Eric ‘Sheppy’ Shepherd has released an update to Sweet16, the free Apple IIGS emulator for Mac OS X. This release fixes a nasty crash-on-quit bug, and adds a few enhancements. Get your copy here: http://sheppyware.net/software-mac/sweet16/

Brian Picchi has released Lamb Chops, a new game for the Apple II. In the game, you must protect your lambs (and yourself) by shooting assorted baddies before they touch (and therefore eat) your flock. As the levels progress, more foes appear and the game becomes more challenging. To play, you’ll need an Apple II with 64K, and while it works with the keyboard, a joystick is preferable. Check out the embedded video of the game play and download the disk image.

Briel Computers is celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Replica 1 by releasing a limited edition (and new revision) of their insanely popular Apple 1 compatible computer. The first 50 boards make up the limited edition 10th Anniversary Replica 1; each will be serialized and sport a collectible red PCB. After those are sold out, the new 10th Anniversay Edition Replica 1 PCB will revert to its usual green color.

As always, if you’re comfortable with a soldering iron you’ll have the option to purchase the new Replica 1 as a build-it-yourself kit ($149 USD) or for the non-techie and/or time-constrained, as a fully assembled and tested product ($199 USD). The limited edition 10th Anniversary Replica 1 will be available for pre-order on November 28th, 2013 — Thanksgiving Day in the USA.

The new board has the following changes:

• Smaller size (only 7″ X 4.5″)
• Reduced chip count, only 8 chips plus USB-Serial adapter
• Single universal power adapter mini-USB connector for serial interface and power
• Can be powered from a PC or Mac USB interface
• Universal drivers for serial connection for data transfer now at 9600 BAUD
• Dual boot mode, standard Apple 1 with Woz Integer BASIC or Applesoft Lite (selected with jumper)
• Improved video with choice of NTSC or PAL (PAL mode not tested)
• Optional USB Power supply and cable, no need to search for a compatible power supply

Look for a review of the new Replica 1 10th Anniversary Edition in the next issue of Juiced.GS later this year!

Yet another handy RetroConnector from Option8 has been announced for pre-order. Check out the USD $50 Joystick Interface For Apple II which lets you interface a modern USB joystick to the Apple II DB9 or DIP16 game ports.

Ewen Wannop has released updates to his excellent SNAP NNTP client and Chewbagger low-level file editor applications for the Apple IIGS. Both releases are bug fixes, but a few welcome new features have been added.

ChewBagger:

• Optionally display the ASCII field with the high bits cleared.
• Compare two files for differences. The files are displayed in a ‘split’ window, and on opening, the first difference is found and selected. You can then work through the two files, finding further differences, and setting an ‘offset’ between the displays if necessary.

SNAP:

• You can now optionally choose to read New messages first.

You can get these updates as well as all of Ewen’s fine programs from http://www.wannop.info/speccie/Site/Speccies_Home_Pages.html

“With thanks to Paul Laughton, in collaboration with Dr. Bruce Damer, founder and curator of the Digibarn Computer Museum, and with the permission of Apple Inc., [the Computer History Museum is] pleased to make available the 1978 source code of Apple II DOS for non-commercial use. This material is Copyright © 1978 Apple Inc., and may not be reproduced without permission from Apple.”

http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/apple-ii-dos-source-code/

Thanks to Ken Gagne and Twitter friends.

This… is a blatant plug. After many delays, Dr. Steven Weyhrich’s *highly* anticipated book, Sophistication & Simplicity is now (for reals this time, we promise) available for pre-order on Amazon (again). We’re teasing our good friend Dr. Weyhrich, who has had to endure editorial hell, endless fact-checking, nitpicking Apple II experts and publishing delays to get this book out. His perseverance (and ours) is about to be rewarded.

The presses are rolling! Trust me, YOU WANT THIS BOOK! Pre-order your hardcover copy today on Amazon for a mere $22.40 USD. Such a deal!

There’s a new Apple II podcast, and it’s hosted by Craig Johnston and (*the*) John Romero. Check out the pilot episode of Apple Time Warp, available on iTunes or as a direct download here. If you’re a serious Apple II enthusiast, prepare to squee! It’s really very good.

Apple Time Warp is a nostalgic look at the early years of Apple II gaming featuring stories of the programmers and software companies that brought computer gaming out of it’s infancy and into the mainstream. Let’s hope they do the Apple Time Warp again. It’s just a JMP to the left…

Thanks and additional reading via Ken Gagne of Apple II Bits

This month on Open Apple, the Apple II community’s only monthly podcast, Mike and Ken chat with Bill Martens of Call-A.P.P.L.E. Preserving our community’s software and documentation is important not just to the users, but to the people doing the preserving; Bill explains why. The show looks at how the media can never get enough of Steve Jobs, examining his early career and denoting his boyhood home as a historical landmark — but Woz gets his time in the spotlight too, on panels about Atari, the Jobs movie, or a Homebrew Computer Club reunion. Highlighted eBay auctions include the ten rarest and most expensive games and yet another Apple-1. Finally, Brian Wiser calls in to discuss The WOZPAK Special Edition, a book that made its debut at KansasFest 2013 alongside its creator, Steve Wozniak.

Find the show at the Open Apple Web site or in the iTunes and Zune podcast directories.