When Eric “Sheppy” Shepherd launched A2Central.com twenty-three years ago, one of his goals was for the site to serve as an entry point for those new to the Apple II community, helping them discover how to use this machine and where to go for help.
With this vision in mind, A2Central.com’s recent relaunch included directories of hardware manufacturers, audio podcasts, and communities, guiding Apple II users to expansions, news, and friends.
Today we significantly expand those three directories by adding five more:
- Software vendors: Programmers who sell their own original programs as disk images or on floppies.
- Resellers: Purveyors of vintage hardware, software, books, magazines, and manuals.
- Emulators: Software for Mac, Windows, and Linux that enable Apple II software to be run via emulation.
- Videos: YouTube, Twitch, and self-hosted channels featuring the Apple II.
- Patreon creators: Developers, archivists, personalities, and non-profits who use the crowdfunding platform Patreon to support their Apple II endeavors.
These indices collect in one place a wide swath of Apple II resources, providing a one-stop shop of new and familiar opportunities to engage with your favorite computer and its community even further. You can find them in the “Resources” menu on our site navigation at the top of any page.
Our online catalogs are by no means comprehensive. If you know of additional sites that you’d like to see included, or entirely new categories of resources we should index, please let us know! Our thanks to Paul Hagstrom and Andrew Roughan for having already contributed.
Delivering these directories to the community was a promise made in last month’s online KansasFest talk, which is available online for your viewing pleasure. If you’re curious about the intertwined history of A2Central.com, Syndicomm, and Juiced.GS, and the many individuals who have helped each to survive over the decades, this 35-minute talk by Ken Gagne with additional commentary by site founder Sheppy is a glimpse into that past, present, and future.
Apple II Forever!
