The Obtronix Apple I reproduction is a kit produced by Steve Gabaly, who occasionally
auctions them off on eBay. It is almost an exact replica of Steve Wozniak’s original 1976
version.
The Apple I kit included only the motherboard. You had to supply your own power supply,
keyboard, monitor (or TV), and case. It was a true hobbyist computer, but at the time, it
represented the most innovative and powerful home computer of its kind.
Apple and the Apple II became a legend in their own time, landmarks in the age of computing
they helped create. The Apple lore includes many firsts and fascinating facts. This how it
happened.
The Apple III was Apple’s first attempt to move away from the tried-and-true Apple II
architecture. It would prove to be the company’s first bona fide failure. Even though
engineers repeatedly warned of problems with the Apple III, it seemed that no one in top
management doubted the machine’s eventual success.
Apple introduced the Apple IIgs in September 1986. It was intended to be a replacement for
the venerable Apple II that was the mainstay of Apple’s revenues for most of the early part of
the 1980s. The Macintosh was changing the world and would soon replace the Apple II as the
company’s cash cow, but many Apple II faithful still longed for an advanced version of their
beloved computer.
This article examines a portion of one of Apple’s Apple IIe owner’s manuals. Apple produced
several different editions of the Apple IIe owner’s manual over the life of the computer. This
one was not the first nor was it the last. This particular Apple IIe manual first shipped with
the Apple IIe in 1984, the same year that Apple released the world-changing Macintosh.
Reading through the manual is like taking a time machine back to 1984, when home
computers where still relatively new and the Apple IIe drove the majority of Apple Computer’s
sales revenue.
