https://archive.org/details/wozaday?&sort=-week&page=16
About 1,500 titles. Click and play in the browser. There are no ads or spyware on archive.org. Thumbnails and proper labelling.
Point a browser at this site, put it in kiosk mode so they can't go anywhere else, and you're golden.
I think you will find all dedicated emulators for the Apple II involve more fussing about with poorly-labeled disk images than a kid will want to do.
"ramaadv1a.img? Sure, that sounds like fun! Oh, I have to swap the disk... I'll press F6, scan down the list and figure out that 'flip the disk' in this case means I want ramadva1b.img, even though on other titles the convention was b1a. Oh, I guess this is just a text-mode cooking tutorial program from 1985."
It's then setup as a desktop for him to use as his personal computer.
Considering how shitty most software targeted towards kids is today, I am nostalgic for my old apple. I don't have any devices that fit the bill. Basically these requirements:
- easy selection of programs: for a 7 year old, putting a disk in and hitting the power button is as easy as it gets. Diskettes are more easily discoverable than things embedded in a launcher or cli. All I had to do was flip through the physical disks.
- no spyware / in app purchases / monetization attempts. You either had a full version of a program or shareware, but you knew what you were getting
- no internet. I'd be comfortable with something connected but lacking a web browser. Browsers have distractions, and it's too easy to accidentally navigate away from the page.
We got our daughters CD players because they fit the same bill better than mp3s. A non-literate kid can easily pick out their favorite physical media and start playing. Media can be easily shared or swapped.
Is there a way to boot directly to an apple emulator and just select from a list of roms? So it feels like the experience I had as a kid?