History of Apple Inc./Early successes

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Apple I[edit | edit source]

After the Apple I was released, Wozniak and Jobs set off to improve the design and functions of their product.

Apple II[edit | edit source]

On June 5, 1977 the compact and self-contained Apple II computer was released. The Apple Computer took the world by storm. The Apple II was not only the first successful personal computer, it was the first successful computer to have a keyboard and monitor, a form which has come to be synonymous with "computer" to many. It was priced at $1,298.00 for 4KB of RAM or $2,698.00 for 48KB of RAM. The features included a 1 MHz Motorola 6502 8-bit processor using MOS technology and sound capabilities. The result was pure genius - a personalized computer that was attractive and easy to operate for the everyday user.

Through the years Jobs and Wozniak created and sold over 2 million subsequent models that improved on the speed and original design of the Apple II (models included the: Apple II+, Apple //e, and Apple //c), making Apple a billion dollar company. In a recent video from Apple's YouTube channel, It commemorated Steve Jobs and he said "People don't buy Apple Computers for work, they buy it to change the world.".

In February 1981, Steve Wozniak left Apple after he crashed his airplane while taking off from Santa Cruz Sky Park. As a result of the accident, he had temporary Anterograde Amnesia, but was able to restore his short-term memory with the help of his girlfriend, Candi Clark. On the board now, to take Wozniak's place was Jeff Raskin and Bill Atkinson who came up with the Lisa project and the extension of the Apple II. Both of these systems had switched to the Motorola 6809E processors, 64 KB of RAM and monochrome graphics fitting a 256x256 pixel display.