I Got My Apple IIGS Online! (Better Than You'd Expect)

[@Dolinmyster]

I've got to be honest, I really prefer the camera at the screen instead of a capture. It really feels like I'm there and part of the action.

[@adrianoarruguetti2]

So do I!

[@SamwiseOutdoors]

So say we all!

[@ctrlaltrees]

Another banger! You're knocking it out of the park with the videos lately - the new studio and decision to start showing your face turned out to be absolutely the right call. It's been so good to see this channel go from strength to strength since the early days. 🙂

[@ActionRetro]

Thanks Rees!!!

[@UpLateGeek]

That monitor stand is such a perfect fit for your machine, it's like it was made just for you!

[@singletona082]

This hole was made just for me!

[@garrettnievin5812]

Yes, where did you get that monitor stand?

[@plawson8577]

@@singletona082 Apple IIGS is actually a Slightly faster Super Nintendo!

[@Gamebits]

Amazing video! IItter was written over a decade ago by the late Ryan Suenaga. Twitter's API has changed since then, which is why the client doesn't work anymore. 😞

[@VicTheVicar]

16 bit internet? Yikes! I haven't experienced that since the Win 3.1 days. My dad borrowed a Compaq 386 laptop from work that had a 28.8kbit PCMCIA modem card.

[@danaeckel5523]

Ahh the memories, I remember Yahoo Chat, ICQ and AOL messenger on 3.1. It was a very capable OS into the late 90's.

[@VicTheVicar]

@Laz Rabbit Intel's SX products are a bich. Technically 32 bit, but contrained by a 16 bit bus.

[@john_ace]

You might want to buy the Reactive Micro Transwarp GS clone if you intend to use the computer more often or for a longer while. The ASIC on the ZIP GSX is going to get problematic and in the end the ZIP will fail if you keep using it. I went through several ZIP cards over the years and i kinda hate myself for doing it. The TWGS is being sold and can easily be repaired since all parts are still available. Once the ZIP is dead, it will stay that way.* The ZIP is faster than the TWGS at the same clock. I would say that a 8 MHz ZIP is about as fast as a 10 MHz TWGS. Overclocking the ZIP might age it way faster. I stopped that after my very fast 15MHz/64K ZIP suddenly died only a few months after upgrading. If you want to overclock the ZIP anyways, stay below 13 MHz (12.5 MHz is proven to be stable for long). The card may take 15 or even 16 MHz for a while but don't expect the ASIC to last! The cache chips should be upgraded to the narrow dip variant if you upgrade the card. The procedure is not easy since the eyelets of the installed SRAM sockets can easily lift when heated. The PCB is much cheaper in quality than the TWGS and even a bit too much pressure when desoldering can damage the card. The cache chips should be at least 35ns, better 25ns or less. The W65C816 gets very picky when it is overclocked (>14MHz). The window for access to the cache gets exponentially smaller, the faster the CPU gets. If you don't want to desolder the cache sockets, you can make a cache adapter by bending the narrow dip SRAM pins to the side and solder them into machined 600mil dip-sockets. That way you can create 600mil SRAM "chips" from 300mil SRAMs. If you have problems getting faster chips, you can use the slower chips (should still be faster then the installed 70ns) for the data-cache and faster chips for the tag-cache. Replacing the cpu is without any dangers. The 14MHz part is less buggy and may even work better than the 10MHz part that is currently installed. You might even be able to go 10MHz without changing anything but the clock crystal. * I was able to revive one card for a while by replacing the two 74FXX chips at the bottom of the card with 74ASXX (_not_ ALS, FCT, ACT, BCT or AHCT!) variants. They are way faster and have a 'sharper' propagation curve 'where it counts' as well as around 30mA drive per pin (they get a bit hot, though). Please limit yourself to 12.5MHz at max, anything over that is kinda like suicide in the long run.

[@gklinger]

Another option is the Apple Squeezer GS which is faster, has 14MB of RAM and runs a lot cooler.

[@Plarndude]

I wish Apple had continued to develop the Apple IIGS line. Maybe in a parallel universe there are no Macintosh computers.

[@jsevakis]

Heyy, finally a vintage computing crazy-mission I’ve done myself! The IIGS is an incredible little computer and I’m happy to see some more attention paid to its absurdly dedicated community. For ease of video capture (and many other reasons) you could probably use the excellent VidHD card for HDMI output. But I’m sure you already know that and are trying to find one… Also, grabbing new power supply guts from ReactiveMicro is a really good idea, as those ZipGS cards suck a lot of power.

[@lovemadeinjapan]

If a youtuber masters filming an actual CRT, asking for HDMI grabs is the dumbest shit ever. KZbin's algoritm should downrank HDMI grabs for retro machines.

[@petemiller2598]

I freaking love this channel better than anything on Netflix.

[@hessex1899]

Yo I picked up this amazing device called a guru modem. It's a RS232 device that emulates AT commands (with an extended command set), with local storage and a limited shell, attached to a wifi client. You can ftp or wget files into local storage and them download them over the serial port with xmodem. It's brilliant.

[@singletona082]

excuse me what? That's awesome [NEED TO KNOW MORE INTENSIFIES]

[@ActionRetro]

Woah neat!

[@grimmpickins2559]

I swear this system needs a 'prison tv' monitor to match the aesthetic, I'm not sure they made actual computer monitors - but there was a whole slew of technology devices for the incarcerated that used clear plastics (no smuggling outside the posterior, prisoners!).

[@parasquared]

someone’s probably made a clear case for the monitor ii, and if not someone should lol

[@plawson8577]

@@parasquared It’s actually a SNES, but slightly faster!!!

[@jorisw_]

My favorite kind of video - hooking up an ancient machine to the internets. Loving seeing these old/retro browser/connectivity apps.

[@lanatrzczka]

Would like to try this setup with a TWGS at 14 mhz.

[@A2-Retro]

@8MHz, the 8bit Uthernet II software you showed in previous videos, would really fly...

[@tombarber8929]

You need to get one of those clear prison CRTs to complete the setup!

[@VeronicaExplains]

This is incredible!

[@Chrs2021]

I love the background is it from something in particular. It looks great on that display.

[@stuartcastle2814]

OK, so I am using my Core i5 based PC, with RTX GFX card, 48 Gig of RAM and a 24 inch 4K monitor to watch an 8MHz Apple IIGS browsing the web using a 320x200 display, and I am loving it..

[@TheReimecker]

The vnc connection works realy great on the IIGS thats awesome !!!

[@JohnSmith-xq1pz]

Wait where's the classic dailup "handshack" SFX?

[@naquirodriguezdelatorre2958]

I´m going to be honest. I like the clear case but dislike the Apple IIe style form factor. IIgs case is much better with the detached keyboard.

[@XeonProductions]

I love it when random things fit together like it was destiny for them to be together.

[@MiguelRodriguez2010]

I too have been obsessed with getting modern internet on older machines. You got my sub!

[@metadotjpg]

The IIGS was my *jam* as a kid; I low-key created my own GUI by writing programs I'd save on the HD that were assigned to read from the drive-slots so I could pretend I had an IBM OS lololol...

[@VenomStryker]

Again with the Justice for Tuvix T-shirt. And also again, was such a great Voyager episode!

[@danaeckel5523]

Pretty cool to see a IIGS online today. Back in the late 90's I tried getting mine on the internet by using SIS and dialup. I'm not sure what I was doing wrong. It is too bad computers like this and Amiga, ST didn't get better internet support. In 97/98 my main computer was still using Win 3.1, and did great job with the internet. Had decent browsers, chat clients, media players.

[@koztech]

I feel like they could have "saved" Tuvix and still got Neelix and Tuvok back. They have a copy of Tuvix's pattern, right? Just save it, split them back up into Neelix and Tuvok, then put Tuvix's pattern back into the buffer and poof! Also, justice for Sim!

[@VeronicaExplains]

I've always had this feeling about it. His death was entirely unnecessary!

[@kurtwinter4422]

Your t-shirt - Darmok and Jalad on the ocean

[@JohnSmith-xq1pz]

His eyes opened

[@ActionRetro]

Darmok and Jalad in the BBS

[@JohnSmith-xq1pz]

@@ActionRetro When the IP fell

[@kaitlyn__L]

I was going to say my favourite part was watching the acrylic monitor stand sag with the monitor, but actually then it was the VNC part. Also, props for the good alt-text in FrogFind! On that topic, I was also pleasantly surprised that the MUD specifically said it wasn’t screen reader friendly. I mean, that’s self evident to me because MUDs usually aren’t, but it’s nice to say that up-front rather than just making a screen reader user sit through a ton of punctuation before giving up.

[@WilliamHaisch]

21:45 “The night has begun. You are now sober.” These were the most terrifying words to me when I was in college. 😂

[@GuilhermeMittmann]

Put old machines online is the coolest thing!😍

[@Furaimatsu]

This tutorial is super great, and not just because of how amazing the soft is, it actually says where to f

[@ran2wild370]

Probably the VNC session &TCP/IP stack is the most impressing. Not usable much, but proof of concept :))) +1 for the hard work of showing us what old systems can and can't do 😄

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

"Shenanigans" great Irish term right after St. Patrick's Day!

[@DerekWitt]

I love your t-shirt. What an odd Voyager episode that was. :)

[@wolvenar]

Am I missing the link for the acrylic monitor stand?

[@ActionRetro]

Oops! amzn.to/3MJTFnA

[@wolvenar]

@@ActionRetro Thank you

[@xandirauden]

If you wanted to have a text-only web experience, without the TCP/IP stack overhead, using a capable 8 to 16 colour Apple terminal program, an RS-232 serial card for the Apple (with 9 or 25 pin serial port), a USB to serial null modem cable and a Linux computer (eg. Ubuntu) using an sgetty command to open the port, you could use the Apple as a tty dumb terminal to access text only web browsers like elinks, lynx and w3w with colour. I haven't done it with an Apple computer, but have had success on a C64 (1 MHz) and Amiga 500 (8 MHz). So theoretically it should be possible to do :)

[@tridbant]

I used Marinetti in the early nineties and there was talk about a graphical browser. Did that ever happen?

[@adamsfusion]

There's few computers like the IIGS that I've been so interested in seeing go online.

[@shermanikk]

Now you need to get a clear case for that Apple monitor to match the rest of your setup! Maybe some clear keycaps for the keyboard too.

[@chrisj.1608]

i LOVE your shirt tuvix was an amazing character

[@Th3KillinJok3]

Great video, however, WHERE DO I GET THAT SHIRT? Justice for Tuvix! Brilliant

[@thisisreallyme3130]

Can't wait for the FujiNet device for networking...

[@minty_Joe]

Hey, Sean, are you gonna later acquire a clear case for that Apple color monitor? An all clear case Apple IIgs system sounds awesome!

[@brendanhoffmann8402]

lol, your shenanigans are pure joy

[@zaxchannel2834]

6:51 lol I got the same red USB cable.

[@TsukiToHotaru]

Good content as always! One thing I want to point out is that the music of the intro clip is too loud and sharp, and it actually shocked me when I first watched your video. In my opinion lowering the volume of the intro music a bit or replacing it could be a nice improvement :)

[@reidfamilydroid]

You _should_ make a Linux server at the native resolution to VNC in to!

[@AlbertoMontesSoto]

ah, I got an X230T one, good device for anything but gaming.... specially on linux

[@DavidStahlOLDHAPPyMACs]

Very Cool Sean that is some really software Nice that you and get that on the internet great way to kept these old computers useful

[@ranieriphoto]

By far the coolest thing I’ve seen in a while. Oh what could’ve been from Apple! (But sadly wasn’t).

[@skraegorn7317]

I’m a bit of a mechanical keyboard nut, so I was wondering which type of switches your keyboard module has

[@chadmasta5]

Matias ALPS

[@nikkiofthevalley]

I've actually been trying to make a TCP/IP stack for a custom CPU I made. It uses 8 bit words. It could technically send and receive TCP packets, but it's so slow I doubt the connection wouldn't timeout.

[@mikek1187]

"Justice for Tuvix" LMAO!!!!

[@adamelliott3694]

Can you get a clear case to move the monitor guts into . . . completing the look? :)

[@RobotnikPlays]

Gahhd that acrylic case and stand look so good. I only wish you could find replacement monitor plastics to complete the look :O

[@shmehfleh3115]

Somewhere, in some alternate timeline, the original Mac never got made and the Apple IIGS got the support it deserved from Apple.

[@iceowl]

between this and your 040 overclocking video, i'm gonna say that your monitor might need some adjustment to get rid of that fuzziness. assuming it's the same monitor.

[@DigitalNomadOnFIRE]

This came out AFTER the Amiga with a pre-emptive multitasking WIMP display. Very old tech.

[@ewookiis]

You need to rename the channel to Thonk Retro ;). Not to spoil the fun, but using a proxy would make all your endevours easier. One that also still handles either all the SSL, or one that downgrades to a supported version, or, like you did in a different video, strip "new" stuff into something more straight.

[@ruadeil_zabelin]

A vnc server for the 2gs would be pretty nice

[@Ralph-yn3gr]

Opinion: the Apple IIgs is a better computer than contemporary Macs and apple should have continued developing it for the home and education and relegated the Mac to be a high end graphics workstation instead of shoehorning the Mac into the II's territory. I will die on this hill.

[@belstar1128]

Yea the mac was black and white for some reason even back then that was quite lame.

[@Ralph-yn3gr]

@@belstar1128 I don't know. The black and white screen wasn't so unreasonable in the 80s if you were using it as a business machine. Word processing and spreadsheets don't need color, and a lot of printers were black and white anyways so it was a respectable option for graphic design, especially with how high resolution it was compared to the PC.

[@aftertheendtimes]

Really cool, love the old Apple's love cheers

[@singletona082]

Given recent events: I'm hoping a Mastodon client can be added to that list.

[@kippie80]

that hurts to hear, “commercial failure”. more like it was “commercial sabotage” from ego #1 (the stevia jobless)

[@alanjupiter]

Tou desperetaly needs a clear case for your apple ii gs monitor. It’ll be gorgeous with your gs

[@GaryCameron780]

13:10 But have you used the IIgs with an analog modem to dial into an old time BBS? ;)

[@ChristopherGaul]

Now that you've got that clear case and clear monitor stand, you need to hack an iMac Graphite case into a monitor for the // GS!

[@nrnoble]

Very cool project! I still own an Apple IIgs which has been packaged away for over 30 years. I bought it new in 1987. While I find these repro projects impressive, it's unlikely that I would undertake such a project. Doing the project would be fun, but it's unlikely that after I got my IIgs on the internet I would ever actually do anything with it. A bit like watching old classic TV shows, after watching a few episodes I had my retro interest satisfied. With computing, for me, it's mostly about learning what modern technology can do next. It is fun to watch videos like this to see how people have made older technology do what was impossible when it was the cutting edge.

[@cathrynm]

If you have an Apple 2gs in the attic, suggest opening it up and take the battery out, if you haven't already. Hopefully it hasn't leaked.

[@alles_klar]

VNCing into a Win10 machine properly blew my mind, damn.

[@Lestercortez128]

Wow you have a cool channel sir getting sponsored by KZbin and partners to creative informative videos about computers. Keep up the great work!

[@b3ans4eva]

Can you do an episode about that BBS you showed?

[@jakeparkinson8929]

I forget whats its called, but there is a thing on the raspberry pi thats essentially a headless chromium that can be streamed to older browsers on other computers.

[@VladoT]

What about a translucent monitor case :)

[@50ShadesOfBeige]

does squareSpace have a janky 80/90s site template?

[@samerc1]

Wow I miss Apple IIGS :( I was a kid used to that apple IIGS at school. oh wait this can use online with the internet? how do that?

[@gamepad3173]

imagine if Apple were selling the IIgs as part of the stealth line up of computers (but with an iMac motherboard, and a built in keyboard with a matching retina Monitor and a mouse).

[@aswxwing]

I love your T-shirt in this episode!

[@flimflam384]

Damn, an active ANSI Dikumud in 2022, now that's old school, like finding a coelacanth in the wild!

[@kystrestechfreakouts777]

what is the background image with the head and wires?

[@wyldride]

Tuvix tried to murder two of Janeway's crew and had the temerity to try and make her feel bad for stopping it. That was an evil plant and received justice by being stopped.

[@GarthBeagle]

I mean, why not VNC into a Windows 10 system from an Apple IIgs?

[@NightshadowZX]

Love the tuvix shirt

[@Lilithe]

Making Twitter work with the IIgs today is even less likely now that there are only pay options to hook into the API. D'oh!

[@paulwratt]

overclocking: can you get a 16bit core for that 6502C FPGA drop-in CPU replacement (which can do 100Mhz IIRC) - saw in on retro bits

[@dsfryda]

For some reason, I can't download the Weber software. Does anyone have a good link to the software? Thanks

[@adventureridergirl]

Justice for Tuvix indeed!

[@mojoblues66]

macOS has a VNC server built in.

[@jorisw_]

Indeed, enable it in Sharing -> Remote Login

[@JoshColletta]

That shirt is awesome!

[@zacharyschwanke7160]

any way you can make the monitor clear?

[@michaelhill6453]

Always brilliant!

[@Chimpur]

Love the shirt!!

[@squeeeb]

"The problem was, I'm an idiot." 🤣 I love this channel.

[@TheNovum]

frogfind rocks 👍

[@curtis]

Great videos my friend

[@Ginger30161]

can you still telnet into Prodigy?

[@drzeissler]

Is there a "mac" solution instead of ciderpress?

[@fnjesusfreak]

Dunno, but maybe you could run it on WINE? That's what I do on Linux.

[@MarkWaltersSeattle]

Justice for Tuvix

[@theParticleGod]

I'm sorry to say it but I can imagine this ancient transparent cased beast being the standard "prison computer" with one of those transparent prison CRT TVs sitting on top of it. I love the look, but I have an image in my head of it sitting in the corner of a prison cell.

[@thackerybrown2860]

Has anyone had issues using the ActionGS image? I am trying to flash it to my CF using cider press (tried unzipping using stuffit or windows' utility) and cider press throws an error that the file is in an unexpected format

[@NunesHR]

Same error here. Not sure what to do.