History

Apple Computer was founded on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ron Wayne. The Apple I was introduced at the Homebrew Computer Club in May with Paul Terrell of the Byte Shop ordering 50 units at $500 apiece.

Joe Torzewski purchased his Apple 1 in 1977, direct from Apple and not long after the initial introduction. He was an engineer, like most early buyers of personal computers. Joe chose the Apple 1 over the competing S-100 sytems largly due to the integrated design. Problems with the S-100 bus were plentiful, whereas the Apple 1 already had everything onboard. But even still, it was possible to add an extension board, which Joe later did. Previous to his Apple 1 purchase, Joe had no computer experience, but he was handy with a soldering iron, and so the Apple 1 appealed to him. Joe's Apple 1 saw active use for over two and a half years, before being succeeded by a TRS-80 Model I, and shortly thereafter an Apple II.