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When Apple Sold 4K of RAM for $1,298 and Called It Personal Computing

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Ran across this old Apple II order form and thought people here would appreciate it.

What I like about it is how completely un-dramatic it is. "Order your Apple II now." No grand prophecy about the future, no smiling family gathered around VisiCalc, no "world changing" language. Just a price list, a form, and a mailing address in Cupertino. Very much "here's the computer, send us the money."

The numbers are what really grab you, though. $1,298 for a 4K Apple II, and if you want to move up the memory ladder, the price gets serious in a hurry. That's always the part that makes these old documents fun to look at. People today hear "Apple II" and think cute beige machine, maybe some games, maybe a nostalgia piece. At the time, this was not a toy purchase. This was real money for real hardware.

And I love how this still has one foot in the hobbyist world. You can order the full system, or you can go board-only, which is such a great early-micro era detail. Apple was already becoming Apple, but it still clearly expected some customers to be the sort of people who'd look at a computer and think, "Yeah, just send me the board."

A few other bits I got a kick out of:

The free vinyl carrying case offer is amazing. Nothing says late-70s computing like lugging around a very expensive computer in a vinyl case.

Also: BankAmericard and Master Charge. That alone dates it better than any copyright line could.

And then there's the wonderfully matter-of-fact note about personal checks taking extra time. Different universe. You filled this thing out, mailed it in, and then waited like a civilized person.

Stuff like this is why I enjoy ephemera almost as much as the machines themselves. Manuals, ads, warranty cards, order sheets - they show you how these computers were actually presented to buyers at the time, before decades of mythology got layered on top. The Apple II wasn't "legendary" yet. It was just a very expensive machine you could order by mail if you had the nerve and the cash.

Anyway, thought it was a neat piece of early Apple history. The "RAM Complement" wording alone is worth the price of admission.


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When Apple Sold 4K of RAM for $1,298 and Called It Personal Computing mummycullen@gmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (MummyChunk) - 2026-03-09 00:18 -0400
  Re: When Apple Sold 4K of RAM for $1,298 and Called It Personal Computing kalevi@kolttonen.fi (Kalevi Kolttonen) - 2026-03-09 13:51 +0000
    Re: When Apple Sold 4K of RAM for $1,298 and Called It Personal Computing Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> - 2026-03-10 10:49 +1300
      Re: When Apple Sold 4K of RAM for $1,298 and Called It Personal Computing kalevi@kolttonen.fi (Kalevi Kolttonen) - 2026-03-09 22:41 +0000
        Re: When Apple Sold 4K of RAM for $1,298 and Called It Personal Computing Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> - 2026-03-10 13:26 +1300
          Re: When Apple Sold 4K of RAM for $1,298 and Called It Personal Computing kalevi@kolttonen.fi (Kalevi Kolttonen) - 2026-03-10 05:46 +0000
            Re: When Apple Sold 4K of RAM for $1,298 and Called It Personal Computing kalevi@kolttonen.fi (Kalevi Kolttonen) - 2026-03-10 13:59 +0000
              Re: When Apple Sold 4K of RAM for $1,298 and Called It Personal Computing Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> - 2026-03-11 11:02 +1300
                Chaos in the Lab Duhast <duhast@123gmail.com> - 2026-03-11 19:39 -0400
                Re: When Apple Sold 4K of RAM for $1,298 and Called It Personal Computing mummycullen@gmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (MummyChunk) - 2026-03-12 22:43 -0400
            Re: When Apple Sold 4K of RAM for $1,298 and Called It Personal Computing scott@alfter.diespammersdie.us (Scott Alfter) - 2026-03-10 14:18 +0000
              Re: When Apple Sold 4K of RAM for $1,298 and Called It Personal Computing Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> - 2026-03-11 10:54 +1300
              Re: When Apple Sold 4K of RAM for $1,298 and Called It Personal Computing Brian Patrie <bpatrie@bellsouth.spamisicky.net> - 2026-03-11 21:19 -0500
  Re: When Apple Sold 4K of RAM for $1,298 and Called It Personal Computing Brian Patrie <bpatrie@bellsouth.spamisicky.net> - 2026-03-11 21:18 -0500
  Re: When Apple Sold 4K of RAM for $1,298 and Called It Personal Computing Michael J. Mahon <mjmahon@aol.com> - 2026-03-13 23:06 +0000

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