The Launch of the Apple II: A Landmark in Computing History

On June 10, 1977, the original Apple II microcomputer was launched, marking a significant milestone in the history of computing. This computer was released as a follow-up to the Apple I, primarily designed by engineering genius Steve Wozniak. The Apple II was a landmark in both design and function, as it not only looked noticeably sleeker than many of the other home computers of the time but also featured color graphics, a built-in keyboard, and a huge potential for expansion with its eight expansion slots.

The Apple II's success can be attributed to its innovative design and features. The computer was a significant improvement over its predecessor, the Apple I, which was more bare-bones in terms of its design and functionality. The Apple II, on the other hand, offered a more user-friendly interface and a wider range of features that appealed to home computer users. With its sleek design and advanced features, the Apple II quickly became a popular choice among consumers.

The Apple II's impact on the computing industry cannot be overstated. The computer was widely used in both homes and businesses, and it played a significant role in establishing Apple as a major player in the burgeoning personal computer market. The Apple II also served as a platform for developers to create software, which helped to further establish the computer as a viable option for business and educational use.

The success of the Apple II was not limited to its technical features; it also had a significant impact on the way people thought about computing. The Apple II helped to popularize the idea that computers could be used in homes, rather than just in offices or institutions. This shift in perspective helped to democratize access to computing and paved the way for the widespread adoption of personal computers.

Over 40,000 units of the first model of the Apple II were sold, which was a significant achievement considering the time period in which it was released. The success of the Apple II also led to the development of subsequent models, such as the II Plus, the IIe, and the IIc. These updates continued to build on the original design and features of the Apple II, further cementing its position as a major player in the computing industry.

Despite its success, the Apple II never lost its ability to inspire innovation. In the mid-1980s, the faithful user base began to long for an update to their computer, as the machine was still very useful but was quickly losing ground to newer computers like the Amiga and the Atari ST. However, by 1984, Apple had released the Macintosh, which marked a significant shift in the company's focus.

The Apple II line received less and less attention from Apple as the company continued to push the Macintosh as its future. This was partly due to the fact that the Macintosh was seen as a more cutting-edge technology than the Apple II. However, when the next-generation Apple II was finally released in 1986, called the IIGS, it received less corporate fanfare than expected.

The IIGS was a proper reimagining of the Apple II, featuring backwards compatibility and updated graphics and sound. The computer was designed to be more powerful and user-friendly than its predecessors, with improved performance and additional features. Despite its sleek design and advanced features, however, the IIGS never quite reached the same level of success as its predecessors.

The IIGS sold well in its first year, but it was ultimately overshadowed by other computers on the market. The computer's success was largely due to its ability to offer a seamless upgrade experience for existing Apple II owners, as well as its improved performance and features compared to earlier models. Despite this, the IIGS never quite achieved the same level of popularity as its predecessors, and it ultimately faded from view.

In conclusion, the launch of the Apple II marked a significant milestone in computing history. The computer's innovative design and features helped to establish Apple as a major player in the burgeoning personal computer market, and it played a significant role in shaping the way people thought about computing. Despite its eventual decline, the Apple II remains an important part of computing history, and its legacy continues to be felt today.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enJune 10, 1977, marked the launchof the original Apple II microc omputer,released as a follow up to the Apple I,primarily designed byengineering genius Steve Wozniak.The computer was a landmarkin both design and function,as it not only looked noticeably slickerthan many of the otherhome computers of the time,but it had color graphics, a built-in keyboard,and a huge potential for expansionwith its eight expansion slots.40,000 units of this first model were sold,and Apple continued to build on its successwith subsequent updates to the 8-bit machine,like the II Plus,the IIe,and the IIc.Apple released several othermachines alongside these, like the Lisa,and even an intended successor called the Apple III,but for various reasons,these never gained much of a foothold,and the Apple II remained Apple's cash cow for years.However, by the mid-'80s,the Apple II faithful longed foran update to their computer,since the machine had tons of softwareand it was still very useful,though it was quickly losing groundto newer computers like the Amigaand the Atari ST.But in 1984, Apple had released the Macintosh,and while it wasn't initially very successful,the company continued pushingthe Mac as the company's future.As such, the Apple II line was receivingless and less attention from Apple,And when the next-gen Apple IIwas finally released in 1986,called the IIGS,it never got the corporate fanfare it deserved.While the IIGS sold very well in its first year,and was a proper reimagining of the Apple II,featuring backwards compatibilityand updated graphics and sound,as implied by the name \"GS,\"the computer was nonetheless still an Apple II.It held onto the past while hinting at the future,and was a bit of an oddity in that respect.Still, the IIGS was quite capable,and held out until 1992 when it wastotally eclipsed by the Macintoshand discontinued.There are a few main variantsof the IIGS to look out for,starting with the first10,000 machines manufactured,known as \"Woz Editions.\"The only thing setting this apart from the regular IIGSis a silk screen signature ofSteve Wozniak on the front of the case.Which brings me to the most common machine,the stock GS.Same thing as the Woz Edition,just without the signature.And this is the one you're most likelyto run across when searching for one,though it may have any number ofexpansions installed, increasing its value.Another version is the IIGS upgrade,which was a kit made availableto owners of the older IIe.With this, your 8-bit Apple IIe could be retrofittedwith a 16-bit Apple IIGS motherboard.Although it wasn't very popular due tothe fact that it didn't save much money,it didn't come with a mouse andsome of the newer expansion boardsdidn't fit the slanted IIe case.I got my Apple IIGS for the cost of shipping,thanks to the incrediblegenerosity of YouTuber Dayv99.Thank you once again, sir of sirs.However, you can expect to payanywhere from $50-200 or sodepending on what the computer comes with,as the stock IIGS itself isn't too costly,but the peripherals and add-ons certainly can be.Just looking at the outside of the IIGS,you'll notice that it's more boxy andpredictable than the older Apple II's,although that's not intrinsically a bad thing.In fact, it has lines reminiscentof the Apple IIc released in 1984.And I like the look and feel of that,so the IIGS isn't terrible or anything,but I still prefer the classiclines of the II, II Plus, and IIe.Same goes for the keyboard, which is againmore similar to the IIc's than, say, the IIe's.It feels good enough to type on, I suppose,but the keys don't travel very farand unfortunately it seems a tad brittle,'cause mine was busted up a bit during shipmentdue to being delivered by rabid gorillas,and the original IIGS keyboard isn'teasy to replace for a decent price.Fortunately, the IIGS uses ADB,the Apple Desktop Bus,so you can use compatibleperipherals with no problem.It was actually the first Apple computer to use ADB,predating the Macintoshgetting it by about half a year.So, yes, you can also use any ADB mouse with it,although the mouse thatit comes with is nice enough.It's often called the \"trapezoid mouse,\"which was also included with Macintoshesfor years after the GS introduced it.It's an improvement over Apple's serial mouse,but it kind of feels like you'refondling a block of cheese.On the back, you've got a bunch of integrated ports,which is a nice change from the morebarebones configurations of Apple II's past.You've got headphone or speaker output,serial ports for both a modem and printer,a joystick port,an external floppy drive port,RGB video output for monitors,NTSC composite video output,ADB keyboard input,and a power plug and switch.You may see more ports up above, dependingon what add-on cards you have installed,or if you've been hit particularlyhard in the head recently,but this is just the basic configuration.As with the earlier Apple II's,opening it up and gaining accessto its insides is pleasurably simple.While the GS is pretty darn capable on its own,chances are you'll want to expand the machine.You are supplied with seven expansion portsand one memory expansion port,and this is plenty, considering all that'sbuilt into the motherboard already.You've got at least 128K of standard RAM,128K of fast RAM,as well as 64K of dedicated sound RAM.In fact, it has an Ensoniq 5503 digital oscillator chipfor wavetable music and sound.providing 8-bit audio wth 32 oscillator channelsresulting in eight independent stereo channels.Pretty impressive stuff.It was actually designed by Robert Yanneswho also designed the legendarySID chip in the Commodore 64,and is the same chip used inkeyboards like the Ensoniq Mirageand ESQ-1.For the display, you have a custom video graphics chip,providing compatibility for allthe old Apple II graphics modes,as well as new 320x200 to 640x200resolution modes using a 12-bit palettefor a total of 4,096 possible colors,usually showing 16 at once from multiple palettes.And running the whole show is a 128K system ROMwith a WDC 65C816 CPU running at 2.8 MHz,allowing for an 8-bit data busand a 16-bit address bus.There were three main revisionsto the IIGS through the years.so newer machines may have more pre-installedRAM and a larger, more optimized ROM.Of course, all of this can be expandedupon no matter what the version,and my machine came with several additions.The first is an Apple memory expansion board,which increases the amount of random access memoryto allow for more complex software and multitasking.Super handy stuff.I also got an InnerDrive hard drive kit,which allows for installation of IDE hard drives.It not only comes with a controller board,but an entire new PSU,in order to provide the extrapower the hard drive requires.There are also more modern options forinstalling compact flash cards and such,and I'd probably recommend those instead.Also highly recommended is an accelerator board,like this Transwarp GS by Applied Engineering.This provides an expandable cacheand faster CPU clock speeds,allowing the IIGS to seriously flyat anywhere from 7 to even 18 MHz.Now this is important because some IIGS softwarecan run pretty friggin' slow on a stock machine.So a board like this or the Zip GS is incredibly useful,although they're not cheap.And while these things are optional,there are a couple of things you'll needin order to do much of anything with it,starting with a monitor.I have here the original IIGS color RGB monitor.And unless you're going with acomposite display of some kind,you don't have a ton of other options.It's not compatible with RGB Macintosh monitors,since it needs one that can horizontallysync to 15.75 KHz, so keep that in mind.Another thing that you'll probablywant is a floppy drive or two,as Apple IIGS software cameon 800K 3½-inch floppies.And if you want to play older Apple II software,then you'll want a compatible140K 5¼-inch floppy drive.And if you're into playing games,you'll likely want a joystick of some kind.Any old Apple II joysticks orpaddles should work just fine.Now as for software,well, running Apple II stuff is pretty muchthe same as it was on older systems.Start up the machine,insert a ProDOS disk or whatever,and run the proper commandfor the proper drive and slot.It gets a bit more involved whenyou begin messing with GS/OS,the graphical user interface for the IIGS.It's actually pretty similar tothe Macintosh OS of the time,although in some ways it's actually better.It's in color for one,and makes efficient use of file system translators,allowing it to support multiple on-diskfile systems transparently to applications,letting you read things like ProDOSand Macintosh HFS disks.Of course, you'll need at least 1.25 megs of RAMand preferably a faster-than-stock CPU to use GS/OS,but still, if you can, it's awesome.As mentioned before, older Apple IIgames work just fine on the IIGS,though you may have to slow downthe CPU to get proper speeds.But there isn't nearly as muchIIGS-specific software out there.I think there's less than 150 retail gamesand a bunch of shareware,but there is still some seriouslygreat stuff, if you look for it.And here are a few of my favorites.Like I said, there isn't a ton of IIGS software,and what there is isn't super easy to come by,at least in its original form.If you don't have a flash memory solution installed,one way to get software is to write it to a blank diskusing another system.You either try to write Apple IIGS software onan older Macintosh with a 3½-inch floppy drive,or connect the IIGS to a more modern computerand just use a null modem serial cable connectionto transfer it using a program like ADTPro.It's kinda clunky and it's slow, but it works.Of course, the emulation option isalways there, too, if that's your thing.and I'd recommend KEGS ifyou're wanting to emulate the IIGS.Though if you just want toemulate the regular Apple II,then something like AppleWin will suffice.So, is the Apple IIGS worth buying or not?I would say absolutely yes!Possibly, maybe.Depending on what you're looking for.That's often what it comes downto with these kinds of machines.Because while it is awesome,and pretty underrated,it can also be pretty expensive to get a machinethat's worthwhile messing around with becauseI can't understate the importance of one of thoseaccelerator cards like the TransWarp or the Zip.So...yeah, those things can be really costly.Thankfully, I got a good deal. You can'tbeat the cost of shipping for this one, so...that's why I got it.I always wanted one, but you know,the cost is sort of a barrier in that respect.Even though, yeah, the machine is awesome.I mean, in some ways it evensurpasses the Amiga and the Atari STAnd of course, those systems have a ton more games.That's kind of beside the point,but what this does haveis fantastic, is what I'm trying to say.So...It's in the same league as those other great16-bit systems of the '80s.And I think that's awesome.It's just a shame it didn't sell many unitsand didn't get a ton of software. So for...you know, it's got those ups and downsthat if you're a hardcore collector,you like these '80s machines,definitely give the IIGS a look.Otherwise, you might wanna looktowards, like, the Amiga or the ST,simply because it has more softwareand it's more affordable.\n"