How Californian culture shaped the future of home computing.
At some point in the mid-late 1980s, I signed up to an 'elective' computer coding class. As it would turn out, it was the right time and the right place to start learning about computers, about Apple computers.
'Computers and society are out on a first date in this decade, and for some crazy reason, we're right in the right place and the right time to make that romance blossom,' said Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc.
Apart from the odd game of Space Invaders or Pacman played at the local hangout with friends at the weekend — think 'Stranger Things' without the weird goings on — I knew very little about computers but I knew they were becoming more prevalent in the world outside of school. Like most young people then or now, new technology didn’t faze me. I also happened to be growing up in California, a place that knew a thing or two about fostering creativity and innovation from its earliest days. The state motto was, after all, 'Eureka'.
California has always been a place characterised by pioneers and gold diggers with a mindset of spirited individualism and entrepreneurship, but in the 1980s it came to the fore. Whether it was the sunny climate, the laid-back, carefree attitude, something made it that bit more innovative, that bit more experimental and entrepreneurial though many might legitimately point out it was also ground-zero for techno-geek greed and self-interest. This quote from an essay entitled 'The California Ideology' by British academics Richard Barbrook and Andy Cameron perhaps sums it up best:
'At such moments of profound social change, anyone who can offer a simple explanation of what is happening will be listened to with great interest. At this crucial juncture, a loose alliance of writers, hackers, capitalists and artists from the West Coast of the USA have succeeded in defining a heterogenous orthodoxy for the coming information age: the California Ideology.'
it was the energy, vision and quirkiness of the founders that set Apple apart
From the geeks and techno-hippies at UC Berkeley and Stanford who founded clubs such as the 'Homebrew Computer Club' (who would later count Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak as members), it seemed that the full range of chancers, idealists, dreamers and hackers in California were not only embracing technology, they were changing the rules of the system. Creating a new dynamic and inventing a whole new way of approaching it.
Of course, corporations like Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Xerox and Atari (inventors of the famous 'Pong' game) were already well-established tech 'brands' but most of these corporate giants saw personal computing as a dead-end. They saw it as too niche, too small and grubby to play any meaningful role in the lives of the general public. By contrast, it was the energy, vision and quirkiness of the founders that set Apple apart. They were literally inventing the future.
In 1980s California, the tech industry was a largely heady mix of homespun idealism and innovation spearheaded primarily by the lefty techno-geek fraternity, but it's wrong to assume they were all anti-capitalists. A young Steve Jobs for example, was already keen to move on from the computer hobbyist stage of the 'Homebrew Computer Club' and onto something bigger. As Steve Wozniak would later recall:
'He [Steve Jobs] had a tremendous drive to start a company … Steve wanted to have a successful product, go out and start selling it, and make some money. He also had excellent product ideas for the upcoming home computer.'
Most of these techno geeks weren't interested in bringing down power structures so much as getting their approval and accessing the technology which they could then re-imagine and re-work to align with their goals. They didn't see technology or corporations as innately evil, they wanted a piece of the action too. These were the burgeoning progressive capitalists, the self-made entrepreneurs who chimed perfectly with Reagan's America (or Margaret Thatcher's Britain for that matter). It's just that instead of suits, they sported Hawaiian shirts, beards and Birkenstocks. The creation of Apple was equal parts unbridled capitalism and DIY hippie ethos with a good dose of innovation.
For the generation still at school, some of this Californian spirit of innovation and vision fortuitously trickled down into the education system. At least a few of our kaftan-wearing, liberally-minded teachers also seemed to be interested in doing things a little differently and made efforts to channel that energy into their teaching. At my school, we were offered 'elective' classes that were a little bit more creative than just woodwork or sewing — one semester an elective in speed-reading was even offered to the senior students.
Although not everyone embraced this new ethos, there were enough who did to make a difference to the direction that teaching and learning took at my school. We were also lucky that the pressures of gender stereotyping which no doubt existed, didn't put most students off from pursuing the extra-curricular activities of their choice. Sure, girls could try out for the cheerleading squad and glee club, but we were also encouraged to try out for tennis, debating team and, sign-up for computing class too.
So while the most technological thing I probably owned was a very basic hi-fi system, when I walked into that room full of Apple computers it felt like I was joining an exciting new world. The future was here and I was going to be part of it. All thanks to the generosity of a young Steve Jobs.
In May 1983, a 28 year-old Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer Inc. announced a programme called 'Kids Can't Wait' to the public. The programme's objective was to give an Apple IIe to every primary and secondary school in California. Approximately 9,250 schools would get a free Apple computer. What sounded like an altruistic move by Apple was actually a corporate tax relief incentive. The idea came about when, a year or so earlier, Steve Jobs found himself sitting next to US Congressman Fortney 'Pete' Stark on a flight and the two fortuitously ended up talking about computer literacy and tax exemptions for companies that donated equipment to schools.
As a result, in 1982 Congressman Stark introduced a bill to the House of Representatives which provided substantial tax credits for companies who signed up. The Bill passed the House overwhelmingly but alas never made it to the Senate (which it needed to pass before it became law) after getting stuck in a 'lame duck' session during the legislative timetable. However, Apple pursued the idea at state level where it also paid substantial corporate taxes. On 29 September, 1982, a bill passed the California state legislature that gave companies who donated computer equipment to both public and private schools a generous 25 per cent tax credit (as opposed to a tax deduction) from their state taxes. This law was adopted on 1 January 1983.
there was clearly a huge appetite for and interest in computer literacy in California schools
Later that same month, Apple set up the 'Kids Can't Wait' (KCW) programme. The offer to every school was a free Apple IIe system which included a 64k Apple computer, display monitor, one floppy disk drive and a copy of Apple Logo, a computer language designed for students. Apple stressed that it wasn't just a language aimed at primary school students with simple graphics. They also claimed it was a language that helped students up to secondary level learn how to program. The package also contained discounts for other educational software. The value of this donation in 1983 was US $2,364 per school. Even by today's values, it was a generous sum to give away to over more than 9,000 schools.
On 11 May 1983 the KCW programme sent an information kit explaining the programme to every school and school district. They received positive responses from nearly all of the schools contacted. By the mid-1980s there was clearly a huge appetite for and interest in computer literacy in California schools.
It seems almost unbelievable today that a computer with less memory power than the average mobile phone would inspire a new generation of computer whiz kids some of who would go on to found successful tech companies themselves. In 1980s California, a new gold rush had indeed arrived.
Alongside the clear demand for computer classes, it was essential to get teacher's trained up on the Apple IIe. Apple cleverly offered their 170 dealers in California an incentive to offer teacher training sessions. For every school session the dealers held, they would get a certificate. For every 50 certificates, the dealer would get an Apple IIe, and 85 per cent of Apple dealers signed up.
The motivation for dealers was a combination of business sense and a desire to contribute to the local community. One Marin county County dealer in Northern California explained why he was participating in the programme in an articles published in 'Creative Computing' volume 9, in October 1983: 'Sure, it'll take some of our time. But we're doing it basically to help the school along. Many Marin schools now have computers, but a few of the poorer ones don't. Besides, the more educated people are about computers, the more they will come back to us.'
Another large San Francisco dealer focused on the potential for more business: 'Anything we can do to acquaint users with our equipment is bound to increase sales. There is no guarantee of any financial reward, but anyone with any sense can see it has got to be a positive factor.'
Other companies saw the advantage of the California scheme too. The same year Hewlett Packard announced a pilot programme in which computer equipment was donated to 14 California high schools to fully kit out one classroom per school. One Hewlett Packard employee would be 'on-call' to work with each school. The donation to each school was valued at $51,000.
IBM also followed suit and announced a similar programme in March 1983. Eighty-six high schools and 12 teacher-training establishments across California, New York and Florida received an IBM system. The locations chosen were where IBM had a major presence. In total they donated 1,500 IBM personal computer systems to schools.
In 1983, Apple, along with other computer companies like IBM, worked with Washington legislators to get bills through the Senate in order to establish similar tax breaks across the country.
Another crucial factor in why so many pupils like me had the opportunity to learn basic coding in the 1980s was that computer literacy was being encouraged and promoted by the California State Government.
In the same year and month that the 'Apple Bill' passed, the state set up 15 tech hubs known as Teacher Education and Computer Centres (TECCs). The aim was to train teachers in maths and computer science and as part of the KCW programme, Apple supplied supply five Apple IIe systems to each TECC. Although originally conceived of as a tax break, the steady distribution of Apple computers alongside basic computing and programing skills meant that California was leading the way in digital/computer literacy. An investment strategy which would pay dividends in the decades to come.
Where was all this leading? In a now prescient article in the October 1983 issue of 'Creative Computing' magazine Ken Uston wrote:
'Up until now, I must admit to having been sceptical over the widespread futuristic talk about how all the kids in the country will soon know how to use computers. However, I am rapidly getting the feeling that most young America will be computer literate before too long the future may be coming much faster than we think!'
Apple has come a long way since the early, free-wheeling vision of its original founders. Some might say that, rather like other corporate giants, it has grown into a litigious behemoth, a purveyor of expensive personal gadgets that have more to do with social status than function. But for all those young people in the '80s, Apple provided an initial taste of an exciting new way of engaging with technology.
For the first time, computers weren't just in the hands of engineers and programmers, the average school kid could get their hands dirty too. Many of those kids who, like me, got started coding via the Apple IIe would go on to have careers and jobs that didn't exist at the time but would be ushered in by the technology Apple would become renowned for. And it is still worth remembering the vision of the early California hipster geeks like Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, with their passion for creating the type of technological innovations we take for granted today. Today, when we can use a mouse to point and click on an icon, it's hard to imagine what a seismic shift this was at the start of the 1980s. Like the best of Apple technologies, it was simple, elegant and intuitive.
Apple has come a long way since inventing the mouse. It revolutionised home computing and gave millions of people around the world access to the type of technology that was once the preserve of corporations and governments. It even let kids like me see that from just a few lines of commands typed onto a screen, I could bring something to life on that monochrome Apple IIe screen.
So whether it's California or Cambuslang, long may there continue to be young people whose curiosity is nurtured by hipster-geeks and teachers who are willing to think creatively, do things differently and are just that bit crazy enough to think they can change the world.
The National Library of Scotland still holds many original Apple IIe guides and programing manuals from the '80s. Just type in 'Apple IIe' in the search box on the Library home page.