On this site devoted to Apple's mid-90's online service eWorld, you can take a cool walkthrough that is almost like using the real thing! From the site:
"Remember...? Back in 1994 Apple introduced a unique online service called eWorld. With its homelike, cozy look and feel it fascinated its users even though it was rather expensive compared to other online services. eWorld competed directly against AOL, CompuServe, and MSN, and finally lost this competition. On March 31, 1996, at 12:01 am the service shut down. Apple's management decided that the product was doomed to fail in a market where AOL had such a commanding lead."

www.remember-eworld.com

The fantastic 8-bit Apple II emulator for Mac OS X, Virtual ][ has been updated to version 5.3.

New in this release:
• Added emulation of the Thunderclock card, and made it the default clock card for all virtual machine types.
• The old "ProDos clock card" is now obsolete. It is still supported, but can no longer be selected in a new configuration.
• Added emulation of the the Saturn 128K memory card.
• Improved the support for international keyboards.
• Added additional Apple II character sets: British, French, German, Itialian and Swedish.
• Adjusted the Apple //e character set, to eliminate some minor differences with the characters in the original machine.
• Added an AppleScript property to get the path of the configured favorite disk folder.
• The RAMWorks card can now be configured in increments of 64KB (was 128KB).
• The 16K RAM card can now be inserted in all slots, not only slot 0.
• Fixed an issue that prevented 2img disk images from being recognized on an Intel Mac.
• The "generic printer card", which has been obsolete since version 3.4, is no longer supported. It has been replaced by the Grappler+ card and the serial printer card.

Visit the Virtual ][ Website

Another great bit of Apple history at Folklore.org by Andy Hertzfeld. This time, the Andy visits his alma mater to try to sell them Macs. It Begins:
"Apple always had a natural affinity for education, and, almost from its inception, the Apple II became very successful in the K-12 education market. In the late 1970's, Steve Jobs initiated a marketing program called "Kids Can't Wait" and personally paced the halls of Congress in Washington for three weeks, lobbying for legislation granting tax breaks for donating computers to schools. Even though the national legislation got stymied by politics (it was blocked by Bob Dole), California eventually passed a similar bill and Apple soon donated almost 9,000 computers, one to every school in California."

Read More:
What's A Megaflop?

Bob Sander-Cederlof has placed the entire run of his Apple Assembly Line newsletter online. From the site:
"From October 1980 through May 1988 I published a newsletter called Apple Assembly Line. This newsletter focused on assembly language for the Apple ][, //e, //c, and //gs computers. In the beginning all the programs were written for the 6502 microprocessor, but as the Apple II family developed, this expanded to the 65C02, 65802, and 65816. All the programs were published using the S-C Macro Assembler, which I also authored and sold under the label of S-C Software Corporation.
I mailed each issue to subscribers all over the world, over 1000 subscribers at its peak. Many of the subscribers were just learning to program in assembly language, and have since gone on to found software companies of their own, or to work in software development for major corporations. One subscriber I remember well, started when a sophomore in high school. Now he writes image processing software for NASA’s JPL, and was heavily involved in the Mars Rover software."

Apple Assembly Line Archive

Today we return to the informative "This Week in Apple History" series at The Mac Observer. The August 22-31 entry in the series by Owen Linzmayer & Bryan Chaffin is entitled, "Welcome, IBM. Seriously," Too Late to License".

August 22-31: "Welcome, IBM. Seriously," Too Late to License"

It's hard to imagine the hip, respected Apple of today as the company of the mid-90's. But they were dark days...oh they were. When the faithful had nothing to go on but faith. We nurtured the flame when it was almost out, against battering and ridicule from all sides. This article at Wired from 1997 lists 101 suggestions from readers to help the company survive, some of which Apple actually did, some - thank goodness - they didn't!

It Begins:
"Dear Apple,
In the movie Independence Day, a PowerBook saves the earth from destruction. Now it's time to return the favor. Unfortunately, even devoted Mac addicts must admit that you look a little beleaguered these days: a confusing product line, little inspiration from the top, software developers fleeing.
But who wants to live in a world without you? Not us. So we surveyed a cross section of hardcore Mac fans and came up with 101 ways to get you back on the path to salvation. We chose not to resort to time travel or regurgitate the same old shoulda/coulda/wouldas (you shoulda licensed your OS in 1987, for instance, or coulda upped your price/performance in 1993).
We don't believe Apple is rotten to the core. Chrysler nearly went under in the late 1970s and came back to lead its industry. Here's a fresh assessment of what can be done to fix your once-great company using the material at hand. Don't wait for a miracle. You have the power to save the world - and yourself."

Read more:
101 Ways to Save Apple

Today we return to the informative "This Week in Apple History" series at The Mac Observer. The August 15-21 entry in the series by Owen Linzmayer & Bryan Chaffin is entitled, "Luxo Jr., iMac Ships, eMachines Sued".

August 15-21: Luxo Jr., iMac Ships, eMachines Sued

"An unsolicited, then approved, music video for the band Grandaddy and their song of the same name off of the album The Sophtware Slump. Programmed in Applesoft II on a 1979 Apple ][+ with 48K of RAM. Seriously." This video takes place completely on the screen on an Apple II+ as we see at the end. Worth a look on a Friday much like this one.

Jed's Other Poem (Beautiful Ground)

Another interesting 1982 tale from the inside at Folklore.org by Andy Hertzfeld. This time, the team receives Steve's permission to dismantle the onerous burglar alarm.

You Guys Are In Big Trouble

Today we return to the informative "This Week in Apple History" series at The Mac Observer. The August 8-14 entry in the series by Owen Linzmayer & Bryan Chaffin is entitled, "Happy Birthday, Woz!".

August 8-14: Happy Birthday, Woz!

The July, 2006 issue of the A2 News and Notes Newsletter for Apple II fans has been posted by Howard Katz!
This issue:
* Kansas In July
* Phoenix Rising
* Sweet Emulation
* Name That Format
* Apple I Rebirth
* Apples Online
* Name That Game
* More Storage Options
* Software News
* Emulation News
* SignOff

A2 News and Notes

Today we return to the informative "This Week in Apple History" series at The Mac Observer. The August 1-7 entry in the series by Owen Linzmayer & Bryan Chaffin is entitled, "Newton Introduced, Big Brother Bill".

August 1-7: Newton Introduced, Big Brother Bill