Chapter 1
Birth of the valley: From audio oscillators to silicon chips
Chapter 2
Designing the personal computer: Out of the labs and into homes
Chapter 3
The internet gold rush: Browsers, bubbles, and mobile apps
Chapter 4
The intelligence age: From social feeds to neural networks
Ch 2 · Designing the personal computer: Out of the labs and into homes
steve Starting in March 1975, Menlo Park hobbyists gathered at the Homebrew Computer Club to trade parts, schematics, and collaborative ideas.
Quiz
In which California city did the Homebrew Computer Club hold its historic first meeting in March 1975?
Quiz
Which legendary computer engineer first demonstrated the Apple I prototype to his fellow hobbyists at the Homebrew Computer Club?
steve The 1977 Apple II brought fully integrated consumer computers into everyday American homes.
Quiz
In which California city was the suburban garage located where Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak assembled the first Apple computers?
Quiz
Unlike its predecessor, what user-friendly feature did the 1977 Apple II introduce to appeal to everyday households?
Fun Fact
Apple's third founder: Ronald Wayne, Apple's third co-founder, sold his 10% stake in 1976 for just $800. Today, that stake would be worth hundreds of billions of dollars!
Quiz
Which research lab invented the graphical user interface, the mouse, and ethernet, only to watch other companies commercialize them?
Quiz
In what year did Steve Jobs famously visit Xerox PARC, gaining inspiration for the graphical design of the Macintosh computer?
Glossary
personal computer (noun)
A compact computer designed for use by one person at a time. In 1977, Apple introduced the Apple II, which successfully brought digital technology into household living rooms.
A compact computer designed for use by one person at a time. In 1977, Apple introduced the Apple II, which successfully brought digital technology into household living rooms.
Quiz
Which software giant did Larry Ellison co-found in 1977, originally under the name Software Development Laboratories?
Quiz
What type of software did Oracle pioneer to help businesses organize and query massive amounts of digital information?
steve Menlo Park firms like Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia near Stanford provided high-risk funding to early startups like Apple and Genentech.
Quiz
Which Menlo Park street became globally famous as the epicentre of the venture capital industry funding Silicon Valley startups?