Filed under History; Comments Off on The Apple events of June 10
Today is a big day for Apple — and not just because iOS 7 was announced this afternoon (with an oddly familiar rainbow logo, at that!). Although Apple’s future will be determined by the announcements and decisions made today, it is their past, and thus their existence, that is defined by the events of June 10.
Although there is some disagreement as to the exact date, the authorities of the Computer History Museum and Steve Weyhrich‘s Apple II History site indicate it was today in 1977 that the first Apple II computer shipped. The Apple II, of course, was the first official product of the newly minted Apple Computer Inc. Its success enabled the company to survive and thrive, going on to innovate, create new products, and redefine entire industries.
If not for today, we wouldn’t have iOS, or iPhones, or iPads, or Macs — or the many creations, connections, conventions, and collaborations they have made possible.
Happy birthday to Apple’s greatest success. May there be many more to come!
On April 16–17, 1977, the West Coast Computer Faire was held, marking the debut of the Apple II personal computer. Marked by this public unveiling, the machine turns 35 years old today, and Harry McCracken, former editor-in-chief of PCWorld and now Technologizer / TIME.com columnist, has pulled out all the stops to celebrate the occasion.
Although the Apple II had more affordable and even more popular contemporaries, such as the Commodore 64, the Apple II is especially deserving of recognition. McCracken’s closing statement succinctly summarizes:
… if Apple’s only computer had been the Apple I, it would be remembered today only by scholars with an arcane interest in the prehistory of the personal computer. But if the company had folded after releasing the Apple II, it would still be one of the best-known PC companies of all time. The II was — and is — that important.
The Juiced.GS date I know to be false; it was given on a wall calendar that came with an insert indicating some dates were marked as estimates, accurate to the year and month but not the day. The sources for the other three dates are a mystery to me.
On the most recent episode of the Retro Computing Roundtable, Carrington Vanston observed how strange it is to see history disappearing within our own lifetimes. We have enough living history that this shouldn’t be happening. Who can confirm when the first Apple II shipped?