The Franklin Ace 2000 is a clone of the Apple IIe computer. Franklin produced three different models:

• Ace 2000 - No internal floppy drives
• Ace 2100 - Single internal floppy drive
• Ace 2200 - Two internal floppy drives

The Franklin Ace 2000 series is not just a copy of the Apple IIe, but has some improvements. The computer has a separate keyboard, something the Apple II series did not have. There is also the option for an RGB interface card, so a user could connect a high quality RGB monitor. This would improve the image quality over the use of the composite video port of the Apple series.

Franklin settled the lawsuit with Apple over patent infringement in 1984 and for the Ace 2000 series, Franklin produced a legal version of the BIOS and also created it's own operating system: Franklin DOS 2. Both were compatible with Apple.

Below: The Franklin Ace 2100 with monochrome monitor

The 6502 is an 8-bit MicroProcessor designed by MOS Technology. The team was led by Chuck Peddle and had also worked on the Motorola 6800. The 6502 is a simplified, but faster and cheaper design than the 6800.

The 6502 was introduced in 1975 and was the cheapest microprocessor on the market. Together with the Zilog Z80, the 6502 helped start the home computer revolution of the 1980s. The 6502 was used in a wide range of devices: the Atari 2600, the 8-bit Atari home computers, the Apple II, the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Commodore 64, the BBC Micro and many others. All used the 6502 or a variation of it.

The 6502 is a 1MHz design, while the 6502A is designed for 2MHz. The 6502A is 100% compatible with the original 6502.

Commodore soon bought MOS Technology, but conitnued to sell the microprocessor to competitors and licensed the design to other manufacturers.