Apple II

computer

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  • Internet
    • In Internet: Two agendas

      …with the introduction of the Apple II, the first affordable computer for individuals and small businesses. Created by Apple Computer, Inc. (now Apple Inc.), the Apple II was popular in schools by 1979, but in the corporate market it was stigmatized as a game machine. The task of cracking the…

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  • personal computers
    • A laptop computer
      In personal computer: From hobby computers to Apple

      ), Apple II, the Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80, and the Commodore Business Machines Personal Electronic Transactor (PET). These machines used eight-bit microprocessors (which process information in groups of eight bits, or binary digits, at a time) and possessed rather limited memory capacity—i.e., the ability to address…

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    • In Apple Inc.: 1977–1978: Apple II and early commercial success

      Apple II, the company’s next product, was released in April 1977 and became the first widely distributed microcomputer. It was a commercial success; some 5 or 6 million units were sold over the next decade.

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    • A laptop computer
      In computer: Apple Inc.

      …Wozniak began work on the Apple II, he consulted with a venture capitalist and enlisted an advertising company to aid him in marketing. As a result, in late 1976 A.C. (“Mike”) Markkula, a retired semiconductor company executive, helped write a business plan for Apple, lined up credit from a bank,…

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work of

    • Jobs
      • Steve Jobs
        In Steve Jobs: Founding of Apple

        …designed an improved model, the Apple II, complete with a keyboard, and they arranged to have a sleek, molded plastic case manufactured to enclose the unit.

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    • Wozniak
      • Steve Wozniak in 2014
        In Steve Wozniak

        …produce a finished product, the Apple II. Completed in 1977, the new model included a built-in keyboard and support for a color monitor. The Apple II, which combined Wozniak’s advanced engineering with Jobs’s aesthetic sense, was the first personal computer to appeal beyond hobbyist circles. When the company went public…

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    time-sharing, in data processing, method of operation in which multiple users with different programs interact nearly simultaneously with the central processing unit (CPU) of a large-scale digital computer. Because the CPU operates substantially faster than most peripheral equipment (e.g., video display terminals and printers), it has sufficient time to solve several discrete problems during the input/output process. Even though the CPU addresses the problem of each user in sequence, access to and retrieval from the time-sharing system seems instantaneous from the standpoint of remote terminals since the solutions are available to them the moment the problem is completely entered.

    Time-sharing was developed during the late 1950s and early ’60s to make more efficient use of expensive processor time. Commonly used time-sharing techniques include multiprocessing, parallel operation, and multiprogramming. Also, many computer networks organized for the purpose of exchanging data and resources are centred on time-sharing systems.

    The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Erik Gregersen.