{ "title": "APPLE II", "categories": [ "Computers" ], "types": [ "Home Computer" ], "origins": [ "U.S.A." ], "years": [ "1977" ], "cpus": [ "MOS 6502" ], "params": { "name": "APPLE II", "image": "/media/museum/photos/apple_ii.jpg", "company": "/companies/apple", "company_name": "Apple", "specs": [ [ "NAME", "APPLE II" ], [ "MANUFACTURER", "Apple" ], [ "TYPE", "Home Computer" ], [ "ORIGIN", "U.S.A." ], [ "YEAR", "April 1977" ], [ "END OF PRODUCTION", "1980" ], [ "BUILT IN LANGUAGE", "Integer Basic" ], [ "KEYBOARD", "Full-stroke keyboard - only supports uppercase letters" ], [ "CPU", "MOS 6502" ], [ "SPEED", "1 MHz" ], [ "RAM", "4 KB (64 KB max.)" ], [ "ROM", "12 KB (Monitor + Integer Basic + 'sweet 16' mini-assembler )" ], [ "TEXT MODES", "40 x 24 / 80 x 24 (with 80 columns card)" ], [ "GRAPHIC MODES", "40 x 40-48 (16 colors), 280 x 192 (4 and later 6 colors)" ], [ "COLORS", "16" ], [ "SOUND", "one channel" ], [ "SIZE / WEIGHT", "Unknown" ], [ "I/O PORTS", "Video out (composite), 8 expansion slots, Tape recorder, Paddles" ], [ "POWER SUPPLY", "Built-in PSU" ], [ "PRICE", "$1298 (1978, USA)" ] ], "tabs": [ "photos", "adverts", "hardware", "connectors", "software", "emulators", "links", "docs", "videos", "comments" ], "photos": [ { "title": "INSIDE AN APPLE II", "subtitle": "", "text": "", "image": "/media/museum/photos/apple_apple2_inside_1.jpg" }, { "title": "APPLE II REAR", "subtitle": "", "text": "", "image": "/media/museum/photos/apple_apple2_rear_1.jpg" }, { "title": "ITT SOLD APPLE II COMPUTERS UNDER ITS BRAND", "subtitle": "", "text": "", "image": "/media/museum/photos/itt_appl.jpg" } ], "adverts": [ { "title": "ADVERT", "subtitle": "", "text": "
Picture courtesy of Steve Browning, www.sbrowning.com/vintage.
", "image": "/media/museum/adverts/apple_advert_1.jpg" }, { "title": "U.S. ADVERT #1 (1977)", "subtitle": "", "text": "The first Apple II advert.Thanks to Peathead
", "image": "/media/museum/adverts/apple_ii_advert_s1.jpg" }, { "title": "U.S. ADVERT #4(1980)", "subtitle": "", "text": "The users featured in the ad said:Thanks to Murray Muffat from New Zeland
", "image": "/media/museum/adverts/apple_ii_advertd_s5.jpg" }, { "title": "FRENCH ADVERT (JAN. 1980)", "subtitle": "", "text": "\"The personal computer of Mr sales manager\"", "image": "/media/museum/adverts/apple_advert_directeur-des-ventes_1.jpg" } ], "hardware": [ { "title": "WORKSTATION CARD", "subtitle": "Appletalk card", "text": "This card is used to connect an Apple IIe to a localtalk network.", "image": "/media/museum/hardware/apple_ii_card_appletalk.jpg" }, { "title": "Z80 SOFTCARD ADVERT", "subtitle": "", "text": "The Z80 Softcard made the Apple II fully compatible with the CP/M operating system and allowed it to run the largest library of professional software of the time, including the Microsoft programming languages, among them the BASIC 5.0 interpreter.", "image": "/media/museum/hardware/apple_ii_softcard_1.jpg" }, { "title": "Z80 SOFTCARD", "subtitle": "Full package", "text": "The card was designed by Burtronix of Orange, California.Thanks to Steve Perry
", "image": "/media/museum/hardware/apple_ii_softcard_s1.jpg" }, { "title": "MICROSOFT RAMCARD ADVERT (1982)", "subtitle": "", "text": "Together with the Softcard, the Ramcard turned the Apple II into a 56 KB CP/M system.", "image": "/media/museum/hardware/apple_ii_ramcard_1.jpg" }, { "title": "DISK II FIRST MANUAL", "subtitle": "", "text": "This is the very first version of the Disk II manual, front cover and first page, dated September 1978", "image": "/media/museum/hardware/apple_ii_disk2manual_1.jpg" }, { "title": "JOYSTICKS", "subtitle": "", "text": "Two Apple joysticks for IIe and IIc versions, and a clone version with a fire button made by CH Products, San Marco, California.", "image": "/media/museum/hardware/apple_ii_joystick_1.jpg" }, { "title": "ANALOG HANDCONTROLLERS", "subtitle": "", "text": "", "image": "/media/museum/hardware/apple_2e_handcontr_2.jpg" }, { "title": "HAND CONTROLLERS", "subtitle": "Box", "text": "", "image": "/media/museum/hardware/apple_hand-controllers_box.jpg" }, { "title": "JOY STICK", "subtitle": "", "text": "", "image": "/media/museum/hardware/apple2_joy_stick.jpg" }, { "title": "GRAPHIC TABLET", "subtitle": "& its card", "text": "", "image": "/media/museum/hardware/apple_apple2_graphic-tablet.jpg" }, { "title": "KEYPAD", "subtitle": "", "text": "", "image": "/media/museum/hardware/apple_apple2_keypad.jpg" }, { "title": "DYNATYPER", "subtitle": "", "text": "Here is the sale brochure of the Dynatyper, a strange and obscure printing device launched in 1980:Thanks to Bob Leedom for information and pictures
", "image": "/media/museum/hardware/apple_ii+_dinatyper_1.jpg" }, { "title": "ECHO SPEECH PROCESSOR II", "subtitle": "", "text": "", "image": "/media/museum/hardware/apple_appleii_echoii_board.jpg" }, { "title": "ROLAND CMU-500 INTERFACE", "subtitle": "", "text": "This item, a Roland Compumusic CMU-500 Apple II Interface, was used to connect musical instruments to the Apple II series of computers !", "image": "/media/museum/hardware/apple_apple2_roland-cmu500_interface.jpg" }, { "title": "ECHO II", "subtitle": "speech/music/sound synthesizer", "text": "", "image": "/media/museum/hardware/apple_apple2_echo2-speech-synth_1.jpg" }, { "title": "ACOUSTIC COUPLER", "subtitle": "", "text": "", "image": "/media/museum/hardware/apple_apple2_acoustic-coupler_1.jpg" }, { "title": "EARLY APPLE PRINTER", "subtitle": "", "text": "", "image": "/media/museum/hardware/apple_apple2_printer1.jpg" } ], "connectors": [ { "title": "APPLE II SLOT DESIGN", "subtitle": "", "text": "To note: Apple II was the successor to the Apple 1 on which it was largely based. It was the very first commercial success of the Apple Computer Company.
Because Steve Wozniak wanted to demonstrate his Breakout game with the new Apple II, he decided to add colour, sound and minimum paddle support to the Apple 1's heir.
The Apple II came with 4 KB RAM, but it was possible to add 4 KB or 16 KB RAM chips. Thus, the system could have memory in the following sizes: 4K, 8K, 12K,16K, 20K, 24K, 32K, 36K, or a full 48K. This was one of the strong points of the Apple II: from the beginning, it was designed with expansion in mind. The 8 expansion slots were further proof of that - users could expand their system easily, just by plugging cards into the slots.
The ROM included the monitor, a 6502 disassembler, 'Sweet 16' a 16-bit CPU emulator and the Integer Basic written by Wozniak in machine language, assembled by hand on paper! Not having to load a language from tape or disk to start programing was also a significant advantage over competitors. Even the innovative plastic case proved to be an important feature to attract customers.
Just a few months after the Apple II presentation at the First West Coast Computer Fair in April 1977, Apple received about three hundred orders for the Apple II, over a hundred more than the total number of Apple-1's sold.
The Apple II was followed in 1979 by the Apple II+, which brought some enhancements.