From today’s Wall Street Journal, an article posted on April 17, 1978: “This 1978 personal-finance article will make you feel like a pioneer, if you were alive then. It refers to the hot product of “so-called personal computers”–and has what we believe is the first mention of Apple Computer in the WSJ. Today in WSJ History, April 17, 1978.” Read the original clipping…
The Apple II computer available in June 1977 was available for $1298 with 4K RAM ($2638 with 48K RAM). It became one of the most popular computers ever. With the same processor and speed as Apple I, it offered a 6 color display, and a case with a keyboard. (Many other early computers didn’t have a case or even a keyboard.)
Apple II was one of the first computers with a color display. With the BASIC programming language built-in, it was ready to go right out of the box. It was probably the first user-friendly personal computer.
Prices haven’t changed much while processor speeds, RAM and displays are stratospherically more significant.
- CPU speed: 1.0 MHz is now 1.3GHz with Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz
- Intel HD Graphics 5000
- RAM: 4K to 48K is now 4GB
- Color display: 6 colors is now virtually unlimited with Apple’s Retina display