Micro-computer fans form firm

Palo Alto Times

April 28, 1976

Two young computer enthusiasts who couldn't afford to buy a micro-computer last year instead put together their own — and it was so successful they've decided to market it.

On May 1, Steven Jobs, 21, and Stephen Wozniak, 26, will deliver 60 models of Apple Computer I to computer shops in Mountain View and Orange, Calif.

They also will market blank circuit less computer boards for hobbyists who want to build their own computers. The boards have metal tracers and a legend for where to place circuits.

Jobs is a part-time physics students at Stanford University; Wozniak designs calculators at Hewlett/Packard in Cupertino.

A year ago, neither knew much about micro computers, though each had a background in standard computers.

They joined the Homebrew Computer Club at SLAC and after six months built a computer based on the 6502 Mos Technology microprocessor (known as the computer "chip," or the heart of a cpmputer). The number of requests they received for their computer prompted them to go into business. The complete computer board, including memory, without a case, will sell for about $550.

Apple Computer I has a simpler, smaller, less expensive and more versatile computer board than existing models, Jobs said. "Dynamic memory" — whose contents can be controlled by users, in contrast to "static memory" — and multifunction circuits are the two basic ideas behind the computer.

Despite competition from larger, established firms, Jobs and Wozniak see a bright market outlook. More and more people are buying computers and even those who already have a computer want another, Jobs said.

"It's like a car. People don't use them just to go places. They're used for other reasons, like to impress other people," he said.