Apple II Composite Artifact Color - NTSC, PAL and Filters

The Apple II computer are unique in that not only was it the first home computer ever released to the mass market, it was the first computer released to support color graphics, all the way back in 1977.  It worked by exploiting quirks in the NTSC color system called artifact color which TVs were attempting to suppress.  The design of the Apple II was so solid that its color works rather well on almost anything that can accept a composite signal, even today.  But the color method used did not translate to PAL countries and later improvements to color filtering could modify the colors shown.  In this article, let's take a deep dive into how artifact color works on the Apple II and how it was adapted for systems where artifact color could not exist and how artifacts can change according to the display technology inside a display.  

The EverDrive GG X7 - The Only Game Gear Flash Cart You'll Ever Need?

The EverDrive GG X7, courtesy of Krikzz

Around two years ago, I bought a Game Gear and a TV Tuner off eBay.  The Game Gear was sold as non-working, and after some time I fixed it by recapping the unit.  That was not a fun process.  However, once I did so I had a fully working Game Gear with almost no games to play on it :(  I am a big fan of krikzz products, but for the longest time the only product he sold for the Game Gear was the flash memory based  EverDrive GG.  Last year he finally released the ram based EverDrive GG X7, and I recently purchased one and will give you my thoughts about it here.