Apple /// monitor
Comment from E-mail
Hello. I was fooling around on my Apple ][e the other today and finally noticed it’s monitor says “monitor///” on it. It’s a bit wider than the ][e, so I guess it’s an Apple /// monitor. I wanted to ask you: what was it you think about the Apple /// that just didn’t work? I’ve heard it wasn’t all that bad a machine, but I’ve seen pictures of it and sure looks big and bulky. The built-in 5.25in floppy drive idea wasn’t seen again, as far as I know, until the Apple ][c Plus (which I used to own, w/ a built in 3.5in floppy on the side of the keyboard). I also heard there were some heating/cooling problems with it. Is what I have heard true?
Woz
The Apple /// had a lot of hardware problems, including heat problems and PC traces that were too thin for that time and which shorted out. Also, the clock chip had to initially be left out due to a chip problem. There was very little software at first. Of the 5 main programs that we’d planned, only one was ready, the one being written outside of Apple (Visicalc). It had an Apple ][ mode but we actually added chips to disable functions, like the 80 column display and extra RAM. This was done so that users wouldn’t think that the Apple ][ was good for business. It was a marketing concept.