Franklin Ace: The Clone of the Apple II Stolen from Apple

3 months ago

Franklin Computer created a clone of the Apple II called the Franklin Ace in 1980, copying Apple's ROM and documentation.
Apple sued Franklin for copying their software and won, forcing Franklin to withdraw the Ace from the market.
Apple anticipated future cloning attempts and devised a hidden 'Stolen From Apple' icon in the Mac ROM as a deterrent.
The hidden icon was designed by Susan, compressed using Steve Capps' technique, and included a routine to display it.
The icon could be triggered by entering a specific debugger command, but no commercial ROM copies were ever made.
Steve Jasik, a hacker, spent years trying to uncover the hidden icon and eventually succeeded, though it's unclear how.

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