It's funny how so many people are suddenly mischaracterizing the Apple II or the nature of early personal computers.
The very first personal computers, like the Apple II, were sold as development kits to developers/hobbyists because these were the only people who would even think to buy a personal computer in 1976 and 1977. These development kits contain all of the information one would need to create software and hardware for these machines. Is that so unusual?
Fast forward one short year to 1978 and Apple hires Jef Raskin to start the "McIntosh" project. His goal is to create a $500 computing appliance that the average person could own and use. Sound familiar?
Fast forward 32 years. There is more information published about the internals of Linux, Windows, OS X, and PC architecture than most developers would ever want to know. We can write low-level drivers that run in the kernel, to high-level scripting languages. We can design a custom hardware card to slap in a PC or MacPro; we can design custom hardware that connects to an iPhone or a laptop via USB. And the iPad is arguably the closest we've come to Jef Raskin's 1978 vision of a computing appliance.
The very first personal computers, like the Apple II, were sold as development kits to developers/hobbyists because these were the only people who would even think to buy a personal computer in 1976 and 1977. These development kits contain all of the information one would need to create software and hardware for these machines. Is that so unusual?
Although I was very young, and it was a log time ago, I'm not sure I agree with you. My dad purchased an S-100 bus system from George Morrow's Thinker Toys in 1977. It came with CP/M, there were games, including Star Trek and Adventure, there was even a word processor of some kind (not WordStar, something else). It certainly wasn't used as a "development kit" -- outside of maybe knowing a little BASIC, my dad didn't know how to program and used the computer for writing letters, and for playing games (which drove my mother nuts :))
Also: you can't be a successful technology company, across many decades/scales/markets, running the exact same strategy. The terrain changes too fast.
Indeed, it it the overwhelming triumph of openness in many spheres -- the cheap standard components, open-source operating systems, open protocols -- which means other 'sealed appliance' strategies need to be tried, to explore those areas not ideally served by total openness.
The sealed iPhone/iPod isn't a rival to openness, but a necessary complement and outgrowth. Just look at the Settings > General > About > Legal page. You'll see 20+ pages of mostly open-source license/copyright declarations.
I almost entirely agree with your post, though I'll note that the Apple II was unique specifically because it came pre-assembled in a plastic case and was marketed to "regular people". Still, obviously most users were hobbyists, just less "hardcore" than those who assembled their own Altairs.
I thought the original Apple (Apple I) was the version that came as a kit.
Wikipedia agrees. The circuit board was complete, but the purchaser needed to "build the case".
However, to make a working computer, users still had to add a case, power supply transformers, power switch, ASCII keyboard, and composite video display
The Apple II was not a kid (though there was a board-only version available if you asked). You're thinking of the Apple I. The Apple II was a complete, assembled system in a box from the factory. You bought it, plugged it into your TV and tape deck, and started coding. Frankly it was the most out-of-the-box-integrated programmable hardware available at the time.
They came with schematics because all expensive electronic equipment back then did. This was back in an era when electronics broke down frequently. Schematics were needed to fix things when they broke. If the owner didn't fix it, then an electronics repairman did.
You don't get schematics with anything today because you throw it out if it breaks rather than pay someone $100/hr (what auto mechanics charge) to fix it for you.
Intellectual property is also a bigger concern today that it was back then. By not giving you the schematics, they force you to do the tedious (but easy) task of reverse engineering their product.
The very first personal computers, like the Apple II, were sold as development kits to developers/hobbyists because these were the only people who would even think to buy a personal computer in 1976 and 1977. These development kits contain all of the information one would need to create software and hardware for these machines. Is that so unusual?
Fast forward one short year to 1978 and Apple hires Jef Raskin to start the "McIntosh" project. His goal is to create a $500 computing appliance that the average person could own and use. Sound familiar?
Fast forward 32 years. There is more information published about the internals of Linux, Windows, OS X, and PC architecture than most developers would ever want to know. We can write low-level drivers that run in the kernel, to high-level scripting languages. We can design a custom hardware card to slap in a PC or MacPro; we can design custom hardware that connects to an iPhone or a laptop via USB. And the iPad is arguably the closest we've come to Jef Raskin's 1978 vision of a computing appliance.