Apple IIgs
The Apple IIGS (often written as "IIgs" to denote the small capital letters) is a 16-bit personal computer sold by Apple and first released 1986-09-15. The GS stands for "graphics and sound", indicating that this computer focuses on multimedia capabilities. The Apple IIgs uses a WDC 65C816 CPU and also includes a custom chip which emulates most of the Apple II giving the GS 95% backward compatibility. Unlike the Apple II or Macintosh before it, the Apple IIgs shipped with a color graphical user interface and a built-in Ensoniq ES5503 audio chip. The GS was the last model in the Apple II line with significant hardware improvements, although, since it uses a completely different architecture, I don't consider it part of the Apple II line, regardless of its name.
Personal
Growing up with very little access to Apple products, I didn't even know about the GS until my 20s when I saw started seeing it as a platform on MobyGames. When I first saw screenshots of games which ran on it, it didn't look any different than the Amiga or Atari ST, so I had little interest in it. It wasn't until I started doing more research into audio chips for the Video Game Music Preservation Foundation that I discovered one of it's major selling points was its built in audio chip. I still haven't bothered much with the computer since it didn't have very many interesting games or software.
I do not own, nor have I ever even used an Apple IIgs.
Review
I haven't used the computer enough to review it.
Games
- See all Apple IIgs Games.
There aren't any GS games that are important to me. Also, since most of the games developed for the GS were ports from other platforms, the developers often didn't take full advantage of the system's hardware.
Media
Photos
An Apple IIgs with monitor, keyboard, mouse, and 3.5" disk drive.
The computer case.
Documentation
Manual - Quick Start Guide.
Manual - Owner's Guide.
Manual - Setting Up Your Apple IIgs.
Manual - From Apple IIe to Apple IIgs Performance Update.
Manual - Technical Introduction to the Apple IIgs.
Manual - Hardware Reference (2nd Edition).
Manual - Firmware Reference (Part 1).
Manual - Firmware Reference (Part 2).
Manual - Schematics.
Videos
Links
