Centossa – The Apple II That Never Was
I have seen a few reviews of my Sophistication & Simplicity book appear on Amazon.com, and I appreciate the kind words that have been posted so far. Interestingly, one of the commenters marked the book down because of the chapters about peripherals, etc, that were interspersed with the story of the various models of the Apple II; he felt that it interrupted the flow of the story. Not sure how that could be resolved without a major redesign of the book, but to each his own…
The other comment by this reviewer was that the book did not make comments about a computer called the Apple IIsi, and he had wanted to learn more about this model of Apple II. Therefore, I thought I’d write here to address this question.
The “Apple IIsi” is one of the more obscure parts of the Apple II story. The only existing picture and description of which I am aware is a single photo and short description in the 1997 book AppleDesign: The Work of the Apple Industrial Design Group, created by Paul Kunkel and Rick English. According to the book description, the authors were granted access to information about Apple’s products and prototypes. Part of the Amazon listing for this out-of-print book specifically states that it “covers all the goods made and sold by Apple, and also discusses concepts for products that never made it to production” (emphasis mine). As you read the following discussion, keep that last part in mind.
I own a copy of this book (although I am currently unable to locate it in the disarray that my basement currently displays), and can state that it does not include every product made by Apple (even Jonathan Zufi’s new book Iconic does not try to include a picture of every single thing Apple built and sold). As I recall, the photo and minimal caption that accompanied the Apple IIsi in this book was the only mention of anything related to the Apple II series.
I have elected to hold off on putting a picture here until I can locate my own copy of the AppleDesign book. The only photo I can find on the Internet on a web site, Stories of Apple.net. The picture on that web site, taken from the book, appears to be the sole image that exists of this “Apple IIsi”.
So, what is this mysterious Apple II of which so little has been said? According to the Stories of Apple.net web site, Jean-Louis Gassée took over as head of R&D at Apple after Steve Jobs left the company in September 1985. In 1988, Gassée is supposed to have planned the industrial design of a successor to the Apple IIGS, and utilized Ken Wood and Robert Brunner of the Palo Alto studio Lunar Design to bring it about. (Wood and Brunner were later involved in the design of the first PowerBook in 1990.)
According to the AppleDesign book, this Apple IIsi project was code-named “Centossa”. From the photo, it has the same shape as the Apple IIGS, but has a shorter “shelf” on the front. Cut into the front right is a slot for a 3.5 inch disk drive, much like the position of the disk drive on all models of the Macintosh in that era.
What was going on with the Apple II during the time when Gassée took over R&D? Recall that the Apple IIGS was originally released in the latter part of 1986. Two years later, 1988, would have been a reasonable time for an update to the physical design of the IIGS. The year 1988 saw the release of the revised memory expansion Apple IIc and IIc Plus, the Apple II SCSI Rev C card, and Apple IIGS System Software 3.2 and 4.0. In August of the following year, the ROM 03 Apple IIGS was announced. Hardware updates beyond the ROM 03 motherboard improvements would have been appropriate, and certainly it was within Apple’s power to release a IIGS with a built-in 3.5 inch drive.
One of the important things to remember about this Centossa project was that it almost certainly never got beyond the discussion stage. It was discussed on the podcast Open Apple, episode #7 in August 2011, when hosts Ken Gagne and Mike Maginnis contacted Apple II hardware expert Tony Diaz to specifically ask about the Apple IIsi. He confirmed that the picture in the AppleDesign book likely represented no more than a wooden prototype to show what the product could look like. There was no real Centossa or Apple IIsi beyond being an external design on paper that made it to a physical model.
One of the problems with the design that Gassée’s team produced was the location of the disk slot on the right. Look at this photo of the Mark Twain version of the Apple IIGS that was nearly announced in September 1991 (and which was dramatically closer to a real product than Centossa ever was):
In this version, the disk slot was on the left side of the computer. This location makes far more sense than it would to put it on the right side, where it would block access to some of the slots on the motherboard. On the Mark Twain, the 3.5-inch disk drive sat on top of a SCSI hard drive, and a redesigned power supply sat in the back, all on the left side. Even with this redesign, a couple of the classic IIGS slots had been removed, in order to make it all fit. This Centossa design would have made it necessary to put both the power supply and disk drive on the right, to keep slots accessible. Perhaps from an industrial design stand point this was an acceptable change, but it was a radical adjustment for the Apple II family, which (aside from the IIc) had always had its power supply on the left).
Also, the product name “Apple IIsi” is problematic. It is strongly suggested that the Mark Twain computer, had it been released, would have been called the Apple IIGS Plus. That name makes perfect sense. Using IIsi as a moniker would not work at all, unless the computer that was being visualized was completely different from a IIGS. And if that was the plan, why make the computer otherwise look like a IIGS?
When I learned that the Apple IIsi shown in AppleDesign was no more than a mockup and never even made it to the prototype stage, I decided it was unnecessary to include anything about it in my book. After all, since it never really existed, what could I say about it? Where would it fit in the Apple II story? There would be little more than a line or two about it …
… and here I’ve gone on for over one thousand words discussing it. Well, who knows? If there ever is a second edition to Sophistication & Simplicity, perhaps I’ll add these above speculations. And perhaps if someone who worked at Apple in the late 1980s who knows the story wants to contact me, I can put down more than just speculation. Anyone know the email address for Gassée?
(Check at 35:20 in the video)
Spotted In The Wild
It’s exciting to see something that has involved so much work, long term and short term, come to pass. But it’s even more exhilarating to see others share in it.
I’ve had a number of Twitter and Facebook posts from people who were saying they planned to order the book – even before it was a proper pre-order. And now some of those books have been received, and the enthusiasm has led some to take photos. Paul Hagstrom (@yesterbits) took a cool photo:
The original photo was of an Apple II standard (pre II Plus) model, but the book cover did not show anything specific enough that would have made that difference obvious.
Another Twitter-er, @neko_no_ko, posted a photo of the book on his Apple III Plus:
But the topper was an an unboxing video posted by the prolific Ken Gagne, editor of Juiced.GS and webmaster for a number of websites. On his Gamebits channel on YouTube, he has had videos of the unboxing of a Wii U, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, videos that have had a healthy number of views. I would not have thought of my book as a topic worthy of unboxing, but here it is:
Thanks to all for your support and interest!
My God, It’s Full of Words!
It’s December 2nd, and although Amazon still has the book listed as for “pre-order”, I want to confirm that it really does exist. My supply came in a box from UPS today. They insisted on posing for a picture:
Breaking News
After further conversations with my publisher, we have decided it will be acceptable to leave the current Apple II History content on the site as it is. The caveat is that there is some material in the book that has been updated or expanded from what has been on the web site, and the content here will not be similarly updated for the time being.
So, for those who were concerned about the loss of the primary content on this web site as it has been for the past 15 years, this is a big win!
Clarification
In the process of announcing my book, I made mention about this web site that I guess was unclear. I have had some concerned emails sent my way asking about it, and so I decided that I had better explain what I meant.
When this Apple II History web site first went online, all it consisted of were the various chapters of the original History as it was posted on GEnie back in 1991 and 1992. Then I added some links to other web sites (remember those? no one seems to do that any more!), and then I added in my Song Parodies, and then some pictures I found, and then some more articles. And then when I moved it to WordPress, I started including blog posts about topics that interested me.
So what I ended up with was The History as the core of the site, and then all of this other stuff that I’ve created or collected after I wrote The History. With time, I think The History part makes up about 50 or 60 percent of the entire content hosted here. Oh, and I added some material to The History as I learned more that filled in gaps, or corrected mistakes, or whatnot.
Then I decided to make The History into a print book. I looked for and found a publisher who was willing to take the risk to make this into a real book (thank you Variant Press), and we entered into negotiations about the book. And one of the stipulations of our agreement was that when The Book came out, The History content would be taken off the web site.
What that means is I am not taking down the Apple II History web site. What I am doing (at least for the present) is I will be taking the various chapters of The History off the web site. Everything else (the pictures in the Museum, and the Song Parodies, and the other add-on material) will remain in place as it has been. I’m also working on a redesign of the web site that will look a bit more modern than this current WordPress theme.
And who knows? If the book does well enough I may be able to convince the publisher to let me restore at least the current History as it stands. But rest assured, the rest of the Apple II History site will still be here for as long as I am around.
The Presses Are Rolling!
Not a dream! Not an alternate reality! Not a hoax!
Yes, the book is finally and truly available on Amazon for pre-order (see link below), and should be available for delivery after December 1, 2013.
The book was submitted to the printer during the past week, and the book cover design was finalized yesterday.
I am pleased with the final results, and expect that readers will like it also. As I was listening to the latest episode of the Open Apple podcast, in which Bill Martens and Brian Wiser discuss the newly released Wozpak Special Edition (another book I would strongly recommend), one of the comments made struck me.
Martens and Wiser were asked if the Wozpak was going to be available as a PDF, and they said that they felt the material was much more valuable as a print book that can be held in your hand. And I agree that the Wozpak is really better as a paper book. As a PDF, it can just go into a folder on my computer hard drive, and be forgotten. But in print form, it is simultaneously more real and more retro. It is something like the difference between running an emulated classic computer and running the real hardware. Personally, I more highly esteem physical hardware than some files on my computer, regardless of how much simpler it may be to operate.
In the same way, the release of Sophistication & Simplicity adds value to the Apple II History beyond what has classically been presented here in its online form. It is easier to read as a book that can held in the hand, rather sitting in front of your computer (or tablet) and go through all of the chapters and appendices.
At this time I will also announce that the Apple II History content on this web site will be removed for the foreseeable future at some time in the next month. Now, if you REALLY want to read the traditionally free version of this history, you can still download the old files from the Asimov FTP site, and you can probably find an archived version of this web site in its current form at Archive.org (just enter “apple2history.org” in the search window for the Wayback machine.
However, I will say that although the core of the material in the History has not changed much, there is additional information in nearly every section, as well as a more interesting presentation of that material. In other words, the $29.95 price of the book (before Amazon’s discount) is not a deal-breaker if you need the info in the history for research purposes.
Click here to pre-order!
Pay No Attention To The Man Behind The Curtain!
I myself have placed an order for the Sophistication and Simplicity book, so I would get announcements from Amazon about it. Tonight I got the email that says the order has been cancelled, and Amazon apologizes for the inconvenience.
Don’t listen to them!! It is within a week or two of being sent to the printer and will then finally be available! And I can’t wait to see it myself.
Micro-design Can Give Mega-results
I’ve had the opportunity in the past couple of weeks to listen to two podcasts in which game designers were interviewed. (I recommend you listen, also – ANTIC, The Atari 8-Bit Podcast #4 has an interview with Chris Crawford, who wrote games for the Atari 2600, Commodore PET, and Atari 400/800; No Quarter classic arcade podcast #52 has an interview with Brian Collin, who helped create the arcade game Rampage.) It brought back to mind similar stories like the making of Wolfenstein 3D for the Apple IIGS. In all of these situations the programmers had a limited space in which to do their work. They were limited in graphics abilities or limited in memory, or both, and yet they managed to create (or duplicate) games that were considered to be state-of-the-art in their day.
It brings to mind the problem on modern computers with what has been called “bloatware” – code that is large, takes up a lot of space in memory or storage or both, and often does only a little more than its predecessors.
The advantage of the small memory footprint and simpler processors in the micros of the 1970s and 1980s is that it was necessary to write compact, efficient code. The graphics had specific limitations that had to be honored. These programmers had to come up with tricks to get around those limitations, to push the boundaries to achieve the desired effect.
The programmers mentioned in the above three examples sometimes had to buck the accepted knowledge that said what they wanted to do was not possible. Brian Collin overcame memory limitations on Rampage by re-using the graphics layout for one of his monsters to create another one. Eric Shepherd had to almost re-invent how the graphics of Wolfenstein 3D were implemented in the Apple IIGS, in order to make it work. And Chris Crawford, like all who made games for the Atari 2600, had a tiny memory footprint in which to put the game itself as well as its graphics.
This limitation did not only apply to games. AppleWorks’ creator Rupert Lissner created memory management techniques that made a 64K or 128K computer and made it look like a much larger computer.
With modern computers, the programmer has exponentially more power available in which to implement his vision. The advantage is the ability to create things that could not happen in a classic microcomputer or game system. The disadvantage can be wasted resources and processor cycles. The programmer does not necessarily have to be efficient; he has a lot of space in which to work, and the operating system can take up the slack.
I have always maintained that Apple’s neglect of the Apple II platform actually resulted in the hardware being pushed to its full limits in ways that would not have been possible if they had taken the proper approach and evolved it, rather than continuing to invent successors. I admire and applaud the programmers who found their way around the limitations of the Apple II and were able to bend it to their will.
Almost There
It has taken almost two years of travel to get to this point. I left my starting point in my packed up wagon of info about the Apple II, and slowly made my way west towards the new land of print media. Along the way, I spoke to some of the natives, who gave me additional information to add to my manuscript. I had to stop frequently and rest, sometimes hunting for food (clarification of facts) when my supplies ran low. Although sometimes there was little game available, sometimes I’d find a bison’s-worth of information. And, unlike others on the trail, I often found a way to drag back all 932 pounds of the carcass to supplement my writings.
After I reached the half-way point, I thought it would be all downhill from there. Oh, silly me. I was just entering the mountains, and some of the most treacherous ground was yet to be crossed. The weather had turned a bit more chilly than I had anticipated. Challenges like exhaustion, snake-bite, and yes, even dysentery had to be overcome. But yet, I persevered. The hunting now involved some dry spots where I could only catch squirrels, and sometimes crossed paths with bears. Thankfully, my ammunition did not run out.
Despite the difficulty of the trail, I still was able to speak to some of the others who were on or near the trail. They often were able to provide me with other stories that clarified what I already knew. Some of them were old, and sometimes their memory of events was fading. Still, most of them added to my supply of provisions to help me complete the journey. And although I frequently disagreed with my guide as to the correct path to take, we finally came out of the mountains and onto safer ground.
And now, the Willamette Valley in Oregon is so close I can almost smell it. The final destination is within my grasp, and expect to arrive within the new 3-4 weeks.
Possibly sooner if I don’t get dysentery again.
Definitely Not Vaporware!
The book is in the final editing stage now, so it’s getting really close. Those who have pre-ordered it are probably getting messages from Amazon that say, “Are you sure you still want this? It’s still not available.” Please be sure to tell Amazon “yes” by clicking that “continue” button. It’s a Simple choice for the Sophisticated Apple II fan who wants to have the Time of his or her Life. (You see what I did there …)
You’ll be glad you did. The final result will be worth the extra wait.