Copyright (c) 1993 Apple Users' Group, Sydney
Republished from Applecations, a publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia.
Q: Can I use Macintosh Monitors or 3.5" drives with my Apple //?
A: In general, no. Apple's 3.5" drive has logic to sense which machine it is hooked up to (Apple II or Macintosh) and it works accordingly. Most 3rd party drives don't bother to put in Apple II support in their drives. The Mac monitors cannot be used with the // line, not even the GS.
Q: What's the scoop on the new HD 3.5" drive?
A: In order to do High Density on the Apple //, you will need both the High Density 3.5" drive and the new Apple 3.5" controller. If you don't have both, you will only be able to do regular density. Of course, you will also need High Density Disks. ProDOS 8 programs not only recognize it, but they can format HD disks just fine. GS/OS has no problems either. You can even boot off of it, giving extra room for Desk Accessories and such. Drawbacks: You cannot boot copy-protected software or boot some FTA demos. Also, it takes up a slot on the GS.
Q: AppleWorks won't print to my printer. What gives?
A: AppleWorks will refuse to print to a slot that has a disk device. In the past, this worked well because if you try to print to a slot that has a disk controller in it, you will re-boot. But now, this can cause problems when a disk device is 'mapped' into your printer slot (due to a limitation in ProDOS, you can only have 2 drives per slot. Extra partitions on your hard drive will be re-mapped to other slots). If you have a RamFast, you can re-map the drives to different slots. Otherwise, (for AW 3.0) use this patch: POKE 768,128: POKE 769,10 and then BSAVE APLWORKS.SYSTEM,TSYS,A$300,L2,B$AE3.
Q: Can I hook up a LaserWriter, DeskJet, etc to my Apple IIGS?
A: On the GS, you can hook up a LaserWriter via AppleTalk or direct serial connection. A GS program can typically print to a LaserWriter if it's connected to the GS via AppleTalk. If you get a DeskJet, or PaintJet, etc, you can hook them up via the serial port. But in order to use them effectively, you will want Harmony from Vitesse (better) or Independence (cheaper) from Seven Hills. They are new printer drivers for GS/OS programs only.
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