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99-462: Early personal information managers, such as Norton Desktop and Borland's Sidekick , provided pop-up calculator, alarm, calendar and other functions for single-tasking operating systems like MS-DOS using terminate-and-stay-resident techniques . Introduced in 1984 as part of the operating system for the Apple Macintosh computer, a Desk Accessory (DA) was a piece of software written as

198-596: A hard drive . Some design features from the unsuccessful Apple III lived on in the Apple IIGS, such as GS/OS borrowing elements from SOS (including, by way of ProDOS, the SOS file system ), a unique keyboard feature for dual-speed arrow keys, and colorized ASCII text. As part of a commemorative celebration marking the 10th anniversary of the Apple II series' development, as well as Apple Computer itself celebrating

297-452: A text-based user interface for managing files on top of MS-DOS . It was officially produced between 1986 and 1998. The last MS-DOS version of Norton Commander, 5.51, was released on July 1, 1998. A related product, Norton Desktop , a graphical shell for MS-DOS and Windows, succeeded Norton Commander. It came in two variants, Norton Desktop for DOS and Norton Desktop for Windows . John Socha started work on Norton Commander in 1984; at

396-729: A Finder file manager application very similar to the Macintosh's, which allows the user to manipulate files and launch applications. By default, the Finder is displayed when the computer starts up and whenever the user quits an application that is started from it, although the startup application can be changed by the user. Software companies complained that Apple did not provide technical information and development tools to create IIGS-specific software. In 1988 Compute! reported that both Cinemaware and Intergalactic Development had to write their own tools to maximize their use of IIGS audio, with

495-460: A IIGS available for purchase. This followed an Apple practice of making logic board upgrades available that dated from the earliest days of the Apple II until Steve Jobs' return to Apple in 1997. The IIe-to-IIGS upgrade replaced the IIe motherboard with a 16-bit IIGS motherboard. Users would take their Apple IIe machines into an authorized Apple dealership, where the IIe motherboard and lower baseboard of

594-579: A IIGS package costing $ 2,500 was comparable to a $ 1,500 Atari ST configuration. He concluded with a "qualified approval" of the computer: "It was necessary to prevent the Apple II line from dying off during the next year or so. However, Apple didn't go far enough." A BYTE review in April 1987 concluded that the IIGS "has the potential to be a powerful computer" but needed a faster CPU and more addressable memory. The magazine advised potential customers to compare

693-439: A card. A variety of other cards were also produced, including ones allowing new technologies such as 10BASE-T Ethernet and CompactFlash cards to be used on the IIGS. One such CompactFlash card expansion is ReActiveMicro ’s MicroDrive/Turbo , presenting a DMA -enabled, notably fast solid-state storage alternative for the majority of the Apple II series, including the Apple II, II+, IIe, and IIGS. Another new expansion card

792-479: A crowded hard disk is a breeze". There are several programs that follow the style of Norton Commander. Examples are: Apple IIGS The Apple IIGS (styled as II GS ) is a 16-bit personal computer produced by Apple Computer . It is the fifth and most powerful of the Apple II family. It is compatible with earlier Apple II models, but has a Macintosh look and feel, and resolution and color similar to

891-465: A device driver, conforming to a particular programming model. The purpose of this model was to permit very small helper-type applications to be run concurrently with any other application on the system. This provided a small degree of multitasking on a system that initially did not have any other multitasking ability. DAs were implemented as a special class of driver . It was installed in the driver queue, and given time periodically and co-operatively as

990-457: A list of commands that are extended on demand by the CTRL and ALT keys. Thus, without heavy use of the mouse (although mouse functionality was integrated around version 3.0), the user is able to perform many file manipulation actions quickly and efficiently. Additionally, it also includes a built-in text file viewer (invoked with F3 key) and text file editor (invoked with F4 key). Norton Commander

1089-531: A matter of placing the .ACC in the correct directory - \GEMBOOT in earlier versions, and \GEMAPPS\GEMSYS in GEM/3 and later. Since each desk accessory loaded reduced the amount of memory available for programs, one technique for temporarily increasing available space was to rename one or more .ACC files to have a different suffix (usually .ACX) and restart GEM. On the Amstrad PC-1512 , for example,

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1188-542: A personal letter from Wozniak himself (both machine-reproduced). Because the difference between standard and Limited Edition machines was purely cosmetic, many owners of new were able to "convert" to the Limited Edition by merely swapping the case lid from an older (and likely nonfunctional) machine. Upon its release in September 1986, Apple announced it would be making a kit that would upgrade an Apple IIe to

1287-428: A pixel's color to the right along the same scan line—until a different color pixel is reached. Each row of the display can independently select either 320 or 640 pixels, fill mode (320 pixels only), and any of the 16 palettes. These settings provide many possibilities: The Apple IIGS's sound is provided by an Ensoniq 5503 DOC (Digital Oscillator Chip) wavetable synthesis chip designed by Bob Yannes , creator of

1386-619: A result of the host application calling SystemTask() within its main loop . A DA was permitted to have a user interface as long as it was confined to one main window. A special window frame with black title bar and rounded corners was reserved for the use of DAs so that the user could distinguish it from the windows of the hosting application. Typical early DAs included the Calculator and Alarm Clock. The control panel , Chooser , and Scrapbook were initially implemented as DAs. Third-party DAs such as spelling checkers could be purchased. It

1485-487: A single 'code' #1000 resource that contains the binary code implementing the desk accessory. Global or static variables are not available, but a DA can call user interface APIs. It is possible for a DA to have user interface resources in its database. The desk accessory launcher transfers execution to the first byte of the 'code' #1000 resource. DAs provide a modicum of multitasking. However, unlike in Mac OS and GEM, after

1584-468: A success, so the key PNC resources had been diverted, while new programmers for the Windows platform were hired. Enrique Salem (who eventually became Symantec's CEO) led the development of a Windows shell replacement for Windows File Manager and Program Manager released as Norton Desktop for Windows. Norton Commander for Windows was a Windows 95 variant of the classical DOS file manager. Version 1.0

1683-536: Is a QWERTY / DVORAK keyboard toggle for all countries, much like that of the Apple IIc. Outside North America, the Apple IIGS shipped with a different 220 V clip-in power supply, making this and the plastic keycaps the only physical differences (and also very modular, in the sense of converting a non-localized machine to a local one). Apple designed the Apple IIe Card to transit Apple IIe customers to

1782-538: Is accelerator cards, such as Applied Engineering 's TransWarp GS, replacing the computer's original processor with a faster one. A more recent expansion option, the AppleSqueezer GS , combines an accelerator with adjustable speeds up to 14MHz, 14MB RAM (240MB with drivers), and HDMI output all in a single package. Applied Engineering developed the PC Transporter , which is essentially an IBM-PC/XT on

1881-520: Is also compatible with nearly all 8-bit software running on those systems. Like the Apple II+, IIe, and IIc, the IIGS also includes Applesoft BASIC and a machine-language monitor (which can be used for very simple assembly language programming) in ROM, so they can be used even with no operating system loaded from disk. The 8-bit software runs twice as fast unless the user turns down the processor speed in

1980-496: Is also the first Apple product to bear the new brand-unifying color scheme, a warm gray color Apple dubbed "Platinum". This color would remain the Apple standard used on the vast majority of products for the next decade. The IIGS is also the second major computer design, after the Apple IIc, where Apple worked with Hartmut Esslinger 's team at Frog Design . The consistent use of the new corporate color and matching peripherals ushered in

2079-498: Is an incredibly fine computer, arguably the finest assemblage of chips and resistors ever soldered together   ... Ladies and gentlemen of Apple, on behalf of the Apple II user community, you have earned our gratitude and admiration." Compute! described the IIGS in November 1986 as "two machines in one—a product that bridges the gap between the Macintosh and Apple IIe , and in so doing poses what may be serious competition for

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2178-458: Is maintained by a built-in battery (initially a non-replaceable 3.6-volt lithium battery ; removable in a later-revision motherboard). The IIGS also supports booting from an AppleShare server, via the AppleTalk protocol , over LocalTalk cabling. This was over a decade before NetBoot offered the same capability to computers running Mac OS 8 and beyond. In addition to supporting all

2277-453: Is possible to make the IIGS display as many as 3,200 colors at once. Audio is generated by a built-in Ensoniq 5503 digital synthesizer chip, which has its own dedicated RAM and 32 channels of sound. These channels can be paired to produce 15 voices in stereo. The IIGS supports both 5.25-inch and 3.5-inch floppy disks and has seven general-purpose expansion slots compatible with those on

2376-587: Is the Uthernet II , an Ethernet device for the Apple II series. The primary uses of the Uthernet II are data transfers (often over ADTPro ) and BBS access. It can also be used for extremely basic web-browsing and other networking purposes. Steve Wozniak said in January 1985 that Apple was investigating the 65816, and that an 8 MHz version would "beat the pants off a 68000 in most applications", but any product using it would have to be compatible with

2475-436: Is the way it imitates the pace of a zombie . You'd think 16-bit software had died and voodoo-transformed into a shuffling, stumbling imitation of real computer applications." It reported that year that after increases in September, a IIGS with color monitor, two disk drives, and ImageWriter II cost more than $ 3,000 , a price the magazine called "staggering". inCider also criticized the price increase, warning that it "opens

2574-485: The Amiga and Atari ST . The "GS" in the name stands for "Graphics and Sound", referring to its enhanced multimedia hardware, especially its state-of-the-art audio. The microcomputer is a radical departure from the Apple II line, with a 16-bit 65C816 microprocessor, direct access to megabytes of random-access memory , and bundled mouse . It is the first computer from Apple with a color graphical user interface (color

2673-578: The Apple Desktop Bus keyboard. Some cards designed for the GS did not fit in the Apple IIe's slanted case. In the end, most users found that the upgrade did not save them much money once they purchased a 3.5-inch floppy drive, analog RGB monitor, and mouse. Software that runs on the Apple IIGS can be divided into two major categories: 8-bit software compatible with earlier Apple II systems such as

2772-402: The Apple II , II+ , and IIe. It also has a memory expansion slot for up to 8  MB of RAM. The IIGS has ports for external floppy disk drives, two serial ports for devices such as printers and modems (which can also be used to connect to a LocalTalk network), an Apple Desktop Bus port to connect the keyboard and mouse , and composite and RGB video ports. A real-time clock

2871-510: The Apple IIe and Apple IIc . It emulates its predecessors via a custom chip called the Mega II and uses the then-new WDC 65C816 16-bit microprocessor . The processor runs at 2.8 MHz , which is faster than the 8-bit processors used in the earlier Apple II models. The 65C816 allows the IIGS to address considerably more RAM . The 2.8 MHz clock was a deliberate decision to limit

2970-523: The Macintosh , Amiga , or Atari ST , and predicted that many vendors would "enhance existing products for the [classic] Apple II instead of writing new software" that fully exploited the IIGS's power. inCider , which in September had warned that the next Apple II "needs (at least)   ... a megabyte of RAM   ... That's what the market wants", indeed reported in November that "Rather than risk investing time and money in programs that work only on

3069-400: The Macintosh .) From a programming point of view, desk accessories were implemented, like other GEM applications, as DOS .EXE files , with names ending with .ACC (Accessory) rather than .APP (Application). Each .ACC file could support multiple accessories; all three of the standard GEM accessories (Calculator, Clock and Print Spooler) were provided by CALCLOCK.ACC . Installation was simply

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3168-473: The Macintosh LC , particularly schools who had a large investment in Apple II software. While Apple discussed creating an LC plug-in IIGS card, they felt that the cost of selling it would be as much as an entire LC and abandoned it. However, the educational community had a substantial investment in the IIGS software as well, which made upgrading to a Macintosh a less attractive proposition than had been for

3267-568: The SID synthesizer chip used in the Commodore 64 . The ES5503 DOC is the same chip used in Ensoniq Mirage and Ensoniq ESQ-1 professional-grade synthesizers . The chip has 32 oscillators, which allows for a maximum of 32 voices (with limited capabilities when all used independently), though Apple's firmware pairs them for 16 voices, to produce fuller and more flexible sound, as do most of

3366-487: The Snow White design language , which was used exclusively for the next five years and made the Apple product line instantly recognizable around the world. The inclusion of a professional-grade sound chip in the Apple IIGS was hailed by both developers and users, and hopes were high that it would be added to the Macintosh; however, it drew another lawsuit from Apple Corps . As part of an earlier trademark dispute with

3465-455: The 65816 were also problematic. These problems led to the cancellation of the IIx project, but later, a new project was formed to produce an updated Apple II. This project, which led to the released IIGS, was known by various codenames while the new system was being developed, including "Phoenix", " Rambo ", " Gumby ", and "Cortland". There were rumors of several vastly enhanced prototypes built over

3564-431: The Apple II. Rumors spread about his work on an "Apple IIx". The IIx was said to have a 16-bit CPU, one megabyte of RAM, and better graphics and sound. "IIx" was the code name for Apple's first internal project to develop a next-generation Apple II based on the 65816. The IIx project, though, became bogged down when it attempted to include various coprocessors allowing it to emulate other computer systems. Early samples of

3663-440: The Apple IIGS, a number of software developers have simply upgraded old Apple II programs", and that the "most interesting program available specifically for the IIGS at this time is LearningWays' Explore-a-Story, which was released simultaneously for the good old 128K Apple IIe and IIc". The magazine concluded, "The moral is simple: Good hardware, even innovative hardware, won't give birth to good, new software overnight." Nibble

3762-490: The Apple IIe. As a result, Apple software designers Dave Lyons and Andy Nicholas spearheaded a program to develop a IIGS software emulator they called Gus in their spare time, which would run on the Power Macintosh only. Apple did not officially support the project. Nevertheless, seeing the need to help switch their educational customers to the Macintosh (as well as sell Power Macs), Apple unofficially distributed

3861-689: The Canadian IIGS keyboard such as "à", "é", "ç", etc., or the British Pound "£" symbol on the UK IIGS keyboard). Unlike previous Apple II models, however, the layout and shape of keys were the same standard for all countries, and the ROMs inside the computer were also the same for all countries, including support for all the different international keyboards. In order to access the local character set layout and display, users would change settings in

3960-581: The Commodore Amiga and the Atari ST series". It described the IIGS's graphics "as different as night and day" from the earlier Apple IIs and the audio as "in a class by themselves   ... [it] justifies the price of the IIGS to many music fans and fanatics". The magazine reported that "well over one hundred outside developers were actively engaged in creating software for the IIGS", and predicted that "as new products are developed to take advantage of

4059-575: The Ensoniq and virtually all native software produces stereo audio. The Ensoniq can drive 16 speaker output channels, but the Molex expansion connector Apple provided only allows 8. There is 64 KB of dedicated memory (DOC-RAM) on the IIGS motherboard, separate from system memory, for the Ensoniq chip to store its sampled wavetable instruments. To exploit the IIGS's audio capabilities, during its introduction, Apple sold Bose Roommate amplified speakers for

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4158-536: The IIGS control panel. The Apple IIGS System Software utilizes a graphical user interface (GUI) very similar to that of the Macintosh and somewhat like GEM for PCs and the operating systems of contemporary Atari and Amiga computers. Early versions of the System Software are based on the ProDOS 16 operating system, which is based on the original ProDOS operating system for 8-bit Apple II computers. Although it

4257-438: The IIGS's performance to less than that of the Macintosh . This decision had a critical effect on the IIGS's success; the original 65C816 processor used in the IIGS was certified to run at up to 4 MHz . Faster versions of the 65C816 processor were readily available, with speeds of between 5 and 14 MHz, but Apple kept the machine at 2.8 MHz throughout its production run. Its graphical capabilities are superior to

4356-531: The IIGS, people will move away from the pure Apple II and toward the newer titles with their improved performance". Compute!'s Apple Applications in December 1987 reported, however, that "Many publishers have canceled or postponed their plans for Apple IIGS software and instead are cautiously introducing programs for the Apple IIc and IIe", while "many of the products for the Apple IIGS are simply versions of" older Apple II software "that incorporate color and use

4455-428: The IIe power supply and keyboard present, although only about half of those produced have the physical plug connectors factory-presoldered in, which were mostly reserved for the upgrade kits. The upgrade cost US$ 500, plus the trade-in of the user's existing Apple IIe motherboard. It did not include a mouse, and the keyboard, although functional, lacked a numeric keypad and did not mimic all the features and functions of

4554-467: The IIe and IIc, and 16-bit IIGS software, which takes advantage of its advanced features, including a near-clone of the Macintosh graphical user interface . Apple claimed that the IIGS was 95% compatible with contemporary Apple II software. One reviewer, for example, successfully ran demo programs that came on cassette with his 1977 Apple II. The IIGS can run all of Apple's earlier Apple II operating systems : Apple DOS , ProDOS 8, and Apple Pascal . It

4653-516: The IIx project, but said that the company should have done so "a few years ago". The IIGS is an excellent replacement for the [earlier models from the] Apple II line, but it's awfully late in coming. The technology is more trailing-edge than leading-edge in many areas", with speed and graphics inferior to that of the Amiga and Atari ST. The other computers, he wrote, have both larger software libraries that use their power and lower prices; Webster found that

4752-417: The Macintosh, Amiga, and Atari ST's more powerful 68000 CPU with the IIGS's greater expandability and large Apple II software library. Compute! in 1988 urged Apple to make the computer faster, stating that "no matter which way you cut it, the IIGS is slow" and that IIGS-specific programs could not keep up with user actions. In 1989 the magazine stated "One of the biggest complaints of IIGS-specific software

4851-492: The Macintosh, the IIGS System Software provides a mouse -driven graphical user interface using concepts such as windows , menus, and icons. This was implemented by a "toolbox" of code, some of which resides in the computer's ROM and some of which is loaded from disk. Only one major application can run at a time, although other, smaller programs, known as Desk Accessories , can be used simultaneously. The IIGS has

4950-525: The Norton Commander. Network Utilities allows for viewing devices and systems on network, connecting to remote systems, mapping network drives , network monitoring, and more. Norton Commander is little changed from previous versions, and includes file compression /de-compression of various formats, network utilities access, disk cleanup, files and folder compare, FTP connection management, and more. The last Windows version of Norton Commander

5049-604: The RAM Disk, added some new features for programmers, and reported the ROM version and copyright information on the startup splash screen. In March 1988, Apple began shipping IIGS units with 512 KB of RAM as standard. This was done by preinstalling the Apple IIGS Memory Expansion Card (that was once sold separately) in the memory expansion slot—the card had 256 KB of RAM on board with empty sockets for further expansion. The built-in memory on

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5148-648: The Snapshot accessory was shipped as SNAPSHOT.ACX and had to be renamed to .ACC prior to use. Desk accessories continued to be supported in ViewMAX , the DR-DOS file manager, which was supplied with almost unchanged versions of Calculator and Clock. For much the same reason as desk accessories were used in Mac OS and in GEM, namely to allow more than one simultaneous program on a system which did not support multitasking,

5247-592: The System 5.x toolsets. The newer toolsets increased the performance of the machine by up to 10%, due to the fact that less had to be loaded from disk, tool ROM read access being faster than RAM, and their highly-optimized routines compared to the older toolsets (pre-GS/OS-based). In addition to several bug fixes, also added were more programmer assistance commands and features, a cleaned-up control panel with improved mouse control and RAM Disk functionality, more flexible Appletalk support and slot-mapping. In terms of hardware,

5346-399: The advent of System 7 , which included a standard cooperative multitasking feature, the need for DAs diminished greatly, and developers were encouraged to develop small applications instead. The system continued to run DAs (and still does up to Mac OS 9 .x) for backward compatibility. Under System 7 and later, DAs could be moved and renamed using the Finder like normal applications, removing

5445-454: The built-in software-based control panel, which also provides a method of toggling between 50/60 Hz video screen refresh. The composite video output is NTSC-only on all IIGS systems; users in PAL countries are expected to use an RGB monitor or TVs which featured RGB SCART . This selectable internationalization makes it quick and simple to localize any given machine. Also present in the settings

5544-462: The business arm of The Beatles , Apple Computer had agreed not to release music-related products. Apple Corps considered the inclusion of the Ensoniq chip in the IIGS a violation of that agreement. John Carmack , co-founder of id Software , started his career by writing commercial software for the Apple IIGS, working with John Romero and Tom Hall . Wolfenstein 3D , based on the 1981 Apple II game Castle Wolfenstein , came full-circle when it

5643-408: The case were swapped for an Apple IIGS motherboard with a new baseboard (with matching cut-outs for the new built-in ports). New metal sticker ID badges replaced those on the front of the IIe, rebranding the machine. Retained were the upper half of the IIe case, the keyboard, speaker, and power supply. Original IIGS motherboards (those produced between 1986 and mid-1989) have electrical connections for

5742-549: The computer (matching its platinum color and with custom Bose/Apple logo grille covers). Like other Apple II machines before it, the IIGS is highly expandable. The expansion slots can be used for a variety of purposes, greatly increasing the computer's capabilities. SCSI host adapters can be used to connect external SCSI devices such as hard drives and CD-ROM drives . Other mass-storage devices such as adapters supporting more recent internal 2.5-inch IDE hard drives can also be used. Another common class of Apple IIGS expansion cards

5841-595: The computer, BYTE stated in October 1986 that "The Apple IIGS designers' achievements are remarkable, but the burden of the classic Apple II architecture, now as venerable (and outdated) as COBOL and batch processing , may have weighed them down and denied them any technological leaps beyond an exercise in miniaturization." The magazine added that "hog-tied by [classic] Apple II compatibility, [the IIGS] approaches but does not match or exceed current computer capabilities" of

5940-446: The concept of desk accessories was extended to Palm OS by third-party developers. DA are applets launched by an application or hack serving as a DA launcher. The DA launcher may watch for keystrokes or other system events and pop up a predefined desk accessory. Many general-purpose Palm OS launcher applications are capable of launching DAs as well. A desk accessory program is a Palm resource database of type 'DAcc', specified to include

6039-402: The door further to low-cost MS-DOS computers ". While in production between September 1986 and December 1992, the Apple IIGS remained relatively unchanged from its inception. During those years, however, Apple did produce some maintenance updates to the system which mainly comprised two new ROM-based updates and a revamped motherboard. It is rumored that several prototypes that greatly enhanced

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6138-457: The fact that the built-in RAM Disk can't be set larger than 4 MB (even if more RAM is present) and the firmware contains the very early System 1.x toolsets. It became incompatible with most native Apple IIGS software written from late-1987 onward, and OS support only lasted up to System 3. The startup splash screen of the original ROM only displays the words "Apple IIgs" at the top center of

6237-428: The firmware only worked in this motherboard and no new firmware updates were ever issued, users commonly referred to this version of the IIGS as the "ROM 3". Like the Apple IIe and Apple IIc built-in keyboards before it, the detached IIGS keyboard differs depending on what region of the world it was sold in, with extra local language characters and symbols printed on certain keycaps (e.g. French accented characters on

6336-464: The gaps of characters and pixels. Most users noticed this when using AppleWorks classic or the Mousedesk application that was a part of System 1 and 2. Apple resolved the issue by offering a free chip-swap upgrade to affected owners. In August 1987, Apple released an updated ROM that was included in all new machines and was made available as a free upgrade to all existing owners. The main feature of

6435-442: The latter stating that "these sorts of problems … are becoming well-known throughout the industry". The IIGS System Software can be extended through various mechanisms. New Desk Accessories are small programs ranging from a calculator to simple word processors that can be used while running any standard desktop application. Classic Desk Accessories also serve as small programs available while running other applications, but they use

6534-416: The machine's features and capabilities were designed and even built, though only one has ever been publicly exposed (i.e. the "Mark Twain"). Outlined below are only those revisions and updates officially released by Apple. During the entire first year of the machine's production, an early, almost beta-like, firmware version shipped with the machine and was notably bug-ridden. Some limitations of this include

6633-428: The motherboard remained at 256 KB and existing users were not offered this upgrade. In August 1989, Apple increased the standard amount of RAM shipped in the IIGS to 1.125 MB. This time the additional memory was built-in on the motherboard, which required a layout change and allowed for other minor improvements as well. This update introduced both a new motherboard and a new ROM firmware update; however, neither

6732-524: The mouse interface". So little IIGS software was available, it said, that "the hottest product   ... is AppleWorks . No mouse interface, no color, no graphics. Just AppleWorks from the IIe and IIc world". The magazine stated that many customers either chose the slightly more expensive Macintosh Plus or kept their inexpensive IIc or IIe which ran AppleWorks well, with the IIGS "in a strange position" in between. BYTE ' s Bruce Webster in January 1987 praised Apple for permitting Wozniak to finish

6831-433: The need for Font/DA Mover and confining suitcases to font management. When a DA was run under System 7, it always executed in the Finder's address space . The icon for a desk accessory program under System 7 and later is roughly a reversed version of the application icon, with the writing hand on the left side instead of the right. A similar mechanism to allow small utility programs to run along with regular applications

6930-454: The new ROM was the presence of the System 2.x toolsets and several bug fixes. The upgrade was vital, as software developers, including Apple, ceased support of the original ROM upon its release (most native Apple IIGS software written from late 1987 onwards would not run unless ROM 01 or higher was present, and this included the GS/OS operating system). This update also allows up to 8 MB for

7029-434: The new motherboard is a cleaner design that drew less power and resolved audio noise issues that interfered with the Ensoniq synthesizer in the original motherboard. Over four times more RAM is built-in, with double the ROM size, and an enhanced Apple Desktop Bus microcontroller provides native support for sticky keys, mouse emulation, and keyboard LED support (available on extended keyboards). Hardware shadowing of Text Page 2

7128-408: The rest of the Apple II series, with higher resolution video modes and more color. These include a 640×200-pixel mode with 2-bit color and a 320×200 mode with 4-bit color, both of which can select 4 or 16 colors (respectively) at a time from a palette of 4,096 colors. By changing the palette on each scanline , it is possible to display up to 256 colors or more per screen. With clever programming, it

7227-473: The same anniversary, a special limited edition was introduced at product launch. The first 50,000 Apple IIGSs manufactured had a reproduced copy of Wozniak's signature ("Woz") at the front right corner of the case, with a dotted line and the phrase "Limited Edition" printed just below it. Owners of the Limited Edition, after mailing in their Apple registration card, were mailed back a certificate of authenticity signed by Wozniak and 12 key Apple engineers, as well as

7326-419: The screen, in the same fashion that previous Apple II models identify themselves. Very early production runs of the machine had a faulty video graphics controller (VGC) chip that produced strange cosmetic glitches in emulated (IIe/IIc) video modes. Specifically, the 80-column text display and monochrome double-high-resolution graphics had a symptom wherein small flickering or static pink bits would appear between

7425-402: The software for free to schools and other institutions that signed a non-disclosure agreement. It was never offered for public sale, but is now readily available on the internet, along with many third-party classic Apple II emulators. Gus represents one of the few software emulators developed within Apple (officially or otherwise), including MacWorks and Mac OS X Classic environment . The app

7524-432: The standard Windows APIs . In order to preserve LFNs while working in real mode , Norton Commander 5.51 required the use of a terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) utility. Norton Commander did not have native support for LFNs in real mode and would truncate them. According to former Peter Norton Group developer Mark Lawler, after Symantec had acquired Peter Norton Computing, Symantec had speculated Microsoft Windows would be

7623-492: The standard tools of the operating system (the Apple MIDISynth toolset goes even a step further for richer sound, grouping four oscillators per voice, for a limit of seven-voice audio). The IIGS is often referred to as a 15-voice system, because one voice, or "sound generator" consisting of two oscillators, is always reserved as a dedicated clock for the sound chip's timing interrupt generator. Software that does not use

7722-411: The system firmware, or uses custom-programmed tools (certain games, demos, and music software), can access the chip directly and take advantage of all 32 voices. A standard 1 ⁄ 8 -inch headphone jack is on the back of the case, and standard stereo computer speakers can be attached there. This jack provides only monaural sound and a third-party adapter card is required for stereo; despite that,

7821-521: The system's designers, such as a TCP/IP stack known as "Marinetti". A third party UNIX -like multitasking kernel was produced, called GNO/ME , which runs under the GUI and provides preemptive multitasking. In addition, a system called The Manager can be used to make the Finder more like the one on the Macintosh, allowing major software (other than just the "accessory" programs) to run simultaneously through cooperative multitasking . After previewing

7920-555: The text and bitmapped Apple II graphics modes of earlier models, the Apple IIGS's Video Graphics Chip (VGC) introduced a new "Super-High Resolution" mode with a vastly wider color palette and no color bleeding and fringing . Super-High-Resolution supports 200 lines, in either 320 or 640 pixels horizontally. Both modes use a 12-bit palette for a total of 4,096 possible colors. There can be between 4 and 3,200 colors onscreen at once, with no more than 16 per row. A fill mode setting allowing fast solid-fill graphics by automatically repeating

8019-487: The text screen and can be accessed even from non-desktop applications. Control Panels and initialization files are other mechanisms that allow various functions to be added to the system. Finder Extras permits new capabilities to be added to the Finder, drivers can be used to support new hardware devices, and users can also add "tools" that provide various functions that other programs can utilize easily. These features can be used to provide features that were never planned for by

8118-408: The time, he called it "Visual DOS" or "VDOS". Norton Commander was easy to use because it had a constant view of two file manipulation objects at once. After starting the program the user sees two panels with file lists. Each panel can be easily configured to show information about the other panel, a directory tree , or a number of other options. At the bottom of the screen, Norton Commander displays

8217-481: The user could not drag and drop DAs into or out of the system. They resided in the System file's 'DRVR' resources , like actual drivers, though they could be installed in any file whose resources were loaded into the memory, and were stored in "suitcases" when not installed in the system file. If installed within a separate application, such as MacWrite, their functionality would be accessible only when that application

8316-536: The user is done working with the DA, it must be closed to return to the underlying application. It is possible to pop up one DA over another DA, though this might deplete stack space. Norton Desktop Norton Commander ( NC ) is a discontinued prototypical orthodox file manager (OFM), written by John Socha and released by Peter Norton Computing (later acquired in 1990 by the Symantec corporation). NC provides

8415-477: The years at Apple but none were ever released. Only one, the " Mark Twain ", has been revealed so far. The Mark Twain prototype (named for Twain 's famous quote "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated") was expected to have the "ROM 04" revision (although prototypes that have been discovered do not contain any new ROM code) and featured an 8 MHz 65C816, built-in SuperDrive , 2 MB of RAM, and

8514-505: Was 2.01. Version 1.0 was released in December 1992. It supports OS/2 2.0 with HPFS or FAT file system. It does not include the command prompt found in other versions of Norton Commander. In June 1993, Symantec lowered the price of Norton Commander for OS/2 to $ 49, and soon ceased sales. BYTE in 1989 listed Norton Commander 2.0 for DOS as among the "Distinction" winners of the BYTE Awards, stating that "navigating through

8613-446: Was active). As a resource numbering scheme was implemented for marking resources as belonging to another resource of some particular type and number in the same file, such as a DA ('DRVR'), it was possible for desk accessories to have a limited "resource fork" of their own within the file they were contained in; the mover utility recognised such resources and moved them along with the actual DA code resource they were associated with. With

8712-459: Was also present in the operating system for the Apple IIGS and Apple IIe . GEM resembled the Macintosh closely in many respects. One example was the presence of desk accessories, for the same reason: to allow multiple programs to be used in a system that only supported one full application at a time (although GEM desk accessories used task switching and not cooperative multitasking like

8811-430: Was considered hard to write a DA, especially early on when there was little in the way of developer tools. However, since on the early Mac OS drivers did not have any special privileges, writing a DA was, with practice, no more difficult than any other application. A special Font/DA Mover utility was used to change the configuration of DAs. Because DAs were not installed or launched in the same way that applications were,

8910-548: Was first released in 1996. It supported both Windows 95 and Windows NT . This version fully integrated with Windows features such as the Recycle Bin and Quick View . Quick View feature was supported via the included basic Quick View Plus. Version 1.02 added Windows 98 support. Version 2.0 was released in 2000. It supports Windows 2000 and functions under Windows XP , Windows Vista , and Windows 7 . Installer included Network Utilities, Norton Commander Scheduler, and

9009-552: Was introduced on the Macintosh II six months later) and Apple Desktop Bus interface for keyboards, mice, and other input devices. It is the first personal computer with a wavetable synthesis chip, using technology from Ensoniq . After releasing the IIGS, Apple chose to focus on the Mac and no new Apple IIGS models were released. Apple ceased IIGS production on December 4, 1992. The Apple IIGS made significant improvements over

9108-503: Was introduced, improving compatibility and performance with the classic Apple II video mode. The clock battery is now user-serviceable, being placed in a removable socket, and a jumper location was added to lock out the text-based control panel (mainly useful in school environments). Support for the Apple-IIe-to-IIGS upgrade was removed, and some cost-cutting measures had some chips soldered in place rather than being socketed. As

9207-423: Was modified so that 16-bit Apple IIGS software can run on it, ProDOS 16 was written largely in 8-bit code and does not take full advantage of the IIGS's capabilities. Later System Software versions (starting with version 4.0) replaced ProDOS 16 with a new 16-bit operating system known as GS/OS . It makes better use of the unique capabilities of the IIGS and includes many valuable new features. The IIGS System Software

9306-406: Was more positive, calling the price "fantastic" for "Steve Wozniak's dream machine". It praised the IIGS's "incredible" legacy Apple II compatibility, graphics, and sound, stated that only its slower speed made the computer significantly inferior to the Macintosh, and expected that Apple would soon introduce new products to better distinguish the two product lines. The magazine concluded that "The IIGS

9405-439: Was offered to existing owners—even as an upgrade option (the new ROM, now two chips, is incompatible with the original single-socket motherboard). Apple had cited the reason an upgrade was not being offered was that most of the features of the new machine could be obtained in existing machines by installing System 5 and a fully populated Apple IIGS Memory Expansion Card. The new ROM firmware was expanded to 256 KB and contained

9504-559: Was publicly demonstrated in Rhapsody's Blue Box at WWDC 1997. The Apple Desktop Bus, which for a long time was the standard for most input peripherals for the Macintosh, first appeared on the IIGS. In addition, the other standardized ports and addition of SCSI set a benchmark which allowed Apple, for the first time, to consolidate their peripheral offerings across both the Apple II and Macintosh product lines, permitting one device to be compatible with multiple, disparate computers. The IIGS

9603-605: Was running. That is, a desk accessory installed as a resource within an application would appear on the Apple menu as a desk accessory only when that application was active. It could then be activated while the application was run and would then disappear when the application was terminated through the Quit function. (Similarly, the FKEY resources could be installed either within the System so as to be universally available, or within an application so as to be available only when that application

9702-416: Was substantially enhanced and expanded over the years during which it was developed, culminating in its final official version, System 6.0.1, which was released in 1993. In July 2015, members of a computer group from France released a new, though unofficial, version of that System Software, dubbed "System 6.0.2" (and later followed by System 6.0.3 and 6.0.4), that primarily fixed some bugs. Similar to that of

9801-547: Was very popular during the DOS era and it has been extensively cloned. For example, the IntelliJ IDE used to include a "Commander" plugin that performed file manipulation using the same shortcut keys as Norton Commander but the plugin is now obsolete. Windows 95 included a new graphical shell called Windows Explorer and supported long filenames (LFN). Symantec released Norton Commander 5.51 to support long filenames using

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