01.011 What is an Apple II: The Apple //c and IIc+
Description
This article is from the Apple II Csa2 FAQ, by Jeff Hurlburt with numerous contributions by others.
01.011 What is an Apple II: The Apple //c and IIc+
The //c and IIc+ are compact 'luggable' versions of an Enhanced //e, with
many built-in 'cards'. Included are 2 serial ports, a mouse port, a disk port
and 128K of RAM. Support for the original Apple casette tape I/O is gone. The /
/c has a built-in 5.25" drive while the IIc+ has a built-in 3.5" drive.
The IIc+ has a built-in accelerator that runs at 4 MHz (vs. the //c's
1MHz) making it the fastest Apple II as well as faster than any of the A2
clones. (To boot your IIc+ at 'regular', 1MHz, speed, include the Escape key in
the usual boot keypresses-- i.e. OpenApple-CTRL-ESC-RESET.) The IIc+, which was
introduced after the IIgs, also allows daisey chaining the GS Apple 3.5" drive
along with 5.25" drives.
The //c and IIc+ run just about all of the DOS 3.3, ProDOS, "128k"
software, etc. that an Enhanced //e runs plus the few //c-only software
releases. However, the use of certain locations for storing system variables
and ROM differences means that //c series machines will not run a number of old
games designed for the ][ and ][+ which the IIe and IIgs will run.
Even though //c machines don't have slots, you can still add extra memory
(there's room under the keyboard) and a hard drive (through the disk port--
a bit slow by ordinary standards, but usable. Hard to find though.. Was made
by Chinook). There is also a for-//c "D" version of MockingBoard you can plug
in to get much improved sound and music from software supporting the board, and
a module you can attach to convert output to RF for using a TV as a monitor.
Recommended configuration: A composite color monitor which can display decent
80-colume text, 1 MB RAM, and, maybe, a hard drive. For the //c, add a second
5.25" drive; for the IIc+, add a second 3.5" drive and two 5.25" drives. --Dan
DeMaggio, Rubywand
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