Juiced.GS

Bring your Apple II work

Ken Gagne — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:46:40 +0000

The Apple II is a quirky hobby, one that friends and family of its community don't always "get". But that's okay with us — we wear our Apples on our sleeves, proudly displaying logos, computers, and magazines where others can ask us about our pastime.

Juiced.GS subscriber Ionfarmer recently went out of his way to draw attention to his retrocomputing — but not without impetus. "I work in an environment that has a long historical story in the semiconductor industry; as such, there are many who can discuss the way things used to be," he writes. "My historical interest in technology allowed me to be a welcome addition to the environment."

With that in mind, Ionfarmer decided to stream his company's YouTube channel … to his Apple IIc. Such a trick is made possible with the vnIIc software for Windows and a serial connection to the Apple II. Going a bit meta, he shot a video of the video:

"The video being displayed is a graphic demonstration of an ion implanter beam implanting ions in a silicon wafer," writes Ionfarmer. But note that, before his gets to the main attraction, he can't help but toss in a gratuitous plug for Juiced.GS, with the March 2012 issue among his workplace reading material. How cool!

The video was well-received among his co-workers, too:

A few of the 1337 people in the office were intrigued right away, and as soo as one of the web developers saw it, my cube became a destination for the next couple of days. My boss eventually saw it, but did not comment, and overall the visitors that realize that an Apple IIc is not supposed to stream YouTube want to know how I did it. Overall, the setup was well received, and resulted in the solidifying my AlphaGeek status.

Nicely done, sir! Kudos to you for keeping the Apple II (and Juiced.GS!) active in people's thoughts.

The 2013 calendar contest

Ken Gagne — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:00:36 +0000

At KansasFest 2009, we debuted a 2010 wall calendar featuring the best color photos from 14 years of Juiced.GS. At KansasFest 2012, we'll again make available a calendar that will offer Apple II users monthly inspiration of their favorite personal computer — except this time, you get to decide what the calendar will look like!

We've chosen 40 photos that represent a diversity of Apple II hardware, software, personalities, and events, from which you're invited to choose your favorite 12 for inclusion in the final calendar. The dozen photos with the most votes will be assigned a month and printed in glossy full-color, with the resulting calendars selling for $15 in person at KansasFest 2012 and $16 online afterward. Voting is not a commitment to purchase, so everyone is welcome to participate.

Let's make 2013 a year to remember. The poll closes on Thursday, May 31, 2012 at 11:59 PM EDT, so cast your vote today!

(If the poll does not appear below, you may cast your vote at Polldaddy.com)

[Disclaimer: Gamebits owns or will request permission for all images used in the final calendar. No image will be used without its creator's consent.]

Enjoy Juiced.GS Volume 17, Issue 1 (March 2012)

Ken Gagne — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 13:30:00 +0000

The March 2012 issue of Juiced.GS is now available!

This issue features interviews with Jason Scott, David Greelish, Andrew Plotkin, Stephen Emond, Vince Briel, and others for whom crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter offer great potential for bringing retrocomputing projects to life. Also included are reviews of the book The Complete Historically Brewed and 8 Bit Weapon's DMS Drummer software; an interview with AppleWorks legend Randy Brandt; the first in a three-part series on programming in Logo; and much, much more!

Check out this issue's index, as well as links to online resources for more related content.

Now available: the entire 2011 volume at a discounted rate!

Don't be left out — sign up for a 2012 subscription!
Get the latest Apple II news, reviews, interviews, and how-tos,
delivered right to your mailbox.

Not sure what to think? Check out our sample content!

Check out the new Juiced.GS site, store, and sale!

Ken Gagne — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:45:00 +0000

Although Juiced.GS is primarily a print publication, we understand the importance of having an online presence. Juiced.GS has had a Web site for more than a decade and over the years has grown its aesthetic and functionality. Most recently, in 2009, we switched our online publishing platform to WordPress. Shortly thereafter, we introduced a blog component. And a year later, we added an online index. All of these changes were important for their time, but in 2012, they are showing their age. It's time for a new look!

Please enjoy this freshly remodeled Juiced.GS Web site. With rotating banner images and dropdown navigation, we expect the site to be the best-looking, easiest-to-use iteration of our site ever. We've also migrated to a new online store, where you can order subscriptions, back issues, and Concentrate PDFs and pay via cash, check, PayPal, Google Checkout (new!), or Dwolla (new!), all secured via SSL.

To commemorate this update, we're having our first-ever online sale: all back issues are now 20% off! This sale runs March 1–31, 2012. International shipping fees still apply. If you encounter any issues with this promotion or our new checkout system, please contact us. (Orders placed the week of March 11 will ship the following week.)

Let's not overlook two other changes. We've now published enough issues of Juiced.GS (64!) that our previous online index was bursting at the seams! After switching to a different tool, our index is once again available, providing more information than ever before about every page of every issue of every volume.

Finally, check out our staff roster. We've always been proud to feature the work of many members of the Apple II community, and this roster has been updated to include one more: Peter Neubauer, director of Juiced.GS advertising, is now a member of the editorial staff as well. This shouldn't surprise anyone who's read his many excellent articles about Macrosoft, the Apple-1, and more. Look for his articles throughout our 2012 volume.

Thanks to all the staff, as well as Steve Weyhrich and Karenanna Creps, for early feedback on the site's design and functionality. Further thanks to every member of the Juiced.GS community, both online and off. We look forward to continuing to find new ways to serve you.

Distribution and preservation: The benefits of an ISSN

Ken Gagne — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:45:00 +0000

Modern society assigns everything a number. People are their Social Security Numbers; your money is a bank account number; the last book you read has an International Standard Book Number. It makes everything neat and tidy, easy to organize and track.

As of this past summer, Juiced.GS also has a number: 2162-7746. That is the International Standard Serial Number, or ISSN, that has been assigned to the publication by the Library of Congress. We requested an ISSN because of the many valuable benefits it brings to legitimate periodicals such as Juiced.GS. Over 80 countries coordinate and recognize ISSN assignments and can use ours for a variety of purposes:

A unique ISSN distinguishes Juiced.GS title from any other Apple II publication with which it might be confused.
Other editions of Juiced.GS, such as the Concentrate line, need their own ISSNs, allowing us to differentiate various formats of the same publication.
ISSNs help libraries and others who handle large numbers of serials to check in a title so it can get to users more quickly.
Scholars, researchers, archivists, and librarians can accurately cite serials by ISSN.
In the future, users may search and link to digital records, articles, and other files.

An ISSN also helps establish Juiced.GS's place in history. Although the movement to preserve a record of Apple II publications in a digital format is a valuable and necessary one, there is no substitute for the look and feel of print. Juiced.GS's ISSN is valid only for its print edition, which is the magazine's original format and the way it was intended to be read. To that end, Juiced.GS has been actively reaching out to a variety of relevant non-profit organizations charged with ensuring the archive of and access to computer history. Several such institutions have accepted donations of the complete collection of Juiced.GS, currently starting with volume 7, and have added the magazine to their collection. Due to the cost of producing these back issues, we are not currently seeking further recipients. For now, you can now find Juiced.GS throughout the country and the world at these establishments:

Computer History Museum (Mountain View, CA)
Charles Babbage Institute at the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN)
The International Center for the History of Electronic Games at the Strong Museum of Play (Rochester, NY)
Iowa State University (Ames, IA)
Stanford University (Stanford, CA)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)
Georgia Tech (Atlanta, GA)
Museum of Computing (Swindon, UK)

Several of the above institutes have further indexed Juiced.GS with the OCLC WorldCat, a global library catalog. Many of the 72,000 libraries that participate in WorldCat offer interlibrary loan — so if you need to access Juiced.GS, be it individual volumes, issues, or even articles, chances are you can request it be sent from one of the above libraries to your local branch.

The best way to ensure the longevity of data is to put it in as many hands as possible — and no matter the issues involved with digital distribution, from file compatibility to DRM, print will always remain viable and accessible. The above archives will help preserve Juiced.GS as a part of computer history for generations to come.