Language⇒Japanese

My appleII Notes-13

My AppleII Notes-13

00/02/27 A Personal Guide to Personal Computers

"A Personal Guide to Personal Computers"という50ページ程のApple社製小冊子を入手した。 I got hold of this booklet of about 50 pages titled "A Personal Guide to Personal Computers". It was issued in October 1982 and contains illustrations that are used extensively to explain "What can be done with a personal computer".

The author of the booklet was Peter Lundstrom, and Don Weller illustrated it in his own unique style.
全8章からなり、 It consists of eight chapters, including:
・コンピュータは何をしてくれるのか ・どのようなシステムを構成すれば良いのか ・どのように動かすのか ・いくらかかるか ・質問と回答 等について記述されている。 -What does the computer do?

 -What kind of system should be constructed?

- How does it work?

 -How much will it cost?

-Questions and answers "What Will A Personal Computer Do For Me?"の章では、コンピュータには7つの能力があるとしており、具体的には、会計計算、ワープロ、教育、データベース、エンターテインメント、通信、プログラミングの7つの分野が紹介されている。

The chapter "What will a personal computer do for me?" states that the computer has seven areas where it has abilities. There are specifically accounting calculations, word processing, education, databases, entertainment, communication, and programming. 美しいイラストと共に、内容も平易に丁寧に記述されていて、ホビイストではなく、パーソナルコンピュータを初めて使おうという人を対象とした構成になっているが、約20年経た現時点で読んでもメモリ等ハードウエアの一部の記述をのぞいては大きな違和感はない。Along with the beautiful illustrations, the subject is described simply and clearly. The booklet is not for a hobbyist. It is targeting people who will use a personal computer for the first time. Even so, about 20 years later,  if we it read now, there is no sense of incongruity except for the descriptions of some of the hardware, such as memory. パーソナルコンピュータの用途という点では、1982年にはほぼ予測が可能な技術水準に到達していたことがこの小冊子からもうかがわれる。From the point of personal computer application, this booklet shows that the technological level in 1982 was at a predictable level.

"A Personal Guide to Personal Computers" is a famous booklet that is also mentioned in "The Two Steves and Apple" in the section on Apple publications, and it is also on display in the American History Museum of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.

The computer exhibit at the museum is a wonderful way to experience the historical development of computers. In fact, there are a number of machines represented in the exhibition, such as the ENIAC, IBM 360, and Alto.
In the exhibition on personal computers, the Apple I , Apple II, Macintosh, Osborne-1, TRS-80, Commodore-64, and the IBM PC are on display, and on the walls, posters,  magazines, and other memorabilia are also displayed. Whether the booklet was consciously so placed there or not is not known, but it is certainly displayed most prominently. The computer exhibition at the  Smithsonian is covered in the book “Landmarks In Digital Computing”.


 Personal Computer Exhibition at Smithsonian Museum. Photo sugarmac / Kenpapa  



(スミソニアン博物館のApple II)

I might add that the exhibit at the Smithsonian of the Apple II has its white plastic cover of the Power lamp missing. The exhibit comprises an Original Apple II + Sanyo 9 "Monitor + Disk II. It looks like someone took the cover as a souvenir, but since it is such a precious exhibit, I would like to see it replaced.

The IBM PC, which was released in August 1981, gracefully penetrated  the business computer market, and 200 thousand units were shipped in 1982. Meanwhile, although the Apple II in 1982 shipped 300 thousand units, the machine, which had by then been out five years, was restricted by its CPU, display capability, inability to handle lower case letters and other things. The Apple III lost its reputation because of it high price and low quality screen, and it did not challenge the IBM PC, and the year become one in which hardship was predicated to follow.

The ad below is Apple's “12-page Ad” advertisement that was run in magazines in 1982. The catchline is "What the average business person doesn’t know about personal computers could fill a 12-page ad." (Cover page), “And what we couldn’t fit in this ad could fill a book or two."(Back cover), and "A Personal Guide to Personal Computers" is also introduced on the back cover.
If a businessman happens to have already read "A Personal Guide to Personal Computers" , there is a humorous comment saying that "At computer stores and cocktail parties,  the mood will not get uncomfortable when personal computers are talked about". In terms of price, I can’t imagine that an Apple III set with 5 MB Profile and Apple Monitor at US$ 7000 or more was serious competition for the  cheaper IBM PC, with a main unit costing US $1565. It is very interesting that in this period when business use of personal computers was rapidly expanding, Apple's dilemma and the confusion of businessmen about personal computers at that time were accurately conveyed by this advertisement.


Apple Computer magazine ad in 1982


whatne13(E).htm