Apple got big with their open architecture, then they promptly went to the Mac and closed it. That’s when I ceased to be a fan.
My first computer was a used Apple //e, 128 kbytes of RAM, two 140kB disk drives, black & white monitor, joystick, 150 programs for $3500 in 1982. Ten years before, a comparable system would have cost 10-20X and wouldn’t have been nearly as user friendly — no VisiCalc, no DbaseII, no integrated Dbase/VisiCalc/WordProcessor (can’t remember the name), and no games.
This is weird that Apple is updating such an old platform. Why bother?
Apple open sourced GSOS quite a while ago, this update is being done by a group that’s taken over software updating.
As for why bother - there are a shocking amount of IIgs still sitting in musicians computer/amp stacks. They’re still one of the better MIDI controllers out there, among other things.
Apple isn't. A.P.P.L.E. is. It's kind of like the community-supported upgrades out there for OS/2 and Amiga.