Scarce original Apple Computer Company user manual for the Apple-1 Cassette Interface (ACI), which was handed to the consignor by Steve Jobs in his Los Altos 'Apple garage' in the fall of 1976. The four-page manual, 8.5 x 5.5, contains several sections related to the ACI, including: Introduction, Tape Recorders & Tape, Jumpers, Installation, Using the ACI, Multiple Ranges, Level, and Speed, with the last page featuring a detailed schematic of the ACI. The front cover features Ron Wayne's original Apple logo, and the back cover lists the company's address and phone number. The warranty statement is found on the inside back cover. In fine condition.
Accompanied by a letter of provenance from the original recipient, a high school classmate of Jobs' at Homestead High School in Cupertino, California: "This manual for the Apple I cassette interface was given to me by Steve Jobs in the fall of 1976 when I was hanging out in his garage computer shop. We had become friends in high school."
The Apple-1 Cassette Interface (ACI) provided the ability to save memory contents onto a standard audio tape, and later load the contents back into the computer's memory. Revolutionary for the time, Steve Wozniak designed the ACI to use only 6 integrated circuits, compared to other solutions which used 50 to 100 integrated circuits. This allowed Apple to sell their solution for less than their competitors; the Apple ACI also operated at four times the speed of its contemporary competitors.
