[ Retro Scan of the Week ] Thomas Jefferson’s Apple III
July 4th, 2011 by Benj Edwards
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created floppy…no, wait.”
(click above to see the full advertisement)
10 REM DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE TEST BY THOMAS JEFFERSON
15 REM IN HIS BASEMENT, JULY 4TH, 1776, 14K FREE
20 PRINT "WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE ____"; INPUT I
30 IF I = "SELF-EVIDENT" THEN GOTO 100
40 IF I = "TURKEY FLAVORED" THEN GOTO 200
50 IF I = "ONLY TRUE IF YOU ARE MARTHA" THEN GOTO 300
60 IF I = "COMPLETELY FALSE" THEN GOTO 400
70 GOTO 20
100 PRINT "EXCELLENT! I LIKE YOU."; GOTO 500
200 PRINT "TRY AGAIN, FRANKLIN."; GOTO 20
300 PRINT "GO BRUSH YOUR WOODEN TEETH."; GOTO 20
400 PRINT "HOW DID THIS MAKE IT TO ENGLAND?"; GOTO 20
500 END
Happy Independence Day from Vintage Computing and Gaming
Discussion Topic of the Week: If most computers were manufactured in the USA today, would you be more or less likely to buy them?
July 4th, 2011 at 10:05 pm
Happy 4th, Benj — hope you’re having a good time!
I’d never seen an Apple â…¢ before; it seems really blocky compared to the â…¡ line. Also, if it’s selling for $2.3k, doesn’t that make it a $2.3k computer rather than a $15k one?
Since I can only afford second-hand systems (and even then only make the leap when the computer I have is truly beyond repair), I don’t think the frequency of my computer purchases would change if the only change was the location they were created.
July 5th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
I don’t think it would affect my purchase habits–I try simply to buy the best tool for the job I need to do. It so happens now that the majority of those tools are not made in the US. Some are designed in the US, particularly in a certain South Bay municipality, but some aren’t.
I actually don’t know where the Atari 800, the machine that started my love affair with computers, was manufactured. For all I know, it was in the States!