Re: Apple II mentioned in November 2003 Popular Science

[Roger Johnstone <roger@ihug.invalid>]

In <bn2add$s65$1@freenet9.carleton.ca> Michael Black wrote:
> Obsbedia2 (obsbedia2@aol.com) writes:
>> Pop Sci has an article on classic computers being able to handle the 
>> job.  Included is the observation that until the hardware in industry 
>> is removed, the computer isn't usually upgraded.  Among the veterns 
>> still plugging away, there is a mention of someone still using an 
>> Apple II with a spectroscope.   --Jay Edwards
> 
> If you think back twenty to twenty five years, there were plenty of
> things that could make use of a computer, yet weren't common enough
> to justify the expense of building a unit from the ground up.  So it's
> not really a surprise that small computers were used for this sort of
> thing, and still are.  Buy one, and it provides the development system.
> Add the specialized hardware, if any, and then you can supply the 
> product to the customer, at  a price that while high, is still cheaper 
> than building from scratch and cheaper than the alternatives.
>
> Some computers were better at this than others, because there
> was flexibility.  The expansion bus of the Apple II obviously allowed
> for a lot of additions, compared to one missing the bus.

This is a quote from an interview with Steve Jobs published in Playboy 
back in 1985. I bought this issue a few years ago just to read the 
interview. (Yeah, yeah, he only reads it for the articles!)

"..we discovered that, at least as of a few years ago, every tactical
nuclear weapon in Europe manned by U.S. personnel was targeted by an
Apple II computer. Now, we didn't sell computers to the military; they
went out and bought them at a dealer's, I guess. But it didn't make us
feel good to know that our computers were being used to target nuclear
weapons in Europe. The only bright side of it was that at least they
weren't [Radio Shack] TRS-80s! Thank God for that."

-- 
Roger Johnstone, Invercargill, New Zealand

PS/2 Mouse Adapter for vintage Apple II or Mac
order at http://vintageware.orcon.net.nz