What is this

[Brett B.]

Just happened to be searching eBay for parts for my MousePee//e machine and ran across this - it appears to be my ]['s older brother.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-ii-monitor-iii-lots-of-software-disk-drive-a-few-manuals-maybe-clone/223329552882?hash=item33ff7a89f2:g:K4EAAOSw-ghcGMaN

In other news I have been messing with mine while I've got my new //e on the bench next to it, and have verified that it works finally now that I have a proper monitor to use with it.  I still need to spend a few hours cleaning and really testing everything, but I did play "Sneakers" for a while on it the other night.  Pretty cool.  Still have not decided on whether or not to keep these things... they are slowly growing on me.

 

[PB145B]

I’d also recommend keeping that machine. I think the Apple IIs will grow on you. They are a lot of fun  

Now this is just me, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that machine the way it is, but I’d hunt for an original II top case to put back on it. 

But again, that’s just me and If you like it the way it is, by all means leave it  

 

[Brett B.]

I'm pretty set on keeping it the way it is...it's part of its history now.  Besides I'm sure an original ][ top would be pretty hard to find these days, and probably expensive... and then I'd have an extra top with no home.

Kinda glad I kept all my Apple II software years ago when I sold my old //e - it's been sitting on a shelf since probably 2003 or so.  

 

[MacintoshMan1999]

Kinda glad I kept all my Apple II software years ago when I sold my old //e

Do you miss it?

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I'm pretty set on keeping it the way it is...it's part of its history now.

Yea, for me the upgrades are the things that bring an old Mac to life, especially something like that Numeric Keypad top deck. How much memory does it have? Is it possible to tell what its original configuration was? Model number? You may have a real piece of Apple history there. VisiCalc running on the high end 32KB Apple II is what put Apple on the map.

https://qz.com/1103867/visicalc-and-apple-aapl-steve-jobs-said-that-the-spreadsheet-was-key-to-apples-early-success/

In a nutshell, from LEM's article:

The program went on sale in November 1979 and was a big hit. It retailed for US$100 and sold so well that many dealers started bundling the Apple II with VisiCalc. The success of VisiCalc turned Apple into a successful company, selling tens of thousands of the pricey 32 KB Apple IIs to businesses that wanted them only for the spreadsheet.

Bundling VisiCalc with an upgraded NumPad top plate would have been killer in the day. Is there a date code fro the injection molding run on the part? Is the Keypad an Apple part or a custom design?

edit: oopsie! http://lowendmac.com/2006/visicalc-and-the-rise-of-the-apple-ii/