The Apple-1 computer, released in 1976 in a batch of 200, is a valuable collector's item. According to the auction house Sotheby's, which put up for auction this car in June 2012, from the first batch of devices remained only a few copies that are in working order. The rare computer was estimated by experts at 120-180 thousand dollars.
A similar computer, the cost of which, according to experts, was $ 160-240 thousand, was sold in 2010 at Christie's for $ 213 thousand. In 2012, a rare working Apple model 1 with 8KB RAM, created 36 years ago, went to an anonymous buyer for $ 374,500.
For the first time, the work of the Apple-1 computer, originally invented by Steve Wozniak for personal use, was demonstrated to the general public in April 1976. Wozniak's friend Steve Jobs decided to start producing computers for subsequent sale. Paul Terrell, the owner of the Byte Shop retail chain, was interested in his proposal, who ordered 50 computers from friends.
Incredibly, the first batch of Apple-1 was ready 30 days after the deal was concluded. Wozniak and Jobs sold it to Terrell for $ 500 each. The selling price of the device after adding the mark-up was $ 666. To make computers easy to use, Terrell began ordering wooden cases for them from a local carpenter.
The Apple I, the first Apple Computer product, differed from other hobbyist computers in that it was completely assembled on a circuit board. The only thing left for users to buy was the case, monitor, keyboard and power supply. Apple II, released to the market a year later, was already "packed" in a case.
The Apple I was equipped with a 1 MHz MOS 6502 processor and 4 KB of RAM expandable to 48 KB. The big drawback of the first personal computer was the impossibility to save the entered information. To solve this problem, Wozniak designed a board that allowed the use of cassette tape reels for storing data.
