KansasFest 2020, the 32^nd annual Apple II convention, is scheduled for July 21–26 in Kansas City, Missouri. Robert Woodhead of Sir-Tech Software, well-known as the co-creator of the Wizardry series of computer role-playing games, will join us as the keynote speaker.

At an early age, Robert Woodhead, aka Trebor the Mad Overlord, was consumed by two passions; computer programming and not having to have a real job. He first achieved this by writing computer games for Sir-Tech Software, most notoriously co-authoring the first four Wizardry CRPGs, first for the Apple ][, and later for other, lesser computers. In 1989, deciding that this wasn’t nerdy enough, he co-founded the oldest surviving anime releasing company, AnimEigo. Other things he’s done include: writing one of the first MMO bots, building a 2-time National Champion Combat Robot, serving 4 terms on the EVE Online Council of Stellar Management, and not being “liquidated” by his wife. Yet.

KansasFest is an annual convention offering Apple II users and retrocomputing enthusiasts the opportunity to engage in beginner and technical sessions, programming contests, exhibition halls, and camaraderie. KansasFest was originally hosted by Resource Central and has been brought to you by the KFest committee since 1995. Any and all Apple II users, fans, and friends are invited to attend this year’s event. Registration details will be announced on the KansasFest Web site, and registration will open on March 31. For photos, videos, and presentations from past KansasFests, please visit the event’s official Website.

From the europlus zone blog:

I’m very happy to announce the date for the next WOzFest, WOzFest 14.25045 MHz – Saturday 23 November 2019, starting around midday Sydney time (UTC+11:00).

The theme for WOzFest 14.25045 MHz is the Apple ][ europlus, my favourite Apple ][! More generally, international Apple ][s (including the j-plus, which I have just secured a sample of) and clones will be the sub-theme – changing the PSU voltage and crystal frequency to allow (monochrome) PAL output is just the start of what Apple and international clone manufacturers did to get their machines suited to international markets.

I will also be continuing to work on software preservation with the Applesauce. Applesauce is John Morris’ phenomenal USB interface for Apple ][ disk drives which takes Apple ][ software preservation to new heights by capturing magnetic flux-level images of disks.

Further details on the announcement post, and updates will be posted under the europlus zone’s WOzFest tag.

Volume 24, Issue 3 (September 2019) of Juiced.GS, the longest-running Apple II publication in print, has now shipped.

This issue features Stavros Karatsoridis’ report from KansasFest 2019; Tom Raidna’s walkthrough of his RetroChallenge-winning MUMPS interpreter for the IIGS; a review of the Noisy Disk accessory for the Floppy Emu; an interview with Charles Mangin; a look at how Evan Wright uses interactive fiction as a teaching tool; a behind-the-scenes look at this year’s winning HackFest entry; and much, much more!

This is Juiced.GS‘s third quarterly issue of 2019, its twenty-fourth year in print. Subscriptions for 2020 are available for $20 each for United States customers, $25 for readers in Canada and Mexico, and $28 for international customers.

A new version of Marinetti, the implementation of TCP/IP for the Apple IIgs, is now publicly available.

The previous public announcement of a release of Marinetti was 3.0b9 in July 2018. Since then there have been several bug fix versions that have not been made widely available. This release includes fixes for the following issues:

– TCPIPSendIPDatagram was not using the correct Direct Page and looks like it never worked correctly.
– TCPIPReadLineTCP now returns the correct error code and TCP error code to the caller. This would have resulted in strange behaviour for applications that use this call.
– There was an issue with TCPIPReadLine returning strange data when used after TCPIPReadLineTCP. This would have resulted in strange behaviour for applications that use this call combination.
– The TCP stack would erroneously reset a connection in response to an unclaimed packet that is not part of that connection. This would have resulted in strange behaviour for applications.
– The MSS Option has been added to TCP Headers which tells hosts that they can send larger packets to Marinetti. This may improve performance e.g. with file transfers.

For more information on the above issues, refer to the ChangeLog included in the release for the ticket number and then refer to the related ticket on Sourceforge.

While this software is still officially classed as ‘beta’ software, it has been extensively tested. It is highly recommended that existing users of 3.0b3 and 3.0b9 upgrade to this version.

Marinetti 3.0b11 can be downloaded from the Marinetti homepage as a Shrinkit archive, or soon from the a2RetroSystems website where it will be available as a disk image that can be mounted in an emulator or a disk emulation device like the CFFA. The disk image includes the original Marinetti 3.0b1 installer for new installations if necessary and a replacement Init which contains the latest changes. Ewen Wannop’s latest Uthernet link layers are also provided.

Marinetti was originally written by Richard Bennett in 1996 and was subsequently released as an open-source project. It is now maintained by members of the Marinetti Open Source Project, which is hosted on SourceForge.

Volume 24, Issue 2 (June 2019) of Juiced.GS, the longest-running Apple II publication in print, has now shipped.

This issue features a look at PLATO, a 1960s mainframe program being used to create a modern online retrocomputing community; a comparison of BASIC alternatives to Applesoft; reflections on an interview with Steve Meretzky of Infocom fame; a tutorial for converting MP3s to Apple IIGS rSound format; and much, much more!

This is Juiced.GS‘s second quarterly issue of 2019, its twenty-fourth year in print. Subscriptions for 2019 are available for $20 each for United States customers, $25 for readers in Canada and Mexico, and $28 for international customers.

The 6502 Workshop team is pleased to announce that the Kickstarter campaign for the boxed edition of Nox Archaist is now live!

Click here to pledge!

What’s better than a brand new, hand-coded 8-bit classic 80s era tile based RPG?  Answer: One that comes in an awesome collector’s edition box with lots of cool physical goodies!

What’s even better than that?  When the game will also feature an NPC appearance by Lord British, the alter ego of Richard Garriott, the creator of the Ultima series of games!

Pledges include the following awesome stuff:

• Full color collector’s game box
• Cloth map
• Printed manual
• Game artifacts such as coins of the realm and various other cool trinkets

All Nox Archaist boxed editions will include 5.25″ floppy disks for real Apple II hardware and a flash drive for Mac and Windows PC emulators. The game will also run on real and emulated hard drives with ProDOS installed.

6502 Workshop can’t wait to get Nox Archaist into a collector’s edition box and put it in your hands.

Click here to pledge!

The source code for 45 Infocom text adventures is now available in its native ZIL (Zork Implementation Language) from GitHub.

I've uploaded the entirety of source code of all Infocom text adventures/interactive fiction to Github. https://t.co/p0K8MRKoTN If you don't understand ZIL, and you probably don't, read this instruction manual. https://t.co/H8nl1fxWcv

— Jason Scott (@textfiles) April 16, 2019

According to the code repository’s readme file, “This collection is meant for education, discussion, and historical work, allowing researchers and students to study how code was made for these interactive fiction games and how the system dealt with input and processing. It is not considered to be under an open license.” But notes Gamasutra, “… Activision, which purchased Infocom in 1986, still owns the company IP, meaning it could eventually clamp down and halt Scott’s preservation efforts.”

To commemorate the release of this code, GitHub will host the live event “Game On I: The Great Quest for Imagination“, on the afternoon of Friday, April 26, 2019, 3–6:30 PM PDT (UTC-7) at its headquarters at 88 Colin P Kelly Jr St, San Francisco, California, USA. Steve Meretzky, the sole or lead designer on such Infocom games as The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, A Mind Forever Voyaging, Planetfall, and Leather Goddesses of Phobos, will be the guest of honor. The event will be moderated by Kevin Savetz of the Eaten by a Grue podcast. Topics will include Infocom, working with ZIL, putting the source code on GitHub, and the evolution of software and version control. Following the discussion will be a happy hour, during which game stations will be set up all where people can have fun with Infocom titles and multiplayer games. The event is open to the public; free registration is required. It will also be livestreamed online.

For more on the history of Infocom, watch Jason Scott’s Infocom documentary, included as part of Get Lamp.
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Volume 24, Issue 1 (March 2019) of Juiced.GS, the longest-running Apple II publication in print, has now shipped.

This issue features a review of the VidHD card; a tutorial for exporting Apple IIGS files in PostScript format; a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming Kickstarter for Nox Archaist; an interview with Randy Ubillos, developer of the II in a Mac emulator; a comparison of the Apple-1 to the Apple II; and much, much more!

This is Juiced.GS‘s first quarterly issue of 2019, its twenty-fourth year in print. Subscriptions for 2019 are available for $20 each for United States customers, $25 for readers in Canada and Mexico, and $28 for international customers.

KansasFest 2019, the 31^st annual Apple II convention, is scheduled for July 16 – 21 in Kansas City, Missouri. Mark Pelczarski of Penguin Software, well-known for numerous graphics utilities, books, and games, will join us with a keynote presentation to celebrate the Apple II.

Pelczarski began publishing graphics-related Apple II software in 1978 while in his early 20’s under the brands Penguin Software and Polarware.  He is an entrepreneur, author, programmer, consultant, and professional educator.  Mark is well known for the Graphics Magician software, a toolkit for creating graphics that includes over 50 major software publishers as customers including Random House, Sierra Online, Spinnaker, and Mattel.  He wrote monthly columns for Softalk and the book Graphically Speaking.  Besides pioneering computer graphics, Polarware published numerous games including Transylvania, The Coveted Mirror, and Spy’s Demise.  After leaving Polarware in 1987, Mark turned his attention to computer music and to online courses.  Mark once said “I like to make computers do things,” so he’ll surely fit in at KansasFest.

KansasFest is an annual convention offering Apple II users and retrocomputing enthusiasts the opportunity to engage in beginner and technical sessions, programming contests, exhibition halls, and camaraderie. KansasFest was originally hosted by Resource Central and has been brought to you by the KFest committee since 1995. Any and all Apple II users, fans, and friends are invited to attend this year’s event. Registration details will be announced on the KansasFest Web site, and registration will open on March 31. For photos, videos, and presentations from past KansasFests, please visit the event’s official Website.

6502 Workshop is launching a Kickstarter campaign on May 2, 2019 to produce a collector’s edition of Nox Archaist!

Pledge rewards will include lots of cool feelies with professional artwork, such as:

• Full color collector’s game box
• Cloth map
• Printed manual
• Unique game artifacts
• 5.25″ Floppy disks and a USB stick for emulators

Their goal is to give you the experience of buying a game off the shelf of your local computer store in the late 80s, and also give you the chance to be involved in the game design and success of a modern Apple II game!