Pictures of Apple IIGS prototypes and IIsi

limtc

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Feb 8, 2012, 11:46:24 PM2/8/12

to

I have some pictures taken from the AppleDesign book about Apple IIGS.
There are pictures of the prototypes and the successor Apple IIsi. Can
check out at:

http://www.facebook.com/thyechean

or

http://retromaccast.ning.com/photo/photo/listForContributor?screenName=rxq26qsiiir9

Steve Nickolas

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Feb 9, 2012, 12:16:56 AM2/9/12

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"Apple IIsi" ? That's something I've not heard of before o_O

I wonder if it will someday be possible to recreate it virtually...

-uso.

limtc

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Feb 9, 2012, 12:57:55 AM2/9/12

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On 2月9日, 下午1时16分, Steve Nickolas <lyricalnan...@usotsuki.hoshinet.org>
wrote:

> "Apple IIsi" ? That's something I've not heard of before o_O
>
> I wonder if it will someday be possible to recreate it virtually...
>
> -uso.

Same here. I was caught by surprise. It actually exists but did not
make it into production.

Kevin Dady

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Feb 9, 2012, 1:18:21 AM2/9/12

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> http://retromaccast.ning.com/photo/photo/listForContributor?screenNam...

interesting

Michael Black

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Feb 9, 2012, 2:36:23 AM2/9/12

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On Thu, 9 Feb 2012, Steve Nickolas wrote:

> On Wed, 8 Feb 2012, limtc wrote:
>
>> I have some pictures taken from the AppleDesign book about Apple IIGS.
>> There are pictures of the prototypes and the successor Apple IIsi. Can
>> check out at:
>>
>> http://www.facebook.com/thyechean
>>
>> or
>>
>> http://retromaccast.ning.com/photo/photo/listForContributor?screenName=rxq26qsiiir9
>>
>
> "Apple IIsi" ? That's something I've not heard of before o_O
>

But that may be garbling, since there was a Macintosh IIsi.

Which of course is the cue for me to tell the story of the first time I
saw a IIGS live. I got to a garage sale in the mid-nineties and someone
is standing over a computer I'd not seen before. It doesn't matter, he's
already bought it. But as I move in closer, he says something and I
realize he doesn't know what it is. It's a IIGS but he thinks it's a
Macintosh (obviously, it looked more like a Mac case than an Apple II
case).

Michael

limtc

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Feb 9, 2012, 6:01:09 AM2/9/12

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It is an Apple IIsi. It is clearly the next generation Apple IIGS with
build in floppy drive.

Just check out the photo.

Sean Fahey

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Feb 9, 2012, 9:48:31 AM2/9/12

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I see some similarities but nothing defintive to claim these mockups as IIGS prototypes. They're just concepts.

Apple's designers and contractors were trying to unify the style across the product lines. It started with the //c right before ushering in the platinum era. Design and engineering elements flowed back and forth between the Apple II and Mac lines early on during that period.

Where you see a IIGS with 'integrated' keyboard, I clearly see a docking station with a detachable KB which might have been something like an Alphasmart. It's more obvious in the side view pic.

The IIsi mockup is interesting - it doesn't appear to be tall enough for slots as it sits.

Sean Fahey

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Feb 9, 2012, 10:00:26 AM2/9/12

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On Thursday, February 9, 2012 5:01:09 AM UTC-6, limtc wrote:

> It is an Apple IIsi. It is clearly the next generation Apple IIGS with
> build in floppy drive.

The more I look at it, especially its depth - looks more like a Mac LC series with a chin to me.

Mike Maginnis

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Feb 9, 2012, 10:53:29 AM2/9/12

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I have to agree with Sean here. Not to put words in anyone's mouth,
but we had Tony Diaz on a podcast episode last year and the IIsi was
briefly discussed. I recall that his opinon, which is much more
informed than mine, was that the IIsi was just a mockup and some basic
ideas on paper.

I don't seen anything that indicates this was ever an actual computer.

--
- Mike

Podcast: http://open-apple.net
Scans: http://apple2scans.net
Blog: http://6502lane.net

Warren Ernst

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Feb 10, 2012, 11:52:26 AM2/10/12

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The IIsi seems kind of like a slot-less GS idea to me. Think of a //c
concept, but with a 16-bit CPU and detachable keyboard; it even has a
built-in floppy drive like a //c.

-Warr

Steve Nickolas

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Feb 10, 2012, 12:55:39 PM2/10/12

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On Fri, 10 Feb 2012, Warren Ernst wrote:

> The IIsi seems kind of like a slot-less GS idea to me. Think of a //c
> concept, but with a 16-bit CPU and detachable keyboard; it even has a
> built-in floppy drive like a //c.
>
> -Warr
>

I do believe such a thing was planned, though not necessarily with the
detachable keyboard.

-uso.

Michael J. Mahon

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Feb 11, 2012, 3:36:49 PM2/11/12

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Inside a large company, "plans" exist at various levels of
the org chart. It's possible that the Apple II group proposed
such a machine, but upper management never approved it for
development.

-michael

NadaNet 3.1 for Apple II parallel computing!
Home page: http://home.comcast.net/~mjmahon/

"The wastebasket is our most important design
tool--and it's seriously underused."