Axel Muhr has just released a Floating Point Unit interface card for the Apple IIgs and Apple IIe (enhanced and unenhanced). The NumberCruncher Reloaded is a peripheral card for the Apple II series that features a math co-processor, often also called a Floating Point Unit (FPU) which is specialized on, well, floating point calculations. Doing so, it is much, much faster than any 6502 or 65816 CPU ever will be.

That said, the NumberCruncher Reloaded will not automatically speed-up your programs as CPU accelerators like the Transwarp GS or ZIP CHIP would do. Programs will have to be either specifically written to use the NumberCruncher Reloaded or use a floating-point library like the SANE interface which then needs to be patched to itself use the NumberCruncher Reloaded for calculations instead of the main CPU.

Get one at https://www.geekdot.com/numbercruncher-reloaded

You can pre-order up to four different editions of Attack of the Petscii Robots, the new Apple II arcade style game by the 8-bit Guy and his team at http://www.the8bitguy.com/product/petscii-robots-for-apple/

A IIgs specific version will be available in a couple of months.

KansasFest 2021, the 33rd annual Apple II convention, is open for registration. Users, programmers, hobbyists, and retrocomputing enthusiasts are invited to gather virtually from Friday, July 23, through Saturday, July 24, for two days and one night of sessions, demos, announcements, contests, and camaraderie.

We will make the best of the virtual arrangement and return in person to Kansas City in 2022. We’ve rescheduled the keynote speaker, Robert Woodhead, to next year.

Registration is $10 for access to all talks and activities. For $20 you get access to all talks/activities plus you will also receive a commemorative pin (postage included). Official KansasFest t-shirts are extra and optional. To register, please visit https://www.kansasfest.org/registration.

KansasFest invites any and all Apple II users, fans, and friends to attend the largest and longest running annual Apple II conference. For photos, videos, schedules, and presentations from past year’s events or to sign up for the email list and for inquiries, please visit https://www.kansasfest.org/.

For once, three demos were presented during the Revision Online 2021 party. Two for the 8-bit Apple IIs, and one for the Apple IIgs.

Watch them online:

• LowTech demo by Stéphane Champailler @ https://youtu.be/Dlmrd0howLw
• Terra Nova by French Touch @ https://youtu.be/7Qrt6jzggWE
• No Hard Feelings by Ninjaforce, Dagen Brock, and Fatdog @ https://youtu.be/uDdJFKRtufU

Congratulations to you!

Hugh Hood on comp.sys.apple2:

Direct Connect PostScript Printer Driver
– For the Apple IIgs running GS/OS –
Official Release – February, 2021

Direct Connect PostScript Printer Driver – What is It?

The Direct Connect PostScript Printer Driver [DCPPD] is a moderately patched version of Apple’s GS/OS System 6.0.1 LaserWriter Printer Driver that allows a user of Apple IIgs GS/OS Desktop software to print directly to any PostScript-capable printer, and unlike Apple’s Driver, requires NONE of the following:

1. that the IIgs have AppleTalk networking installed and enabled;
2. that the PostScript-capable printer understand the AppleTalk protocol;
3. that the PostScript-capable printer have an AppleTalk / EtherTalk speaking networking port and be attached to an AppleTalk network that is connected to the LocalTalk port on the IIgs;
4. that the PostScript-capable printer be recognized and selected in the Net Printer Control Panel; and,
5. that the connection path between the IIgs and the printer support bi-directional communications.

A PostScript printer can now be connected to the Apple IIgs via either built-in serial port (Printer or Modem), via a parallel printer card, or via an Uthernet TCP/IP card. The latter is important because while not many modern printers still include a serial or parallel interface, almost all modern network printers have an Ethernet TCP/IP connection.

In addition, the patches include changes to the generated PostScript code to provide better compatibility with Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 PostScript printers, with printers utilizing automatic emulation switching (e.g. receiving and discriminating between both PostScript and PCL jobs), and with printers from manufacturers other than Apple, whose variant or emulation of the PostScript language may differ from Apple’s.

For complete details, including full documentation and screen shots of the Direct Connect PostScript Printer Driver in operation please visit:

https://www.apple2works.com/directconnectpostscriptdriver

The 6502 Workshop team is pleased to announce that Nox Archaist has been released!

Journey back in time to the 1980s and experience an adventure inspired by classics like Ultima and Bard’s Tale.

Lord British himself has traveled to Vali, the world of Nox Archaist, to help thee on thy quest.

Game Trailer

6502 Workshop would love to put a collector’s edition box in your hands, featuring cover art by Denis Loubet, or set you up with the Digital Edition. Click here to order!

• View web pages
• Send the results of interactive Forms
• Download linked files
• Load and display HTML files from disk
• Keeps up to 256 Cached pages in a navigation Stack
• Editable History list
• Bookmarks
• Keep & View optional transcript Logs
• Supports Proxy connections
• Supports password protected web pages
• Print pages

Originally intended to be released for KFest as an example of what you can now do with the updated HTMLTool, for a number of reasons, it just was not ready to be released then. I thererfore spent a great deal more time with it, and it has now been expanded into a full featured web browser, which I hope will be a worthy successor to Geoff’s S.I.S.

Ikigai Software presents 2048 for the Apple II with DHGR features. Written by Eric Donadieu, the full game, manual, and disk label can be found at https://www.ericdonadieu.fr/2048/