I gave two presentations at KansasFest 2011, the first an introduction to the Logo programming language and the second a survey of small turtle robots contemporary with the Apple II. Ken Gagne recorded the presentations and has kindly made the videos available. Turtle Robots LOGO: History and Programming
Archive of posts filed under the Apple ][ category.
HackFest 2011
KansasFest 2011 is over, and it was awesome. My HackFest theme this year was “learn new stuff.” I used an enhanced Apple IIe that I didn’t own until the first day of KansasFest. I used an RC System’s DoubleTalk speech synthesizer for the first time. I used and learned Terrapin Logo 1.0 for the first time, [...]
Brains! Boards!
Mike Willegal recently announced the new Brain Board with Wozanium Pack, and I bought one even though I don’t yet own a compatible Apple II, II+, or IIe. It’s always exciting to see new products, whether hardware, software, podcasts, websites, or projects, for the Apple II. The Brain Board allows you to replace the firmware, [...]
Open Apple podcast
I’m “Internet famous” on episode 3 of the Open Apple podcast, the premier Apple II podcast. Thanks to Ken Gagne and Mike Maginnis for the invitation. This month features KansasFest, edutainment software, and much more! I already look forward to the next episode.
KansasFest 2011 Countdown NDA
April is a good month for the Apple II. KansasFest registration opens. Juiced.GS ships a new issue in beautiful color. Open-Apple ought to release a new podcast soon. Brain Boards ship. Briel’s MP3 player for the Apple II is coming soon. What’s next? How about an NDA, or New Desk Accessory, for GS/OS that counts [...]
Macrosoft at KansasFest 2010
I presented a tutorial introduction at KansasFest 2010 on the Mindcraft Macrosoft programming language, a macro assembler package that allows the programmer to achieve machine language speed with a high-level Applesoft BASIC-like syntax. Macrosoft and its companion Assembler run on you favorite 8-bit Apple II. The presentation was well received, and several people left motivated [...]
KansasFest 2010 HackFest
My KansasFest 2010 HackFest entry with source code is now available for your enjoyment. This entry took second place behind Martin’s Wizardy crack. I used Complete Pascal 2.0 with Pegasoft Draw Tools 3.1, both of which are freely available, to create my first 16-bit Apple II program. The program displays pictures from KansasFest and asks related [...]
Hackfest Day 2
There are just so many fabulous things to see and do at KansasFest that Hackfest has not gotten much attention! Where else do you get to see the worst Apple product and a disk operating system almost twice as fast as ProDOS? I want to include full-screen bitmapped images in my entry, and I’m figuring out [...]
Hackfest Day 1
The annual KansasFest HackFest is on! I’ve heard rumors of Wizardy cracking and a Rockhurst text adventure. I’m learning Complete Pascal, learning IIGS toolbox programming, and, just in case I run out of things to do, using those skills to write a graphical Apple II/KFest trivia adventure. I have Complete Pascal running and am ready [...]
Saying “Hello” with Macrosoft
Following the model of Eric Shepherd’s “Some Assembly Required: Hello World” article on A2Central and my last post on the Mindcraft Assembler, I’d like to present the traditional “Hello World” program for 8-bit Apple II using Macrosoft. Macrosoft allows the programmer to achieve machine language speed with a familiar BASIC-like syntax. Technically, Macrosoft is a macro [...]