Welcome to the Frederick Puzzler's Corner!
This is a monthly event to encourage puzzle solving in the geocaching community, and all are welcome.
June 5th is Apple II Day.
35 years ago, in 1977, the Apple II computer, an 8-bit machine with 4KB of memory, was introduced at the West Coast Computer Faire. You could buy one for $1,298, or upgrade to a 48KB unit for a mere $2,638. Cheap, right? This very expensive machine (for the time) included engineering/electronics designed and built by Steve Wozniak, a housing designed by Steve Jobs, and a switching power supply put together by Rod Holt. It was the first mass-produced consumer product sold by Apple Computer, Inc., and was designed for the average American household. Earlier equipment (Apple I, for example) targeted computer hobbyists and business use.
When first introduced, the Apple II used data cassette storage (remember your music cassette tapes?), as did most other “mircocomputers” of that era. In 1978, Apple introduced the external 5-¼” floppy disk drive, the Disk II, which could be attached via a controller card plugged into one of the internal expansion slots. This little interface, designed by Wozniak, was considered an engineering masterpiece for its economy of electronic components. Wozniak introduced many design features that have become industry standards, such as integration of standard input/output devices. Imagine getting a box of wiring and circuit boards, without a keyboard and/or mouse, video screen, or any other means of data input & retrieval. In those days, hobby computers where still treated as mainframes, where you had to separately obtain I/O devices, which could easily cost more than the computer itself! Today, we take this inclusion for granted.
Meanwhile, Jobs concentrated on the computer housing and marketing. He didn’t want to ship a generic metal or wood box to his customers, so worked with others in the industry to design a protective housing that would make it “fit” in a home’s decor. The futuristic look of the final design of the Apple II was much better suited to be kept anywhere
but in a closet.
The Apple II was the first personal computer to have color graphics capability, which is why the Apple logo was designed with color stripes. Amazingly, early versions of the Apple II Reference Manual contained a complete schematic of the entire computer’s circuitry and a complete source listing of the “Monitor” ROM firmware that served as the machine’s BIOS. You don’t see this today!
Byte magazine predicted in April 1977 that the Apple II "may be the first product to fully qualify as the 'appliance computer' ... a completed system which is purchased off the retail shelf, taken home, plugged in and used". From 1977 to 1980, the Apple II and its peripherals, accessories and software were the only products marketed by Apple Computer.
Today, even if you don’t use an Apple product, a lot of credit still goes to this team for creating what you carry with you, have sitting on your desk (home and work), or are wearing. A lot of innovative designs and processes came out of that little garage start-up!
And now, for the usual spiel…
This event is open to all cachers, no matter what your statistics say or whether you even like puzzles! So newbies and addicts, socialites and lone wolves, mark you calendar.
If you've got a puzzle or mystery cache that's currently got you stumped and you'd like to pick some brains, this event is for you! Zombies are not welcome here though, so please leave your pets at home - we want everyone to leave with the brains they brought, at minimum.
This event has evolved to a think-tank type gathering, with everyone collaborating on the latest tantalizing quizzler on their radar. Occasionally there may be a short tutorial on some aspect of puzzle solving, but the learning seems to come from working with one another to solve a teaser. You don't have to work on puzzles to enjoy this, as there are plenty of stories to be heard. However, you'll have plenty of others to commiserate with, or maybe find someone who has already solved a puzzle using a similar technique. We continue to see successes and progress at each gathering.
For the puzzle junkies, bring your puzzle paraphenalia - cache listings, laptop or tablet (Wi-Fi is available), theories, worksheets, (sp)eye glasses, HTML color code charts, Enigma machine, abacus, scratch paper (don’t forget your writing instrument) - you never know who (or what!) will show up, and what kind of help you might encounter. Maybe you’ve recently cracked a tough one and want to see the wheels spinning while others tackle it - that can be loads of fun! Yes, we have regular head-slapping moments!
If you have a topic you'd like to learn more about, or have a specific puzzle you'd like help with, feel free to make note of it in your Will Attend log.
When & Where:
Tuesday, June 5, 2018, 6pm - 8pm
Wegman's Market Cafe
7830 Worman's Mill Road
Frederick, Maryland
If you also bring your appetite, all costs are your own responsibility.
Field trips not included.
(But it's a good time to plan them!)