Remembering the Apple I
It wasn't Apple's greatest computer, or the most interesting one. It was just the one that started it all--35 years ago this month.Posted by Harry McCracken | Friday, April 8, 2011
Here’s the Byte Shop, the pioneering Mountain View, California computer store whose order for fifty Apple Is was instrumental in turning Apple Computer into a real company. In 2007, I chatted via e-mail with the store’s founder, Paul Terrell, who remembered telling the two Steves that he’d sell the Apple I only as a preassembled system that was more or less ready to use, not a kit that the buyer had to assemble. Good advice; it’s hard to believe that today’s MacBook Air would be quite as successful if we had to put them together ourselves.
Sadly, this historic spot is now an adult video store.
April 8th, 2011 at 2:29 am
"Sadly, this historic spot is now an adult video store."
"Sadly"? Sounds like this place had a happy ending.
April 8th, 2011 at 6:53 am
My first computer was an Apple 2+ with dual floppy drives. Have great memories of playing games on it like Zork, Mask of the Sun, Taipan, Wizardly 1, Gruds in Space, and Conan.
April 8th, 2011 at 8:11 am
I have one of those belt buckles – it is solid brass and probably weighs more than my iPad…
April 8th, 2011 at 10:56 am
The dude in the last ad took lemonade stand very seriously.
April 10th, 2011 at 10:37 pm
The guy in the ad on page 13 is wearing his wristwatch on his left wrist – he is therefore right-handed.
And yet he is typing one-handed with his left hand.
Funny, the things you notice…
April 10th, 2011 at 11:42 pm
I wear a watch on either hand (more so on my left) i write lefthand, throw a football left-handed, baseball right-handed. oh yes use a fork with left hand. I guess i am a odd ball
April 11th, 2011 at 2:50 pm
I wear no watch, although I used to wear one on my left hand. I write right handed, eat and drink with either hand. I also type with either hand but usually if I am only using one it is usually my left as my right is usually on the mouse.
What does that make me?
April 11th, 2011 at 10:23 am
He is also writing. Notice the pen in his right hand. Which supports the assertion that he is right handed.
April 10th, 2011 at 10:38 pm
If only this web page was hosted on something with the power of an Apple 1, they might not have had to split the article into 13 half page sized chunks.
April 10th, 2011 at 11:38 pm
This made me remember the movie "Pirates of Silicon Valley", loved that movie. Even though I don't know if it was 100% accurate about history between Steve and bill. lol
April 10th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
@phil: Inventing the notion of splitting articles into 13 chunks for the sake of ad revenue is exactly the sort of thing that Steve Jobs would “invent” while the other Steve is busy inventing something useful.
April 11th, 2011 at 1:49 am
The real classic design is in slide #13, on the counter below the picture of a red apple. The KitchenAid stand mixer. We gave my mom one for Christmas last year (at her request). Now that’s a classic piece of design. I don’t think I can see any change at all in this admittedly so-so photo.
April 11th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
KitchenAid mixers rock! They are the best
April 11th, 2011 at 4:22 am
Ah, so the last image is where the 'Go back to the kitchen and make me a sammich' meme originated from!
And to think that today the majority of Apple computer users are in fact women…
April 11th, 2011 at 6:01 am
It sold for $666.66? Explains a LOT.
April 11th, 2011 at 6:42 am
I think the really amazing thing is that the wooden-case Apple that's in the Smithsonian was made without the aid of a Dremmel tool.
April 11th, 2011 at 8:20 am
Thank you for posting this info about the Apple 1 – I was teaching about microcomputers and microprocessor during this time at Virginia Tech and I can tell you it made a lot of excitement and activity with all the Tech Geeks. My Colleague Jon Titus designed and published the Mark – 8 microcomputer in 1974 however it did not become popular but did move some to work with microcomputers. Steve Wozniak is still interesting fellow and did a great design with the Apple 1 and Apple 2 – these 2 computers were designed totally by Woz. I am fortunate to have several Apple !'s and have been a serious collector for the past 40 years. One of mine in wooden case can be seen here http://tinyurl.com/33ews5s – Dave L
April 11th, 2011 at 11:35 am
David, if you like this presentation form a historical point of view; there is a
presentation about the Commodore Amiga at tech republic you may find interesting. Especially interesting is the involvement of one of the lead engineers who worked on the Amiga project in the comment board related to the presentation. You learn as much from him as you do from the presentation itself.
April 11th, 2011 at 4:11 pm
does that guy look like Bobby Flay?
April 12th, 2011 at 12:03 am
The Apple 1 was obviously such a good concept that Apple decided to re-introduce it in 2010, although it was re-named iPad and now iPad 2…
Neither are/were able to use networking nor be configured so that more than one user could retain his/her privacy (multi-user!).
Out with the old… In with the old… ahem!
For Apple accountants , this lack in the iPad may give the impression that the average family of 2 adults and 2.3 children, will all want one each… 4.3 per household…
But to many who have looked at the iPad amid all of the fuss, it looks like a confidence trick.
I'll stick with my truly personal (if you don't take into consideration one's iTunes account that is) iPhone for now thanks.
Someone once said something about fooling all of the people, all of the time… And this is a prime example.
April 13th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
I like this ad because there is a picture of an apple floating above the man's head; almost like a throwback to Isaac Newton. It's subtle but difficult to unsee.
April 14th, 2011 at 12:51 pm
Apple has it’s QUERKS, like NOT ENOUGH STORES, and their members must travel far.
Me I travel 34 miles one way for help!??
That to me is NOT GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE!
The price for gas and time ???
I have now HAD MY APPLE 4 replaced 5 or 6 times? Is this fair?
A few hundred miles in between all this agravation!
I DO ASK : DOES APPLE REALLY CARE WHAT WE GO THRU FOR WARRENTIED ITEMS? TRAVEL no, they don’t care, phone time ( hours ) they care NO! etc etc….
I now have my 5th or 6th apple 4
And it still has real bad problems?
I’m sick of contacting them and after a while
they make you ( me ) feel like a PROBLEM…
PLEASE APPLE, YOU HAVE A GREAT LINE OF PRODUCTS, BUT SERVICE IS THE MISSING ELEMENT!
Ray
Rayk7754@aol.com
All I want Is a $400.00 phone that works as they advertise