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Welcome to the Steve Jobs and the Apple II History Fair! 
We created this website for our History Fair Project. 
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Process Paper

Process Paper

We chose this the topic of Steve Jobs The apple II and the introduction of the Silicon Valley to common households for many different reasons. We as normal Americans do not understand how much of an impact Steve Jobs made in the world of technology. Many middle class families have a computer made by apple or most commonly an iPhone or iPod. This fact that Steve Jobs innovations in technology are as big today as they were back in the day when the apple II came out is one of the many reasons i chose this topic. Another reason myself and my partners chose this topic is because we always thought of Steve Jobs as a very inspiring person. He had an idea and didn't go begging to others. He made his own computer by himself and his long time friend in his garage. He had a great mind with a great passion and large amount of integrity. We had to research a computer called the Apple 2 (II). Researching an innovative piece of machinery from back then gives me a sense of where my iPhone came from and what similar traits they had in common.

We conducted our research in unison and from many different sources. The first was of course the World Wide Web. We used the internet and its many websites in order to be informed more about our topic.We also used Apples Timeline to see when the Apple II was invented. The Silicon Valley was a place we had to study so we used a town map to know what kind of businesses Headquarters were in Silicon Valley. We also used a few books and manuals to see how the Apple II functioned.

The way we conducted this project was quite simplistic. We first found out what topic we would be choosing. We next compiled information and wrote those down to make citations. We then use all our primary and secondary sources to set an overview and get ready to pick and choose to see which ones we will be putting on the board. Nothing else was done in this project except for gaining and using information.

Finally , the theme for this years NHD social studies fair was "Leaders and Legacy". All projects will need to be related to the theme of "Leaders and Legacy" I personally don't think that there are any topics that fit the theme more perfectly then this. Steve Jobs was a leader of his era because he did something no one else did. Have an idea for a great computer with a monitor and usb port and successfully create the object. He also has a great legacy because of the company Apple. Apple has an iPhone and iPad and iPod and finally an iMac.There is a wide range of products in the Apple lineup.These products have also evolved from back then. They evolved so much that I can and am writing this essay on an Apple Product.

Citations

Primary Sources

1977 Apple II Introduction Ad “The Home Computer That’s Ready to Work, Play, and                            Grow   with you.” 1977. Apple Computers Inc. Web 17 Nov. 2014

http://www.macmothership.com/galley/miscHds2/1977IntroappleII2.jpg

Here we see a digital copy of the original Apple II advertisement. The ad says the Apple II features video graphics in 15 colors and has functions available, with Apple BASIC, and much more. We think this will be a useful secondary source in our project because it explains that the Apple II is able to have many Apple II peripherals. Many options will be available by next year, which was the year 1978

“Steve Jobs Interveiw: One-on-one-in 1995. “Steve Jobs Interview: One-on-one in 1995                           6 Oct.     2011. Computer World. Web 17 Nov. 2014

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2498543./it-management/steve                                            jobs-interview-one-onone-in-1995.html

In this interview, Steve Jobs talks about how “growing up in Silicon Valley was great”. He says that the engineers all around really influenced him. This is important because it explains that he gives examples of how technology has helped him to learn a lot about electronics.

“Wozniak Tearfully remembers his friend Steve Jobs.”Perf.Steve Wozniak. Associated                              Press,   2011    Film.

In this interview, Steve Wozniak talks with the Associated Press about his friend Steve Jobs. He talks about how people respond to Steve Jobs new idea. This is useful because it explains that he says, “everybody always wondered how he knew how to do this.” He says that he will always remember the memory of his friend that helped to found Apple Inc.

Secondary Sources

An Apple II. 2007, 1, New York. By Steven Edwards.

The Apple II+ is an upgraded version of the Apple II. This is useful because the picture shows the Apple II+ with a monitor, and a floppy disk system. It came out in1982 to public.

            Apple II, 2011. 3, United States. By Mark Richards.

The Apple II had its own keyboard and power supply, which was already an improvement over the Apple I. This is useful because it explains that it had the BASIC language in permanent memory.  The floppy disk drive, and the spreadsheet program VisiCalc made it a great hit.

Stengel, Steven. “Apple II computer.” Old computers. Oldcomputers.net Mar. 2014. Web                        17             Nov. 2014      

http://oldcomputers.net/appleii.html

Old computers article on the Apple II had a lot of information. The Apple II was one of the first computers with a color display, and had eight expansion slots. This is useful because no other computer had this kind of flexibility or expansion possibilities. These include memory expansion, floppy disk controllers, PASCAL and CP/M emulator cards, parallel, serial and SCSI cards, processor accelerators, video cards.

“Apple II floppy drives.” 2008. 1, Berlin. By Angus Kuckes.

In this picture, you can see the Apple II floppy drives. This is useful because they were stripped down Shuguart SA 400 with the most logic removed and done in software. The drives are connected with the Shuguart bus ribbon cable to the floppy controller in the system.  

Apple II Monochrome Monitor. 2008. 1, Berlin. By Angus Kuckes.

This picture is a up-close shot of the Apple II monitor. This is useful because you can see the ‘Brightness’ knob to the side of the screen. Also viewed here is the pivot adjustment of the screen for optimum view angle.

Kuckes, Ansgar. “Comparison HP 9845 vs. Apple II and Commodore PET 2001.”                                    “Comparison               HP 9845 vs. Apple II and Commodore PET 2001.”

              Ansgar Kuckes, 2008. Web 17 Nov. 2014.

                 http://www.hp9845.net/9845/history/comparison/    

Here we see information about the Apple II.  The site says the Apple II began production in April, 1977, and ended production in 1980.  It was succeeded by the Apple II+ in 1979.  We think this is useful because it explains that the keyboard was a full stroke, 52 key, caps only version.  Its standard expansions included the Disc drive controller, super serial card, 80- character-card, Z80-card and are very stable.

Weyhrich, Steven. “Steve jobs.” “Apple II History.” Apple II Webring, 6 Oct. 2011. Web                        17             Nov. 2014.

http://apple2history.org/2011/10/06/steve-jobs/

Here we see information about the improvements the Apple II made over the original Apple I.  Steve Jobs was involved in designing the Apple II, and a remodel, the Apple IIc.  We think this is useful because it explains that the Apple II was a huge advancement over the teletype/printer/front-panel-switch methods of hobby computers interfacing that preceded the Apple II.

Aspray, Bill. “The Apple II” CHM Revolution. Revolution, 13 June 2011. Web 17 Nov.                                   2014.

             http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/personal-computers/17/300

Bill Aspray’s site on the Apple II had varying information. The Apple II debuted in 1977, and was promoted as a great computer for ordinary people. His information is useful because it explains that the Apple II was simple, and was universally accepted as a variable computer. It was designed in 1977. A TV served as the display

The Apple II. 2008. 1, Berlin. By Ansgar Kuckes.

In this chart we see the Apple II and its technical data. Its built in language was the Integer basic, its keyboard was full stroke, 52 keys, and was caps only, and had I/O-Ports. We think this is useful because it explains that these included Video out (Composite), 8 expansion slots, tape recorder (1,500 bps), game controllers/paddles with 3 TTL and 3 analog, plus 4 TTL outputs.

The Apple II. 2008. 1, Berlin. By Angus Kuckes

The Apple II is switched on. After powering up, the Apple II started in machine language monitor, not BASIC. This is useful because you had to manually start BASIC with CTRL-B or CTRL-C.

Weyhrich, Steven. “The Apple II Was About Games.” Apple II history. Apple II  history,                         18             July 2012.web.17 Nov 2014

http://apple2history.org/2012/07/18/the-apple-II-was-about-games/

The Apple II made significant contributions to the gaming industry, that later laid the foundations for the work of later game consoles like the Nintendo, or even today’s Facebook games. This is useful because it explains that games like “Dungeons or Despair” and “Castle Wolfstein” were some of the earlier examples of games with their genres, like stealth and shooter.

Edwards, Steven, “What Is An Apple II?” Apple2fpgea:Reconstructing an Apple II on an                        FPGA. Columbia University, 2007. Web 17 Nov. 2014.

http://www.cs.columbia.edu/wsedwards/apple2fpga/

The Apple II was one of the first very successful home/personal computers. It was released inn1977, but really came out in 1978 when the 140,000 Disk II 5.25-inch floppy drive became available, followed by the VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet program.  His is useful because it explains that it came with an integrated keyboard, a one-bit sound port, and a game port with a two-axis analog joystick, famous for its video display.