Apple II | 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.: Commercial success

…store and manipulate data, the Apple II became the computer of choice for legions of amateur programmers. Most notably, in 1979 two Bostonians—Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston—introduced the first personal computer spreadsheet, VisiCalc, creating what would later be known as a “killer app” (application): a software program so useful that…

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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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