PowerBook
The PowerBook is a family of Macintosh laptop computers designed and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1991 to 2006. During its lifetime, the PowerBook went through several major revisions and redesigns being the first to incorporate features that would become standard in competing laptops; the PowerBook line was targeted at the professional market, received numerous awards in the second half of its life, such as the 2001 Industrial Design Excellence Awards "Gold" status, Engadget's 2005 "Laptop of the Year". In 1999, the line was supplemented by education-focused iBook family; the PowerBook was replaced by the MacBook Pro in 2006 as part of Apple's transition to Intel processors. In October 1991 Apple released the first three PowerBooks: the low-end PowerBook 100, the more powerful PowerBook 140, the high end PowerBook 170, the only one with an active matrix display; these machines caused a stir in the industry with their compact dark grey cases, built-in trackball, the innovative positioning of the keyboard that left room for palmrests on either side of the pointing device.
Portable PC computers at the time were still oriented toward DOS, tended to have the keyboard forward towards the user, with empty space behind it, used for function key reference cards. In the early days of Microsoft Windows, many notebooks came with a clip on trackball that fit on the edge of the keyboard molding; as usage of DOS gave way to the graphical user interface, the PowerBook's arrangement became the standard layout all future notebook computers would follow. The PowerBook 140 and 170 were the original PowerBook designs, while the PowerBook 100 was the result of Apple having sent the schematics of the Mac Portable to Sony, who miniaturized the components. Hence the PowerBook 100's design does not match those of the rest of the series, as it was designed after the 140 and 170 and further benefited from improvements learned during their development; the PowerBook 100, did not sell well until Apple dropped the price substantially. The 100 series PowerBooks were intended to tie into the rest of the Apple desktop products utilizing the corporate Snow White design language incorporated into all product designs since 1986.
Unlike the Macintosh Portable, a battery-powered desktop in weight and size, the light colors and decorative recessed lines did not seem appropriate for the scaled-down designs. In addition to adopting the darker grey colour scheme that coordinated with the official corporate look, they adopted a raised series of ridges mimicking the indented lines on the desktops; the innovative look not only unified their entire product line, but set Apple apart in the marketplace. These early series would be the last to utilize the aging Snow White look, with the 190 adopting a new look along with the introduction of the 500 series; the first series of PowerBooks were hugely successful. Despite this, the original team left setting back updated versions for some time; when attempting to increase processing power, Apple was hampered by the overheating problems of the 68040. For several years, new PowerBook and PowerBook Duo computers were introduced that featured incremental improvements, including color screens, but by mid-decade, most other companies had copied the majority of the PowerBook's features.
Apple was unable to ship a 68040-equipped PowerBook until the PowerBook 500 series in 1994. The original PowerBook 100, 140, 170 were replaced by the 145, 160, 180 in 1992; the 160 and 180 having video output allowing them to drive an external monitor. In addition, the PowerBook 180 had a superb-for-the-time active-matrix grayscale display, making it popular with the Mac press. In 1993, the PowerBook 165c was the first PowerBook with a color screen followed by the 180c. In 1994, the last true member of the 100-series form factor introduced was the PowerBook 150, targeted at value-minded consumers and students; the PowerBook 190, released in 1995, bears no resemblance to the rest of the PowerBook 100 series, is in fact a Motorola 68LC040-based version of the PowerBook 5300. Like the 190, the 150 used the 5300 IDE-based logic-board architecture. From the 100's 68000 processor, to the 190's 68LC040 processor, the 100 series PowerBooks span the entire Apple 68K line, with the 190 upgradable to a PowerPC processor.
In 1992 Apple released a hybrid portable/desktop computer, the PowerBook Duo, continuing to streamline the subnotebook features introduced with the PowerBook 100. The Duos were a series of thin and lightweight laptops with a minimum of features, which could be inserted into a docking station to provide the system with extra video memory, storage space and could be connected to a monitor. 1994 saw the introduction of the Motorola 68LC040-based PowerBook code-named Blackbird. These models of PowerBooks were much sleeker and faster than the 100 series, which they replaced as the mid and high-end models; the 500 series featured DSTN or active-matrix LCD displays, stereo speakers, was the first computer to use a trackpad. The PowerBook 500 series was the mainstay of the product line until the PowerBook 5300; the 500 series was the first
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies used in local area networks, metropolitan area networks and wide area networks. It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 1983 as IEEE 802.3, has since retained a good deal of backward compatibility and been refined to support higher bit rates and longer link distances. Over time, Ethernet has replaced competing wired LAN technologies such as Token Ring, FDDI and ARCNET; the original 10BASE5 Ethernet uses coaxial cable as a shared medium, while the newer Ethernet variants use twisted pair and fiber optic links in conjunction with switches. Over the course of its history, Ethernet data transfer rates have been increased from the original 2.94 megabits per second to the latest 400 gigabits per second. The Ethernet standards comprise several wiring and signaling variants of the OSI physical layer in use with Ethernet. Systems communicating over Ethernet divide a stream of data into shorter pieces called frames; each frame contains source and destination addresses, error-checking data so that damaged frames can be detected and discarded.
As per the OSI model, Ethernet provides services up including the data link layer. Features such as the 48-bit MAC address and Ethernet frame format have influenced other networking protocols including Wi-Fi wireless networking technology. Ethernet is used in home and industry; the Internet Protocol is carried over Ethernet and so it is considered one of the key technologies that make up the Internet. Ethernet was developed at Xerox PARC between 1973 and 1974, it was inspired by ALOHAnet. The idea was first documented in a memo that Metcalfe wrote on May 22, 1973, where he named it after the luminiferous aether once postulated to exist as an "omnipresent, completely-passive medium for the propagation of electromagnetic waves." In 1975, Xerox filed a patent application listing Metcalfe, David Boggs, Chuck Thacker, Butler Lampson as inventors. In 1976, after the system was deployed at PARC, Metcalfe and Boggs published a seminal paper; that same year, Ron Crane, Bob Garner, Roy Ogus facilitated the upgrade from the original 2.94 Mbit/s protocol to the 10 Mbit/s protocol, released to the market in 1980.
Metcalfe left Xerox in June 1979 to form 3Com. He convinced Digital Equipment Corporation and Xerox to work together to promote Ethernet as a standard; as part of that process Xerox agreed to relinquish their'Ethernet' trademark. The first standard was published on September 1980 as "The Ethernet, A Local Area Network. Data Link Layer and Physical Layer Specifications"; this so-called DIX standard specified 10 Mbit/s Ethernet, with 48-bit destination and source addresses and a global 16-bit Ethertype-type field. Version 2 was published in November, 1982 and defines what has become known as Ethernet II. Formal standardization efforts proceeded at the same time and resulted in the publication of IEEE 802.3 on June 23, 1983. Ethernet competed with Token Ring and other proprietary protocols. Ethernet was able to adapt to market realities and shift to inexpensive thin coaxial cable and ubiquitous twisted pair wiring. By the end of the 1980s, Ethernet was the dominant network technology. In the process, 3Com became a major company.
3Com shipped its first 10 Mbit/s Ethernet 3C100 NIC in March 1981, that year started selling adapters for PDP-11s and VAXes, as well as Multibus-based Intel and Sun Microsystems computers. This was followed by DEC's Unibus to Ethernet adapter, which DEC sold and used internally to build its own corporate network, which reached over 10,000 nodes by 1986, making it one of the largest computer networks in the world at that time. An Ethernet adapter card for the IBM PC was released in 1982, and, by 1985, 3Com had sold 100,000. Parallel port based Ethernet adapters were produced with drivers for DOS and Windows. By the early 1990s, Ethernet became so prevalent that it was a must-have feature for modern computers, Ethernet ports began to appear on some PCs and most workstations; this process was sped up with the introduction of 10BASE-T and its small modular connector, at which point Ethernet ports appeared on low-end motherboards. Since Ethernet technology has evolved to meet new bandwidth and market requirements.
In addition to computers, Ethernet is now used to interconnect appliances and other personal devices. As Industrial Ethernet it is used in industrial applications and is replacing legacy data transmission systems in the world's telecommunications networks. By 2010, the market for Ethernet equipment amounted to over $16 billion per year. In February 1980, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers started project 802 to standardize local area networks; the "DIX-group" with Gary Robinson, Phil Arst, Bob Printis submitted the so-called "Blue Book" CSMA/CD specification as a candidate for the LAN specification. In addition to CSMA/CD, Token Ring and Token Bus were considered as candidates for a LAN standard. Competing proposals and broad interest in the initiative led to strong disagreement over which technology to standardize. In December 1980, the group was split into three subgroups, standardization proceeded separately for each proposal. Delays in the standards process put at risk the market introduction of the Xerox Star workstation and 3Com's Ethernet LAN products.
With such business implications in mind, David Liddle an
IMac
IMac is a family of all-in-one Macintosh desktop computers designed and built by Apple Inc. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its debut in August 1998, has evolved through seven distinct forms. In its original form, iMac G3 had a gumdrop or egg-shaped look, with a CRT monitor enclosed by a colored, translucent plastic case, refreshed early on with a sleeker design notable for its slot-loaded optical drive; the second major revision, iMac G4, moved the design to a hemispherical base containing all the main components and an LCD monitor on a moving arm attached to it. The third and fourth major revisions, iMac G5 and the Intel iMac placed all the components behind the display, creating a slim unified design that tilts only up and down on a simple metal base; the fifth major revision shared the same form as the previous model, but was thinner and used anodized aluminum and a glass panel over the entire front. The sixth major revision uses a different display unit, omits the SuperDrive, uses different production techniques from the older unibody versions.
This allows it to be thinner with an edge thickness of 5.9 mm. It includes a dual microphone setup, includes solid-state drive or hard disk storage, or an Apple Fusion Drive, a hybrid of solid state and hard disk drives; this version of iMac was announced in October 2012, with the 21.5-inch version released in November and the 27-inch version in December. In October 2014, the seventh major revision of the 27-inch iMac was announced, whose main feature is a "Retina 5K" display at a resolution of 5120 × 2880 pixels; the new model includes a new processor, graphics chip, IO, along with several new storage options. The seventh major revision of the 21.5-inch iMac was announced in October 2015. Its main feature is a "Retina 4K" display at a resolution of 4096 × 2304 pixels, it has the same new processor, graphics chip, I/O as the 27-inch iMac, along with several new storage options. On June 5, 2017, Apple announced a workstation-class version of the iMac, called the "iMac Pro"; the iMac Pro shares the design and screen of the 5K iMac, but is colored in Space Gray rather than silver.
It comes with standard SSD storage. Apple began shipping the iMac Pro in December 2017; the announcement of iMac in 1998 was a source of controversy and anticipation among commentators, Mac fans, detractors. Opinions were divided over Apple's drastic changes to the Macintosh hardware. At the time, Apple had suffered a series of setbacks as consumers opted for Wintel machines instead of Apple's Performa models. Many in the industry thought that "beleaguered" Apple would soon be forced to start selling computers with a custom interface built on top of one or more potential operating system bases, such as Taligent, Solaris, or Windows 98. Part of Apple's effort to maintain the Mac platform was trying to improve its retail strategy; as these stores developed, they became a detriment to Apple sales, as CompUSA employees were unfamiliar with the Macintosh and directed customers to Wintel boxes instead. The designer behind iMac's case was Jonathan Ive. Ken Segall was an employee at an L. A. ad agency handling Apple's account who came up with the name "iMac" and pitched it to Steve Jobs.
Jobs wanted the product to be called "MacMan", but warmed to Segall's suggestion. Segall says that the "i" stands for "Internet", but represents the product as a personal and revolutionary device. Apple adopted the'i' prefix across its consumer hardware and software lines, such as iPod, iBook, iPhone, iPad and various pieces of software such as the iLife suite and iWork and the company's media player/store, iTunes. Attention was given to the out-of-box experience: the user needed to go through only two steps to set up and connect to the Internet. "There's no step 3!" was the catch-phrase in a popular iMac commercial narrated by actor Jeff Goldblum. Another commercial, dubbed "Simplicity Shootout", pitted seven-year-old Johann Thomas and his border collie Brodie, with an iMac, against Adam Taggart, a Stanford University MBA student, with an HP Pavilion 8250, in a race to set up their computers. Johann and Brodie finished in 8 minutes and 15 seconds, whereas Adam was still working on it by the end of the commercial.
By 2005, it had become more and more apparent that IBM's development for the desktop implementation of PowerPC was grinding to a halt. Apple announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference that it would be switching the Macintosh to the x86 architecture and Intel's line of Core processors; the first Intel-equipped Macs were unveiled on January 10, 2006: the Intel iMac and the introductory MacBook Pro. Within nine months, Apple had smoothly transitioned the entire Macintosh line to Intel. One of the touted side benefits of this switch was the ability to run Windows on Mac hardware. On July 27, 2010, Apple updated its line of iMacs to feature the new Intel Core "i-series" processors across the line; the 21.5" models now feature the Core i3 processor, but these are upgradable to the Core i5. The high end 27" features a Quad-Core i5 processor, upgradable to a Quad-Core i7. On this date Apple announced its new "Apple Magic Trackpad" peripheral, a trackpad similar to that of MacBook Pro for use with iMac or any other Apple computer.
A
Mini-DIN connector
The mini-DIN connectors are a family of multi-pin electrical connectors used in a variety of applications. Mini-DIN is similar to the older DIN connector. Both are standards of the German standards body. Mini-DIN connectors are 9.5 millimetres in diameter and come in seven patterns, with the number of pins from three to nine. Each pattern is keyed in such a way that a plug with one pattern cannot be mated with any socket of another pattern. An important aspect of why each of these 7 mini-DIN connectors are official standards is that they are each drastically different from the other, with no and directly overlapping similarities in pin arrangement, square key size and position, circular shielding metal skirt notches and metallic additions - unlike the nonstandard mini-DIN connectors which may have directly overlapping characteristics to each other or to the standard mini-DIN connectors; the pin numbering for the plugs shown above is done left to bottom row to top row. Pin 1 will be on the lower left, the highest pin number will be on the upper right.
Some notable examples of standard mini-DIN connectors include: Mini-DIN-3 connectors were used in early implementations of Apple LocalTalk. Mini-DIN-4 connectors are used for S-video, were used for Apple Desktop Bus. Mini-DIN-6 connectors were used for IBM PC compatible PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports and for Acorn Archimedes keyboards. Mini-DIN-8 connectors were used for Sun Microsystems keyboard and mouse ports, as well as for serial printer and Apple LocalTalk connections, it was used as the game pad connector for the PC Engine video game system and its variants Mini-DIN-9 connectors were used for Acorn Archimedes Quadrature Mice and Microsoft InPort Bus Mice. It is used as the Audio/Video output port of Sega Genesis/Mega Drive gaming consoles on Model 2 variants, as well as their 32X addon. Mini-DIN-7 and Mini-DIN-9 connectors have been used for a variety of video applications. IRobot Roomba Vacuum cleaning robots use a Mini-DIN-7 to expose an interface for custom sensing and control. Mini-DIN-6 and Mini-DIN-8 connectors are used in ham radio applications to interface with computers for data packet communications and radio programming.
Several non-standard sockets are designed to mate with standard mini-DIN plugs. These connectors provide extra conductors, are used to save space by combining functions in one connector that would otherwise require two standard connectors. Other non-standard connectors mate only with their matching connectors, are mini-DIN connectors only in the sense of sharing the 9.5 mm plug body. These mini-DIN style plugs are not approved by the Deutsches Institut für Normung, the German standards body, many applications could be considered proprietary. JVC Mini-DIN 8 Allen-Bradley Micrologix PLC Mini-DIN 8 Beyerdynamic microphone connector Some 3-pin and 4-pin DC power connectors look similar enough to Mini-DIN connectors to be erroneously referred to as "Mini-DIN" connectors sometimes. DIN connector DC connector S-Video
Compact Macintosh
A Compact Macintosh is an all-in-one Apple Mac computer with a display integrated in the computer case, beginning with the original Macintosh 128K. Compact Macs include the original Macintosh through to the Color Classic sold between 1984 and the mid-1990s; the larger Macintosh LC 500 series, Power Macintosh 5000 series and iMac are not described as a "Compact Mac." Apple divides these models into five form factors: The Macintosh 128K, Macintosh SE, Macintosh Classic, the modernized Macintosh Color Classic with a 10 in color screen, the different Macintosh XL. *220 V international models are appended with the letter "P" All-in-one desktop computer List of Apple Macintosh models by case type Compact Macs Index and Compact Macs Guide at lowendmac.com Early Compact "Classic" Macs at EveryMac The Vintage Mac Museum: Compact Mac -9inch/mono Display 68000-
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed by Steve Wozniak. It was introduced in 1977 at the West Coast Computer Faire by Jobs and was the first consumer product sold by Apple Computer, Inc, it is the first model in a series of computers which were produced until Apple IIe production ceased in November 1993. The Apple II marks Apple's first launch of a personal computer aimed at a consumer market – branded towards American households rather than businessmen or computer hobbyists. Byte magazine referred to the Apple II, Commodore PET 2001 and the TRS-80 as the "1977 Trinity." The Apple II had the defining feature of being able to display color graphics, this capability was the reason why the Apple logo was redesigned to have a spectrum of colors. By 1976, Steve Jobs had convinced the product designer Jerry Manock to create the "shell" for the Apple II – a smooth case inspired by kitchen appliances that would conceal the internal mechanics.
The earliest Apple IIs were assembled in Silicon Valley, in Texas. The first computers went on sale on June 10, 1977 with a MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor running at 1.023 MHz, two game paddles, 4 KB of RAM, an audio cassette interface for loading programs and storing data, the Integer BASIC programming language built into the ROMs. The video controller displays 24 lines by 40 columns of monochrome, uppercase-only text on the screen, with NTSC composite video output suitable for display on a TV monitor, or on a regular TV set by way of a separate RF modulator; the original retail price of the computer was $1,298 and $2,638. To reflect the computer's color graphics capability, the Apple logo on the casing has rainbow stripes, which remained a part of Apple's corporate logo until early 1998. Most the Apple II was a catalyst for personal computers across many industries. In the May 1977 issue of Byte, Steve Wozniak published a detailed description of his design; this arrangement eliminated the need for a separate refresh circuit for the DRAM chips, as the video transfer accessed each row of the dynamic memory within the timeout period.
In addition, it did not require separate RAM chips for the video RAM, while the PET and TRS-80 had SRAMs for the video. Rather than use a complex analog-to-digital circuit to read the outputs of the game controller, Wozniak used a simple timer circuit whose period is proportional to the resistance of the game controller, used a software loop to measure the timer. A single 14.31818 MHz master oscillator was divided by various ratios to produce all other required frequencies, including the microprocessor clock signals, the video transfer counters, the color-burst samples. The text and graphics screens have a complex arrangement. For instance, the scanlines were not stored in sequential areas of memory; this complexity was due to Wozniak's realization that the method would allow for the refresh of the dynamic RAM as a side effect. This method had no cost overhead to have software calculate or look up the address of the required scanline and avoided the need for significant extra hardware. In the high-resolution graphics mode, color is determined by pixel position and thus can be implemented in software, saving Wozniak the chips needed to convert bit patterns to colors.
This allowed for subpixel font rendering, since orange and blue pixels appear half a pixel-width farther to the right on the screen than green and purple pixels. The Apple II at first used data cassette storage like most other microcomputers of the time. In 1978, the company introduced an external 5 1⁄4-inch floppy disk drive, the Disk II, attached via a controller card that plugs into one of the computer's expansion slots; the Disk II interface, created by Wozniak, is regarded as an engineering masterpiece for its economy of electronic components. The approach taken in the Disk II controller is typical of Wozniak's designs. With a few small-scale logic chips and a cheap PROM, he created a functional floppy disk interface at a fraction of the component cost of standard circuit configurations. Steve Jobs extensively pushed to give the Apple II a case that looked visually appealing and sellable to people outside of electronics hobbyists, rather than the generic wood and metal boxes typical of early microcomputers.
The result was a futuristic-looking molded white plastic case. Jobs paid close attention to the keyboard design and decided to use dark brown keycaps as it contrasted well with the case; the first production Apple IIs had hand-molded cases. In addition, the initial case design ha
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, that designs and sells consumer electronics, computer software, online services. It is considered one of the Big Four of technology along with Amazon and Facebook; the company's hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, the iPad tablet computer, the Mac personal computer, the iPod portable media player, the Apple Watch smartwatch, the Apple TV digital media player, the HomePod smart speaker. Apple's software includes the macOS and iOS operating systems, the iTunes media player, the Safari web browser, the iLife and iWork creativity and productivity suites, as well as professional applications like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Xcode, its online services include the iTunes Store, the iOS App Store, Mac App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iMessage, iCloud. Other services include Apple Store, Genius Bar, AppleCare, Apple Pay, Apple Pay Cash, Apple Card. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne in April 1976 to develop and sell Wozniak's Apple I personal computer, though Wayne sold his share back within 12 days.
It was incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. in January 1977, sales of its computers, including the Apple II, grew quickly. Within a few years and Wozniak had hired a staff of computer designers and had a production line. Apple went public in 1980 to instant financial success. Over the next few years, Apple shipped new computers featuring innovative graphical user interfaces, such as the original Macintosh in 1984, Apple's marketing advertisements for its products received widespread critical acclaim. However, the high price of its products and limited application library caused problems, as did power struggles between executives. In 1985, Wozniak departed Apple amicably and remained an honorary employee, while Jobs and others resigned to found NeXT; as the market for personal computers expanded and evolved through the 1990s, Apple lost market share to the lower-priced duopoly of Microsoft Windows on Intel PC clones. The board recruited CEO Gil Amelio to what would be a 500-day charge for him to rehabilitate the financially troubled company—reshaping it with layoffs, executive restructuring, product focus.
In 1997, he led Apple to buy NeXT, solving the failed operating system strategy and bringing Jobs back. Jobs pensively regained leadership status, becoming CEO in 2000. Apple swiftly returned to profitability under the revitalizing Think different campaign, as he rebuilt Apple's status by launching the iMac in 1998, opening the retail chain of Apple Stores in 2001, acquiring numerous companies to broaden the software portfolio. In January 2007, Jobs renamed the company Apple Inc. reflecting its shifted focus toward consumer electronics, launched the iPhone to great critical acclaim and financial success. In August 2011, Jobs resigned as CEO due to health complications, Tim Cook became the new CEO. Two months Jobs died, marking the end of an era for the company. Apple is well known for its size and revenues, its worldwide annual revenue totaled $265 billion for the 2018 fiscal year. Apple is the world's largest information technology company by revenue and the world's third-largest mobile phone manufacturer after Samsung and Huawei.
In August 2018, Apple became the first public U. S. company to be valued at over $1 trillion. The company employs 123,000 full-time employees and maintains 504 retail stores in 24 countries as of 2018, it operates the iTunes Store, the world's largest music retailer. As of January 2018, more than 1.3 billion Apple products are in use worldwide. The company has a high level of brand loyalty and is ranked as the world's most valuable brand. However, Apple receives significant criticism regarding the labor practices of its contractors, its environmental practices and unethical business practices, including anti-competitive behavior, as well as the origins of source materials. Apple Computer Company was founded on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne; the company's first product is the Apple I, a computer designed and hand-built by Wozniak, first shown to the public at the Homebrew Computer Club. Apple I was sold as a motherboard —a base kit concept which would now not be marketed as a complete personal computer.
The Apple I went on sale in July 1976 and was market-priced at $666.66. Apple Computer, Inc. was incorporated on January 3, 1977, without Wayne, who had left and sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800 only twelve days after having co-founded Apple. Multimillionaire Mike Markkula provided essential business expertise and funding of $250,000 during the incorporation of Apple. During the first five years of operations revenues grew exponentially, doubling about every four months. Between September 1977 and September 1980, yearly sales grew from $775,000 to $118 million, an average annual growth rate of 533%; the Apple II invented by Wozniak, was introduced on April 16, 1977, at the first West Coast Computer Faire. It differs from its major rivals, the TRS-80 and Commodore PET, because of its character cell-based color graphics and open architecture. While early Apple II models use ordinary cassette tapes as storage devices, they were superseded by the introduction of a 5 1⁄4-inch floppy disk drive and interface called the Disk II.
The Apple II was chosen to be the desktop platform for the first "killer app" of the business world: VisiCalc, a spreadsheet program. VisiCalc created a business market for the Apple II and gave home users an additional reason to buy an Apple II: compatibility with the office. Before VisiCalc, Apple had been a distant third place c
