5 ms·

Sorry for being off-topic but why "][" instead of "II"?

dwrodri 4y ago
It was just a popular stylization of the roman numeral that stood out, and more accurately reflected the logo on the actual device: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_II_typical_configuration_1977.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_II_typical_configur...
speps 4y ago
The front plate of the Apple 2 had it designed like "][", a more compact "II" I guess. Look for Apple 2 logo pictures online for an idea of what it looked like.
partomniscient 4y ago
Because that's what the logo looked like: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smithsonian_National_Museum_of_American_History_-_Apple_II_computer_at_the_Smithsonian_(8306564827).jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smithsonian_National...
- News-Dog 4y ago
  And followed by the Apple ][ plus I think you could purchase a kit with a replacement ROM and case face plate to convert the Apple ][ to an Apple ][ plus Edit Add; Integer BASIC : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integer_BASIC https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integer_BASIC Applesoft BASIC : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applesoft_BASIC https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applesoft_BASIC Officially Woz : http://www.woz.org/letters/apple-basic/ http://www.woz.org/letters/apple-basic/
  - TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
    ...and followed by the //e which only used that string on boot-up if you had the enhanced chipset installed.
- joezydeco 4y ago
  It's kind of a fun shibboleth for those of us that hacked on the systems back in the day. The ROM used ][ instead of II and we used that string when we discussed the computer online. I still type it that way just out of pride. It's kind of like C64 hackers that say KERNAL instead of "kernel" since that's what Commodore docs called it.
  - dhosek 4y ago
    And for added fun, although ] and [ were in the ASCII subset that the Apple ][ used, they were not on the keyboard. I remember writing a program in AppleSoft Basic that was a very limited word processor that used the ctrl key as shift and displayed uppercase using inverse (which was a bad choice because then the return key gave M as its output rather than a new line), and finding that I could get half the logo through the esc key.
  - balls187 4y ago
    > those of us that hacked on the systems back in the day. Thanks for letting us stand on your shoulders :)
marban 4y ago
][ also appears first in the boot sequence
- drivers99 4y ago
  At some point it changed to // as in: Apple //e on the boot screen and the case.

It was just a popular stylization of the roman numeral that stood out, and more accurately reflected the logo on the actual device: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_II_typical_configuration_1977.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_II_typical_configur...

speps 4y ago

The front plate of the Apple 2 had it designed like "][", a more compact "II" I guess. Look for Apple 2 logo pictures online for an idea of what it looked like.

partomniscient 4y ago

Because that's what the logo looked like: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smithsonian_National_Museum_of_American_History_-_Apple_II_computer_at_the_Smithsonian_(8306564827).jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smithsonian_National...

News-Dog 4y ago
And followed by the Apple ][ plus I think you could purchase a kit with a replacement ROM and case face plate to convert the Apple ][ to an Apple ][ plus Edit Add; Integer BASIC : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integer_BASIC https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integer_BASIC Applesoft BASIC : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applesoft_BASIC https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applesoft_BASIC Officially Woz : http://www.woz.org/letters/apple-basic/ http://www.woz.org/letters/apple-basic/
- TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
  ...and followed by the //e which only used that string on boot-up if you had the enhanced chipset installed.
joezydeco 4y ago
It's kind of a fun shibboleth for those of us that hacked on the systems back in the day. The ROM used ][ instead of II and we used that string when we discussed the computer online. I still type it that way just out of pride. It's kind of like C64 hackers that say KERNAL instead of "kernel" since that's what Commodore docs called it.
- dhosek 4y ago
  And for added fun, although ] and [ were in the ASCII subset that the Apple ][ used, they were not on the keyboard. I remember writing a program in AppleSoft Basic that was a very limited word processor that used the ctrl key as shift and displayed uppercase using inverse (which was a bad choice because then the return key gave M as its output rather than a new line), and finding that I could get half the logo through the esc key.
- balls187 4y ago
  > those of us that hacked on the systems back in the day. Thanks for letting us stand on your shoulders :)

marban 4y ago

][ also appears first in the boot sequence

drivers99 4y ago
At some point it changed to // as in: Apple //e on the boot screen and the case.