a2RetroSystems is selling the new Uther ethernet card for the Apple II. The initial run of 20 cards sells for $89US and can be used in the Apple II+, IIe, IIgs and Laser 128. The card works with Contiki; support for Marinetti is under development. A FAQ offers additional details, and the install guide provides plenty of pictures..

Oliver Schmidt has released Contiki v1.2, which is the first public outing on the Apple II. Contiki is an open-source, multi-platform, low memory footprint, networked operating system. It runs on Apple IIs as far back as the II+.

The Apple II version contains an email client (send only at present), web browser, FTP client (download only at present), DHCP client, TELNET client, web downloader, IRC client and more. A user guide also is available..

A new Eamon adventure game, entitled “The Pixy Oak,” has been released by Bruce Haylock. The game can be downloaded from the Eamon download site..

Andy McFadden’s nifty tool for working with Apple II disk images and files has been updated to v2.2.0. This release adds support for FDI “raw” disk images.Changes from previous version:

• Added basic support for FDI “raw” disk images. These images are
  created by “disk2fdi”, which
  allows you to read Apple II 5.25″ and 3.5″ disks on a PC floppy drive.
  FDI images can now be opened and converted (but can’t yet be created
  or written to).
• Added disk size in KBytes to MDC output.
• Fixed a couple of minor bugs in the user interface.

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Girard Putter has updated the excellent Virtual ][ 8-bit Apple II emulator for Mac OS X. The software, now at version 3.5.1, fixes a bug that caused the Epson printer emulation to use a very small font on Mac OS X 10.4, and subtly changes disk I/O timing in a way that lets the game “Apple Cider Spider” work..

PAUG will meet in David Ciotti’s basement on Friday, June 10th at 7:30 PM. There will be a demonstration of Apple’s new iWork suite for Mac OS X, as well as possibly a demonstration of multi-way video conferencing using iChat 3.0. Apple II users are welcome as always..

Jeff Fink has released version 8.3 of the popular RPG Silvern Castle, which runs on all Apple II computers that support ProDOS. The new version fixes a few bugs and adds several new features. You can download the update from our file library by clicking the link to the left.Bugs fixed in version 8.3:

• Update v8.2 introduced a bug that caused the Extra’s Menu automap function to crash when updating from v7.0 until after the Update Datafiles option was executed and you returned to the title page. This is now fixed.
• Fixed bug that caused monsters to strike first or second character in marching order much more frequently for parties with less than 6 characters.
• Screen now cleared properly after key breaks.
• Fixed error #22-798 if you tried to dispel without a holy symbol.
• SILVERN.SYSTEM now only installs Diversi-Cache on ROM1 Apple IIgs systems.
• Ever notice once in a while during combat nothing seems to happen-like everyone parried? I’ve narrowed it down to the sort routine; which is actually MacroSoft code. I believe the problem is with the MacroSoft run-time code when it transfers AppleSoft variables. In an attempt to fix, I have changed the algorithm slightly so fewer variables are passed. So far I have not seen this bug again. However, I can now detect when this bug occurs; if it happens you will get Err#123 (this is not a fatal error-only a bug report; please report if you see it).
• Fixed problem with breathe shield spell that caused the duration to be less effective if the monster’s breathed more than once per round.

Changes to existing features:

• Update datafiles now shows version updating from.
• Loot gold no longer given in exact multiples of the number of party members, now the remainder is shown and given to the first person in the marching order (who should ideally have the highest encumbrance rating).
• Loot gold display now shows more details, showing the total amount, total coin count, per share total, per share coin count, remainder total, and remainder coin count.
• Items that affect age are now more powerful.
• Loot formula changed; animal and other low-intelligent monster types no longer carry treasure, except maybe for lair stashes, and no longer have lair chests. Other monster types, like spirits, only have treasure in their lairs.
• Silence spell now has additional effect: Stops monsters from calling for help!
• Advancing or called monsters are now displayed without an intervening screen clear per group.
• Higher chance for random encounters to be “organized” (i.e. roaming humanoids tend to be patrol or raiding parties-possibly with “pets” or captives, undead tend to stick with other undead, rats normally don’t wander around with snakes, etc.) Note: Rare possibility now exists for level 2 monsters to now appear on level 1! (especially if more than 2 groups)
• Poison minimum damage is now zero instead of 1hp.
• The dispel formula has been changed slightly; previously if you could “smoke” one undead you could destroy the entire group; now there is a chance a dispel attempt per group will only destroy some, the remainder being turned, or possibily even escaping being turned completely.
• Druids get dispel bonus if they have better than average piety.
• Dispelling has been made more difficult for undead lair lords and lieges; their followers (or pawns) are also slightly more difficult to dispel
• Dispelling on the third-scenario Abyss level is now twice as difficult.
• Vampires are now twice as difficult to dispel (v8.1 only made them tougher to kill)
• Chance for enchanted weapons and armour in chests changed to allow minimum +1 for most items on deeper levels, up to +5. Note: Finding high value enchanted items is still very rare! (i.e. Even on level 10, the chance of finding +5 items is only 1%)
• The combat parry view monster equipment feature has been removed.
• The Red Dragon Inn has been renovated! New accommodations and rates! Also, the inn no longer shows the time since the last disband in years (only days and months).

New features in version 8.3:

• Chance to meet Castle Guards in maze. Pay tribute demanded or else!
• Chance some NPC parties will offer to withdraw upon payment of bribe.
• Added new grim difficulty mode impediments: Monsters can have up to twice the hit points normally, and can strike all party members equally.
• Some normally fighter-class humanoid lair leaders may be shamans, priests or mages.
• Pressing the space bar while viewing a character in Camp will show a second page of commands not previously displayed. Pressing an illegal key will also bring up this new list. Press again to toggle the command list. One other previously unlisted command, CTRL-D)iscard, is now shown with the main command list if the character being viewed can be discarded.
• The previously unlisted command B)ack is now displayed as a combat option (only if there’s room on the screen).
• If the real-time combat status update preference is on, it now also updates the monster count status box immediately when any monster status changes (i.e. killed, dispelled, stoned, fled, etc).
• The number of monsters that wake-up after each round of combat is now displayed.
• New feature: Proving Grounds! Located in the Blue Knight Tavern, you can now study and train to improve your character’s abilities. Somewhat similar to a character editor, this feature allows you to modify skill points using a point buy/sell system.

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If you push your classic computer to the limits to fulfill your everyday needs, prove it! The second annual Retrochallenge provides a means for scoring your classic computer usage to find out just how retro you really are..