From the europlus zone blog:

Wow, what a month! When I announced WOzFest COLOR=15 I was looking forward to another fun get-together of fellow Apple ][ enthusiasts, and I’d already started planning to stream the day for those who couldn’t make it.

Now, communities around the world are in lockdown (Australia is heading down that path) and people’s lives are being turned upside down.

By mid-last week, I decided to go stream-only for WOzFest COLOR=15. While a difficult personal decision, it’s nothing compared to what some people are experiencing.

I love hosting WOzFest and I love having enthusiasts here at WOzFest HQ – but for the next short(?) while, we all have to pull our head in.

I still need help, though – while I won’t have physical attendees, I’d like to do Skypes during the day. If you’re tinkering, if you have something to share or say, if you’re releasing a new product, if you’re lonely, whatever – let me know what time suits between 01:00-11:00 UTC 4 April 2020 and I’ll try and schedule you in. Let’s go around the world, let’s go around Australia, let’s show this stupid virus it won’t dampen our enthusiasm for the Apple ][!

So, via Skype or Twitch chat, I’m looking forward to talking to some of you on 4 April and sharing some of the work I’ll be doing on the day. If I can I’ll try and draw up a schedule – for example, I wanted to do an Applesaucing session and discuss usage tips, etc.

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

Volume 25, Issue 1 (March 2020) of Juiced.GS, the longest-running Apple II publication in print, has now shipped.

This issue features an inside look at Vince Weaver’s demakes of modern games onto the 8-bit Apple II; Jay Graham’s roundup of Z80 hardware and software; Ivan Drucker’s tutorial for relocatable machine language; a review of the book Cult of Mac, Second Edition; the debut of the Scantastix archival project; and much, much more!

This is Juiced.GS‘s fourth quarterly issue of 2020, its twenty-fifth 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.

From the europlus zone blog:

WOzFest COLOR=15 will mark a new era for WOzFest with the launch of WOzFest TV – that’s right, I aim to stream all future WOzFests via Twitch. I felt, with the celebration of the Apple ][‘s support for colour graphics (usually touted via connecting to the family TV), it was time to take the streaming plunge.

I’ll be incorporating any Skype calls, webcams from around WOzFest HQ, windows from tasks like Applesauce fluxing, and anything else that seems appropriate. For example, with the holding of QFest 15 to coincide with WOzFest COLOR=15, I’m planning on having a full-time Skype connection between the two ’Fests.

The Twitch URL is activated – I’ll announce on Twitter when I’m doing testing streams for layouts, etc., and the official Go Live will be at the start of WOzFest COLOR=15 on 4 April 2020 at 12:00 (UTC+11:00) – come and check it out and have a chat with us!

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

From the europlus zone blog:

I’m very happy to announce the date for the next WOzFest, WOzFest COLOR=15 – Saturday 4 April 2020, starting around midday Sydney time (UTC+11:00).

The theme for WOzFest COLOR=15 is the Apple ][’s support for colour graphics via colour monitors and TVs. I’ve got a surprise lined up for WOzFest COLOR=15, but all I can say for now is…stay tuned!

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.

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.

Volume 24, Issue 4 (December 2019) of Juiced.GS, the longest-running Apple II publication in print, has now shipped.

This issue features profiles of women in gaming; an interview with Dave Vernier of Vernier Software & Technology; a smackdown of 16-bit BASICs; a look at lasers powered by the Apple II; and much, much more!

This is Juiced.GS‘s fourth 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.

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.