A decade after it’s release, the Apple II, one of the “holy trinity” of affordable microcomputers released in 1977, was still going strong. Constant updates and improvements kept these machines in use far beyond their original designed life, and beyond the life of 8-bit computers on a whole: I dare say in the early 90’s in elementary school we were still using Apple II’s in some cases, alongside more modern machines.
We’re getting ahead of ourselves here: this episode of the Computer Chronicles, from 1988, discusses how even though Apple Computers was focusing on the Macintosh line as its hardware future, they were still producing and improving Apple II machines for their massive userbase to have more modern machines that were still perfectly compatible with the software and much of the hardware they had already been using the past decade.
The Apple II today, of course, is a dead computer. In the early 90’s Apple finally gave the boot to the legacy machine, but what a legacy it had. Of course, like all classic microcomputers of the late 70’s and 80’s, it still has a massive enthusiast base. Even though I’m a Commodore guy, I do think the Apple II is a thing of beauty, and a wonderfully designed machine, especially in it’s original 1977 form, having color graphics capability far beyond that of any other “affordable” machine of the time.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy one of the most popular Computer Chronicles episodes; one that also happens to talk about one of the most popular and beloved computers in history.
Oh, and check the episode ending where they discuss the invention of the EEPROM. Good times, good times… Also of note, while the episode is listed as 1988, it mentions “President Bush” meaning this episode must have been recorded in 1989. Oh well, not my upload.