and his recovery of archives he made back in the mid '90s, we've got some new 2image additions to What is the Apple IIGS? – some of which I've been hoping to find for many years.

The first is Math Story Problems, an Orange Cherry title that for once, didn't talk and seems to be better off for it, as there's much more depth to the program than most of their other programs. It's graphically less rich as well, but it really does give kids a lot of chances to get on top of mathematic related problems.

The next Orange Cherry title is Computer Video Reader: World of Nature - Reading About Animals (which is included in one archive with the rest of the other titles in this series). This only leaves 'Reading About Sharks' left to complete this collection. If anyone has that as a disk image, please submit it to the archive here.

The only other Orange Cherry title to be archived is Talking Academic Quiz Kid - if anyone has that as a disk image (or a complete packaged product) please feel free to submit it. It may have been the very last IIGS program Orange Cherry released and their later software was very well produced.

Last but certainly not least, is Logic Master, by Unicorn Software. This involves both mathematic and reading comprehension which challenges students to multiple choice questions, but that's only the training phase. When you're ready, you can enter a dungeon, fight monsters, open treasure chests by correctly answering questions and then finding the treasure hoarding dragon and answering its questions. Only then will you win the game.

At 1990, this is the latest Unicorn release discovered so far. According to one of their catalogues, there MAY be more IIGS specific titles that were released: Phonics Fun, Fraction Action, Decimal Dungeon, Percentage Panic, Ghostly Grammar, but no other evidence has been found that they were released for the IIGS (appearing in mail order catalogues in magazines back in the day). There are Amiga versions of each of these programs, so it's possible IIGS versions were either released in limited quantities, or at the very least, considered for conversion to the IIGS. If anyone knows anything more about these titles, be sure to write in.

And as usual, if you've got fully boxed versions of any these programs, please scan the box, manual and disk labels if you can.

27/07/2014: More 8-bit 3.5" Disk Additions – Math & Me, Stickybear Spellgrabber and Battletech

As I write this, KansasFest 2014 is still progressing and as always, I'm jealous I can't be in attendence thanks to the tyranny of distance!

But as some small consolation, I can add some newly acquired 8-bit software on 3.5" disk images - Math and Me (which I purchased on eBay myself through vendor Vintage Software and More) and Stickybear Spellgrabber. Both have been cracked by Antoine, and by chance, Antoine was particularly delighted with Stickybear Spellgrabber, as it uses the same gaming engine to one of his favourite 8-bit games, 'Run For It'.

With the inclusion of a fully working 3.5" disk image of Math and Me, I believe the only remaining double hi-res Davidson title left to archive is Word Attack Plus! French If anyone has a 3.5" disk image of it, cracked or otherwise, it would be great to complete the archive of the most recent Apple II Davidson educational titles.

Also included is a 3.5" disk image of the mech based RPG Battletech by Infocom, thanks to Mario Patino, who noticed the game had an install option to 3.5" disk from the original 5.25" disks. Mario's also scanned in the necessary documentation for word lookup protection in the game.

Speaking of Infocom, Antoine has completed scans of all the documentation that came with the Lost Treasures of Infocom with the addition of the hint book. Think of this manual collection as a one stop shop for all of Infocom's interactive fiction titles, even if you don't intend on playing a Lost Treasures edition of certain Infocom games - all manuals, maps and hintbooks are now at your disposal.

20/07/2014: Control Finance Like It's 1995! Your Money Matters and Financial GeniuS archived!

Getting back to finally being able to properly archive some of the application software I found within Tony Diaz's collection, we have some more IIGS rarities to include.

Apart from Sierra's Smart Money (which I've been hunting for a box, disk label and manual scan forever - can anyone help there?), there were no IIGS specific programs that dealt with your personal finance...until some independant developers decided to step up to the plate. Your Money Matters is the first of these, completely utilising the standard Apple GUI and System 6 to the full. We're lucky to have a complete archive of it now, as Tony's original copy of disk 2, with the actual program on it, refused to image, citing errors. I remember I tried the next morning and thankfully it worked (would expansion and contraction during the warmer and cooler parts of the day play a part in successfully making disk images, either in regards to the disk media or the drive itself?!).

The second program to keep a close eye on your money is Financial GeniuS, which was eventually released as $35 shareware, but I believe its developer, Rick Adams, hoped would be a full commercial release. Again, this is a pretty comprehensive program that takes full advantage of System 6. Also included are the demo version, which includes a demo account file, as well as earlier versions of the program I'd found earlier.

10/07/2014: 8-bit version of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego on 3.5" Disk Found!

Thanks again to Antoine Vignau, we now have another rarity catalogued and archived - Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego on 3.5" disk. This ISN'T the IIGS specific version, rather a re-release that would have especially pleased Apple IIc+ users, as the game can be entirely played without flipping the disk over (which as the original 5.25" asked you to do that fairly regularly).

I ask everyone to check their collections to see if they might have the equally rare Where in the U.S.A. is Carmen Sandiego on 3.5", so we can have a complete set of this awesome series in the more convenient 3.5" disk format.

One other minor addition - I added the box for the 8-bit version of Reading and Me from my own collection (it's what I've been using to represent the IIGS version all this time, despite it's actually for 8-bit Apple IIs).

07/07/2014: Search Now Working Again here on WITA2GS?

For an uncertain period of time, the search feature of the site stopped working - but now it's back, better than ever. Try it out - it's a great, quick way to find any application, game, eduware, hardware and its drivers, publications and magazines that are included in the archive. You can even do more advanced searches like limiting results to specifc genres or to a specific category of game, as well as listing results to a specific year of release, whether programs have been reclassified freeware versus abandonware, or by listing titles according to publisher.

Thanks to Rane Bowen (back end web dev) and Greg Wildman (site admin) for getting this back up and running!