VW Kombi sale helped created the Apple Personal Computer

Gary L Seriously Crusin Dubber

146 posts · joined Feb 2009 · 26 Dec 2010, 6:31 pm

#818436

Fascinating facts about Steve Jobs inventor
of the Apple Personal Computer in 1976.

Jobs sold his Volkswagen micro-bus and Wozniak sold his Hewlett-Packard scientific calculator, which raised $1,300 to start their new company. With that capital base and credit begged from local electronics suppliers, they set up their first production line. Jobs encouraged Wozniak to quit his job at Hewlett-Packard and become the vice president in charge of research and development of the new enterprise. Jobs came up with the name of their new company Apple in memory of a happy summer he had spent as an orchard worker in Oregon.

A wave a day keeps the doctor away especially in a VW 😎:

oldtub356 Seriously Crusin Dubber

139 posts · joined Dec 2009 · 27 Dec 2010, 1:27 am

#818462

Nice linking; The Kombi to Apple, Gary.

It is amazing, the number of companies who aspire to be thought of as "Apple Type Companies" - a real compliment to the Apple way of doing things.

Over time, 'folk law' and 'politically correctness' tend to blur "facts".

For example, was Steve Jobs' Kombi just a plain old 'van' or a more respected 'Micro Bus'. Back in the day, I remember it being talked about as a van - I wouldn't be surprised in time, if more than one Kombi will claim to be the ori-gine-al Jobs' Kombi - like how many Herbies are there world wide. Sort of, spoils the fun a bit.

Stephen Wosniak was probably the technical "inventor" and Steve Jobs maybe "invented" the marketing concept of the Apple1 - in the times before they formed a company.

The origins of the Apple logo are a bit more certain, but also blurring over time.

At the time of incorporation of Apple Computer, the French computer company 'Compagnie des Machines Bull' had for several decades, used a 'tree' as its' logo. That company had been taken over by General Electric of America, who later merged with Honeywell Information Systems of America. This conglomerate protested the use of the (Newtons') tree as a logo by another computer company, so Apple Computer deferred, and used the Apple, without the tree - which had been used in the initial logo, designed by Ronald Wayne (the third, often forgotten Apple founder; finance and admin., maybe??).

Whatever the history, they sure shook more than apples out of the trees of the pre-existing big, fat and lazy computer companies.

I have seen a couple of Apple1 computers, but haven't seen a Jobs Kombi as yet - must be very collectable, if it survived.

Phil74Camper Head in the Clouds

2,703 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 30 Dec 2010, 12:52 pm

#818986

Agreed, Steve Wozniak was much more the tech guy and Jobs was more marketing - in fact Jobs is probably better at marketing than anyone!

According to the Mac History website, Jobs got $1500 for his 'VW bus' - no mention of it being a microbus or a deluxe anything - and Wozniac got $250 for his HP 65 calculator. The chances of it still being around today are pretty much nil.

http://www.mac-history.net/the-history-of-the-apple-macintosh/how-the-founders-of-apple-got-rich

Along similar lines, one of the original founders of Domino's Pizza, James Monaghan, sold his share of the company to his brother Tom in exchange for a Volkswagen Beetle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domino's_Pizza

General_Failure Use your head, don't abuse it!

1,036 posts · joined Jun 2004 · 2 Jan 2011, 12:49 pm

#819344

I was going to say that it was Steve Wozniak that invented the Apple I. Jobs is like ...I don't know. He's a total bastard no doubt but that is what helps make him who he is. A marketing genius. To be fair he also has an eye for the aesthetically pleasing.

I think Jobs made the right choice. if he really loved the type 2 he could afford to buy one now. Even one on eBay with an unrealistic reserve 😉

If at first you don't succeed. Build, build again.
Vehicle: 1975 Special order delivery walkthrough panel based LCA pop-top camper. Motor: Nippon 1.8L Single port Wasserboxer, Transmission: 3 rib 002.

h fractals - an ever changing lifestyle

7,671 posts · joined Feb 2005 · 2 Jan 2011, 6:21 pm

#819380

no wonder I feel at one with my mac.. ohmmm

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