City Gloss

The first Apple II computers were on sale on June 5, 1977, based on a MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor running at 1 MHz, with 4 kilobytes of RAM, 12 KB of ROM containing the Integer BASIC programming language, and an interface cassette recorders for audio. The video controller displayed 24 lines by 40 columns of text in uppercase only with NTSC composite video output for display on a monitor or a TV via an RF modulator. Third party expansion cards available to show 80 columns and bear case. Users could store and retrieve data and programs on audio cassettes. Other programming languages, games, applications and other software are also available on cassette. The original retail price was 1298 dollars with 2638 dollars and 4KB RAM with 48KB RAM.
He later sold the Disk II, a floppy drive for 5 -inch external, with the controller card that plugs into an expansion slot (slot) of the computer (usually a slot 6). This allowed the storage and retrieval of data more efficiently and quickly. This interface management record, created by Steve Wozniak, was still regarded as a marvel of engineering design. The controller card had very little hardware support, the software responsible for providing the necessary coding. The controllers also use a form of encoding GCR (Group Code Recording Recording Code or Group), which was more simple and easier to implement in software than the more commonly used MFM (Modified Frequency Modulation). This significantly reduced the total cost, leaving the total system price low enough for home users. He also made it easy for proprietary software developers can develop ways to protect your programs, you can use tricks like changing the low-level format of the sectors or even moving the head of the unit between tracks. However, other software sold as Copy II Plus and Locksmith that could eliminate these restrictions.
The open design of Wozniak and multiple expansion slots of the Apple allowed a wide variety of third-party devices that extend the capabilities of the machine. Serial port drivers, drivers of enhanced video, memory cards, hard drives and networking components were available for this system in those days. There were also cards emulators, such as the Z80 card that allowed Apple to use the Z80 processor from Zilog and running multiple programs under the operating system CP / M as the dBase II database and processing program WordStar word. There was also a 6809 card, manufactured by third parties with which it could run OS-9 Level One Your sound card Mockingboard dramatically improved the audio capabilities of Apple. Even the calls were made accelerator cards, which doubled or quadrupled the speed of the computer.
Special mention deserves a family of cards that were actually in a PC card, some memory itself, the first using the host PC. Using the video and keyboard emulation of Apple as a PC, like several cards. Could use the disk drives present (with formatting problems if they were not Unidisk) and create a partition on the hard disk from which you run MS-DOS. Intel processors ranging from 8086 to the Intel 80386, with a specific version for the Apple II GS.