Apple II Plus

Apple II Plus The Apple II Plus was a personal computer model produced by Apple Computer, Inc. introduced in 1979 as an enhancement of the Apple II. It aimed to consolidate Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak's early design innovations while addressing demands from educators, hobbyists, and businesses alike. The machine became a focal product for Paul Laughton's Disk II system, widespread Vassar College adoptions, and various software publishers such as Microsoft, Sirius Software, and Broderbund.

History

The Apple II Plus emerged after the initial success of the Apple II in the mid-1970s and amid competition from Commodore PET, Tandy TRS-80, and Atari 8-bit family. Apple introduced the Plus to support the new Monitor II standard and to incorporate the MOS Technology 6502 architecture already popularized by other firms. Corporate strategy was influenced by board members including Arthur Rock and partnerships with vendors such as Wozniak's collaborators and Paul Terrell's retail efforts at The Byte Shop. The Plus played a role in early education technology programs at institutions like Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and it featured in the rise of software distribution through catalogs from Byte and Creative Computing.

Hardware

The II Plus used the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor and shipped with 4 KB to 48 KB of RAM standard and later models supporting 64 KB via bank switching. Its motherboard provided seven expansion slots compatible with cards from firms such as Microsoft and Corvus Systems. Display options included NTSC composite color output supporting low-resolution and high-resolution graphics modes used by titles like VisiCalc and Zork. Sound was primitive via a single-channel speaker controlled by software; input used a built-in keyboard derived from Apple II keyboard layouts. Storage interfaces supported cassette through an audio interface and floppy disks using the Disk II controller designed by Wozniak and marketed with Wozniak's licensing oversight.

Operating System and Software

The Plus ran firmware based on Apple BASIC in ROM and supported language interpreters and compilers including Microsoft BASIC licensed for the platform. CP/M compatibility was achievable through Z-80 softcard add-ons, enabling use of WordStar, dBASE, and ASM development tools. The computer became a key platform for spreadsheet software such as VisiCalc from Software Arts and for early game publishers like Infocom and Sierra On-Line. Educational packages from The Learning Company and programming aids from Sargon and Microsoft broadened its utility in high schools and universities. The ROMs included monitor routines and character ROMs influenced by standards used by companies such as Apple Computer, Inc.'s contemporaries.

Peripherals and Expansion

A robust third-party ecosystem produced peripherals including the Disk II floppy drive, printer interfaces compatible with Epson MX-80 and Apple Dot Matrix Printer, modem expansions supporting Bell 103 standards, and hard disk controllers from firms like Corvus Systems. Graphics cards and memory expansion cards from Applied Engineering and A2 Heuristics extended capabilities. Networking experiments used protocols and hardware inspired by ARCNET and Ethernet research in academic labs at Xerox PARC and Stanford Research Institute. Hobbyist expansions included language cards for additional ROMs, Z-80 cards for CP/M from Microsoft partners, and sound cards from companies such as Sweet Micro Systems.

Reception and Legacy

Contemporaneous reviews in magazines like Byte and Creative Computing praised the Plus for expandability compared with offerings from Commodore Business Machines and RadioShack. It helped catalyze the microcomputer software industry with titles from VisiCorp, Lotus, and Broderbund and influenced later Apple models including the Apple IIe and Apple IIgs. Museums and archives such as the Computer History Museum and The Strong National Museum of Play preserve units and documentation. Alumni of Apple teams, including Steve Wozniak and Rod Holt, reference the II Plus era in oral histories and retrospectives involving figures like Daniel Kottke and Walt Mossberg. Its ecosystem seeded companies later central to the technology industry, including Microsoft, Adobe Systems, and early venture capital investments from firms linked to Arthur Rock and Sequoia Capital founders.

Category:Apple II series