> For instance, the analog to digital conversion for the game paddles would normally cost at least $25, but is done on the Apple with a single inexpensive timer

> For instance, the analog to digital conversion for the game paddles would normally cost at least $25, but is done on the Apple with a single inexpensive timer chip. I discovered this back in the day when I modified a breakout clone to use keyboard input instead of a paddle (joystick) which I didn't own: The game ran much much much faster, and because I had never ran it using a paddle I didn't realize for quite a while that it wasn't supposed to run that fast, and I thought I was just bad at the game.