{"product_id":"9780226840031-the-apple-ii-age","title":"The Apple II Age","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHow the Computer Became Personal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn engrossing origin story for the personal computer-showing how the Apple II's software helped a machine transcend from hobbyists' plaything to essential home appliance.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Skip the iPhone, the iPod, and the Macintosh. If you want to understand how Apple Inc. became an industry behemoth, look no further than the 1977 Apple II. Designed by the brilliant engineer Steve Wozniak and hustled into the marketplace by his Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, the Apple II became one of the most prominent personal computers of this dawning industry.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The Apple II was a versatile piece of hardware, but its most compelling story isn't found in the feat of its engineering, the personalities of Apple's founders, or the way it set the stage for the company's multibillion-dollar future. Instead, historian Laine Nooney shows, what made the Apple II iconic was its \u003ci\u003esoftware\u003c\/i\u003e. In software, we discover the material reasons people bought computers. Not to hack, but to play. Not to code, but to calculate. Not to program, but to print. The story of personal computing in the United States is not about the evolution of hackers-it's about the rise of everyday users.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Recounting a constellation of software creation stories, Nooney offers a new understanding of how the hobbyists' microcomputers of the 1970s became the personal computer we know today. From iconic software products like \u003ci\u003eVisiCalc\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Print Shop\u003c\/i\u003e to historic games like \u003ci\u003eMystery House\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSnooper Troops\u003c\/i\u003e to long-forgotten disk-cracking utilities, \u003ci\u003eThe Apple II Age\u003c\/i\u003e offers an unprecedented look at the people, the industry, and the money that built the microcomputing milieu-and why so much of it converged around the pioneering Apple II.\u003cbr\u003e   \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55706215612790,"sku":"9780226840031","price":17.24,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/stand_34492685.jpg?v=1748525581","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780226840031-the-apple-ii-age","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}