• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 477 0

as complicated to manage as the microprocessor and marrying the two—the most important parts of the machine—brought no end of trouble. A defective memory chip could blow out the computer and the quirks lurking in the rows of memory chips were notoriously tough to pinpoint. Wozniak was choosing his memory chips at a time when all the leading semiconductor companies were fighting to establish an industry standard for them. There were pronounced differences in technology, performance, and price among the chips, so picking the right chip was a bit like betting on a poker game. Wozniak plumped for a chip that he had spotted at the Homebrew Club, one that was made by American Microsystems Inc., a Santa Clara company. Jobs was appalled by the choice, thought Wozniak could do better, and embarked on a search for a brand-new Intel chip that hadn’t filtered through to the electronics-supply stores.

Both the chips were dynamic RAMs and far superior to the static RAMs that were the standby of most hobbyists. Dynamic RAMs consumed less power than static RAMs and, in the long run, were also cheaper. However, they were far more complicated and most computer hobbyists clung to the adage, “Static memory works; dynamic memory doesn’t.” The crucial difference between the two parts was that information stored on dynamic chips would disappear unless it was refreshed with bursts of electricity every two thousandths of a second while the static RAMs didn’t require regular shock therapy. The Intel chip was also compatible with the logic used by microprocessors, had fewer pins than the AMI chip, eventually became the industry standard—and Jobs’s instinctive choice turned into a considerable triumph. Wozniak recalled long debates about the proper memory chip—“Steve was pushing to use the right part. We were lucky to be on the right track. It was one of the luckiest technology steps on the whole development. All the other hobby computers were using 2102 1K static RAMs.”

While Jobs was pushing from one direction, Wozniak found that Alex Kamradt was tugging from another. In the spring of 1976 Kamradt and his small team were still trying to convert the terminal Wozniak had designed during the summer of 1975 into a reliable product for Computer Conversor. Kamradt telephoned Wozniak at work and at home and buttonholed him at the Homebrew meetings. But he found that Wozniak was more interested in adding features to his new computer than in completing an old design. Kamradt also had to contend with the full persuasive power of Jobs who was imploring Wozniak to place his faith in Apple rather than in the uncertain prospects of Call Computer. To add conviction to his argument, Jobs introduced Wozniak to Ron Wayne, a field sales engineer at Atari responsible for making sure that prospective video-game distributors were up to snuff. Wayne had casually agreed to help Jobs come up with a motif for Apple and to draw schematics to accompany the printed circuit board. Jobs argued that Wozniak’s computer was doomed if he placed it in Kamradt’s hands. He insisted that the prospects for the machine were far brighter if it was produced by an alliance of Wozniak, Jobs, and Wayne.

Wayne was in his early forties, a portly man with boyish curly hair that was turning gray. At the end of the sixties he had started a company in Nevada to design and build slot machines, but it had failed during the business recession in the early seventies. Strapped for money, Wayne had borrowed $600 to finance a trip to California and eventually earned enough to pay off his debts. By the time that Jobs approached him for advice about Apple, Wayne believed he’d “had enough failures to be a very smart fellow.” He was also a strong believer in the permanent mark that engineers could leave on the world and liked to talk about “multifaceted, holistic engineering.” A bachelor, Wayne lived alone in Mountain View where he was reading books about economic disasters and debasement of currencies. He had become convinced that the global economic system was on the brink of collapse and had started