The Apple III (styled as apple ///) was a business-oriented personal computer produced by Apple Computer and released in 1980. It was intended as the successor to the Apple II series, but unfortunately, it was largely considered a failure in the marke. Here are some key details about the Apple III:

1. Design and Features:

   • The Apple III was designed to provide key features that business users wanted in a personal computer:
     • A true typewriter-style upper/lowercase keyboard (unlike the Apple II, which only supported uppercase).
     • An 80-column display.
   • It ran the Apple SOS operating system.
   • The internal code name for the Apple III was “Sara,” named after Dr. Wendell Sander’s daughter.

2. Development and Challenges:

   • Development on the Apple III began in late 1978.
   • Serious stability issues required a design overhaul and a recall of the first 14,000 machines produced.
   • The Apple III was formally reintroduced on November 9, 1981, but its reputation had already suffered, and it failed to perform well commercially.

3. Technical Problems and Reception:

   • The Apple III faced reliability problems due to design choices:
     • Lack of air vents and fans (at Steve Jobs’ insistence) led to overheating and chips coming loose from their sockets.
     • The real-time clock was also prone to failure.
   • By the time it was discontinued on April 24, 1984, only about 65,000 units had been sold.
   • Despite its challenges, the Apple III’s higher profit margin still contributed to $100 million in annual gross profits at its peak.

4. Revisions:

   • The Apple III revised edition was announced on November 9, 1981:
     • Improved manufacturing and quality control procedures.
     • Base memory increased to 256 KB of RAM.
     • The faulty clock was left out of the spec and was only available as an optional add-in.
     • An optional 5 MB ProFile hard drive became available.

In summary, the Apple III was a well-intentioned business computer that faced significant challenges and ultimately fell short of expectations in the market. Despite its shortcomings, it remains an interesting piece of computing history. 🍎🖥️