Vintage Apple 1 Replica Now Runs Modern AI
A Modern Twist on a Vintage Classic
In a stunning display of how versatile early computers can be, a replica of an Apple 1 made an appearance at the Vintage Computer Festival West, an event managed by the Computer History Museum. This was no ordinary replica; it was upgraded with a modern Wi-Fi module, enabling it to run the latest instance of ChatGPT.
What makes this project even more remarkable is that it was assembled by none other than Daniel Kottke, an original Apple employee and a legendary figure in the development of the Macintosh. His involvement bridges the gap between Apple's foundational past and the AI-powered future.
The Legacy of the Apple 1
First released in 1976, the original Apple 1 was a foundational piece of personal computing history. Its specifications included a 1 MHz processor, just 4KB of memory, and a tiny 256 bytes of storage.
Designed for the hobbyist market, it carried a price tag of $666.66, which translates to approximately $3,700 in today's currency. The Apple 1 had a short production run, with only about 200 units sold before it was succeeded by the far more popular Apple II just three years later.