A.P.P.L.E. releases a 420-page update to The WOZPAK with new Steve Wozniak notes

Apple Pugetsound Program Library Exchange (A.P.P.L.E.) released the expanded 4th edition of The WOZPAK Special Edition on August 1. The 420-page technical manual adds 24 pages of newly discovered original material, including handwritten notes and programs by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

The publisher initially teased this update back in 2024. Pretty cool to see these early technical documents. The book combines the original 1978 WOZPAK and its 1979 sequel into a single volume. It's a massive resource.

14 pages of printer connections

The new material focuses heavily on low-level hardware communication. A.P.P.L.E. Uncovered an early collection of documents that includes 14 pages of Wozniak's handwritten notes from 1977 detailing printer connections, part of the 24 pages of total material added to this edition. It also includes a guide titled "Writing a Color Graphics Program in 6502 Assembly" and Wendell Sander's "Communication Card Print Routine."

Understanding 6502 machine language was a hard requirement for early game developers. Before co-founding Apple with Steve Jobs, Wozniak worked at Hewlett-Packard and designed the arcade hardware for Atari's 1976 game Breakout. He hand-built the Apple-1 in 1976 as a single-board circuit computer, demonstrating it at the Homebrew Computer Club. Only around 200 units were produced before the Apple II arrived a year later. The WOZPAK covers hardware details for both machines.

The foundation of commercial gaming

When Wozniak designed the Apple II in 1977, he built a machine with open architecture, built-in color graphics, and dual game paddle ports. Programmers trying to squeeze performance out of the 8-bit microprocessor relied on manuals like this to understand the hardware. The Apple II hosted early foundational entries in the RPG and strategy genres. Games like Ultima, Wizardry, Lode Runner, and Castle Wolfenstein were all initially programmed for or popularized on the hardware.

The WOZPAK served as the earliest official technical resource for the enthusiast programmers building those titles, with material provided directly by Wozniak and Apple president Mike Scott. A.P.P.L.E. Itself has a long history in the space. Founded in 1978 as a user group, the organization grew to nearly 50,000 members by 1985. They published Call-A.P.P.L.E. Magazine and developed over 100 software titles. Archivist Brian Wiser and president Bill Martens first resurrected the out-of-print documentation as a special edition in 2013, and they have continued expanding it since.

Available in paperback and coil

This 4th edition brings the page count to 420, up from the 390 pages found in the 2024 printing. It includes contributions and forewords from early Apple engineers like Randy Wigginton and Andy Hertzfeld, along with Synergistic Software founder Robert Clardy.