Eric “Sheppy” Shepherd has made available Sweet16 2.0 Public Beta 2, otherwise known as Sweet16 2.0b17. In the author’s own words, this new version of the popular Apple IIGS emulator for Mac OS X adds a ton of features, including Ethernet networking support for Marinetti, joystick support, improved graphics, a very handy debugger for Apple II programmers, and CD-ROM support. However, this version apparently does not work on PowerPC systems; an update will be along as soon as the fixed version is tested.

For more information, visit the Sweet16 Web page.

UPDATE: Sweet16 2.0b18 has been released, restoring PowerPC G4 and G5 (but not G3) support back in.

David Schmenk has been developing VM02, a pseudo-Java environment for the Apple II. Today, David announced via usenet newsgroup comp.sys.apple2 that his code is now alpha and ready for public testing. A disk image (.DSK) of VM02 [link], and it’s source tree [link] are available for download.

One of the perks of attending KansasFest is getting to meet some of the active programmers and developers within the Apple II community firsthand and speak with them about their projects. James Littlejohn is one of our newest and most prolific developers, who has released an astonishing 6 new hardware products this year (available through ReactiveMicro). I had the opportunity to visit with James during KansasFest 2008 and pose a few brief questions.

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John Gruver wrote in to share this spectacular bit of news, that an MIT team may develop an OLPC based “loosely” on the Apple II. The Boston Herald [article] and PC Pro UK [article] are reporting the device is projected to cost $12 per unit, which is significantly less than the original OLPC and even the recently announced second generation OLPC.

The possibilities of this project for the Apple II Community are tremendous. Not only can we contribute expertise to the success of this project and help get inexpensive machines out to the children, but it may even provide an incentive to software publishers to reclassify their old commercial Apple II educational titles as freeware.

What do you think? Is using a 30 year old platform (even modernized, with an extensive educational library) a good idea? Would you support it? Would you want to own one? Are you afraid it would be just another Tiger Learning Computer?

UPDATE: As it turns out, the Boston Herald had it all wrong. Eric Lai at Computerworld [article] has the scoop on the real story, and it’s very disappointing news (for Apple II enthusiasts). Thanks to Ken Gagne for bringing this to our attention.

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Alex Lee has revised What Is the Apple IIGS, a popular site dedicated to the Apple IIGS. New features include an interface refresh, message forums and expanded content featuring popular Apple II magazines and hardware information. Alex is also working on a book based on the site and its inspiration, the Apple IIGS.

What Is the Apple IIGS is controversial with some members of the Apple II community who view its “abandonware” content as being in violation with United States copyright laws. Other factions disagree, arguing that abandoned and unsupported software should be freely available. According to the site, What Is the Apple IIGS does not knowingly distribute software or content that is still sold and supported.

Either way, please carefully review “What Is the Disclaimer” for the site’s position on the matter and make up your own mind.