A $25 Chip Let Steve Wozniak Afford an Apple Prototype
Intel built the microprocessor to simplify calculators, but hobbyists saw the personal computer first.
An Apple prototype became affordable to build when a $25 chip offered an alternative to Intel's $360 chip.
In the early 1970s, Intel, the chip maker, designed the microprocessor, the brain of a computer, simply to avoid redesigning calculator chip sets from scratch every time. Thousands of outside tinkerers saw a bigger use, building their own personal computers in ways Intel never imagined.
Price was the barrier. Intel's 8080, the chip used in the Altair, listed at $360, about $2,300 today, so MITS, the small company selling the Altair hobbyist computer, could barely make a profit buying chips in bulk at $75 each.
Then MOS Technologies, a smaller chip maker, began selling its 6502 for $25, about $150 today. At that price, engineer Steve Wozniak, who would cofound Apple, could finally pay for a prototype Apple. That cheap chip, and a similarly priced rival, forced Intel to cut its prices, too.
Questions people ask
What was the Altair?
The Altair 8800, sold by MITS in 1975, is often called the first commercially successful personal computer. It arrived as a $397 kit with switches and blinking lights and no keyboard or screen, and it sold mainly to hobbyists who loved to tinker.
Why was the MOS 6502 such a big deal?
MOS Technology was a small Pennsylvania chip maker founded by former Motorola engineers. Its 6502 became famous because it was far cheaper than Intel and Motorola chips while still being powerful, and it later powered the Apple II, the Commodore PET, the Atari 2600, and the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Who is Steve Wozniak?
Steve Wozniak was the engineering partner to Steve Jobs at Apple. He designed the Apple I and Apple II computers, with the first Apple I prototype built around the affordable MOS 6502 chip.