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Decked out Apple IIgs vs. Decked out PLUS

Posted by: uniserver on 2013-10-27 14:41:57 It's late 1986 and you are at a computer convention. You happened to register in the raffle. You Win!!! Your Choice is a brand new: Decked out IIgs, Fully loaded as possible from apple Box of brand new software, Printer Color Image Writer the whole deal! Or A Plus, Fully loaded as possible from apple Box of brand new software, Printer Color Image Writer the whole deal! You can only choose one. What one might it be?

Posted by: volvo242gt on 2013-10-27 15:37:56 Back then, it would've been the gs for me. But, then again, I was in 4th grade at the time, and my school didn't have any Macs, instead a bunch of //e's. One of which sorta became "mine" when we'd go to use the computer lab. A machine that essentially was identical to my current //e, except unenhanced, and an aftermarket half-height second floppy drive. Also didn't have the RamWorks II. -J

Posted by: Macdrone on 2013-10-27 15:39:56 I would have chose the IIgs at the time. It was backwards compatible with all the software out at the time and was color. Since I knew nothing about hard drives and computers really it had the wow factor.

Posted by: John_A on 2013-10-27 16:42:53 Tough call. In 1986 I had a Sinclair Spectrum. My uncle did fairly well im business and bought a Mac Plus with the huge 20mb external hd. To get to play with the Macs graphic interface was just awsome. I would probably have chosen the Mac Plus. Atleast before 1987, when the Amiga arrived.

Posted by: Blinkenlightz on 2013-10-27 17:43:17 Color was such a big deal at that time, I think the IIgs would have won out for me because of that! My answer would be different if today I could go back in time as my current self and make that choice -- There is a special place in my heart for compact macs, much more than any Apple II. "Today-me" would definitely go for the Plus.

Posted by: MinerAl on 2013-10-27 18:37:40 Does the GS have the might-as-well-be Mac GUI- GS/OS on it? The Woz edition IIgs I had 18 years ago had that. With the color and look alike GS/OS, I'd probably go with the IIgs.

Posted by: Trash80toHP_Mini on 2013-10-27 18:40:58 Plus, hands down. In 1986 I had the aging C-64 with wireless joysticks and 15" Trinitron TV for playing Red Baron. I'd already made the decision to pass on the Laser 128 for A2-ness and the Commodore 128 for CPM. Instead, by '86 I'd purchased the Tandy 1000SX/13"(?) CGA Monitor & had bolted training wheels up to it for the stock Basic and Lotus Framework install. In 1986 Fontographer had already been released and was in use as the first PostScript illustration program up on Madison Avenue. Since I was in the sign and display business at the time, I was all over that like stink on poo. [}🙂] ]'> Of course, I was already a little over 30 with the rug rat underfoot at the time.

Posted by: NJRoadfan on 2013-10-27 19:15:07 Decked out IIgs, after all the OS is more modern than classic MacOS. 😉

Posted by: volvo242gt on 2013-10-27 20:11:20 ^Cool video. -J

Posted by: Trash80toHP_Mini on 2013-10-27 20:57:01 @ NJRoadfan - it was about the apps, not the OS, especially back in 1986 before all wound up being developed for Windows. 😉

Posted by: uniserver on 2013-10-27 21:15:44 nice vid nj. that is a killer setup you have there 🙂 the HD in that enclosure must be a quantum.

Posted by: markyb86 on 2013-10-27 21:22:14 Depends how much I knew about either system at the time, but I think seeing them side by side, IIGS for me. Color on the screen, larger screen, and the color printing? Yes. When I was younger, black/white (based on TV sets) meant boring to me. Even if it was a green phosphorus screen, I'd take it.

Posted by: NJRoadfan on 2013-10-28 07:23:29 @ NJRoadfan - it was about the apps, not the OS, especially back in 1986 before all wound up being developed for Windows. 😉 I'll go back to playing Shufflepuck Cafe..... in color. 🙂 The Apple IIgs out of the box was compatible with 8-bit Apple II programs, so long time favorites like VisiCalc and Appleworks were still in use (the latter saw updates into the late 90s-early 00s). There were IIgs specific apps like Appleworks GS. In terms of content creation, most of the 16-bit era programs like Deluxe Paint were ported to the system. Plus you got stuff like Music Construction Set on the audio side.

Posted by: Gorgonops on 2013-10-28 08:52:39 This thread reminds me of when I was (*mumblemumble* old) back in 1986, whatever general interest computer magazine the family was subscribed to at the time (I honestly can't remember, it may have been "Compute!") ran a contest where the winner could pick between either a Mac Plus with an external hard drive or an IBM PC/AT of some configuration with a hard disk and a color monitor, I don't know if it was CGA or EGA. I'm pretty certain if the family had won back then we would have chosen the AT but I probably would have lobbied for the Mac at least a little just out of curiosity; Macs were "exotic" out in the sticks back then. (Realistically the AT would have been the "correct" choice for a number of reasons but if we had won it it probably would have been repeatedly gutted and upgraded with new motherboards well into the mid 90's, as happened to the boat-anchor AT clone we ended up with a year or two later.) Tell the truth I was pretty anti-Apple II at the time, so if I'd won the contest described here back then I would have been pretty tempted to pick the Plus over the IIgs simply out of spite. When I was in elementary school it was the rich kids who owned Apple IIs and if your school had Apples in the computer lab, which most did, they'd lord their ability to take disks home over the other kids. (You really had to love how the teachers were so willing to run off pirate copies of the lab software for those jerks...) 😛 (The secondary schools the area, however, mostly had PC clones. Way to be consistent guys, but another argument for the PC/AT!)

Posted by: olePigeon on 2013-10-28 08:56:34 njroadfan, you should get the other model System Saver. It has 2 slots for your 3.5" drives so you can tuck the System Saver + 2 floppies under the monitor.

Posted by: NJRoadfan on 2013-10-28 09:27:36 That unit was called the "Conserver" from Applied Engineering. http://apple2online.com/web_documents/ae_conserver_brochure.pdf They aren't all that common, unlike the System Saver GS.

Posted by: Anonymous Freak on 2013-10-28 16:44:32 1986? The GS, for sure. Although if late 1987, and offered the same choice, I'd go with the Plus - by that point, the Macintosh being the winner was more clear. In 1986, the GS made it appear that the Apple II line still had quite a life left in it.

Posted by: NickNick on 2013-10-29 04:12:23 Apple IIgs all the way. Our school got these new prior to the LC's and I though they were just the coolest thing. TONS of cool games for these plus color and sweet sound. Not to bit of a fan of single color displays or black and white. Just my pref. 😛 Still have yet to get my hands on a IIgs for my collection.

Posted by: Cosmo on 2013-10-29 05:41:59 Apple IIgs for sure. It had the color, the much larger software base as well expansion possibilities, even back in the day, getting IIgs specific cards/software would mean ordering them abroad, as IIgs was not even sold in Finland. In same catelogory the Amiga 1000/500 had that market seqment owned quite nicely. I can't remember what the schools had generally but ours had atleast some CP/M machines and i'd assume some basic model PC's. Amiga models kicked those PC's h a r d with the specs and the price.

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