Hello!
Lately I've gone through another one of my phases where the IIGS gets a lot of attention. I started by checking out the new Dora the Explorer Coloring application for the IIGS, and then I was simply blown away by all the goodies on the new Brutal Deluxe website.
After that, I checked out the new Reactive Micro site, and got myself a LittlePower adapter and one of the recommended external ATX PSU's. The externalization of the power supply is always a good thing. I also threw a fan inside the IIGS, thanks to MC Price Breakers. The resulting airflow (and lack of hot noisy internal brick) was enough to make the GS more stable at 12MHz, although 16 is still too hot. Oh well, all TWGS'es (and GS logic boards) are not created equal.
I'm migrating away from using USB/PS2 devices for keyboard and mouse, in favor of an authentic IIGS keyboard and a (super cheap on eBay) ADB Alps Glidepoint. Also picked up a Sirius RAM card, although it has a couple hiccups and will need a bit more TLC before I can make oh-so-important leap from 5MB to 8MB of RAM.
When I'm not playing old Apple II games from The 202 Collection, or coaxing nice IIGS games into installing onto CompactFlash, I'm even working on my game, which is very close to finally hitting Milestone 1, which is to say that I've got a tiled world scrolling while fully digitized music plays through my Oversampler ripoff sound engine. If I ever ship my game, or even show it off at KansasFest, I promise we'll both be surprised.
Anyhow, I just wanted to drop a line and say that work has been hell, but I've still found time to use and enhance my favorite computer of all time, and that we're a lot closer to the day I'll pull back the cover and show you the secret game I've been working on. Till then, what's most important to both you and I, is that this 22 year old computer continues to surprise us.
I've also been collecting a ton of software in anticipation of collecting our old arch-rivals the Commodore 128 and Amiga 1200. These machines have a lot in common with our IIGS, except of course the IIGS's crippling graphics IO bottleneck (and its comparably gorgeous desktop environment).
-Chris