Pop it open (lid just lifts off), take a picture of it when you get it. You might hop on irc.a2central.com #a2c.chat, too.
Late 80s? So it's platinum (instead of beige), and has a numeric keypad?
The video card... not sure what it is. There's a couple of possibilities here...
- IIGS upgrade kit. The motherboard will actually say "APPLE //GS" on it if it's this. The difference between a IIGS upgrade kit and a ROM 00 or 01 IIGS is that the upgrade kit mobos had two connectors populated that weren't on a IIGS - one to use the //e PSU, one to use the //e keyboard. (However, replacement IIGS motherboards had those connectors populated.) The kit also came with a replacement baseplate for the //e case. That said, if it's a Platinum, this is extremely unlikely.
- Apple Video Overlay Card. It's got a complete IIGS video subsystem on a card. Worth a LOT of money, if there's one in there. Probably worth selling.
- SecondSight. Less useful in a //e than in a IIGS, worth a lot of money, definitely worth selling.
So, here's the bare minimum, IMO, for hardware that you need, assuming it's not actually a IIGS:
- Super Serial Card. This is a serial card, 'nuff said. (If it's a IIGS, something better is built in.)
- Disk II interface, or equivalent. Most likely, you've already got one. (If it's a IIGS, one's built in.)
- 64k 80-column card. Quite a lot of software needs 128k RAM. (The worst IIGS has 256k RAM.)
- Enhancement. This consists of a 65C02 CPU, two updated ROM chips, and an updated character generator. If your machine shipped as an Enhanced or Platinum machine, you're good to go. And, the IIGS includes everything from this, and a lot more.
Here's where I get my floppies:
http://oldsoftware.com/floppy_disks.htmlFor 3.5" drives, you need the "Liron" interface, and UniDisk 3.5 drives. (If it's a IIGS, something better is built in, that supports the faster Apple 3.5 drives.)
For getting started, you don't have to buy ANY software on floppies, you just need blank floppies, a null modem cable, and either a computer with a serial port, or a USB to serial adapter. Then, use
ADTPro - it can bootstrap a machine from raw metal, just hit Ctrl-Reset to drop to BASIC, and then follow the directions - to transfer disk images across.
Things that are nice to have in a //e:
- AppleMouse II controller. Some software is mouse-driven, and some software needs a mouse controller for a 60 Hz interrupt. (Built into the IIGS.)
- Mass storage. 3.5" floppies aren't that useful in a //e unless you have an old Mac to manipulate them. (They do have extra capacity over 5.25" floppies, but not enough that they're not still annoying. If your machine is a IIGS, 3.5" floppies are mandatory.) There's a few options here, I have a Focus card in my IIGS. Tony usually includes 64 meg cards for //e orders (if you order one with a card), which is more than enough for a //e. Other options are the CFFA (not sure if it's in stock yet) and the MicroDrive.
- Ethernet. Not as useful on a //e as it is on a IIGS, but it means that, once you've got an ADTPro disk, you no longer need to use a serial cable to transfer data to and from your //e.
- Apple II Workstation Card. This is only useful if you've got a classic Mac, or a LocalTalk to EtherTalk transceiver and a machine running netatalk, but it provides full networking, file sharing and all, to your //e. I think even netbooting might be possible. Pain in the ass to set up, though. (If your machine is a IIGS, it's built-in.)
- More memory. There's two ways to add memory: A bigger 80-column card, and a "slinky" card. Both have pros and cons, but generally, an 80-column card can do more than a Slinky card, given the appropriate drivers. Slinky cards are how Apple approved memory expansion, though. If it's a IIGS, instead of a bigger 80-column card, there are RAM upgrade cards.
- No-slot clock. This needs a driver, but gives you a real-time clock. You can get one for free by requesting a sample of part DS1216E from Maxim Semiconductor, although you'll need to either use your work e-mail, or an educational e-mail. Built into a IIGS.
- Accelerator. This is very, very much in the "nice to have" territory, but if you have it, oh man. Assuming you're using a real //e, there's two approaches - caching accelerators, like the Zip Chip (not the GSX model, that's for a IIGS), and duplicating accelerators like the Transwarp (again, not the GS model, which is actually caching). Caching accelerators have a small L1 cache, duplicating accelerators have their own local copy of system RAM and can therefore run faster, but have some other drawbacks that I can't recall at the moment. If you've got a IIGS, they're absurdly expensive, and a GS is almost as fast as an accelerated //e.
Operating systems... the major ones are DOS 3.3 and ProDOS. In normal use, you'll use both. On your mass storage, you'll be using ProDOS, and newer software is written to use it.
Video... this depends on the version of //e.
If your //e is the original Revision A, it'll do 280x192, 6 colors... but there's a trick, the 6 colors have placement restrictions, so you're only guaranteed 140x192. If it's Revision B, or any Enhanced or Platinum revision (including Enhanced Revision A, but not an original Revision A that's been Enhanced after the fact), it'll do 560x192, "16" colors (IIRC, one of the grays is duplicated), with the same positioning caveat. (And, the 560x192 mode is pretty much unusable on a color display for monochrome info.) There is a mod to add support for the 560x192 mode to the Revision A, however.
If it's a IIGS, it adds 320x200 16 color, 640x200 4 color, 640x200 dithered using 8 colors, simulating 16 colors, and palette switched versions of those modes.
