Evolution Of Apple Essay, Research Paper
The Evolution of Apple… January 1976 to May 1995Let s take a trip back in time and review the evolution of acomputer company. It s not IBM or Microsoft. This company is AppleComputers, Incorporated.In the year 1976, before most people even thought about buying acomputer for their homes. Back then the computer community added up to afew brainy hobbyist. So when Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs sold a van andtwo programmable calculators for thirteen hundred dollars and startedApple Computers, Inc., in Jobs garage, the reach for success seemed far. But these two young business men, Wozniak 26 years old and Jobs 21years old, had a vision. Computers aren t for nerds anymore, theyannounced. Computers are going to be the bicycle of the mind. Low costcomputers for everyone. From the first day on the founders of Apple kept their visionintact, and they spoke it at every turn. They only hired people into thecompany that had the same visions as they did. In early 1976 Wozniak and Jobs finish work on a preassembledcomputer circuit board. It has no Product keyboard, case, sound orgraphics. They call it the Apple I. They form the Apple Computer Companyon April Fool’s Day and sold the Apple I board for $666.66 at the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto, California.In 1977 the Apple II is available to the general public. Fullyassembled and pretested, it includes 4K of standard memory, and comesequipped with two game paddles and a demo cassette. The price is $1,298. Customers use their own TV set as a monitor and store programs on audiocassette recorders. Compare this price with computers today. The priceabout the same, but the computer has changed tremendously. In 1979 Apple II+ is introduced, available with 48K of memory anda new auto-start ROM for easier startup and screen editing for $1,195. Apple II Pascal is also released. In 1980 Apple FORTRAN introduced and proves to be a catalyst forhigh-level technical and educational applications. Apple III announced atthe National Computer Conference. It has a new operating system, abuilt-in disk controller and four peripheral slots priced at $3,495, theApple III is the most advanced system in the company’s history. ProductIn 1981 Accessory Products Division formed to handle productionofprinters, modems and other peripherals. The Apple Language Card isintroduced. It allows Apple II users to run programs in either Pascal,FORTRAN or Pilot. The IEEE-488 interface card is announced and allowsApple II computers to be linked to over 1,400 scientific and technicalinstruments.International Business Machines came on the PC scene in August of1981 with the IBM Personal Computer. Apple greets its new competitor witha full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal with a headline that reads,”Welcome IBM. Seriously.” Apple’s first mass storage system was alsointroduced this year, the 5MB ProFile hard disk, priced at $3,499.In November of 1983 AppleWorks, an integrated package containingword processing, spreadsheet, and database applications all in one, isintroduced and will soon become the world’s best selling software.In February of 1985 Jobs and Wozniak receive National TechnologyMedal from President Reagan at the White House. The ImageWriter II, HD-20hard disk and Apple Personal Modem were also introduced this year. In January of 1987 Apple introduced a new desktop communicationsproducts including the AppleShare file server software and AppleTalk PCCard. They are priced at $799 and $399. Also introduced in 1987 is theAppleFax Modem, priced at $699. Now you get a fax modem with the purchaseof an Apple computer. In February of 1988 Apple introduces AppleCD SC, an opticalstorage device that gives access to huge amounts of information. Priced at$1,199, a single CD-ROM disc can store up to 270,000 pages of typewritteninformation. Also in 1988 Apple files suit against Microsoft andHewlett-Packard to protect its Macintosh audio visual display. The lawsuitis seen as having industry wide implications regarding copyright laws. Inlate 1988 Apple introduces the Macintosh IIx computer, priced at $7,769. It is the first Macintosh II computer to use Motorola’s 68030microprocessor and 68882 math co-processor. It is also the first Macintoshto incorporateFDHD, Floppy Drive High Density, Apple’s new 1.44MB floppy disk drive thatcan read and write to MS-DOS, OS/2 and ProDOS formats. Also a new
configuration is announced for the Macintosh SE. The new unit features twomegabytes of RAM and an internal 40 megabyte hard drive. Itretails for $5,069. From April till July of 1989 Apple II Video Overlay Card isintroduced. It provides video overlay capabilities for the Apple IIGS. Also introduced was Apple s 32-Bit QuickDraw that allows Macintoshpersonal computers to process and display photo-quality documents, imagesand visualizations with exceptional color clarity. Apple also unveilsmore than a dozen new networking and communication products this year toincrease Macintosh compatibility in multi vendor environments, includingDEC, IBM, OSI and TCP/IP. In July of 1989 Apple IIGS System Software 5.0is announced. It is the first 16-bit operating system for the Apple IIGSthat operates over the AppleTalk network system. In the early year of 1991 Apple petitions the FederalCommunications Commission (FCC) to let computers transmit and receiveinformation over radio waves, paving the way for a new industry, calledData Personal Communications Services(Data-PCS). In October of 1991Apple, IBM, and Motorola finalize milestone technology alliance. Thealliance consists of five distinct technology initiatives:1.) Better integration of Macintosh PCs into IBM’s networks;2.) A new family of RISC microprocessors for PCs and entry-level workstations;3.) PowerOpen a new open systems environment derived from AIX (IBM’s industry-standard version of UNIX);4.) Kaleida a new multimedia joint venture that will create and license new multimedia technology;5.)Taligent a next-generation operating environment based entirely on object-oriented technology. In May of 1992 IBM, Motorola and Apple formally dedicate a newfacility that will serve as the focal point of design and developmentefforts for the PowerPC family of single-chip, reduced instruction setcomputing (RISC) microprocessors. In 1993, during the annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference,Apple demonstrates a prototype Macintosh computer running on an 80 MHzPowerPC 601 processor, achieving a new performance level in the industry. The company also demonstrates PowerPC-compatibility with existingMacintosh applications software. In the beginning of 1994 Apple unveils Power Macintosh 6100/60,7100/66 & 8100/80 a new line of Apple Macintosh computers fueled by thePowerPC microprocessor. The Apple Power Macintosh line trounces Pentiumprocessor-based PCs in an independent study conducted by IngramLaboratories. In the end of this year leading industry developers announcesupport for second-generation Power Macintosh with PCI (Personal ComponentInterconnect). In January of 1995 Apple Ships QuickTime VR, bringing virtualreality to Macintosh and Windows personal computers. The Power Macintosh6100/66, 7100/80 and 8100/100 eclipses fastest Pentium-based systems by anaverage of 38% reports Ingram Laboratories. In the mid-year of 1995 Applehails FCC decision to allocate 10 Megahertz of radio spectrum forlow-power, wireless data communications, “Data-PCS.”Also this year Pioneer licenses Apple’s Mac OS for use in Pioneer’s newline of personal computers. Multimedia user experience enhanced with newApple CD 600e quad speed CD-ROM player. Apple provides interactive TVset-top technology for a six state trial of interactive educationalprogramming with Light span Partnership, Inc. Apple and IBM agree toprovide multi-platform application development tools to enable users tobuild custom applications using OpenDoc technology. Apple unveils thenext generation of Mac OS at its Worldwide Developers Conference. AT&T andApple sign multimedia communications agreement to provide videoconferencing and desktop collaboration capabilities using QuickTimeConferencing technology and WorldWorx Network Services. Apple PetitionsFCC once again to create unlicensed high-speed wireless “NationalInformation Infrastructure Band.”I hope you change the way you think about Apple computers sinceyou know a little bit of history on the company. When I say a little bit. I mean this 6 page term paper was only one eighth of the information thatI gathered on this company. Reference Page:REFERENCE TO ARTICLE IN MONTHLY MAGAZINEJohn C. Dvorak, Last Rites, MacUser, (April 1994), p. 210John C. Dvorak, Time s A-Wasting, MacUser, (December 1994), p. 222John C. Dvorak, Welcome To WIMP, MacUser, (January 1995), p. 192REFERENCE TO INTERNET WORLD WIDE WEB PAGEhttp://www.apple.comhttp://www.uce.com/machist.html