Apple I

The original Apple Computer, also known retroactively as the Apple I, or Apple-1, was released by the Apple Computer Company (now Apple Inc.) in 1976. They were designed and hand-built by Steve Wozniak.^[1][2] Wozniak's friend Steve Jobs had the idea of selling the computer. The Apple I was Apple's first product, and to finance its creation, Jobs sold his only means of transportation, a VW Microbus,^[3] and Wozniak sold his HP-65 calculator for $500.^[4] It was demonstrated in July 1976 at the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto, California.^[5]

History

Introductory advertisement for the Apple I Computer

On March 5, 1975 Steve Wozniak attended the first meeting of the Homebrew Computer Club in Gordon French's garage. He was so inspired that he immediately set to work on what would become the Apple I computer.^[6] Wozniak calculated that laying out his design would cost $1,000 and parts would cost another $20 per computer; he hoped to recoup his costs if 50 people bought his design for $40 each. His friend Steve Jobs obtained an order from a local computer store the Byte Shop the affordable computer store in Mt. View California for 50 computers at $500 each. To fulfill the $25,000 order, they obtained $20,000 in parts at 30 days net and delivered the finished product in 10 days.^[7]

The Apple I went on sale in July 1976 at a price of US$666.66,^[8] because Wozniak "liked repeating digits" and because of a one-third markup on the $500 wholesale price.^[9] The first unit produced was used in a high school math class, and donated to Liza Loop's public access computer center.^[10] About 200 units were produced and all but 25 were sold during nine or ten months.^[7] Unlike other hobbyist computers of its day, which were sold as kits, the Apple I was a fully assembled circuit board containing about 60+ chips. However, to make a working computer, users still had to add a case, power supply transformers, power switch, ASCII keyboard, and composite video display. An optional board providing a cassette interface for storage was later released at the cost of $72.

The Apple I's built-in computer terminal circuitry was distinctive. All one needed was a keyboard and an inexpensive television set. Competing machines such as the Altair 8800 generally were programmed with front-mounted toggle switches and used indicator lights (red LEDs, most commonly) for output, and had to be extended with separate hardware to allow connection to a computer terminal or a teletypewriter machine. This made the Apple I an innovative machine for its day. In April 1977 the price was dropped to $475.^[11] It continued to be sold through August 1977, despite the introduction of the Apple II in April 1977, which began shipping in June of that year.^[12] Apple dropped the Apple I from its price list by October 1977, officially discontinuing it.^[13] As Wozniak was the only person who could answer most customer support questions about the computer, the company offered Apple I owners discounts and trade-ins for Apple IIs to persuade them to return their computers^[14] These recovered boards were then destroyed by Apple, contributing to their rarity today.^[15]

Collectors' item

The circuit board of a fully assembled Apple I

Original 1976 Apple 1 Computer in a briefcase. From the Sydney Powerhouse Museum collection

Original 1976 Apple 1 Computer PCB From the Sydney Powerhouse Museum collection

As of 2013, at least 63 Apple I computers have been confirmed to exist. Only six have been verified to be in working condition.

• An Apple I reportedly sold for $50,000 USD at auction in 1999.^[16]

• In 2008, the website "Vintage Computing and Gaming" reported that Apple I owner Rick Conte was looking to sell his unit and was "expecting a price in excess of $15,000 US." The site later reported Conte had donated the unit to the Maine Personal Computer Museum in 2009.^[17]

• A unit was sold in September 2009 for $17,480 on eBay.^[18]

• A unit belonging to early Apple Computer engineers Dick and Cliff Huston was sold on March 23, 2010 for $42,766 on eBay.^[19]

• In November 2010, an Apple I sold for £133,250 ($210,000) at Christie's auction house in London. The high price was likely due to the rare documents and packaging offered in the sale in addition to the computer, including the original packaging (with the return label showing Steve Jobs' parents' address, the original Apple Computer Inc 'headquarters' being their garage), a personally typed and signed letter from Jobs (answering technical questions about the computer), and the original invoice showing 'Steven' as the salesman. The computer was brought to Polytechnic University of Turin where it was fixed and used to run the BASIC programming language.^[20][21][22]

• On June 15, 2012, a working Apple I was sold at auction by Sotheby's for a record $374,500, more than double the expected price.^[23] This unit is on display at the Nexon Computer Museum in Jeju City, South Korea.

• In October 2012, a non-working Apple I from the estate of former Apple Computer employee Joe Copson was put up for auction by Christie's, but found no bidder who was willing to pay the starting price of US$80,000 (£50,000).^[24] Copson's board had previously been listed on eBay in December 2011, with a starting bid of $170,000 and failed to sell.

• On November 24, 2012, a working Apple I was sold at auction by Auction Team Breker for €400,000 (US$515,000)^[25]

• On May 25, 2013, a functioning 1976 model was sold for a record €516,000 (US$668,000) in Cologne.^[26] Auction Team Breker said "an unnamed Asian client" bought the Apple I. This particular unit has Wozniak's signature. An old business transaction letter from Jobs also was included, as well as the original owner's manual.^[27]

• On June 24, 2013, an Apple I was listed by Christie's as part of a special on-line only auction lot called, "First Bytes: Iconic Technology From the Twentieth Century". Bidding ran through July 9, 2013. The unit sold for $390,000.^[28][29]

• In November 2013, a working unit speculated to have been part of the original lot of 50 boards delivered to The Byte Shop was listed by Auction Team Breker for €180,000 ($242,820), but failed to sell during the auction. Immediately following the close of bidding, a private collector purchased it for €246,000 ($330,000). This board was marked '01-0046', matching the numbering placed on other units sold to The Byte Shop and included the original operation manuals, software cassettes, and shipping box autographed by Steve Wozniak. The board also bears Wozniak's signature.^[30]

• In October 2014, a working, early Apple 1 was sold at auction for $905,000 to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. The sale included the keyboard, monitor, cassette decks, and a manual. The auction was run by Bonham's.^[31]

• On December 13, 2014, a fully functioning, early Apple 1 was sold at auction for $365,000 by auction house Christie's. The sale included a keyboard, custom case, original manual, and a check labeled "Purchased July 1976 from Steve Jobs in his parents' garage in Los Altos".^[32]

Serial numbers

Both Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak have stated that Apple did not assign serial numbers to the Apple l. Several boards have been found with numbered stickers affixed to them, which appear to be inspection stickers from the PCB manufacturer/assembler. A batch of boards is known to have numbers hand-written in black permanent marker on the back; these usually appear as "01-00##" and anecdotal evidence suggests they are inventory control numbers added by the Byte Shop to the batch Apple sold them. These Byte Shop numbers have often erroneously been described as serial numbers by auction houses and in related press coverage.^[33]

USA Museums displaying an original Apple 1 Computer

• American Computer Museum in Bozeman, Montana
• Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California

Clones and replicas

Several Apple I clones and replicas have been released in recent years. These are all created by hobbyists and marketed to the hobbyist/collector community. Availability is usually limited to small runs in response to demand.

• Replica 1: Created by Vince Briel. A software-compatible clone, produced using modern components, released in 2003 at a price of around $200.^{[34][35][36][37]}
• A-One: Created by Frank Achatz, also using modern components.^[38]
• Obtronix Apple I reproduction: Created by Steve Gabaly, using original components or equivalents thereof. Sold through eBay.^[39]
• Mimeo 1: Created by Mike Willegal. A hardware kit designed to replicate a real Apple I as accurately possible. Buyers are expected to assemble the kits themselves.^[40]
• Newton 1: Created by Michael Ng. A hardware kit similar to the Mimeo 1, and sold through eBay.^[41][42]
• Brain Board, a plug in firmware board for the Apple II that, with the optional "Wozanium Pack" program, can emulate a functional Apple-1.^[43]

Emulation

• Apple 1js, a web-based Apple I emulator written in JavaScript.^[44]
• MESS, a multi-system emulator able to emulate the Apple I.
• OpenEmulator, an accurate emulator of the Apple I, the ACI (Apple Cassette Interface) and CFFA1 expansion card.
• Pom1, an open source Apple I emulator for Microsoft Windows, Arch Linux and Android devices.^[45]
• Apple 1 Emulator, an emulator for the SAM Coupé home computer.^[46]
• CocoaPom, a Java-based emulator with a Cocoa front end for Macintosh.^[47]
• Sim6502, an Apple I emulator for Macintosh.^[48]

References

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Apple I.

• Bugbook Computer Museum blog. Apple 1 display.
• Apple I Owners Club
• Apple I Operational Manual
• Apple I project on www.sbprojects.com
• Apple 1 Computer Registry
• Macintosh Prehistory: The Apple I
• LCF Historical Collection – Apple 1 Video
• John Calande III blog – Building the Apple I clone
• Apple 1 Computer sold at auction for $671,000
• Apple 1 Short Film

Steve Wozniak Products and projects Apple I Apple II Apple Desktop Bus Breakout iWoz US Festival Companies Acquicor (co-founder) Apple, Inc. (co-founder) CL 9 (founder) Fusion-io (chief scientist) Wheels of Zeus (founder) Awards Grace Murray Hopper Award (1979) National Medal of Technology and Innovation (1985, with Steve Jobs) Film Jobs Pirates of Silicon Valley Steve Jobs Triumph of the Nerds TV appearances "The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification" (The Big Bang Theory) Dancing with the Stars season 8 Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List season 4 Related Apple IIGS with limited edition signed case Blue box Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution Homebrew Computer Club Steve Jobs Phreaking Segway polo