Chapter 8 Section 1 What did the computers before Apple look like?

I don’t know how many people still remember, in January 2010, when Qiao’s leader took out his iPad at the Fangcao Art Center in San Francisco and showed it to the world, what was everyone’s reaction?If you could describe in one word how revolutionary the iPad is compared to all previous computers, which word would you most like to use?amazing?Rebellious?dazzling?subversion?Science fiction?debut?Shock comes out?Or, let all computer predecessors become antiques? The iPad tablet computer only uses a thin glass screen to cover the functions of several major components such as the keyboard, display, and host computer on a traditional computer, and it also comes with a magical multi-touch experience.Just think about the coolness of "beating zombies" and "slicing fruit" on the iPad. No one will deny that the iPad is a revolution in personal computers.Especially for modern people who are accustomed to using a mouse and keyboard, using their fingers to operate a computer is really a sci-fi thing.

But if I say that such a revolution is a bit commonplace for Apple’s boss Joe, Apple I and Apple II, the housekeeping products when Apple was founded, are far more revolutionary than the iPad—won’t you Doubt this claim? No wonder, look at the appearance of the iPad, and then look at the Apple I that Jobs sold as accessories in the Byte Shop in 1976. One is like a Swarovski handicraft, and the other is like a cheap knockoff. .Which of these two things is more revolutionary in their era? In fact, to understand how revolutionary the Apple I was in its day, one only has to look at what Apple's previous personal computers looked like.

Many people say that the Apple I was the world's first personal computer, which is not true. Before Apple I, since 1971, there have been many computers that are only the size of a suitcase, which can be placed at home or in the office for personal use.In detail, among the early personal computers before the advent of Apple, the first one that was sought after by computer fans at that time was the Altair 8800 launched by MITS in early 1975. The appearance of Altair 8800 is a beautiful iron box, and there are several neat rows of red indicator lights and metal switches on the front panel.Modern people who are familiar with Windows operation will definitely ask curiously: how to use this iron box?Is there an operation manual?

Don't mention the operation manual. In front of the Altair 8800, if you mention the operation manual, it is estimated that many people will faint on the spot.It was a booklet of less than 100 pages. It was unattractive, and it was full of technical terms such as binary. It was almost a must-read "Computer Principles" tutorial for computer students.For ordinary users, it is simply a bible. Why did users in 1975 have to read such a huge book before using a personal computer?The reason is simple, if you don't understand binary and machine language, the Altair 8800 in front of you is a pile of scrap metal.

The Altair 8800 I just bought has neither a keyboard nor a monitor, and the input and output of the program are all realized by the switches and indicators on the front panel.Each switch in the center of the front panel represents a binary bit, which is 1 when dialed up, and 0 when dialed down.Entering the program is actually to toggle the switch continuously by hand.For the simplest arithmetic program, it is necessary to toggle the switch dozens of times.To do complex statistical calculations, hundreds of switch flips are necessary.After the program is running, the 8 red indicator lights on the top of the front panel will display the running results - of course, that is also a binary number.

God, someone must have rounded their eyes.Wouldn't it be exhausting to use a computer like this!This is not a computer, this is a finger-finger training device! Want something simpler?It's also possible, but you have to spend more money to equip the Altair 8800 with tape readers, tape drives, teletypes and other things.Take the most fashionable teletypewriter at that time, you can use its keyboard to input programs, and then print the running results directly on paper.However, there was a price for these conveniences: an Altair 8800 cost about $600 at the time, while a teletype was around $1500!

Knowing how simple the "prehistoric" personal computer is, it is not difficult for everyone to understand the greatness of Apple I.In fact, most of every revolution in the history of personal computers is for the convenience of users to operate computers.Just like the iPad liberated us from the keyboard and mouse, there is only one most important revolution of the Apple I, liberating people from the terrible front panel, switches and indicators. The inventor of Apple I, Jobs' close comrade in arms when he founded Apple, computer wizard Steve Watts later summed it up like this: "Before Apple I, all computers had an incomprehensible front panel, no screen and keyboard. .After the Apple I, all computers had screens and keyboards."

That's right, although the Apple I is only sold in the form of a motherboard, the motherboard has built-in chips that control keyboard input and screen output.Users buy Apple I home and work directly by connecting it to a keyboard, monitor (or TV). There are no more annoying binary switches and red lights, and no need to practice snapping fingers.It is no exaggeration to say that Apple I first defined the human-computer interaction mode of modern personal computers. On the basis of Apple I, Apple II continued to make great strides along the road of revolution.Unlike the Apple I, which was sold as a motherboard, the Apple II had a beautiful, plastic main chassis.Don't underestimate this plastic case. You must know that most of Apple's previous computers used cold, heavy metal cases, and even simpler ones still used wooden cases. For the first time, the plastic case of the Apple II gave the computer a taste of personal consumer goods in appearance design, and shortened the distance between the computer and ordinary consumers.

More importantly, the Apple II had a built-in BASIC language interpreter.People can write programs in the BASIC language whose syntax is similar to English, instead of using binary 0 and 1 to communicate with the computer. Before the Apple II, the Altair 8800 and Apple I also supported the BASIC language, but they had to be loaded with a BASIC interpreter from a paper bag or tape before they could be used. The Apple II was the first computer to be able to use the BASIC language when it was turned on. Just a few digressions, remember the person who developed the BASIC language for the Altair 8800?That year, a young man who did not graduate from college wrote a BASIC language interpreter for the Altair 8800, and thus founded his own company.Later, the young man's company became the largest software company in the world, and the young man became the richest man in the world.The company founded by the young man is called Microsoft, and the young man's name is Bill Gates.

Make computer interaction easier, make computers easier to use, and make computers a mass consumer product—this is the most important revolutionary spirit embodied in Apple I and Apple II. This spirit has run through Apple for more than 30 years, until the latest iPod and iPhone And iPad, this is the most unique and valuable DNA given to Apple by Jobs and Woz. Revolutionary products will naturally be sought after. It took only 6 years for the Apple II to become the first computer in history to sell more than 1 million units.From Apple I to Apple II, it was Jobs and Woz who really let ordinary people own personal computers, and they created the first golden age of personal computers.

So, what kind of two young men were Jobs and Woz in the 1970s, and how did they invent the revolutionary Apple computer?