website/content/museum/apple-iii.md

title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
APPLE III	Computers	Professional Computer	U.S.A.	1980	MOS 6502A	name company company_name specs tabs photos adverts hardware links comments oc_id source APPLE III /companies/apple Apple label value NAME APPLE III label value MANUFACTURER Apple label value TYPE Professional Computer label value ORIGIN U.S.A. label value YEAR May 1980 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE Business BASIC label value KEYBOARD Full stroke 74-key with numeric keypad label value CPU MOS 6502A label value SPEED 2 MHz label value RAM 128 KB (up to 512 KB) label value ROM 16 KB label value TEXT MODES 40 or 80 chars x 24 lines label value GRAPHIC MODES 40 x 40-48 (16 col), 280 x 160-192 (6 col), 560 x 160-192 (2 col) label value COLORS 16 maximum label value SOUND one channel 7 octaves label value SIZE / WEIGHT 44.4 (W) x 46.2 (D) x 12.2 (H) cm label value I/O PORTS Monitor, Internal Slots (4), RS-232, Floppy disk port label value BUILT IN MEDIA One built in 140 KB 5.25'' disk-drive label value OS SOS label value POWER SUPPLY Built-in power supply unit label value PERIPHERALS 4 expansion slots,5 MB Profile hard disk unit, dual floppy disc unit, coulour video card, provision for extra memory label value PRICE £1995 (U.K., 1983) photos adverts hardware links title subtitle text image LARGER VIEW null title subtitle text image RUNNING SYSTEM Loading the Apple Business Basic. null title subtitle text image MAIN UNIT null title subtitle text image KEYBOARD Each country had a specific version of the keyboard including the local characters. null title subtitle text image KEYBOARD CLOSE-UP null title subtitle text image COMPLETE SYSTEM #1 Apple /// with Apple Profile 10 MB hard disk unit and external floppy disk unit. null title subtitle text image COMPLETE SYSTEM #2 Imposing! null title subtitle text image METAL FRAME The heavy metal frame wasn't really practical. Moreover, it was responsible for the Apple III’s reliability problems. It was more of a marketing idea than a real need. The professional Apple III had to appear heavier and more robust than the standard Apple II. null title subtitle text image OPENED The motherboard and Power supply unit are located beneath the metal frame.\ The Universal Parallel I/O card is inserted in a slot. null title subtitle text image REAR SIDE From left to right:\ • External floppy disk(s) connector\ • 2 joystick ports\ • Color RGB video output\ • Monochrome composite video output\ • Sound output\ • Serial RS232 port\ • Mains supply socket and switch null title subtitle text image MAINBOARD The mainboard is a simple evolution of the Apple II's with a daughter RAM card.\ **(1)** 6502B microprocessor\ **(2)** 2 6522 VIA (Versatile Interface Adapter)\ **(3)** 128 KB RAM card\ **(4)** System ROM chips\ **(5)** Keyboard interface by General Instrument\ **(6)** Four expansion slots compatible with Apple II cards\ **(7)** Keyboard connector\ **(8)** Internal floppy disk connector, connected in parallel with the external connector. Up to 4 FDDs could be connected. null title subtitle text image RAM CHIPS Notice the strange Mostek 4332 RAM chips; The 'D' package consisted of two MK4116s mounted onto the same chip. The RAM capacity was thus of 32K x 1 bit. null title subtitle text image THE BOX null title subtitle text image THE BAG null title subtitle text image APPLE III IN TRON FILM Screenshot from the film TRON (1982, by Steven Lisberger), where one finds an Apple ///, a modem/acoustic coupler, a Silentype printer and a 5.25 (Apple II) floppy drive unit. null title subtitle text image PAINTED VERSION! null title subtitle text image PROMOTIONAL PICTURE null title subtitle text image ADVERT Picture courtesy of [Steve Browning, www.sbrowning.com/vintage](http://www.sbrowning.com/vintage). /media/museum/pubs/apple_pub_1.jpg title subtitle text image APPLE II & III From 'Personal Computing', May 1981. Courtesy of '[Attached](http://www.aci.com.pl/mwichary/)' null title subtitle text image U.S. ADVERT (1982) Bottoms-up tour: - Apple III\ - Daisy-chain of three F.D. units\ - 5 MB Profile hard-disc unit\ - Apple III monochrome monitor\ - Apple Silentype Personal Printer\ - 132 columns Apple Writer III\ - Apple Color Plotter\ - 9600 bauds Apple Phone Modem null title subtitle text image US ADVERT MARCH 1982 From Personal Computing, March 1982 issue. Courtesy of **[Attached](http://www.aci.com.pl/mwichary/)** null title subtitle text image US ADVERT, AUGUST 1983 From Personal Computing, August 1983 issue. Courtesy of **[Attached](http://www.aci.com.pl/mwichary/)** null title subtitle text image APPLE BUSINESS GRAPHICS The Apple graphics package was launched in September 1982. It was available for both the Apple II and Apple III. Advert said: As you know, one picture is worth a few thousand numbers.\ As you may not know, Apple Business Graphics software can generate more types of pictures, in more colours, using more data than any other graphics package... On the monitor of your choice. And on virtually any printer or plotter on the market... /media/museum/pubs/apple_ii_businessgraph_1.jpg title subtitle text image FRENCH ADVERT (FEBRUARY 1982) null title subtitle text image FRENCH ADVERT (FEBRUARY 1982) "the power of words depends on the way you use them" null title subtitle text image DISK 2 External FD unit Up to three Disk 2 units can be connected in chain. null title subtitle text image PROFILE Hard disk unit This version contains a 10 MB Seagate hard drive but first versions only offered 5 MB of capacity. null title subtitle text image INSIDE THE PROFILE UNIT A Zilog Z8 microcontroller (nothing to do with the Z80 CPU) topped by its ROM chip manages the controller card. null title url text Applefritter http://www.applefritter.com Excellent site about all Apple models,clones,prototypes,etc... A must see ! title url text Web Wiz CAPTCHA http://www.webwizcaptcha.com All about Apple II user groups author date text David Lowry Monday 22nd August 2016 Steve Wozniak said that the reason the apple /// was so utterly horrible was because it was designed by the marketing people rather than the engineers. He said that the engineers were forced to put in EXTRA chips in the computer to DISABLE the extra memory! It crashed, and was just junk. I am amazed at how expensive these crap-balls are on Ebay. author date text Doctor Jest (USA) Saturday 3rd August 2013 Steve Jobs was the one that insisted the Apple III had no fan and was completely quiet. author date text Allison Divette Sunday 18th November 2012 The Apple /// was a failure because it was badly engineered and designed. author date text yaglourt Thursday 13rd January 2011 Jobs leave apple in 1985, 2 years after the apple III\ it''s true that Jobs wanted a silent computer (15 years in advance), whence the overheating\ but it''s not the only cause of the failure author date text wally Monday 13rd September 2010 Steve jobs had nothing to do wit the Apple 3. He was ousted and creating the NeXt computers. He didn''t return to Apple until 1997 where he bought out PowerComputing PowerMac Clone Company. author date text Peter F. (Suffolk, UK) Wednesday 23rd January 2008 One of the great touches this computer had was its 2 speed cursor control, press the arrow keys just a little harder and it would click down to cause the cursor to wizz along. author date text Link (Hyrule) Friday 8th April 2005 I've read that the case design and consequent overheating problems was at the direct insistence of Steve Jobs, who didn't like the noise of a cooling fan, and didn't want to sully the clean aesthetics of the case by adding ventilation slots. author date text Malc (UK) Tuesday 22nd April 2003 I had an Apple III at work in 1984. I wrote some programs in Basic to automate some office processes. Ours had a 5MB Profile hard drive that sat between the base unit and the monitor. It also had a CPM card (Presumably with a Z80 processor) but we had no disks for it. Unfortunately I left the job before it was disposed of. We had a Superbrain before it and I wish I had gotten hold of that! 72 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230426111455/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=72 2023-04-26

The Apple /// was designed to be a business machine. It was partly compatible with the Apple II (thanks to a few options in the operating system). It used a powerful memory management system and worked under SOS (Sophisticated Operating System) which was a great, device -independent, operating system. This OS was the "ancestor" of ProDOS (the "professional" Apple operating system) and some parts of this system were used later in the Lisa and Macintosh OSs.

Despite its unique features, the Apple /// had a lot of technical problems, namely, the horrible case design. It caused the internal temperature to get so hot that the motherboard would warp and some of the socketed chips would become unseated. To remedy this, Apple told people to literally pick up the computer several centimeters off the desk and drop it! It was a miserable flop in the marketplace.

The Apple /// was followed in december 1983 by the Apple /// plus which had an Apple IIe style keyboard and a new video interface. Four months later, it was discontinued.