>> We couldn’t find any official sales figures, but somewhere
between 1. 25 and 2 .6 million units were produced – if anyone has
an accurate sales figure, let us know.
5
EMULATION
We found emulating the IIGS was easier than the
Macintosh, but there are still some hoops to jump through.
>> To get started, you will need an IIGS system ROM and life will
be easier if you can also find yourself a hard drive image.
>> ROM files are easy to find but illegal to download. However,
you can dump your own ROM from a real IIGS. Instructions are
available at macgui.com (which for legal reasons is what we’ll
assume you’re doing).
>> Hard drive images should be okay, given that Apple has
a free download archive of “obsolete” software, but we can’t
guarantee anything. We recommend System Software 6 .0. 1 if
you can get it—see the box for more information.
>> Several IIGS emulators are available, but we had the best
experience with GSplus, available for Windows, Linux, and Mac.
Download links are provided, with Windows users given a Zip file
and Linux users provided a .deb package and a binary tarball.
>> For Linux users who have installed the .deb package, enter
the command:
$ gsplus
>> For Windows users, extract the Zip file, open the new folder
in your file manager and launch the gsplus.exe executable.
6
FIRST RUN
The first time you start GSplus, you will encounter an
error about a missing ROM file. Click OK to continue.
>> GSplus will just display garbage until you supply a ROM
image. Press F 4 and you will be prompted with a ROM file
selector. Press Enter and a file browser will appear.
Browse your file system by using the arrow keys and
Enter. Once you have located your ROM file, press Enter.
>> Once selected, you will be back at the ROM File
Selection screen. Press down to select ‘Back to Main
Config’ and press Enter.
>> Now that you’re at the main menu, open the Disk
Configuration menu. The Disk Configuration screen
looks intimidating at first, but don’t panic. Floppy images
are assigned to anything under s 5 and s6, and hard drive
images are assigned to anything under s7.
>> Press Enter on s7d1 to choose your primary hard
drive image. A file browser will open, where you can
select your image in the same way as with the ROM file.
>> If you have other hard drive images, these can
be opened at the same time as your primary image by
assigning them to s7d2, s7d3, and so on.
>> Any successfully mounted disk images will appear
on your desktop later. This applies equally to any floppy
images, mounted under the s5 and s 6 entries.
>> Once finished, hold the down button until you
reach ‘Back to Main Config’ and press Enter. Now you
can either scroll down to the Exit Config menu entry or
simply press F4. GSplus will automatically save your
new configuration by default.
>> Assuming you chose a working hard drive image,
GSplus should now boot your desktop. If it doesn’t, try
another image, and make sure it has the operating
system pre-installed.
>> As for shortcut keys, F 4 opens the configuration
menu, and if you want to enter full screen, press F 11.
Right-clicking will alter the CPU speed.
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FINDING SOFTWARE
The IIGS isn’t as well archived as the Apple II or Macintosh,
but many of the same websites host IIGS software, such as
macintoshrepository.org. As usual, archive.org has a good
selection, but our favorite site was ‘What is the Apple IIGS?’
at whatisthe2gs.apple2.org.za.
For hard drive images, archive.org has a hard drive
image available in TOSEC’s IIGS archive, though we
preferred the ‘What is the Apple IIGS?’ website, which
has hard drive images pre-loaded with shareware and
freeware software.
APPLE IIGS ( 198 6)
CPU: Western Design Center W65C 816 @ 2.8MHz
RAM: 2 56KB - 1MB (expandable to 8MB)
ROM: 1 28KB
Graphics: Apple VGC, maximum 620x 200 resolution,
256 colors on-screen from 4, 096 color palette
Sound: Ensoniq 5503 Digital Oscillator Chip,
64KB dedicated RAM
Storage: 5 .25” and 3.5” floppy, hard disk and CD-ROM expansion
OS: ProDOS 1 6, GS/OS
Released: September 1986
Production: 198 6- 1992
SPECIFICATIONS
>> The more powerful IIGS machine allowed colorized
equivalents of classic Macintosh software, such as
Shufflepuck Café, Dark Castle, and Paintworks Plus.
>> If only the IIGS had received the company backing it deserved,
Apple’s fortunes may have been very different in the 199 0s.
JAN 2022 MAXIMUMPC 59
