Apple got a couple things right - the II had a keyboard, TV output with graphics, and plug-and-play slots (no fiddling with jumpers and dip switches like s-100 and PCs): each card had a well defined space for IO and ROM.
Note that the Apple I was a kit computer that didn't come with anything other than the board and the chips. Not even a case! It's not really like Jobs and Woz had the brilliant idea that nobody had thought of before to include the accessories, it's just that the prices had come down to the point where a person wouldn't balk at buying a preassembled computer with a keyboard, display and a couple of floppy drives.
”Jobs thought the cigar boxes that sat on the … desktops during Homebrew meetings were as elegant as fly traps. The angular, blue and black sheet-metal case that housed Processor Technology’s Sol struck him as clumsy and industrial … A plastic case was generally considered a needless expense compared to the cheaper and more pliable sheet metal. Hobbyists, so the arguments went, didn’t care as much for appearance as they did for substance. Jobs wanted to model the case for the Apple after those Hewlett-Packard used for its calculators. He admired their sleek, fresh lines, their hardy finish, and the way they looked at home on a table or desk.”
