A diagram of Apple’s Lisa computer from a draft of the Lisa user’s guide. Photos: Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
A confidential letter introducing the draft of the original Lisa Owner’s Guide. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
The full confidential document. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
Once upon a time, Apple software came on cassette tapes. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
A copy of the December, 1986 issue of
Bandley Shuffle, a magazine for Apple employees. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
The 1989 press release for Apple’s Macintosh SE/30. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
A copy of Apple’s second-quarter 1984 quarterly report. Everything changed for Apple in 1984, the year the company introduced the Macintosh. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
A collection of Apple-related buttons. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
Apple’s Lisa computer, the ill-fated predecessor to the Macintosh. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
An AppleII GS, signed by Steve Wozniak. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
The circuit board of an Apple IIc. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
A button promoting the Apple IIe. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
Even more Apple-related buttons. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
A button promoting Apple’s famous Apple II. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
An original Macintosh, signed by Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
An Apple II, the computer that helped Apple become a computer powerhouse, signed by cofounder Steve Wozniak. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
An Apple IIe, complete with disk drives and monitor. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
The front cover of a copy of the original Macintosh business plan. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
A page from the Mac business plan riffing on the famous wine ads starring Orson Welles. Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
A page from the original Macintosh business plan, riffing on the famous Paul Masson wine commercials starring Orson Welles.Photo: Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 40 years since two young Silicon Valley kids–was it even called Silicon Valley back then?–got together to make a little personal computer they called the Apple I.
Everyone loves buttons, including Apple fans and employees.Photo: Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
Today, we celebrate 40 years of the company that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started. Back then, there’s no way anyone could have predicted that Apple would eventually become the most valuable corporation in the world, especially not in the fallow days of the mid-’90s, after Jobs was fired, and when the company’s product line was more complex and confusing than the list of ingredients on a package of processed cheese.
An Apple IIGS signed by Apple cofounder Steve WozniakPhoto: Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
Yet through all those years, there have always been passionate Apple fans, the kind of people who will go to the barricades to stand up for their beloved brand, the people some derisively call “fanboys,” while others call them “we.”
Over at the DigiBarn Computer Museum in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains, Bruce Damer has been collecting amazing artifacts for years, and here, he shares some of his best Apple-related treats with us. Enjoy!
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In an age where most software is in the cloud, it’s hard to remember that in the early days of the personal computer era, a lot of software was distributed on cassette.Photo: Bruce Damer, DigiBarn Computer Museum
Daniel Terdiman is a San Francisco-based technology journalist with nearly 20 years of experience. A veteran of CNET and VentureBeat, Daniel has also written for Wired, The New York Times, Time, and many other publicationsMore
