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Apple II DeskTop

Build Status

Work-in-Progress disassembly and enhancements for Apple II Desktop (a.k.a. MouseDesk)

💾 Disk images can be found on the Releases page 💾

Background

This application started its life as MouseDesk by Version Soft. It is a mouse-driven Mac-like "Finder" GUI application for 8-bit Apples and clones with 128k of memory, utilizing double-hires monochrome graphics (560x192), an optional mouse, and the ProDOS operating system.

Apple Computer acquired the software and released it - rebranded as Apple II DeskTop - as the initial system software for the Apple IIgs before 16-bit GS/OS replaced it. The rebranded version still functions on 8-bit Apples, including the Apple IIe, Apple IIc, Apple IIc Plus, Apple IIe Option Card for Macintosh, and the Laser 128 family.

Other GUI environments exist for the 8-bit Apples, including GEOS (which includes productivity applications) and Quark Catalyst. While Apple II DeskTop is more limited - serving only as a file manager and application launcher - it is (subjectively) more visually appealing and better integrated with ProDOS.

This Project

The goal of this project is to disassemble/reverse-engineer the suite with an eye towards understanding how it functions, fixing bugs, and adding functionality.

See the Release Notes for a list of enhancements and fixes so far.

Alt text
KansasFest 2018 presentation by @mgcaret

Additional help is welcome! See the guide for Contributing.

Tools

The cc65 tool chain will be used; source files will target the ca65 macro assembler. Cross-development on modern systems will be assumed. (Sorry, Merlin purists! We still love you.)

Code of Conduct

Discussions should be polite, respectful and inclusive, and focus on the code. Harassment will not be tolerated. Keep comments constructive. Please read the full Code of Conduct.