The multinational company founded by Steve Jobs, known as “Apple Inc.” , has undoubtedly given much to talk about over 40 years ago throughout the world. Well, it is one of the largest and most costly companies that designs high-tech software and equipment, always staying at the forefront.
From there, the creation of the famous i Phone, iPod, iPad and of course, Mac computers that have had great success worldwide. Therefore, they have been able to set the pace of the technology industry for themselves and have also determined several product categories.
However, in this post, we just want to focus on the beginnings of Apple ; concretizing how and when was its foundation. In addition to, the evolution that Apple computers have shown , so far; taking into account your most interesting innovations.
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How and when was Apple founded? History of the bitten apple
In 1971, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak , also known as “Woz” , met through a mutual friend. At that time, Jobs was only 16 years old, while Wozniak was already 21 years old. The latter was an electronics lover and thanks to his abilities, when he was 13 years old, he was awarded a scientific prize for having built his own addition and subtraction machine .
After five years of meeting, in 1976 , these two young people began building their own computer in Los Altos de California, specifically in the garage of Steve Jobs ‘parents’ house. Where, initially, they met to design and create their microcomputers and since then, they baptized their first construction as “Apple I” . So, officially, Apple Computer Inc. was founded on April 1, 1976.
In this sense, from its beginnings to the present, Apple has experienced different facets of evolution within the computer world and completely changed a world without personal computers to give way to an interconnected society . Taking into account that, in the early 90’s, the company’s success was under the direction of Jobs, only . Giving, in addition, his great contribution of the 21st century where he installed several models of fixed and mobile devices.
Evolution of Apple computers that have been developed to date
For over 40 years , Apple has connected a large number of customers for its identity sign , as well as for quality, design and innovation that has always exhibited with each of its products. Although, of course, we must not forget that this multinational has also had certain failures and even very few known products.
In this sense, it is important to know and detail the evolution of Apple computers, specifically . Taking into account that, these have been the protagonists of the progress of the company and have had a great influence on the development of the other computers, since always. Next, chronologically, we indicate the characteristics of each one:
Apple I. Year of release: 1976
This is the first product distributed by Apple Computer Inc., with which this company was founded. Thus, the machine was manufactured in April 1976 and designed by Steve Wozniak or Woz , the co-founder of Apple. Although he was not so convinced to publish the computer, his partner Steve Jobs induced him to package and sell the machines. So, it was also the first model marketed by the multinational.
On the other hand, it is estimated that they sold around 200 Apple I computers in less than a year or, as it was one of the biggest innovations at that time. Which, had MOS Technology 6502 processor running at 1,023 MHz and a 256-byte ROM.
As a curious fact, it should be noted that, in an auction held in 1999, an Apple I was sold for $ 50,000 and since then, it became the most collectible computer of all time (Its original price was $ 666).
Apple II. Release Year: 1977
This is defined as the first large-scale microcomputer produced by Apple . Being a machine that, mainly, had the same processor as the Apple I and also ran at the same speed, but its commercial success was truly excessive and much greater than the first creation of Apple. Since, it represented an excellent improvement over its predecessor.
Among its main features, we note that it had the operating system Apple DOS , had a RAM of 4K for the basic model and expandable up to 48K. It also exhibited a color screen, a keyboard case and was marketed as an assembled motherboard and so, the customer had to add the keyboard, a monitor and a case to fulfill all its functions.
Apple II Plus. Release Year: 1979
Two more years to give you, the improvement of the Apple II was announced, being the second model of the Apple II personal computer series produced by Apple Computer Inc. Which, introduced the programming language Applesoft BASIC on ROM that was written by Microsoft. Taking into account that, its distribution began in June 1979 and was sold until December 1982 .
Thus, it should be noted that, around 380,000 units were sold during those three years of validity. However, detailing some of its main features, the Apple II Plus was sent with 16 KB, 32 KB or 48 KB of main RAM, expandable to 64 KB through the Language Card. Additionally, its original operating system was the Apple DOS and optional included the Apple Pascal and Apple ProDOS .
Apple III. Release Year: 1980
Although there are very few portals that take into account this Apple design, it is certainly important to include it in this chronology. Given that, it is considered the first major commercial failure of Apple ; which was obscured by the IBM PC. Taking into account that, the machine was discontinued on April 24, 1984 .
For its part, Apple III was available in two configurations: one for $ 4,340 and another for a total of $ 7,800 ; a price similar to Apple II with all accessories, but more expensive than CP / M computers (here one of its cons). On the other hand, it is presumed that the main reason for this failure is due to Jobs’s attitude towards his design ; It forced engineers to put all electronic components in small spaces without any possible ventilation.
Apple Lisa. Release Year: 1983
It was the first and revolutionary commercial personal computer designed by Apple Computer, with user interface and a mouse . Although it was a project that evolved very slowly since 1978, it is estimated as one of the best creations of the multinational, at the level of innovation . Because, they took the time to design a powerful personal machine with a modern graphical user interface at the time.
In that sense, the computer revealed a cost of almost $ 10,000 and showed a clock speed of 5 MHz, had 1 MB of RAM and used a Motorola 68000 CPU.
It should also be noted that, it had two floppy disk drives and a capacity of approximately 871 kilobytes. However, after a couple of years, Apple Lisa revealed a notable commercial failure for the company, due to its high price. Therefore, was discontinued in August 1986 .
Apple IIC. Release Year: 1984
Another of the models belonging to the Apple II series of personal computers, in which the multinational focused on presenting and marketing a laptop . That is, it is the first portable Apple II and the final result, as such, was a portable version with a weight of 3.4 kg and a 5 ”1/4 floppy drive located at a side. In addition, the new peripheral expansion ports were integrated into the motherboard.
For its part, it should be noted that the “C” in its name, refers to “Compact” due to the fact that it was a complete configuration of the Apple computer II, essentially; inside a small box that made it very portable, for those times. Regarding its accessories, Apple announced an optional black and white LCD screen called “Apple flat LCD” , but it was very expensive.
Macintosh 128K. Release Year: 1984
It was introduced to the market in the same year as Apple’s first portable personal computer, which was the first Macintosh computer and the first that showed the greatest success with GUI. Taking into account that, at that time, it was cataloged with the best computer to offer a graphical user interface at an affordable price, since it only cost $ 2,495 . Additionally, its intuitive design of folders and icons was also an excellent innovation.
Thus, this first Macintosh became the founder of the line currently known as “Mac” or “MacBook” . It is appropriate to distinguish that, it had two characteristics far superior to the competition: its GUI and the inclusion of a mouse to operate the machine and opt for a much easier interaction .
However, it was a slightly slow machine, because only had a 128 kb RAM memory . However, the graphic performance was incredible at that time.
Macintosh XL. Release Year: 1985
It is cataloged as the modified version of Apple Lisa , which had a cost of $ 3,995. In that way, it was designed as an attempt by the multinational to recover the few sales of the Apple Lisa that were “stolen” , in a way, by the Macintosh line that just came out to the technology market. / p>
In this sense, the Macintosh XL had a proprietary 10 MB hard disk and had the option of adding a 5 or 10 MB ProFile external hard disk including a Parallel interface board.
In addition to this, the computer had a 3.5 ”and 400K floppy disk drive. But, despite its great success, the machine was discontinued because no components had been requested to keep it in production and once they were sold out, there were no more units available . So, in 1986 no more Macintosh XL were sold.
Macintosh Plus. Release Year: 1986
This machine was the evolution of the Macintosh 128K and was only offered or manufactured for four years, it was until 1990 units of this computer were sold . Which, had a Motorola 68000 processor of 8 MHz clock frequency and resembled the Macintosh 128 by its case with a 9-inch screen. However, it had more memory, thanks to 1 MB expandable to 4 MB .
Among other details, the Macintosh Plus had a SCSI interface , through which hard drives could be connected and external data exchanged. It also offered a SCSI ethernet adapter and had a larger ROM (128 KB). However, the computer did not contain a fan and to cool down, used the “chimney effect” .
Macintosh SE. Release Year: 1987
Specifically, it was launched on March 2, 1987 and stands out from the rest, as it is the first compact Macintosh with space for internal hard disk (if the client wanted, it also included dual disk drives). Thus, highlighting its characteristics, it had a case very similar to that of the original Macintosh computer , however, it had slight differences regarding its design and color.
Among other things, this computer used the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) for the keyboard and mouse interface, introduced with the Apple IIGS. Taking into account its main improvements, we note that I have an optimized SCSI support with better performance around data processing. It should be noted that was discontinued in 1990 .
Macintosh portable. Release Year: 1989
Officially, it is the first “portable” of Apple; thus being the first attempt of the multinational Apple Inc. To create a Macintosh personal computer that had the same power of a desktop computer. Thus, the September 20, 1989 was launched and, in addition, being of great importance, it managed to be the first portable computer used in space .
In this way, it is cataloged as a very important creation of the company, because it came to space and therefore, was also the first to send an email from space (in 1991, specifically). It is valuable to note that, used expensive SRAM in an effort to maximize its life and provide a sleep mode with an immediate ignition.
Macintosh IIfx. Release Year: 1990
Another of the most important computers launched by Apple in history, this machine was also known as “Mac II” and dedicated to graphic designers, due to its kindness with a processor at 40 MHz . In the beginning, Macintosh IIfx had a cost of $ 9,000 or $ 12,000 , depending on its configuration. Thus, the fastest personal computer available at this time.
For its part, it added two dedicated space processors for floppy, sound, ADB and serial communications operations. In addition, it should be noted that, presented several models and are: Macintosh IIfx 4/80, Macintosh IIfx 4/160, Macintosh IIfx 4/80 with parity support and Macintosh IIfx 4/80 with A / UX.
Macintosh LC 575. Year of release: 1993
It consists of one of the first AIO “all-in-one” computers, launched by the famous multinational. Thus, a series of personal computers that showed an all-in-one design along with a built-in 14-inch CRT screen, as well as stereo speakers and a CD-ROM drive.
For its part, its launch took place specifically on June 28, 1993 and was a discontinued machine in February 1994. Which hosted several main models such as: LC 520, LC 550, LC 575 and LC 580 .
iMac G3. Release Year: 1998
It was introduced to the market on August 15, 1998 and since then, it was estimated as the best-selling personal computer in the entire United States . Because, with this new bet, Steve Jobs’ company transformed the industry by giving color to the outside of the computer; something that had not yet been seen in the world of technology, back then.
In addition to this, from the iMac, he created a unit that required very little configuration and had a display that was very attractive. Thanks to its success and the large amount of sales, it was able to contribute to Apple’s recovery of the financial ruins it had obtained during 1990. Apart from that, it managed to innovate and revitalize the Apple brand .
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