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Founded in the early 1900's, Bell & Howell has always been associated with audio-video equipment - cameras, projectors, and the like. In 1979, they had a computer system which they sold mainly to educational institutions - you couldn't buy one, it wasn't available in your local computer store.
The "Bell & Howell computer" is actually an Apple II Plus computer in disguise. The normally beige case is now black, and a Bell & Howell label was attached. But as you can see above, Apple is still given full credit.
The Bell and Howell systems had the same keyboard as the original Apple II, althought it is black instead of brown.
Later systems had a recessed power indicator instead of the raised style as seen on this system.
Under the cover, there is no difference - the motherboard, power supply and keyboard electronics are all Apple.
A more advanced (Bell and Howell only) system was released - since it was intended that their computer was to placed in classrooms with children and potential computer neophytes, certain 'upgrades' were made to make it easier and safer to operate.
To accomplish this, Bell & Howell added a large interface module to the back of the system which Apple computers didn't have. This module includes:
The Bell & Howell floppy drives were black, too, but were still just a re-badged Apple II floppy drive.
Here you can compare the Bell & Howell floppy drive (top) with the Apple II floppy drive (bottom).
Bell & Howell systems also have a nicer external connector for the paddle (joystick) - on Apple systems you have to open the computer and hook-up the paddle to a socket inside.
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This page last updated on 08/12/2020 17:21:32
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