Happy 30th birthday, Apple II !
Posted by iGor
It was 30 years ago today that Apple sold its first Apple II for $1298. Inside was a speedy 1 MHz MOS processor, along with an insane 4 KB of RAM. Who could ever want more? Well, some “power users” did, and Apple obliged with a $2638 version that had a whopping 48 K of RAM. Programs were loaded and stored on the built-in audio cassette interface (apparently records were considered too bulky).
There was a lot of “yelling” in the e-mails and IM’s of 1977, as the Apple II could only display capital letters, but we all know LOWERCASE IS FOR WUSSES!
The Apple II hooked up to a monitor or TV set via a composite video cable, and displayed color for the first time in Apple’s history, prompting Apple to adopt a rainbow colored logo which was dropped shortly before Apple adopted rainbow colored computers.
So here’s the the Apple II! I was just learning to use the potty in June of 1977, and I am happy to say that both my bladder control and Apple’s computers have gotten better with time!
It’s kind of funny to see that 30 years later, Apple’s computer prices haven’t really changed.
I still have my Apple II, serial number 948, that I got when I was 12 or 13 years old. My first fascination was with graphics. But back then, you didn’t just buy Photoshop. If you wanted to do anything, you had to write the software first. So my first big project was to write a painting program, with adjustable paint brushes and color palettes. I learned so much on that wonderful old machine, it really defined my future career as an artist.