The Apple II Series
1976 - Apple II
Following the Apple I computer in 1976, the Apple II, released in 1977 became one of the most popular computers in history! As a matter of fact, the Apple II series became the number one selling computer ever with over 7 million sold. Like the Apple I, the Apple II was designed by Steve Wozniak, most call him, “Woz.” It was in turn marketed by Steve Jobs. Jobs, in a genius move, marketed the Apple II to the education market. Later, as it gained popularity in schools, the Apple II made it into the home market. The Apple II series came in five (5) different models over the years.
The 5 Different Models
Apple II: 1977
Apple II Plus: 1979
Apple IIE: 1983 (E stands for “Enhanced”)
Apple IIC: 1984 (C stands for “Compact”)
Apple IIGS: 1986
Apple IIC Plus: 1988
State Of The Art Equipment
The Apple II was able to use a color monitor and even a TV for its monitor. This is why the original Apple logo was a rainbow of colors before it went to just a solid color in 1999. It offered expansion cards that gave it more disk controllers, SCSI cards and video cards. Storage was a 5 ¼ Floppy disk and also you could use a cassette tape as well. The Apple II used a MOS 6502 chip for processing. It came with 4KB of RAM, but could be upgraded to a max of 48KB of RAM.
Software & Games
Software became widely available for the Apple II. Ins 1979 Software Arts introduced the first computer spreadsheet, Visicalc. It gained popularity and made great for businesses which helped the Apple II move into the corporate world. There were many games that came out for the Apple II as well. Legendary titles such as Pac-Man, Frogger, Castle Wolfenstein, Donkey Kong, Galaxian and the legendary Oregon Trail! This was the game that we learned how to hunt or die from dysentery on.