At the moment of writing, the only way you can update the settings of your AppleSqueezer is through the classic desk accessory (CDA). This works well, but has some downsides. For one, it's not really in line with the GS/OS desktop experience, and second, it doesn't make it easy to select files. Why would you want to select files? Well, as I mentioned in a previous blog post, when there are updates for the AppleSqueezer GS, you can update them straight from your IIGS. But how do you select the firmware "core bitfile" that will update your FPGA? For this, as well as to change the general settings, I've been working on a new Control Panel (CDEV).
As you can see in the screenshot (not final), the AppleSqueezer control panel will allow you to change settings such as enabling the Acceleration, the built-in RAM (8MB), and allow you to enable extra memory (up to 14MB) so that you can use this on an existing installation of GS/OS, without having to use the tweaked version that's currently available in the Download section. Hopefully soon, it will also allow you to select the speed of your acceleration, so that it's not just on or off, but you can gradually increase and decrease the speed in certain pre-defined steps. This turned out to be quite a popular request from users, so let's hope I can add it soon :) I still have some work to do to finish it, after which you can download it from the Downloads section as well.
The Update button will bring up a file chooser, allowing you to update the AppleSqueezer GS with new firmware, for instance the firmware that will make the extra memory option available.
Finally, a word on the out-of-stock situation! Due to the strict lockdown in Shanghai, AppleSqueezers will probably be out of stock for a few more weeks, until this lockdown is lifted. I'm awaiting some parts that come from there, but obviously they cannot be shipped, even though they are available (and even paid for). Frustrating, but of course the people in Shanghai are even more affected, so I guess we will all have to be a bit more patient. This seller has been very reliable so far, and so I'm sure eventually they will ship the parts! Meanwhile, I will try some other options as well - perhaps I'll write another blog post about it to give some insights :)
Just an issue here with the update, on my FloppyEmu select file screen would freeze up if my HFS drive is present. Removing it from the list of mounted drives, the update went all the way through.
Would it be possible to get a ProDOS 8 application to, at the very least, enable/disable acceleration? If not, can a CDA be made that can be loaded by P8CDA? Would be very handy when wanting to use Floppy's (even if a power cycle is needed - I boot to P8 by default).
In the same vein, is the interface to the Applesqueezer GS documented anywhere? I am not on Facebook so I may have missed information that others have. That way I could perhaps make my own P8 versions.