Apple II Enthusiasts Render QuickTake Images on Classic Computer
A group of Apple II enthusiasts have achieved a remarkable feat. They've managed to render QuickTake images on this classic computer, once thought incapable of such tasks. The current decoder now takes about a minute, a significant improvement from over an hour previously.
The Apple II, manufactured until 1993, was not originally designed for digital photography. However, early computer pioneers and hobbyists in the late 1970s and early 1980s saw its potential. They experimented with adapting existing computing hardware for image processing and capture, paving the way for this innovation.
Colin Leroy-Mira, inspired by these pioneers, aimed to use the Apple II for digital photography with Apple QuickTake cameras. Released in 1994, these cameras had a resolution of up to 640×480 with 24-bit color. Leroy-Mira used dcraw QTK decoder as a basis, making numerous optimizations for memory and speed to make it work on the Apple II.
The Apple II, despite its age and limitations, has been successfully adapted to decode QuickTake images. This achievement is a testament to the ingenuity of early computer enthusiasts and the enduring appeal of retro computing.
