Editing Apple II (original) (section)

==History==
By 1976, Steve Jobs had convinced product designer Jerry Manock (who had formerly worked at Hewlett Packard designing calculators) to create the "shell" for the Apple II—a smooth case inspired by kitchen appliances that concealed the internal mechanics.<ref name=":0" /> The earliest Apple II computers were assembled in [[Silicon Valley]] and later in Texas;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rose |first=Frank |title=West of Eden |publisher=Arrow Books |year=1989 |isbn=0-09-976200-5 |page=3}}</ref> [[printed circuit board]]s were manufactured in [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] and [[Singapore]]. The first computers went on sale on June 10, 1977<ref name="Apple II intro date">{{Cite web |title=June 10, 1977 - Apple II Released Today |url=http://www.computerhistory.org/tdih/June/10/ |access-date=August 3, 2012 |website=This Day in History |publisher=Computer History Museum |location=Mountain View, CA |archive-date=June 20, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620175048/http://www.computerhistory.org/tdih/June/10/ |url-status=live }} June 10, 1977 was a Friday.</ref><ref name="Apple II History">{{Cite web |last=Weyhrich |first=Steven |title=4-The Apple II, cont. - Product Introduction |url=http://apple2history.org/history/ah04/ |access-date=August 3, 2012 |website=Apple II History |date=December 2008 |publisher=Apple2History.org |quote=The first motherboard-only Apple II computers shipped on May 10, 1977, for those who wanted to add their own case, keyboard, and power supply (or wanted to update their Apple-1 'system' with the latest and greatest). A month later, on June 10, 1977, Apple began shipping full Apple II systems. |archive-date=May 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150522020820/http://apple2history.org/history/ah04/ |url-status=live }}</ref> with an [[MOS Technology 6502]] microprocessor running at 1.023 [[MHz]] ({{frac|2|7}} of the [[Colorburst|NTSC color subcarrier]]), two [[Paddle (game controller)|game paddles]]<ref name="helmers197803" /> (bundled until 1980, when they were found to violate [[Title 47 CFR Part 15|FCC regulations]]),<ref name="ccvag1983spring">{{Cite magazine |last1=Ahl |first1=David H. |author-link=David H. Ahl |last2=Rost |first2=Randi J. |year=1983 |title=Blisters And Frustration: Joysticks, Paddles, Buttons and Game Port Extenders for Apple, Atari and VIC |url=https://www.atarimagazines.com/cva/v1n1/joysticks.php |magazine=Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=106ff |access-date=2021-01-28 |author2-link=Randi J. Rost |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224144058/https://www.atarimagazines.com/cva/v1n1/joysticks.php |url-status=live }}</ref> 4&nbsp;KiB of [[random-access memory|RAM]], an [[Cassette tape#Data recording|audio cassette]] interface for loading programs and storing data, and the [[Integer BASIC]] programming language built into [[read-only memory|ROMs]]. The video controller displayed 24 lines by 40 columns of monochrome, uppercase-only text on the screen (the original character set matches [[ASCII]] characters 20<sub>h</sub> to 5F<sub>h</sub>), with [[NTSC]] [[composite video]] output suitable for display on a video monitor or on a regular TV set (by way of a separate [[RF modulator]]).

The original retail price of the computer with 4 KiB of RAM was {{US$|1298|1977|round=-1}}<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Forster |first1=Winnie |authorlink1=Winnie Forster |title=The Encyclopedia of Consoles, Handhelds & Home Computers 1972–2005 |publisher=Gameplan |year=2005 |isbn=3-00-015359-4 |page=19}}</ref> and with the maximum 48&nbsp;KiB of RAM, it was {{US$|2638|1977|round=-1}}<ref name="Avidd Pricelist">[[:File:AVIDD Apple price list 1977 front.jpg|1977 Apple II price list]] A-VIDD Electronics Co., 1977 Long Beach, CA.</ref> To reflect the computer's [[Apple II graphics|color graphics]] capability, the Apple logo on the casing has rainbow stripes,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weyhrich |first=Steven |date=April 21, 2002 |title=4-The Apple II, cont. |url=http://apple2history.org/history/ah04.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925003021/http://apple2history.org/history/ah04.html |archive-date=September 25, 2006 |access-date=November 16, 2006 |publisher=Apple II History}}</ref> which remained a part of Apple's corporate logo until early 1998. Perhaps most significantly, the Apple II was a catalyst for personal computers across many industries; it opened the doors to software marketed at consumers.<ref name=":0" />

Certain aspects of the system's design were influenced by [[Atari, Inc.]]'s [[arcade video game]] ''[[Breakout (video game)|Breakout]]'' (1976), which was designed by Wozniak, who said: "A lot of features of the Apple II went in because I had designed ''Breakout'' for Atari. I had designed it in hardware. I wanted to write it in software now".<ref>Connick, Jack: "...And Then There Was Apple". Call-A.P.P.L.E. Oct 1986: 24.</ref> This included his design of color graphics circuitry, the addition of game paddle support and sound, and graphics commands in [[Integer BASIC]], with which he wrote ''Brick Out'', a software clone of his own hardware game.<ref name="wozniak20140501">{{cite web | url=https://gizmodo.com/how-steve-wozniak-wrote-basic-for-the-original-apple-fr-1570573636 | title=How Steve Wozniak Wrote BASIC for the Original Apple From Scratch | publisher=Gizmodo | date=2014-05-01 | access-date=2 May 2014 | author=Wozniak, Steve | archive-date=May 2, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502050217/http://gizmodo.com/how-steve-wozniak-wrote-basic-for-the-original-apple-fr-1570573636 | url-status=live }}</ref> Wozniak said in 1984: "Basically, all the game features were put in just so I could show off the game I was familiar with—''Breakout''—at the [[Homebrew Computer Club]]. It was the most satisfying day of my life [when] I demonstrated ''Breakout''&mdash;totally written in BASIC. It seemed like a huge step to me. After designing hardware [[arcade games]], I knew that being able to program them in BASIC was going to change the world."<ref name="wozniak198412">{{cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1984-12/1984_12_BYTE_09-13_Communications#page/n461/mode/2up | title=The Apple Story / Part 1: Early History | magazine=[[Byte (magazine)|BYTE]] | volume=9 | issue=13 | date=December 1984 | access-date=23 October 2013 |author1=Williams, Gregg |author2=Moore, Rob | pages=A67 | type=interview}}</ref>