Website of the Week: Virtual Apple II

Sure, you can get the Oregon Trail on your iPhone these days, but that just isn't the same as removing the computer dust cover (remember those?) on the Apple II and inserting the Oregon Trail floppy. Well, today's website can't help you re-create the floppy disk, or even find a dust cover, but it can bring the same kind of gameplay, right to your browser. Virtual Apple II uses a plugin, allowing you to fire up essentially an Apple II emulator right on your modern-day Mac. 

There's quite a collection of games including California Games, and Hardball: two favorites from my youth. Enjoy!

Retro Tech Tuesday: Apple IIe Promo Video

Last week, we shared a news segment evaluating the laserdisc format, compared to VHS. Coincidentally, this week we bring you a video from a laserdisc, showing off the nifty features and add-ons of the Apple IIe. Of special interest/amusement will be the size of the external hard drive. We won't ruin the surprise, except to say they excitedly mention you can store up to 2400 text pages on it! Get out those rainbow-colored logos kids, we're going to the 80's!

Retro Tech Tuesday: John Sculley

It's always a little jarring to see/hear an Apple CEO who isn't named Steve Jobs. Today we take you back to the strange, dark days of the John Sculley era with this clip from The Computer Chronicles. Sculley talks in very non-Jobsian terms about the future of the Apple II , ten years after its release. Think about that for a second: Imagine Apple designing and selling the same iMac ten years from now. I told you it was a strange era: