With the money earned by selling the Apple I, Apple could start thinking about a machine far more ambitious : the Apple II . For Wozniak , the Apple II was going to be just the computer that I wanted to build if I had not had the financial constraints he had with the Apple I. He had the idea to include in the team video memory to manage the display in color, just as many expansion cards included so that users could expand the capabilities of the computer according to their own needs.
With the design of the first prototype Apple II just ended , Apple decided to attend the festival Computing Personal Computer Festival, a new event. There, the fledgling microcomputer industry could show their progress and make business contacts. On the flight to Philadelphia , where he was held in 1976 , the founders of Apple agreed on the plane with the founders of Processor Technology and newly designed computer Sun, coincidentally, had a great impact on the immediate future of Apple .
The vast majority of companies dedicated to machines and microcomputers in 1976 , and therefore almost all that made up the festival, were generally young computer geeks with kits that users had to assemble and / or welding to operate, by therefore primarily targeted to electronic enthusiasts . However, Processor Technology featuring a much more serious and professional , and Sun was a computer that was focused although , like others, as a kit to be assembled , also gave the opportunity to acquire computer and mounted as and ready to use .
That was when Steve Jobs realized that the future was not on plates with components that users should assemble and weld themselves, but computers like the Sun, already assembled and ready for use and enjoyment of the users. Therefore, the Apple II , which had not yet gone on sale , should incorporate video output , keyboard and everything I needed in a plastic box to make it easier to use outside .
Apple II .
While Steve Wozniak was the designer of all logic and electronics Apple II , Steve Jobs was the creator of the concept and vision for the future of Apple , while seeking a way to create a product that could satisfy all users , and not only to the most technical . Apart from the decision to sell the Apple II as a perfectly packaged , other important decisions were theirs to invest in improved systems of power and control of heating equipment , with the Apple II a computer completely silent because I did not need fans to control its temperature.
But designing such a machine was not much money and qualified staff , something they had not. No bank wanted to venture into such a project, and less in those days : a computer usable by the public seemed absurd at the time , since the real potential of the inhabitants , were scarce to buy this type of technology. Ronald Wayne , who had helped Jobs and Wozniak to design the Apple I, was skeptical about the chances of success of such a project and left the company. Jobs finally met in 1977 Mike Markkula , who lent his expertise in matters, and a check for $ 250,000.00 USD Apple capital . On that occasion also provided the first President to Apple , Mike Scott .
The final model of Apple II was presented to the public in April 1977 becoming the canon of what was to be thereafter a personal computer. For this reason , Apple changed its logo for the famous apple logo colored, recalling that the Apple II was one of the first computers to have color monitor. In mid- 1979 , Apple introduced the Apple II + , an evolution of the Apple II endowed in particular with more memory ( expandable to 48 Kb 64 Kb ) and the BASIC programming language .
Much of Apple's success was based on a computer that was made to please both experts and the public hackers most profane in terms of computing . Soon, the base software for the Apple II began to grow , making the computer more attractive to the rest of the public , especially when it appeared on the market the first spreadsheet history, VisiCalc , which made thousands selling herself Apple II computer .
