Apple I and II
Apple I to Apple II
Wozniak decided to meet some HP engineers at the fair while bringing his invented circuit. At the time when the Homebrew Computer Club was founded, Wozniak began to share his experience with the circuit technology that was the primary topic of meeting. Since then, Wozniak regularly presented his up to date improvement in 6502-micro computer to the Homebrew Computer Club. Steve Jobs, Wozniak’s mate, sometimes accompanied him to attend the regular meeting among the club members. However, Jobs was mostly busy with the design and technical data for Wozniak’s computer whereby he assumed that this technology would be the start of the future. Having such diligent basic interpreter for the technical data of his computer, Wozniak created the keyboard of the computer which is able to connect to a TV.
Basically, Wozniak’s idea was to produce Printouts SCM and sell the software to market, but Jobs suggested having the blanks distributed instead virtually. Jobs also got to know Terrel Paul, the owner of Byte Shop, at the regular meeting of the Homebrew Computer Club. Eventually, Jobs declared to be ready for producing 50 computers under the order that will be paid completely upon the delivery. Wozniak was not exactly interested in the idea of Jobs at that time. Considering the prospect of US$500 for computer price, Wozniak finally supported Jobs to get the order done.
The Apple Company was co-founded by Wozniak and Jobs subsequently on April 11, 1976 with the only 1300 US dollar as the initial capital. The name was chosen by Steve Jobs reasoning that Apple is something simple and memorable. The second reason of Jobs was that all people always dream of being simple and memorable like apple.
Owing to the cost of single electronic board was 250 US dollars, these co-founders needed extra budget around 13,000 dollar. Here is when Jobs showed his talent in negotiation. Jobs proposed to have the components parts from a wholesaler with a payable of 30 days after the purchase. Thus, the journey of two partners took a show with the help of some acquaintances to assemble the printed circuit boards. Though Paul Terre finally paid upon the delivery of these assembled circuit boards instead of computer keyboard and inclusive box, this was the first major win of Apple.
Entering the end of 1976, Apple could sell around 150 computers which worth of up to 75,000 US dollars. Some friends were subsequently employed to help manufacture the computer and thereby enhanced the Basic of Wozniak. Soon after the completion of typing the interface, Jobs himself regularly delivered the latest version of Apple’s Basic model, known as Apple I, to many shops around the city. The amount of Apple I production reached 220 units during the end of the year.
In fact, during the mid of 19676, the new generation of Apple II technology has been prepared while selling Apple’s Basic versions to market. Wozniak’s ideas was to make Apple II represent the enhanced version of Apple I as well to offer everything possible to the users. Wozniak was unsatisfied with the performance of Apple Basic with the price of US$500 to users and therefore he would like to develop the utilities and functions of computer. Apple’s Basic model was finally used as the Basic ROM for the new generation of Apple computer. Slots expansion such as Altair was later universally expanded by the technology of computer in general.
In 1976, Wozniak and Jobs flew to Atlantic City to attend the Autumn Computer Festival while bringing the prototype of the new generation of Apple II personal computer. There were many representative officers from leading players in computer markets such IMSAI and many more. Most of companies attending the Computer Festival had been having high-class track-record in market, while Apple was still really new in the business.
Bright idea of Jobs came out along his days with Wozniak in Atlantic Computer Festival to learn what those leading manufacturers offered to market. Jobs and Wozniak had to realize that Apple II in a few ways had been presented to market, including its keyboard, power supply, and graphic interfaces. Yet, both co-founders of Apple had got a lot of ideas after attending the computer festival. They tried to find financial support from the development of a compact, so turnkey computer system could be covered.
Chuck Peddle, an officer of a young company namely Commodore, also attended this Atlantic City fair. His company, Commodore, which produced the 6502, had just got MOS-Tech and thereby decided to buy. Buying MOS-Tech, Commodore would like to join the competition on the planning step of PET Information. Knowing this opportunity, Jobs offered Commodore to buy Apple small company with the shares of 100,000 US dollars for the buyer and 36,000 for each of Apple founders. Jobs’ offer was considered ridiculous by Jack Tramiel, founder and Chief Executive Office of Commodore at that time while saying that the so-called garage company, Apple, would never have any competitive edge in the computer business. The other two companies also rejected Apple acquisition following the failure of Jobs to bid the good price from Commodore in return to Apple ‘garage’ company.
It came to the turn of Wozniak to offer his employer, Hewlett-Packard, to finance the production of Apple II. The Management of Hewlett-Packard seemed to be reluctant and less interested while showing lots of reasons to object Wozniak’s offer. According to Nolan Bushnell from Atari, Apple II could not be a prototype of personal computer once it’s released to market. Yet, Jobs tried to change his superior’s mind while convincing that Apple II would be the subject of upgrade and development. What jobs tried to do was finally fruitful and got the support from two principal men in Hewlett-Pakcard.
First, Jobs tried to negotiate hard with Regis McKenna, the designer of microprocessor advertising company. Eventually, McKenna accepted the offer from Jobs and began to design the current Apple logo with the bite of an apple. Apple I was still in the old form of its logo, Newton under an apple tree. It was out of common mind that McKenna released Apple’s maiden advertisement on Playboy magazine. The idea of McKenna was successful to make Apple become the public talks and hot concerns.
Yet, the financial problem which Apple is suffering from has not been resolved. Finally, Jobs decided to meet with Mike Markkula, an investor who held millions at Intel and withdrew his investment. After a series of negotiation, Markkula agreed to buy Apple Company while promising to invest his private assets. Additional loan from banks were also concerned by Markkula in order to develop the small ‘garage’ company to be classy in the computer business. As a result, Wozniak and Jobs are abandoned from their current position at Hewlett-Packard.
From the very beginning, Apple employees agreed to have better management to make is much enhanced. It came subsequently to Markkula’s decision to appoint Mike Scott as a manager of Apple. This decision was not really pleasing Steve Jobs and thereby the two principal men of Apple could not work hand in hand during a long course of time. Such continuous personal dispute eventually led to the Scott’s decision to leave the company.
Wozniak himself and other engineers focused on the making and the ground breaking development of Apple II, including a switching power supply with a small enclosure without any fans needed. The drafts of computer casing, call it housing draft came afterward and reveals new innovation of its forms with an original model and style. The housing draft was considered revolutionary and purely original from the famous typewriter, Steve Jobs.
Entering in 1977, Apple II prototype was introduced to the West Coast Computer Faire in spring, the largest trade fair ever at that time. The new innovation of few manufactured-plastic of the housing computer carved individual interest of attendants to buy Apple II. During the West Cost Fair, there were 300 computer orders from the buyers and thereby Apple had to provide the unique service to them to reduce the switching from Apple I on the Apple II.
Until the end of 1977, the sales of Apple II reached 4000 units. This was not yet considered as the breakthrough. Welcoming the Christmas in 1977, Wozniak made further move by creating a floppy disk controller for Apple II, which allowed the connection of floppy drive. The next Consumer Electronics Show was turning to be the good fortune of Apple to bring an influence to the development of famous program of floppy drives. Visicalc as the first spreadsheet and Apple Writer as word processing still remain up until today. The Visicalc itself was known as a result of handymen’s hobby that finally became the first time production for all personal computers. At the beginning of 1978, Apple Company held the property worth 3 million US dollars with the sales rate in the next year reaching 35,000 computers.
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