Apple IIgs Computer
Return to Apple II Topics, Apple II series, Apple II peripheral cards, Apple I-Apple II-II+- //e-IIc, Apple III, Apple Computer, Timeline of the Apple II family, Retrocomputing Retrogaming - Vintage computers topics
- Snippet from Wikipedia: Apple IIGS
The Apple IIGS (styled as IIGS) is a 16-bit personal computer produced by Apple Computer. It is the fifth and most powerful of the Apple II family. It is compatible with earlier Apple II models, but has a Macintosh look and feel, and resolution and color similar to the Amiga and Atari ST. The "GS" in the name stands for "Graphics and Sound", referring to its enhanced multimedia hardware, especially its state-of-the-art audio.
The microcomputer is a radical departure from the Apple II line, with a 16-bit 65C816 microprocessor, direct access to megabytes of random-access memory, and bundled mouse. It is the first computer from Apple with a color graphical user interface (color was introduced on the Macintosh II six months later) and Apple Desktop Bus interface for keyboards, mice, and other input devices. It is the first personal computer with a wavetable synthesis chip, using technology from Ensoniq.
The IIGS set forth a promising future and evolutionary advancement of the Apple II line, but Apple chose to focus on the Macintosh and no new Apple IIGS models were released. Apple ceased IIGS production on December 4, 1992.