Hello, World (Sort Of)

WRITINGS

TOTAL PIECES: 0
AVG SCORE: 0 pts

Hello, World (Sort Of)

MACHINE: Apple IIe (1983)
SCORE: 13 pts
DATE: 2025-10-07

HELLO WORLD: FIRST POST FROM AN APPLE IIE

Well, that was about all I got typed out before the Apple IIe let out a large pop and magic smoke poured out. Looks like it was coming from the power supply- darn. I couldn't imagine breathing magic smoke would give me any superpowers, so I stepped away and added "fix IIe" to the ever-growing list of projects in the Tavus computer workshop.

A preface may be helpful at this point: I've been meaning to write about the things I care about and the journey in, well caring about them. Writing has always been difficult for me. Prioritization, time, distractions. When I'm on my MacBook it is too easy to drift into work or to consume instead of create.

Tangentially- we have a lot of old computers at Tavus- it's sort of our thing. We have immense amount of respect and curiosity for the history of computing and how we got here, but I'm going to save that for another post that I hope will actually be written on one of the many hopefully-not-broken machines we own.

I've also been wanting to immerse myself in these computers to do some hands-on learning. I am obsessed with the why behind products. Whether it is an old computer, a car, or a piece of art, products are tangible representations of the people who built them: how they felt, what they dreamed, what motivated them, and the environments they were created in. The constraints, the requirements, the priors. What better way to understand the evolution of computing than to use these machines as they were used---to see through the eyes of the people who created them and the people who depended on them. There is an appreciation you cannot get without that experience.

So my solve is to combine them. I'm going to do all my personal writing, whether it's about old computers, automotive, design, Tavus or anything else on one of these vintage computers. Given word processing was the killer app for personal computers, it feels perfect.

With each post I'll also include information about the machine I intended to use, the journey in using it, and a score. The score is basically a reflection of how well the computer held up, how "au natural" I managed to stay, and how much I enjoyed using it. Given I've already succumbed to some brain rot, gamification might be the only way to trick myself into taking the more interesting (and probably hardest) path.

I'd like to note that this will not be super easy. I was born in 1997. Almost all the machines that I'll be using are older than me, and they don't exactly like to behave with their age. On top of that, the rule is no cheating with modern computers. The goal is to get these machines (the earliest of which are from the 70s) to post directly to this website.

As you can see, I already failed. The Apple IIe went up in smoke, so this is being typed on a MacBook Pro. A fitting start. But this is the last* time. From here on out, all posts will be from one of the olds. Which also means this might be my only post.

Ground Rules and Gamification

These posts will be as raw as they come. What you read is exactly what was possible on the machine, with no editing or cleanup after the fact (unless something goes wrong). No formatting tricks, no polish, no LLM slop. I'll note that there is some cheating going on already, because mark down is supported on this site.

I'll generally start with the newer vintage machines and work my way backward in time. This will help me kickstart this endeavor and make it a habit, as well as make it more interesting and difficult as time goes on

To the extent that is doable, I will try to use modern machines as little as possible. Let's talk scoring:

Authenticity:

  • -10 pts --- Completely failed and had to use my MacBook to write about my failure (exhibit A)
  • 0 pts --- Post was written on the machine, then re-typed on a newer machine
  • 5 pts --- Post was written on the machine, printed out, then re-typed on a newer machine
  • 10 pts --- Post was written on the machine, then file transferred to a newer machine
  • 20 pts --- Post was written and posted directly from the machine
  • -10 pts --- Post has multimedia (photos, videos) content created on a modern device
  • +10 pts --- Post has multimedia (photos, videos) content created on a vintage device

Reliability:

  • -10 pts --- Machine never worked at all
  • -5 pts --- Machine broke during usage and couldn't be repaired in time to finish
  • 5 pts --- Machine broke during usage, but I fixed it and finished the post
  • 10 pts --- Machine was broken before, and I brought it back to life for the post
  • 15 pts --- Machine worked perfectly the whole time

Hassaan's Score: My review of the design, usability, and fun in actually using the machine. Completely subjective, 0-25 pts

Age Multiplier: Final score × (machine's age ÷ 10), so the older guys gets a fighting chance.

Note: some lack of points awarded will be due to incompetence, laziness, or time, rather than what was actually possible.

THE JOURNEY: HELLO, WORLD (SORT OF)

Apple IIe - Released January 1983

Specifications

Computer

CPU: MOS Technology 6502 @ 1.023 MHz

Memory: 64KB of RAM

Monitor

Model: Apple ColorMonitor IIe

Size: 13in

Type: Color CRT

Resolution: 80-column monochrome, 40-column color

False-ish Alarm, She Lives

After writing that first post, I opened up the IIe to see what the damage really was. I was quite sad, bracing for it to be something that would take more time than I had, and end up sitting on the ever-growing list of projects. But the logic board looked perfectly fine. Nothing burned, nothing shorted.

So I powered it back on and started sniffing around (literally). The power supply smelled cancerous, we had a match. My first assumption was that a cap inside was blown and I'd be better off getting a new supply. I discovered instead it was just a RIFA cap or a line filter- apparently these are made of paper that disintegerates over 40 years and.. burns up. They are not necessary for operation though, as their purpose was to protect other stuff in your home from the electrical noise of the power supply. This mattered more in the days of analog TVs, radio, unshielded electornics as that noise would make its way in pretty easily. The IIe runs perfectly without it :)

Scoring

Authenticity: –10 (Post was written on my MacBook since the IIe pooped)

Reliability: –5 (Broke mid-use)

Hassaan’s Score: 18/25 (Pure, simple, intentional and memorable)

Age Multiplier: ×4.2 (42 years old)

Final Score: 13 pts

Machine History

I picked up this Apple IIe from an older gentleman who had originally bought it to run his restaurant business almost 40 years ago. The restaurant is still around today. He had not touched the computer in decades, yet it was in beautiful condition and powered right up like it had been waiting to be used again.

It also seems like his kids spent time on it too. The machine came with a small stack of games and some really cool Apple Joysticks. I am saving those for another post, but it was fun to imagine this computer pulling double duty invoices and schedules by day, games at night.

Machine Review

Using the Machine

Getting it running was mostly straightforward, if a little slow. It came with AppleWriter 2.0 for ProDOS on a 5.25-inch floppy. At first I was fumbling, trying to boot into ProDOS and then launch AppleWriter through the OS. That only left me staring at the file structure. Eventually I realized you just run the disk directly. Once I did, the IIe came alive with the clattering, mechanical racket of the floppy drive. Every read and write sounds like something is breaking, but the noise is oddly satisfying.

When it finally loaded, I fell in love. Writing in AppleWriter is pure. There is nothing but you and the words, no formatting, no fonts, no distractions. Just text glowing across 40 columns. The keyboard is part of what makes it work. It is not the finest mechanical feel by modern standards, but it is springy and light in a way that makes you want to type faster and faster. It feels more like a typewriter than a computer.

My time was cut short when the machine eventually went up in smoke during use. Age always wins in the end. Even so, in that short window it gave me one of the most direct, stripped-down writing experiences I have ever had.

Reflection

The Apple IIe was one of the first vintage machines I ever bought, so it holds a special place for me. Getting it directly from its original owner made it even more meaningful. For him it had been a work tool, something that kept his restaurant running. At the same time, it also carried memories of his kids playing games on it, with the worn floppies and chunky controllers still tucked in the box. That mix of work and play feels like the truest picture of what these early personal computers were.

Using the IIe today makes it clear how much we take for granted. This was once a revolution, a portal into computing at a simpler time. I can picture it sitting on a desk in the restaurant’s back office during the day, printing schedules and invoices, then later that night becoming the family’s game machine, loading up adventures one floppy at a time. A simpler time.