"Apple II was still kept around for that long is kind of a mystery to me."
There was a very strong following, especially in the educational market. I remember seeing schools purchasing labs of IIGS's as late as the early 1990's.
Basically, the apple ][ was the cash cow that kept Apple afloat for years while they tried to sell 68k macs. Apple basically tried to kill the II for a decade but wasn't successful enough to just cut off the customer base that was crying for new models.
There was a very strong following, especially in the educational market. I remember seeing schools purchasing labs of IIGS's as late as the early 1990's.
Basically, the apple ][ was the cash cow that kept Apple afloat for years while they tried to sell 68k macs. Apple basically tried to kill the II for a decade but wasn't successful enough to just cut off the customer base that was crying for new models.