A Very Special Apple IIc

Featuring the 1st Color LCD prototype, a MacEffects backlit mechanical keyboard, and a hefty dose of Christmas cheer, this Apple IIc is both fun and unique!
🔎 INDEX
0:00 - Intro
0:43 - MacEffects IIc Backlit Mechanical Keyboard
2:41 - Color LCD Prototype
4:46 - 40 vs. 80 column mode
8:51 - Games
17:26 - Bad News
17:56 - What’s Coming
18:26 - Apple II Forever SHIRT
20:20 - The New Apple II User’s Guide
21:45 - Thanks & Closing Thoughts
24:42 - Apple IIc Christmas Music
🛒 STUFF TO BUY
• MacEffects IIc Backlit Mechanical Keyboard: bit.ly/47bj5FG
• The New Apple II User's Guide: amzn.to/41v9jfD
• 5.25” Floppy Disks (blank, tested): www.floppydisk.com/5point25
• Apple II shirts, mugs & caps: www.8bittees.com
💵 If you click on Amazon links above and purchase within 24 hours, Amazon may pay me a small commission on qualifying items in your Cart.
📚 REFERENCE
• Matias Click info (switches on MacEffects keyboard): matias.ca/switches/click/
• MacEffects Keyboard Review by ‪@ActionRetro‬ : • I Put RGB in an Apple ...
• IIc Owner's Guide: tinyurl.com/yrb6pfrs
• Christmas Story: How Apple Beat IBM: tinyurl.com/4kuxe6z3
• Excellent IIc Photos: oldcrap.org/2019/05/14/apple-...
• Apple II Forever Music Video: • Apple II Forever
• LCD Photos & Info (Japanese): tinyurl.com/ysz6evuk
• 1984 Apple IIc Launch Event PHOTOS: tinyurl.com/286adptz
• 1984 Article about the IIc: tinyurl.com/5rfdhx25
• Apple IIc Brochure: bit.ly/49PtIzI
• Interesting story with great IIc photos: retroviator.com/apple-iic/
• John Draper & Steve Wozniak HACKING documentary: • Video
• Apple 7” Monochrome LCD Display Specifications: tinyurl.com/77mt5d9v
- 560 x 192 pixels
- 80 columns by 24 rows
- No Backlight (very hard to see)
- DB15 connector
- Not permanently affixed. May slide around.
- $595 retail price in 1984
- Less than 10,000 were ever made
💾 SOFTWARE
• Let It Snow (CMAS images) by Roby Sherman : tinyurl.com/2yeem9ej
Roby's download page is here: www.crowcousins.com/let-it-sn...
• Angry Birds: 8bitshack.org/post/angrybirds/
• Asteroids: bit.ly/3v3DBdf
Manual: tinyurl.com/2kkp38d8
• Choplifter: tinyurl.com/yc82u2ka
• Ho Ho Ho Christmas Games (and more): tinyurl.com/bddw76z8
• Christmas Serenade: tinyurl.com/3pjurtuw
• AppleWorks 3 Boot Disk: bit.ly/4an88mJ
• AppleWorks 3 Program Disk: bit.ly/41xphWK
• AppleWriter 1.1 (40 column): bit.ly/48nrWEA
• EasyWriter (40 column): bit.ly/3RPCx5G
• Software on 5.25" disks (nicely labeled): tinyurl.com/yckrdc6k
• Virtual ][ emulator (not free but the best): virtualii.com
• Virtual Apple ][ online emulator: www.virtualapple.org
• Asimov collection: www.apple.asimov.net
🎵 MUSIC
• Apple II Forever: • Apple II Forever Music
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🎬 MY VIDEOS
/ jdw26
#AppleIIc #Christmas #MacEffects #JDW1

[@JDW-]

01/07/2024: See the SOFTWARE section in the text description. I added a download link to the Christmas graphics used in my video, put together by Roby Sherman. 12/25/2023: I updated the text description just now, adding an informative documentary about John Draper and Steve Wozniak, and their phone phreaking exploits. I also have a load of other useful info there, so always be sure to check out the text descriptions under all my videos for loads of supplementary info!

[@WelcomeToMarkintosh]

Nice! That prototype screen & MacEffects keyboard are cool-can't wait to see more! I'm thinking I need an Apple ][ in the near future as well. Thanks for another great video and A Merry Christmas to you and your family!!

[@geekwithsocialskills]

Javier is awesome and does a lot of amazing Apple IIc mods for sure! A few years ago he helped me out doing the Apple IIc LCD color modification.

[@ncbreezy]

Fantastic, I love the Apple IIc. Looking forward to the upgrades you come up with for this little beaut.

[@philippeastier7657]

Very nice products indeed, and great Christmas video, thank you so much for all this year James.

[@chironpictures]

Thanks for all the great videos!

[@AppliedCryogenics]

I love it! Great job!

[@VicTheVicar]

Merry Christmas to you, James! Thanks for giving Christmas Eve extra glow

[@2dfx]

Merry Christmas to you as well James!

[@michaelmullett7327]

James this is fantastic

[@protox07]

Have a happy holidays

[@jmd1743]

Cool video.

[@TranscendentalAirwaves]

I wish someone would make a drop in mechanical board and switches for the ADB Keyboard II. Those things are so mushy but they look good and of course are what a bunch of early 90's Macintosh computers shipped with.

[@JDW-]

I can only guess you like the ADB Keyboard II because it is rather compact. If so, why not opt for the IIgs keyboard instead? It's even more compact, keys have a nice feel, and it matches quite well with numerous vintage Apple computers, including the SE/30.

[@willypumphandle3131]

Nice festive Apple IIc video JDW, really enjoyed it. The IIc Kickstarter black case coming out next year from MacEffects looks super cool; I’m looking forward to that. An Apple 1 Byte Shop replica koa wooden case (with replica, vintage looking, Datanetics Rev B keyboard), would be the ultimate in anything vintage apple, though a clear case version, like my SE/30 MacEffects clear case would also be good.

[@JDW-]

I agree about a wooden case Apple I, although in terms of practical usability, it would really serve more as a show-off piece than something you would enjoy using. But the most practical upgrade I see at this point for the IIc is the Mockinboard IIc. I've spoken with the creator a couple months ago. He was out of stock then and told me to "wait some weeks" so he can create more. I won't do my video about upgrades until that arrives. My VGA adapter by Plamen arrived today and I'm actually toying with that right now. Quite nice on my Dell 17" LCD display!

[@DatBlueHusky]

i wish the lcd was easy to source because i have printed the files but never was able to find the lcd online. All i know is its a rear view mirror camera lcd

[@JDW-]

Apparently there are other sizes of that mirror available, but what I show in my video is a size accurate LCD (versus the original Apple), and therefore it requires a 10.2". So it's the 10.2" LCD rear view mirrors that are no longer available. I do wish the LCD used in my prototype was higher resolution though as that would make 80 column text much more clear and visible. The ideal, of course, is to have an LCD that would display full screen content from the Apple II in the LCD's "native" resolution, which offers the sharpest picture.

[@TaijanDean]

I'm in the same boat as you when it comes to experience with the Apple II. I don't have an Apple II of my own, but I do have the '][ In a Mac' emulator for my Mac Plus. I've used this from time to time but my knowledge of BASIC is, well, basic. I don't know much beyond 10 PRINT "HELLO" 20 PRINT "WORLD" 30 GOTO 10 I also bought a Commander X16 from TexElec earlier this year and gave been playing with BASIC on that system, which uses a near identical BASIC V2.0 to that of the Commodore 64 (which I may or may not be getting a modern clone of for Christmas) but I digress. I can certainly see the New Apple User's Guide being useful to novices like me who are desperately trying to find a decent guide to BASIC as almost all versions of BASIC differ in some way, making learning it slightly awkward depending on the system. Anyway, Merry Christmas to you and a happy New Year!

[@bobbytheitguy4289]

I got the Mockingboard4c created by Ian in S.Korea. It works quite well and very easy to install. The only caveat is that its compatibility with software is very limited. Ian had to make some hacks to most of the software that were made for the original Mockingboard. Its a nice novelty item, but not too usable in my opinion.

[@JDW-]

Thanks for the feedback! The Virtual ][ emulator has the Mockingboard emulated, and I've found a decent amount of software that use it. With that said, the price of the Mockingboard from Ian is expensive, and considering it doesn't work on every game makes the expensive purchase even harder. But my problem now isn't that. My problem is it is unavailable because when I spoke to Ian on Oct. 23rd this year (2023), he said he had no parts to make it, and it would take many weeks to get the parts. When did you purchase your Mockingboard from Ian?

[@bobbytheitguy4289]

@@JDW- I got mine over a year ago, shortly after getting my //c on Yahoo auctions. Ian was out of stock then too, but was able to secure the parts rather quickly. The compatibility issue was a bit disappointing. I had a //c as a kid and always wanted a Mockingboard, but the official "Mockingboard D" for the //c was uber rare even back in 1984, and makes me question if it even really existed. But Wikipedia says it did exist, so maybe it was made in really limited numbers. Its admirable that Ian was able to reverse engineer it, and it does work, but not as well as expected. Too much finagling and trickery to get it work with some games like Ultima iv

[@bobbytheitguy4289]

BTW, there seems to be one available on eBay. The dollar to yen rate really sucks right now so not sure if 23,000JPY (with shipping) is worth it.

[@JDW-]

​@@bobbytheitguy4289 Could you explain what "finagling and trickery" is required? I've heard about an issue with noise through the speakers that some have resolved with added resistors, but is that what you are talking about? (I ask in order to know what issues there are prior to purchase, and because I intend to mention such details in a follow-up video about upgrades for the IIc.)

[@JDW-]

​@@bobbytheitguy4289 Regarding EBAY, Ian Kim offers the Mockingboard for 7% less than EBAY prices when ordering direct because EBAY fees are high. He mentions that here: quick09.tistory.com/1534

[@juanmacias5922]

Obviously wouldn't look like the original, but think an iPad screen, or some sort of tablet could be a good display for a project like this. :) Probably give you less issues with the 80 column mode lol

[@JDW-]

True, but someone would need to design the hardware interface to achieve that. I envision a wireless dongle attaching to the back of the IIc, then you could display the screen content on an iPad, similar to how a MacBook can do the same with an iPad as a secondary display. Such hardware interfaces do not currently exist, however, which is why people like Javier and Jonathan are trying to get alternative, low cost displays like rear view mirrors to achieve the same. No matter what you do though, content will be vertically compressed. It's less of an issue on an Apple IIc than it would be on say something like a Macintosh, but it still is noticeable and non-optimal. Even so, it is rather fun for people who remember the Apple monochrome LCD in 1984. That thing is horrible to look at, even harder to see than many Newton displays. Indeed, my Newton 2100 is really visible most of the time when I activate the backlight -- something the original Apple LCD didn't have.

[@Ipsissimus]

The price of that keyboard xD Big nope!

[@JDW-]

Thank you for your comment. Honestly, you’re right about it being very expensive. But on the other hand, it won’t be sold forever. The creator/seller isn’t going to continue manufacturing them until the end of time, making them collectors items at some point. Plus the feature set is pretty incredible and it’s a great typing experience too. 20 years from now, when you consider inflation, the current price probably won’t seem to be quite so high. As with most everything, we don’t seem to miss something until it’s gone. I personally think it’s incredible that someone takes the financial risk to even create these things in the first place. I have a lot of respect for Mark Jozaitis of Mac Effects. He’s brought a lot of practical and highly usable items to market. With that said, if you can’t afford it, you can’t afford it. It really is as simple as that.