The fantastic 8-bit Apple II emulator for Mac OS X, Virtual ][ has been updated to version 5.6. It just keeps getting better!

New in this release:
• Added full implementation of the Super Serial card, allowing an Apple II program to connect to an actual serial device, such as a dial-up modem.
• When the application is started for the first time, it now adapts the window size to best match the computer's main screen.
• Solved an issue that caused ProDOS to fail when formatting a diskette.
• Solved an issue that could cause the program to crash when restarting a virtual machine.
• In very rare circumstances a modified diskette image was not saved when it was ejected. This has been fixed.
• Solved a minor issue with the print preview button; double-clicking while the print preview was open made the presented output invisible.
• In the previous release, one of the ImageWriter pictures was missing, resulting in a blinking icon in the devices bar while printing. This has been corrected.

Visit the Virtual ][ Website

A new article by Joshua Coventry at Low End Mac. It begins:
"Dan Bricklin (born 1951) codeveloped VisiCalc with Bob Frankston in the late 1970s while he was a student at the Harvard Business School. VisiCalc is widely credited for fueling the rapid growth of business computing. He is currently president of Software Garden, Inc., a small consulting firm and developer of software applications that he founded in 1985."

Read More:
Interview with Dan Bricklin, Inventor of the Electronic Spreadsheet

Another gem from the Artsci site.
"The Automated Dress Pattern was published in the September 1978 issue of Interface Age Magazine. The article and software was written By Wm. V. R. Smith II and Paul Essick.
This Apple II program was written in Apple Basic and delivered in the Magazine using a Floppy ROM. The Floppy was a soft 33-1/3 RECORD, it was designed to be played on a record Player with the Audio being inputted to the Apple's Cassette input port. A complete paper listing was also provided."

Read More:
The Automated Dress Pattern

"Artsci was founded in 1977 under the name Softech by William V. R. Smith, William Depew and Gary Koffler. The company name was changed a few months later to Softape.
The company was founded to produce Software programs for the Apple II Computer. The first product was Module 1 on cassette. It contained 3 Apple Basic Game programs. It was sold nationwide as the introductory tape of the SOFTAPE SOFTWARE EXCHANGE CLUB. Sold for $20 with a membership, this was the first program available nationwide for the Apple II. Softape Games were delivered on Cassette (the only media available at the time for the Apple II)."

Gallery of Softape Games on Cassette!