From 2005 at BoingBoing, this article explores the Sosumi system sound thought to be a punny reference to the phrase "So Sue Me". True? False? Here is the answer from the source.

"Jim Reekes was the engineer on Apple Sound Manager for System 7, and he created the Sosumi sound -- so I asked him to set the record straight. Here's the Wikipedia entry (which is now being updated), and here's Jim's reply to Boing Boing readers!"

Read the complete article:
Early Apple Sound Designer Jim Reekes Corrects Sosumi Myth

The latest article by Joshua Coventry at Low End Mac.
"Pippin was a multimedia player developed by Apple Computer in the mid 90s. Apple decided to create and license the technology (named Pippin after a type of Apple smaller than a McIntosh) due to their belief that home computers were becoming more and more important and popular with customers.
Apple realized that for multimedia technology to reach the home, the entry price had to be reduced substantially. But a low entry price wouldn't be not enough; the platform had to be distributed by many companies which collectively could reach a much larger audience than one company alone."

Read More:
Apple's Pippin and Bandai's @World: Missing the Mark(et)

Today we return to the informative "This Week in Apple History" series at The Mac Observer. The September 26-30 entry in the series by Owen Linzmayer & Bryan Chaffin is entitled, "Gassée Resigns, Amelio Out".

September 26-30: Gassée Resigns, Amelio Out

A new article by the talented Tom Hormby at Low End Mac. It begins:
"VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet, was one of the key products that helped bring the microcomputer from the hobbyist's desk into the office. Before the release of this groundbreaking software, microcomputers were thought of as toys; VisiCalc changed that."

Read More:
VisiCalc and the Rise of the Apple II

Originally appearing in the April, 1984 issue of Creative Computing, this evaluation by John J. Anderson finds that the Macintosh looks like a winner!
"After much anticipation and much ado, and alongside an advertising campaign the likes of which have never been seen in the microcomputer industry, Apple has finally done it--the Macintosh computer is a reality.
And it is quite an astonishing reality, indeed.
At $2495, Macintosh represents the cutting edge of Apple's bid to regain lost pre-eminence in the microcomputer field, IBM, which reared its big blue head a mere two years ago, has in that time very nearly pulled the carpet out from under Apple. Now it's all up to Macintosh."

Read More:
The Macintosh Looks Like a Winner!

Meet Steve Wozniak at the book signing of his just released autobiography, ""iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It". He has a full page of dates all across the US, and is bound to be in a town near you!

Book signing schedule at Woz.org

iWoz at Amazon.com

In this article, published in 1997 at TidBITS, Adam C. Engst gives his views on the purchase of NeXT by Apple. It begins:
"On Friday, December 20th, we were packing up for Christmas vacation when the rumors of Apple buying NeXT started in earnest. By evening, when rumors coalesced into reality with an Apple-organized press conference, we were eating dinner and leaving for the airport. Luckily, Apple failed (as usual) to invite TidBITS to participate in the conference via telephone - otherwise, we would have had to rush dinner and packing to make our flight. However, information about the deal wasn't hard to come by, and keeping up with email over Christmas provided plenty of thoughts about the acquisition, some founded in solid fact, others rife with bilious opinion. I anticipate the big question at this week's Macworld Expo will be "What do you think about the NeXT deal?" Here are my thoughts."

Read More:
The NeXT Thing for Apple

Today we return to the informative "This Week in Apple History" series at The Mac Observer. The September 19-25 entry in the series by Owen Linzmayer & Bryan Chaffin is entitled, "Apple Sues Jobs, Mac Licensing Begins".

September 19-25: Apple Sues Jobs, Mac Licensing Begins

The latest article by Joshua Coventry at Low End Mac. It begins:
"eWorld was Apple's short-lived group of online services. Launched in June 1994, eWorld was an intuitive, easy-to-use, and heavily GUI-dependent new way to take advantage of the Internet. It included its own email service, bulletin board system (BBS), and more.
During its existence, eWorld was Macintosh-only, and it was officially shutdown on March 31, 1996. Compared to AOL, eWorld failed massively, mainly because of a lack of marketing and advertising - and its high price."

Read More:
eWorld: Apple's Overpriced, Poorly Marketed Online Service

A bit of archive digging has produced this 2000 article at The New York Times by Paul Kunkel, on the beloved Color Classic. The article begins:
"When the subject is Macintosh, love often turns to obsession. Such is the case for a small group of Apple aficionados who have decided that the one true Macintosh is the Color Classic.
As the last toaster-size Mac, the Color Classic followed the same basic design first offered in 1984 and was the only model to offer a built-in color display. Unveiled in 1993, the tiny all-in-one Classic disappeared from store shelves in 1994, but it still makes millions of brief appearances each day: the smiling icon that appears during every Mac start-up is a holdover from the Classic."

Read More:
A Long-Discontinued Macintosh Still Thrills Collectors to the Core

From TidBITS #24, October 1990 - The new Macs are coming!
"In an effort to compete in the low and mid-range computer market, Apple officially announced three new Macs, the Mac Classic, Mac LC, and Mac IIsi. For those who read the industry press, the announcement had few surprises, but those not up on the details may appreciate a run down of the specifications for these new machines. All of the new Macs should ship with System 6.0.7. According to Apple rep George Cooke, Macs shipped with System 6.0.6 in their boxes should have the system replaced before they are sold due to a few bugs that should be fixed in 6.0.7. All of the new Macs come with just one SuperDrive and the System software comes on 1.44 meg disks."

Read More:
New Mac Attack

Another great new article by Tom Hormby at Low End Mac. It begins:
"One of the less well known Mac clones, the MaxxBoxx was released in Germany in July 1997 to fill the needs of users with very demanding applications. In a stunning enclosure, the MaxxBoxx was easy to open and upgrade. The machine was built into a cube that was twice as wide as an ordinary mini tower with room for up to ten drives."

Read More:
MaxxBoxx: The Biggest, Most Colorful, Least Known Mac Clones

Today we return to the informative "This Week in Apple History" series at The Mac Observer. The September 12-18 entry in the series by Owen Linzmayer & Bryan Chaffin is entitled, "NEXTSTEP, NeXT Slab, Steve Jobs iCEO".

September 12-18: NEXTSTEP, NeXT Slab, Steve Jobs iCEO

Published in 1997 at TidBITS, this article by Marc Bizer, examines the rock-solid PowerBook 3400. It begins:
"I was overjoyed to have been selected as a seed site to test a new PowerBook, the much-anticipated machine code-named Hooper, which Apple shipped on 17-Feb-97 as the PowerBook 3400. I had no idea how Hooper had been named - did it mean the laptop would jump through hoops which no other portable computers had jumped before? All I knew for sure was that I was eager to try Apple's fastest portable ever."

Read More:
PowerBook 3400: The Ultimate Laptop?

A new interview at Low End Mac by Joshua Coventry with Andy Hertzfeld. It begins:
"Andy Hertzfeld was a key member of the original Macintosh team in 1984. He joined Apple in 1979 and was responsible for many parts of the original Macintosh system software. He was such an adept programmer, in fact, that his Apple business card said Software Wizard.
Hertzfeld left Apple in 1984 and has since cofounded three companies; Radius (1986), General Magic (1990), and Eazel (1999). In 2005, his book, Revolution of the Valley, was published; it tells the story of how the Mac was made.
Today, he works at Google as a software engineer."

Read More:
Andy Hertzfeld, Software Wizard: From Apple to Google

A 1984 article by Steven Levy, a columnist for Rolling Stone and Popular Computing. From Aratiarchives.org, it was originally published in the book "Digital Deli".

"When it came time to buy a computer, I was the most sincere of advice-seekers. I would ask anybody. And I got all sorts of answers, every one of them appended with a warning that if I didn't heed that particular suggestion I'd be miserable for an entire generation of technology.
I listened to the answers. I made notes. And finally I sought a consultant who would sell me a computer and show me how to use it. The moment I knew this one consultant was right for me was when he announced his choice for my computer: an Apple II Plus. Because in my heart I never really wanted anything else."

Read More:
The Apple of My Eye

The August, 2006 issue of the A2 News and Notes Newsletter for Apple II fans has been posted by Howard Katz!
This issue:
* Old Computer, New Clone
* Phoenix Wings
* Solid-State Work
* Another Anniversary
* We're Number 1!
* Prairie Home Changeover
* Plug In, Tune Out?
* Hacking Around
* File Storage
* Software News
* Emulation News
* SignOff

A2 News and Notes

An interesting article by the talented Thomas Hormby at Low End Mac. From the article:
"Mac sales slumped in 1985. Bill Gates, who controlled 2/3 of the Mac software market, didn't want lose his investment in software development, and suggested that Apple license the Macintosh to outside companies. Apple refused, and Windows was released in November, 1985. Apple CEO, John Sculley, was outraged at the Macintosh-inspired software and sued. Though unsuccessful, the lawsuit chilled Apple-Microsoft relations for almost 15 years."

Read More:
The Apple vs. Microsoft GUI Lawsuit

Today we return to the informative "This Week in Apple History" series at The Mac Observer. The September 1-11 entry in the series by Owen Linzmayer & Bryan Chaffin is entitled, "Power Bought, OS X On All New Macs".

September 1-11: Power Bought, OS X On All New Macs