Archive for June, 2013

First reactions to Jobs movie trailer

June 24th, 2013 2:59 PM
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Filed under History, Mainstream coverage, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak;
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There was an occasion last year where I wrote a blog post for Apple II Bits but, prior to clicking "publish", realized the subject had a broader appeal. The same thing happened today when I started writing about the new trailer for the Steve Jobs film. Previously we saw only a clip of the movie, resulting in mixed receptions. Now that a two-minute trailer garnered two million views over the weekend, has public reception to the movie changed?

Find out by reading my Computerworld blog — but you can watch the trailer here, or see the film in theaters on August 16.

Dino Eggs Rebirth coming soon

June 17th, 2013 8:24 PM
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At KansasFest 2009, I presented a session on modern games inspired by Apple II classics, a list I expanded with a follow-up session at KansasFest 2010. The motivation for both was implied: our favorite games don’t exist anymore, but here are some of today’s games that come pretty close.

Every day, that underlying assumption is negated a bit more by the increasing trend to resurrect the titles and franchises of yesteryear. Now it’s not only big-name titles like Lode Runner and Karateka that are being revisited. Recently announced by original creator David Schroeder is the pending release of Dino Eggs: Rebirth, a sequel to 1983’s Dino Eggs. Check out the trailer:

I’ve never played Dino Eggs on either its original platform of the Apple II or on the Commodore 64 or IBM PC, to which it was ported. I would wonder if the demand for a sequel is there, but as I’ve heard of Dino Eggs before this video, I’m assuming I’m unique in having not experienced it directly. On the other hand, the developer didn’t go to Kickstarter for crowdfunding, suggesting either the project didn’t require outside funding, or he wasn’t confident in his ability to find outside funding.

What do you think? Do you remember Dino Eggs fondly enough to check out this sequel? Or is the market for nostalgia already crowded?

Look for this game on PC and Xbox — no mobile devices! — this summer.

(Hat tip to Brian Picchi)

The Apple events of June 10

June 10th, 2013 8:25 PM
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Today is a big day for Apple — and not just because iOS 7 was announced this afternoon (with an oddly familiar rainbow logo, at that!). Although Apple’s future will be determined by the announcements and decisions made today, it is their past, and thus their existence, that is defined by the events of June 10.

Although there is some disagreement as to the exact date, the authorities of the Computer History Museum and Steve Weyhrich‘s Apple II History site indicate it was today in 1977 that the first Apple II computer shipped. The Apple II, of course, was the first official product of the newly minted Apple Computer Inc. Its success enabled the company to survive and thrive, going on to innovate, create new products, and redefine entire industries.

If not for today, we wouldn’t have iOS, or iPhones, or iPads, or Macs — or the many creations, connections, conventions, and collaborations they have made possible.

Happy birthday to Apple’s greatest success. May there be many more to come!

May 25 - Retirement

(Hat tip to ThinkGeek)

My elementary education with the Apple II

June 3rd, 2013 12:36 PM
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My household was an early adopter of personal computers, at least compared to the rest of my grade school. Whereas I had access to the family Apple IIe whenever I wanted, for most of my classmates, their only exposure to that computer came from our weekly computer lab, which was not what I would call rigorous. The instructor was Sister Theresa, and she didn’t know the first thing about programming or educational software. Too many classes would start this way: "Turn on the computer. Type NEW, return, RUN, return, HOME return, GR, return. Now draw the Nativity." And that was it: we’d be left to our own devices for the rest of class. Since our work was never checked, no one attempted the project she’d assigned us. On rare occasions, we’d be given textbooks of BASIC program listings and could type one in, but neither instruction nor comprehension occurred regarding what these commands did or how they resulted in the program we’d run.

Instead, my mastery of the Apple II occurred at home. I would pull apart Applesoft programs to see how they worked, then I’d modify them or write my own, sometimes recreating the work during class to show off to my classmates. (The result could be seen less in their admiration and more in their bullying.) I later wondered why the class couldn’t be more productive. Did the administration think Sr. Theresa was the best person for this job? Or was the convent looking for a position for this old nun, and this was all that was available? Was it worth it to make her feel useful at the expense of all those computers being wasted? Having now been an educator myself, I’d be keen to see what the mission statement, classroom goals, or rubric were for that class. I suspect the syllabus was blank.

Regardless, I did enjoy these classes and the special permission Sr. Theresa gave me to borrow from her archive of Scholastic Microzine on Friday afternoons to bring home for the weekend. I would wake up early every Saturday to play this trove of new games I’d been bequeathed, both before my three older brothers would wake up and before the Microzine would have to go back to school on Monday morning. I was likely the only student who ever went to see Sr. Theresa outside our designated lab time, and we grew friendly. But my education had taught me to never question authority, so despite our relationship, it never occurred to me to suggest that her class could be run in any other way.

St. Leo's SchoolI don’t know how much that aspect of the school has changed since then. I remember hearing in the early- to mid-nineties that they were "upgrading" all their IIe computers to IIc’s. Whatever expert they hired for that advice steered them wrong, as the Apple II line was nearing the end of its official support by then, and switching to Macs or PCs would’ve been a more long-term investment. I wonder what came of their Apple IIe or IIc labs — no one called me when they disposed of either. Maybe they’re still there, teaching modern students the fine art of retrocomputing.

Can a quick Google search tell us for sure? Visiting the St. Leo’s School Web site — which is running on a five-year-old version of Joomla — I see that "computer" is one of the required classes, and that "Computers are incorporated into daily classes, starting in Pre-Kindergarten." Not the most detailed curriculum outline.

Granted, this is a grade school in suburban Leominster, Massachusetts. At that age and with the resources available, it may be more reasonable to expect the students to focus on the basics: "Religion, Mathematics, Reading — Literature, Language Arts". But computers can be tools by which to inspire creativity in all those areas and more. Think of all the lessons, exercises, and tools that computers could be bringing to the classroom: Programming! Applesoft BASIC! iBooks! Game-playing! Game design! And more!

The issue, in many ways, is academic, as it will be a long time before a grade school’s curriculum again has direct influence on my family. But whenever I do evaluate a school’s academic rigor for its ability to inspire a generation of creative and competitive professionals, I’ll be sure of three things: that computer literacy is as much a priority as other "core" areas; that there is a passionate, knowledgeable teacher in charge of executing that mission; and that she be willing to share her library of Microzines.