Sophistication & Simplicity, Dr. Steve Weyhrich's definitive history of the Apple II, is now available from Juiced.GS publisher Gamebits for the new low price of $20.

First published in 2013 by Variant Press, Sophistication & Simplicity: The Life and Times of the Apple II Computer is an updated and revised history of Steve Wozniak and Steve Job's most famous personal computer. The book's 47 chapters are updated and revised from Weyhrich's online history of the Apple II, which he has maintained since 1991. The book includes an entirely new chapter about KansasFest, the annual Apple II convention that has kept the community alive for over 30 years. Hundreds of black-and-white photos and an extensive index contribute to making Weyhrich's book an exhaustive history of the Apple II.

"Print publications from Nibble to Computist have long told the story of the Apple II," said Weyhrich. "Collaborating with Juiced.GS, the longest-running Apple II magazine, to share the printed history of the Apple II was a natural match."

Each hardcover edition of Sophistication & Simplicity comes signed by the author. Customers also receive a PDF featuring Juiced.GS's interviews with the author in May 2003 and March 2013, as well as the magazine's review of his book in March 2014. As part of our Black Friday–Cyber Monday 2018 sale, you also get one free PDF of your choice from the Juiced.GS Concentrate line!

All this for $20 plus shipping — such a deal! Quantities are limited, so order yours today to receive it in time for the holidays!

Volume 23, Issue 3 (Sep 2018) of Juiced.GS, the longest-running Apple II publication in print, has now shipped.

This issue features coverage of two events: KansasFest 2018 and the Fourth Annual Oregon Trail Game 5K; reviews of two books: Tome of Copy Protection and A History of Video Games in 64 Objects; how to program for Applied Engineering’s Phasor sound card; a behind-the-scenes look at HackFest winning entry Rush; and much, much more!

This is Juiced.GS‘s third quarterly issue of 2018, its twenty-third 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.

This month on Open Apple, we bring you the traditional big group podcast that we record every year at KansasFest. Tune in for a casual chat with your favorite retro podcasters, and get a behind-the-scenes peek at what makes KansasFest special.

The excellent Apple VHS Archive YouTube channel continues to unearth analog video gold. The latest update is a nine and a half minute company internal video featuring, among others, a beardless(!) Woz – by then an “Apple Fellow” – talking up the benefits and general warm fuzzies of hardware and software patents.

Watching Apple patent attorney Bob Martin literally smashing unlicensed Apple II clones on the floor at about the 4:00 minute-mark is not to be missed!

From Antoine Vignau’s post at comp.sys.apple2 on August 17:

Graffidisk is a new kind of software for the Apple II. Its limit is your imagination: enter text or draw a GR picture on your Apple II and let Graffidisk tag your 5.25″ floppy disks. See the results of your piece of art with John Morris’ Applesauce. Share with your friends!

You can check it out here.

British technology news and opinion website The Register reports that another Apple-1 is about to hit the auction block. Says The Reg:

This Apple-1 was acquired from Adam Schoolsky, a friend of Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, for $3,500 in 1994 by David Larson, a former professor at Virginia Tech.

Gets your wallets out and take out that second mortgage now, as bidding begins on September 25. Read RR Auction’s listing here.

Image Source: The Register

(With apologies to Leo Laporte…) Packing and readying for a move across town has kept me from getting started here as soon as I’d like, but that’s coming to an end so I thought I’d kick things off with a summary of all the Apple II goings-on I could find, in the last week or so:

Software updates! Windows-based emulator AppleWin, and Dennis Molony’s Apple II Disk Browser saw new versions recently released (hat tip to Call APPLE for those items).

Michael Packard has officially announced OidZone for Apple II-family computers.

Thomas Harte’s MIT-licensed emulator Clock Signal now emulates the IIe.

Jeff Ramsey invites you to play his server-based Zork I setup on your Apple II. Just telnet over to zork.retroadventures.net, port 6502 and login with the username zork and password 2018Zork.

Did you get on the waitlist for one of John Morris’s Applesauce devices?

VCF West 2018 happened this weekend. Hackaday has some great coverage.

… and I’m sure plenty more 8-bit Apple IIish goodness happened elsewhere, but that’s all I have time for right now. See you soon!

Update: IIGS developer Ewen Wannop reached out to us and let us know the item mentioning the update work on SNAP was inaccurate. We have removed the paragraph and apologize sincerely to Ewen and our readers for the error.

Juiced.GS, the world's last and longest-running Apple II print publication, will publish its two-dozenth volume (issues #93–96) in 2019.

2019 subscriptions and renewals are available immediately. Customers who have previously purchased a subscription that automatically renews need to do nothing; their accounts will be charged on January 1. (An active subscription status can be verified by logging into one's online account.)

Apple II enthusiasts who are curious about Juiced.GS can subscribe to the email newsletter to receive a new, free sample issue with 20 pages of content from the past five years of the magazine.

Additionally, Juiced.GS has released five new PDFs of themed content, previously available in hardcopy only:

• BBS: Here's everything you need to know about connecting to a telnet bulletin board system or even running your own, as well as a review of the WiModem232. It also includes a review of BBS: The Documentary and an interview with its creator, Jason Scott.
• Education: The Apple II gained much of its fame in the classroom, where its effects can still be felt. This PDF is a reflection on the Apple II's longevity in the classroom and how modern students respond to such classics as The Oregon Trail and VisiCalc, as well as how the Raspberry Pi might serve as a modern equivalent for teaching programming.
• Raspberry Pi: This affordable microcomputer makes an excellent Apple II peripheral. An introduction to A2SERVER, a review of the Apple II Pi, how to use the Pi to run a BBS, and what today's students could learn from the Pi round out this PDF.
• Apple-1: The precursor to the Apple II, the Apple-1 is also alive and well. From replica models to soldering experiences to convention appearances, the Apple-1 is everywhere in this Concentrate.
• The Oregon Trail: The seminal edutainment title has seen multiple adaptations over the years. This PDF reviews a theatrical play, a handheld game, and a card game; examines how today's students interpret Oregon Trail; and also goes behind the scenes of Melissa Barron's hack, 73H 0r3g0n 7r41L.

These files are available immediately starting at $5, with more PDFs to come later in 2018.

Last week, at the largest gathering of Apple II users since 1994, the dates for KansasFest 2019 were announced. Retrocomputing enthusiasts are invited to Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, next July 15–21 for the 31st annual KansasFest — featuring a week of sessions, workshops, announcements, demos, releases, games, podcasts, and more!

Registration for the next KansasFest is expected to open sometime in Q1 2019. Subscribe to the event’s blog, email list, or Twitter feed for updates about the longest-running annual convention for Apple II users.

After many years of service as the editor of A2Central.com, Sean Fahey has stepped aside. Eric Shepherd, the founder of A2Central.com, has resumed ownership of the site, and has selected a new editor-in-chief. Our new editor is a well-known blogger, writer, and pundit with his finger on the pulse of the Apple II community. With great pleasure, we announce that effective today, A2Central’s new editor is Mike Maginnis!

We hope that going forward we can make real headway toward enhancing A2Central’s relevance and toward making the site better than ever!

With that, I turn the reins over to Mike! Enjoy!