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Berkeley TCP socket interface for the Apple IIgs
Scott C. Linnenbringer writes "In case you wanted to do something cool with your fancy little Apple IIgs in the back room, you can use GS/TCP to implement a standard BSD socket interface, allowing you to connect via SLIP, MacIP, and soon PPP on a GNO/ME (GNO Multitasking Environment) UNIX system for the IIgs, now completely abandoned, open-sourced and labeled freeware. GS/TCP also comes with ftp and inetd, built with ORCA/C directly from BSDi sources (hacked, of course,) and a text web browser for GNO/ME can be found at the website."
I'm not familiar with the current legal status of the Minix source code, but I think it would be interesting to see a port of it to the IIgs. I don't have any illusions about such an effort yielding anything of practical use, I just think it would be cool. The x86 version of Minix will run on a PC/XT, a system whose processor lacks any sort of memory protection functionality, with 256k of memory and a single 360k floppy drive.
If an OS like contiki can be crafted for a C64, surely Minix or something like it can be made to work on the IIgs.
Lee
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You'd have to be crazy to waste that much time on a woefully obsolete machine instead of using the modern one you've already got for the same purpose.
Except the beautiful thing about the Apple ]['s were the learning one could get out of them. My Apple ][+ at least shipped with full schematics to the computer including all wiring and chip ID's. It was a fantastic opportunity for a then 11 year old back in 1981 or so, and some would argue that even modern adults can learn quite a bit from such an old architecture that is extensible enough to still function with much more modern technologies.
The other thing to consider is that this machine (Apple ][+) was essentially designed from scratch by one person. Steve Wozniak. Thank you Steve.
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"In case you wanted to do something cool with your fancy little Apple IIgs in the back room"
Well, in that case, I'd rather go to Ninjaforce, download some demos, sit back and enjoy!
By the way, there is an IRC client, too.
My earliest programming memories were on Apple II systems writing looping code in Logo or BASIC. In college, I concentrated on theoretical computer science, possibly because the general limits of computational machinery were made obvious to me through those early years on the apple.
Write some code in Visual Basic.NET and the first thing you notice is that you need a 4GB dual Xeon box just to boot the IDE! In a more efficient environment like VS6 or GCC+Emacs you have to write some complex code before you begin to notice performance limitations of the host machine.
I suppose this is analogous to hopping up 1960's muscle cars versus today's ricecars. The muscle cars were simple enough that owners could make meaningful performance upgrades. Modern cars benefit somewhat from a new chip, but most owners just change the bodywork and add lots of wings.
That having been said, I like my TiBook at least as much as I like my old Apple ][.
Then the copyright holder should have said this software is in the public domain. That would have meaning (as would licensing under the remarkably liberal new BSD and MIT X11 licenses). The term "freeware" has no legal meaning and is not a license, therefore it cannot be considered free software or open source. The FSF warns against using the word freeware to mean "free software". As things are, it is unclear exactly what the copyright holder(s) were trying to convey which means the software should be regarded as non-free and therefore it would be wise to avoid the software. Here's hoping the copyright holder(s) pick a free software license.
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