Today, Apple is a living legend in the computer world. Founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, as usual, in the garage, she made a computer revolution in just a few years, I'm not afraid of this word. Having survived the difficult years, almost bankruptcy, today the company has revived, the once-fired Jobs returned to the helm and now Apple is doing pretty well, it has become a leader in many niches and is considered one of the most innovative companies.
Computers with the image of a seven-colored apple have long ceased to be a curiosity. They can now be found almost everywhere - in publishing houses, advertising agencies, design studios. The high popularity of Apple computers among typesetters and designers can be explained by many reasons, but everyone notes the high quality, user-friendly interface and reliable operation of this brand of equipment.
The beginning of the way
In 1971, Steve Wozniak (Steve Wozniak) introduced to Jobs their mutual friend Bill Fernandez (Bill Fernandez), they became friends. From childhood, Wozniak loved mathematics. Jobs was always an unusual person, carried away by something, he surrendered to it completely.
IN school years He became interested in electronics, on this basis, two Steve and met. Wozniak was 5 years older, so when he studied at the University of Berkeley, Jobs was a high school student. Together, they made their first device - the Blue Box, a device that allowed you to make long distance calls. Of course, this was illegal, but very interesting, and the enterprising Jobs was already making money on it at school.
In 1972, Jobs graduated from high school and went to college, but dropped out almost immediately, not seeing the point of spending a ton of money on something he did not want to teach. However, he lived in his friends' rooms for another year and a half, addicted to drugs, hippy movement, meditation, and at the same time attending courses of interest to him, such as a calligraphy course, which prompted him to create various fonts in the Macintosh.
After that, Steve got a job at Atari as a video game creator. In this he was helped by his friend Wozniak, who at that time was already an outstanding computer technician and worked for Hewlett-Packard (Hewlett-Packard).
Wozniak had long been designing a paper-based computer based on the Motorola 6800 processor, but he did not have the money to build it. As a result, with minor changes, he brought it to life on the basis of 6502, which cost $ 20, in 1975, wrote an operating system for him on BASIC and showed it all to Jobs. Inspired by Jobs, Wozniak suggested doing this seriously, and on April 1, 1976, the company was registered.
At the beginning of the 70s, Jobs, working for Atari, met and made friends with the senior developer of this company, Ron Wayne. Jobs invited Wayne to the "company" and offered him 10%. All this was very frivolous, but Wayne accepted the invitation. Wayne wrote technical documentation and developed the very first trademark of the company. Jobs was looking for potential customers.
Title
There are several versions of the appearance of such an unusual for the time the name of a computer company. The most famous one says that they couldn’t come up with something acceptable, and the annoyed Jobs said that if nothing was invented until tomorrow, he would call the company Apple (Apple)It was Steve's favorite fruit. And so it happened, one of the most successful and popular brands was named thanks to the love of apples. In addition, the name Apple came in alphabetical order earlier than Atari, which overtook which was one of the company's initial goals - most likely this was the root cause.
First computers
The first computer was named unpretentiously - Apple I. It was built on the basis of MOS Technology 6502 Wozniak for personal use, but Jobs, of course, offered to collect the same for sale.
At the Homebrew Computer Club, Jobs gave Apple I a presentation to Paul Terrell. Paul Terrell was most likely the owner of the very first ever computer store called Byte Shop, located in Mountain View, California.
The presentation intrigued Paul Terrel, and the next day Terrel promised to buy 50 computers from Jobs for $ 500 apiece, payment upon receipt. Terrell set only one condition - he was interested in fully assembled computers.
In order to purchase the necessary 50 computers for the production of radio components, Jobs had to borrow $ 5,000 from friends and arrange a loan for a term of 30 days for $ 15,000 with a supplier.
Jobs got into debt without hesitation. Ron Wayne was older and already had a bitter experience (several years before he was already trying to create his own engineering company in Las Vegas), he was very skeptical and strongly doubted that Terrell would fulfill his promise and pay for computers. On April 12, 1976, he abandoned his share of 10% in exchange for a lump sum payment of $ 800 to him.
“Jobs is a hurricane of energy and determination. I was already too disappointed in life to follow it in this hurricane, ”Ron Wayne said later.
For 29 days, everyone worked tirelessly. Terrel paid. The first profit instilled confidence in Jobs, and to implement his increasingly ambitious plans required much more money than managed to earn by selling Apple I.
Jobs turned to his employer Nolan Bushnell, but found no understanding. Wozniak proposed the idea of \u200b\u200bproducing a personal computer to his employers (Hewlett-Packard) - and here failure awaited them. Everyone believed that personal Computer interesting and funny, but strongly doubted the possibility of commercial success of this project. Nolan Bushnel, president of Atari, however, advised Jobs to contact entrepreneur Don Valentino, who in turn introduced Jobs to Armas Cliff “Mike” Markkula, who left active business after successful operations with Intel and Fairchild Semiconductor.
Markkula helped Jobs draw up a business plan, invested $ 92,000 from his personal savings in the emerging company, and secured a $ 250,000 credit line to Bank of America - and Apple Computer was officially registered on January 3, 1977. To avoid legal problems in the future, the partnership from Ron Wayne was bought for $ 5,308, 96 cents, and a third of this amount was immediately issued to him in the form of a check. Ron did not expect such a significant amount at that time, voluntarily leaving Apple Computer less than a year before.
If ... If Ron Wayne had stayed with the company, his 10% would have been transformed in 1991, when Apple Computer's stock price was almost $ 73 per share, $ 875 million; even in the most difficult time for the company, these 10% would have "costed" at least $ 150 million.
As a result, about 200 cars were sold at a price of $ 666.66. They say that Wozniak loved repeating numbers ...
Adhering to the views of respectable Christians, let us examine in more detail this strange, if not satanic, price. It happened back in 1976, but even then, in the United States, the general public was rather biased towards certain figures. So, the numbers of a damn dozen 13 are still avoided by all entrepreneurs and not only them. There are no 13th floors in the buildings, not to mention the fact that there are no apartments and rooms with such numbers at all. To imagine that someone willingly set such a price on their product is at least difficult. The same goes for numbers containing three sixes in a row.
About 666 in those years a lot was said. In the same 1976, the 20th Century Fox company launched a wide-screen movie of the same name adaptation of the well-known novel by David Zeltser “Omen”. At the very beginning of the film, the top is the 18th verse from the thirteenth chapter of the Apocalypse, cited in our epigraph. The film received wide acclaim from the audience, as well as a number of awards. In general, we can talk about its popularity. All this we mean is that it is rather difficult to suspect the population of the United States, potential buyers, of not knowing the “diabolical” value of the number 666.
Speaking of strange, “blasphemous” prices, we will not sin on all US entrepreneurs by reproaching them with excessive piety. And as such, piety in business is extremely small. It's all about simple calculation. An entrepreneur will not, in any way, position his products so that even for a small number of potential buyers it becomes obviously unattractive, or simply could scare someone away. Therefore, there are no 13 floors, no apartments, no rooms, and just prices like $ 13.13, as there are no combinations of three sixes in any business involving business. Everything is by no means religious, but very pragmatic and aimed at maximizing profit.
So, our honorable but weird Mr. Jobs, who calls himself an outstanding manager and marketer, and who is widely recognized, sets the price for his first computer in 1976 at exactly six hundred sixty-six dollars. What purpose did Mr. Jobs pursue at that time, to judge God alone. But the fact remains. Jobs goes against the rules of doing business, which includes compliance with the requirements for a decent moral appearance of products, and sets a provocative price for his computer at 666.66 dollars.
There is, of course, a more prosaic explanation for the price of $ 666.66 for Apple I. Allegedly, the love of Steven Wozniak, a companion of Jobs, to even numbers was involved in such an amount. That is, $ 500 plus a third of this amount (166,666 ...) added to these five hundred gives an approximate amount of 666.66 ... Pretty strange explanation for the purpose of such a price. Especially when you consider that this is the very first product of a joint venture of Jobs and Wozniak. And the risk of setting such a compromising price could ruin the company from the very beginning, causing a fair outrage among pious buyers. Or whom did Mr. Jobs want to see among those who would pay that amount?
One way or another, the theme of diabolical numbers and signs from time to time excites the minds of a pious public. In our case, with the price of the first Apple computer, the vigilance of respectable Christians has shown to be weakened. No, not that exorcism, a simple vowel censure, and that did not happen. And such computers were sold at a price of 666.66 dollars, about 200 pieces. It was a damn good result for a start-up company.
Be that as it may, Apple I was not taken too seriously. Real success came with the Apple II.
Inspired by success and having received the money necessary to improve the computer, the founders of Apple created Apple-II and presented it to the general public on April 16-17, 1977 at the computer exhibition on the West Coast (West Coast Computer Faire). On the first day, Mitsushima Satoshi became interested in the computer. (Mizushima Satoshi), a Japanese industrialist who later became the first authorized Apple dealer in Japan.
Technically, the second model was much more technologically advanced. The monitor could now display graphics, later even different colors. The keyboard has been added to the factory assembly. The design has also been greatly improved thanks to designer Jerry Manoku. (Jerry Manock).
It was the first personal computer in the history of mankind in a plastic case, with color graphics. This computer cost 1298 dollars. In early 1978, an inexpensive Apple Disk II floppy disk drive entered the market, which further increased sales.
With the help of Bell & Howard, a special version of Apple II, made of black plastic, began to be delivered to the educational market.
The company has grown rapidly. Soon, by 1980, several thousand people were already working within its walls; its products began to be delivered outside the United States. New investors began to come into the company, serious experienced managers ... The company quickly turned into a monster.
Meanwhile, the company's products have made a real revolution in the world, changing the balance of power and laying the foundation for an exciting future. From the computer laboratories shackled by the corporate framework, computer technology broke free, and hundreds of thousands of dreamers and projectors got their hands on such a powerful means of self-expression that the result was not slow to affect. Daniel Bricklin, in his spare time, developed a program that literally “blew up” the market. The program was called VisiCalc, and was a computer implementation of ordinary tables. Daniel did not patent his invention. This mistake cost him no less than $ 100 million.
The fruits of the revolution: the huge financial success of Microsoft, the emergence of industry giants such as Oracle, Borland, Symantec ... Many thousands of firms have become the "second league" of a huge industry. Software has become its most important independent industry. Thanks to electronic communications systems that have entangled the world with the World Wide Web, thousands of “remote jobs” have emerged - another dimension of individual freedom space.
Actually, Apple I and Apple II were developed by Steve Wozniak. There may be more than one hundred equally talented developments around the world, but it was Steve Jobs who made this development a turning point in the history of computer technology.
The history of Apple and computer technology is so much connected with Jobs's incredibly controversial personality. Jobs means charm, despotism, and marketing genius, and grandiose failures, cruel errors and the creation of such heroic and productive creative teams that they simply take your breath away from pride in humanity in general ... A formal and informal leader of these creative teams every day and every minute it was him - that says a lot.
First failure
By the beginning of 1980, the company's annual turnover exceeded $ 10 million. The transition from a garage company to a huge enterprise took place too quickly. There was a lot to learn. The lessons of fate were not long in coming.
Apple III 1980-1983
On May 19, 1980 in Anaheim, California, Apple Computer unveiled its new development, the Apple III.
The new computer cost from $ 4,500 to $ 7,800, depending on the configuration, equipped with a twice as fast Synertek 6502A processor with a clock frequency of 2 MHz. With the ability to emulate Apple II, it was fundamentally new computer, the company's first attempt to move away from successful and well-selling technology. On paper, everything looked great. But...
Apple I and Apple II were the development of one person - Steve Wozniak. Apple III was created by a team of engineers under the direct control of Steve Jobs, whose energy hit over the edge, which one day required one, the next directly opposite - to the great displeasure of the engineers. In May 1980, it was announced that the computer would be released in July of that year. In July, release was delayed until September. In October, it became clear that good computer I’m not ready to enter the market, but Jobs literally pushed the computer to the market in November to catch the December peak of sales ...
The computer entered the market in November 1980 - and fully justified the most unpleasant fears of engineers. It was a failure. When in March 1981 it was finally possible to establish mass deliveries, 20% of the cars were faulty upon arrival. Chips fell out of the slots during transportation. Those that turned on, "died" after several hours of work: Jobs insisted on the lack of a fan and the chips "dropped out" of the slots due to thermal expansion.
For three dramatic years, Apple III continued to be modified, but this computer did not deserve the recognition of customers. By the time it was discontinued in December 1983, there were 75,000 Apple III users and more than 1,300,000 Apple II users in the world.
Steve Jobs and John Scali
In March 1981, Wozniak was seriously injured in a plane crash, and went on vacation for a long time. Sales problems led to the fact that Jobs had to lay off 40 employees. Opus debuted on the topic of Apple soon leaving the business.
It became obvious that it was time for companies to grow up. In early 1983, Steve Jobs, realizing that he could not cope with a very complicated business alone, invited John Scali, then president of Pepsi Cola, to the post of company president. Scali eventually agreed, and in April 1983 took the “big chair”.
Jobs was very painful at failure. Almost immediately, between Scali and Jobs, serious friction and disagreement began.
Apple IIe 1983-1993
In December 1983, Apple III was replaced by a more advanced Apple III Plus model, with which the user base was expanded to 120,000, but in the end, in April 1984, the Apple III project was discontinued.
In January 1983, Apple II Plus was replaced by the most last computer Apple Series - Apple IIe. This model has been produced and has been in great demand for more than 10 years. A huge number of these machines are still used in US schools (in 1997 they occupied 17% of the computer park in US schools, in 1998 their share fell to 9%)
Lisa
"Those crazy people who think they can change the world will change it in the end."
In the fall of 1978, Steve Jobs and marketing planner manager William Hawkins set about developing specifications for a next-generation project, code-named Lisa. The Lisa project had nothing to do with the Lisa computer, which was released in January 1983. In 1978, the project aimed at creating a computer for business applications, priced at $ 2,000, with a built-in monitor with a greenish tint, the implementation period is the end of 1981. What made Apple Computer change its plans so dramatically? The answer is Xerox.
In 1970, Xerox created the Palo Alto Research Center in Palo Alto, California, where it gathered the best heads in information technology of that time under one roof, and set before them the task of creating future technologies without worrying about the practical applicability and feasibility of projects. In 1973, the Xerox Alto system was created in this very center, the first implementation of the most diverse computer technologies that we use today. It was a personal computer (in the sense that only one person could use it), which using Ethernet (another invention of PARC) could exchange information with other Alto. Overlapping windows, mouse-type manipulator ...
In 1979, Jobs, along with Bill Atkinson (later the author of the QuickDraw graphics library, based on the Lisa and Macintosh computer interface) first visited Xerox and ... Immediately imbued with the ideas of Xerox Alto. The specifications of the new computer have undergone major changes.
There is a (and widespread) version according to which Apple “hijacked” the Xerox graphical interface - in fact, we can say that Apple experts borrowed several general principles, inspiration and confidence that this can be done. Apple did not receive any source code or drawings from Xerox.
Seeing that their fruitless ideas were being actively implemented by Apple, 15 PARC employees switched to Apple and enthusiastically joined in the hard work of creating a user interface inspired by what they saw and developed in the “promising laboratory” of Xerox.
In 1981, Markkula removed Jobs from managing the Lisa project. The reason for this was the failure with the Apple III - and you can imagine how it was perceived by the ambitious and energetic Jobs. Apparently, the “work on the bugs” was done seriously. Jobs took up the side-by-side Macintosh project, which was conceived as Lisa’s “little brother” at a price of $ 500 ...
The first public presentation of this computer took place at the annual dealer conference in Acapulco, Mexico. According to Chris Espinosa (one of Apple's oldest employees, currently the head of the AppleScript development team), it was very turbulent during the conference in Mexico. In order to prevent demonstration cars from falling into the hands of the junta, in the event of a military coup, it was planned to put all Liza into the ocean and drown them there. “It would probably be better on all sides,” says Chris.
On January 19, sales of a new computer began. 1M random access memory, 32 bit Motorola 68000 processor with a frequency of 5 MHz, 2 floppy inputs, built-in hDD with a capacity of 5M ... And the price is 9995 dollars. A set of 7 programs was supplied with the computer, including graphic editors, spreadsheets, a word processor, a terminal emulator ... Instead of the traditional, well-known company in the market, the computer actually became a competitor to DEC, Xerox and other giants of the "big market".
In September 1983, the price was reduced to $ 6,995, and on January 24, 1984, at the same time the Macintosh was launched, sales of Lisa 2, a modified and improved version of this computer, started at a price of only $ 3495 - it increased sales, however, in the first three months of sales, Makov sold 3 times more than Liz in more than a year. In 1985, the production of Lisa computers was discontinued.
In 1983, Scully appointed Jobs as head of the 32-bit development department - that is, the Lisa and Macintosh projects. It was Jobs who had a hand in the liquidation of the Lisa project. The latest Lisa model was sold under the name Macintosh XL.
Mac
Contrary to the attitude of the company's board of directors towards this “insignificant” project, work on it was selfless, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The first months of work on a new, “forbidden” project became legendary for everyone who was somehow connected with it.
The very first Mac
It was Jobs who was the engine of a very competent and intensive marketing campaign, thanks to which a few years before the release of Mack, the "stunning little brother Lisa" was talked about in all the media. The 60-second 1984 commercial, which, according to legend, was shown only once, was included in most advertising textbooks. It happened on January 24, 1984, and this day is considered to be considered the official birthday of Mack.
Considering that software is vital for the success of the new machine, Jobs held intensive negotiations with many companies, including Microsoft, - almost at the time of its birth, the Mac could boast of unique software products. This is where the story begins. Microsoft Office, the best-selling office system of our day.
Thanks to the all-on-line design (all in one), in which the system unit and monitor are combined in one case, the computer took up minimal space on the table. But at the same time, the machine did not have a hard drive and it was not possible to connect external devices. 128 kilobytes of RAM were not allowed to create large filesmade it difficult to copy floppy disks. The format of the 3.5-inch drive was unusual, while in the early eighties, the five-inch format was generally accepted. The list of software for the new computer was limited to only three programs.
But the biggest disappointment for buyers was the price of the Macintosh - more than 2.5 thousand dollars instead of the planned 1 thousand. The mid-eighties was extremely unsuccessful for Apple. Sales went badly, the main buyers were only companies - developers software and university associations. As a result of internal turmoil on September 17, 1985, Apple left Steve Jobs. The company's management began to seriously think about switching to the release of IBM PC clones.
However, the high reputation of Apple products among software developers has allowed the company to save face. In 1985, Microsoft developed the Excel for Macintosh spreadsheet, a version of which for the PC only appeared a year later. Macintosh software Aldus PageMaker and LaserWriter have revolutionized publishing, delivering solid sales to Apple products in the market.
Apple's new development, the Macintosh Plus, was the first computer to feature a popular SCSI interface with software developers. From now on, the presence of a SCSI port becomes the standard for the Macintosh. The creation in 1986 of the version of the operating system for working with the characters KadjiTalk conquered the Asian market for Apple.
Macintosh 2 appeared in 1987. Its developers abandoned the principle of all-on-line, provided six slots for expansion cards. In 1989 Apple sold computers more than IBM itself, its new developments attracted the attention of customers from industrial enterprises and research centers . In 1990, the Macintosh 2fx - the fastest personal computer of its time (and the most expensive in the history of Apple - at a price of ten thousand dollars) entered the market.
Mac nowadays
In 1991, the Mac 7.0 operating system was created, where 32-bit addressing, the program menu, and virtual memory were applied — only about fifty fundamental innovations. In the same year, the Macintosh LC launched, a relatively cheap computer in an ultra-flat case, which became one of Apple's most successful commercial projects.
Wozniak’s departure and Jobs’s dismissal
The period of enchanting success of Apple ended with the departure of Wozniak from the company. He was a fan of his craft, loved computers, but could no longer work in an aggressive company driven by Jobs. In addition, he did not know what to do with money and with his popularity. He left the company after an injury sustained in a plane crash. For the company, the loss of one of the chief engineers did not go unnoticed.
The company was growing rapidly, and Jobs realized that we needed experienced managers who could lead Apple forward, going around the pitfalls of the world of big business. And he hired such people, and at first everything went well.
But the imbalance, eccentricity of Jobs, his unusual behavior caused more and more questions. He forced groups of developers working on different projects to almost fight each other. Threw parties with unjustified waste, often committed rash acts, and stubbornness made it difficult to change the decision. Neither the workers nor the hired managers liked all this, and was one of the reasons for Wozniak's departure.
In the end, Jobs was publicly fired from the company. After this, the company went very badly.
Crash
By the end of the 80s, problems rained down from a cornucopia. It was decided not to license the Macs operating system, MacOS, and numerous IBM clones took the lead in the personal computer market; Microsoft wrote the software for them. All this led to the dominance of Microsoft in the market of operating systems, and Apple was rapidly rolling down.
Powerbook
In 1992, Macintosh PowerBook laptops became the best-selling laptop in the class. At the same time, a Newton handheld computer was created, in which a fundamentally new approach to the interface came to life, and above all, handwriting input and recognition. Unfortunately, the small size of RAM made it difficult to write applications for Newton.
In 1994, there was a generational change of the Macintosh - computers of the PowerMacintosh family were released. Apple almost completely switched to the production of computers based on PowerPc processor, developed jointly by Apple, IBM and Motorola. This processor uses advanced RISC technology. In 1995, the first Macintosh appeared, using the PCI bus, as well as the first Macintosh clones.
The peak of the crisis was 1996, when attempts to upgrade MacOS failed, which has not changed since 1991.
The solution was to buy NeXT, the company founded by Steve Jobs after leaving, and now Steve is back at Apple. His appearance on MacExpo was accompanied by loud applause from the audience, everyone stood up, greeting Jobs. He was appointed acting head of the corporation. Few believed that Apple’s business would go well, but Steve did the impossible. With his return, the company's strategy changed towards lowering the price of the Macintosh and launching a number of new models available for a wide range of users - from professionals to fans of the latest three-dimensional games.
Powermac g3
In 1997, Apple announced the release of the new Macintosh family - the G3. The heart of the new computer is the next-generation PowerPC processor. Compared to the similar Pentium II, the performance gain of the G3 processor is 30%. In fact, the motherboard for G3 differs from the motherboard for Pentium only in the socket for the processor itself. Thus, it becomes possible to use standard devices in the Macintosh, which significantly reduces its price.
Further events began to develop rapidly: In 1999, Apple offers a new line of desktop computers. These include iMac computers of five new colors, a new line of Power Macintosh G3 computers with three types of monitors, as well as a server operating system Mac OS X server.
Housed in a stylish, translucent Power Macintosh G3 chassis, Apple's most powerful systems are designed for professional designers and home users who need machines that can easily support the latest 3D games. They use the latest copper-based PowerPC processors with clock speeds of up to 400 MHz, graphic cards ATI RAGE 128, FireWire buses, USB, Ethernet support.
IPod
Returning, Jobs immediately set to work. The first project - the iMac computer, completely squeezed into the monitor body, became extremely profitable. In 1998 alone, 800 thousand cars were sold. On this, Apple earned more than $ 300 million. 1998 was the first profitable year in 5 years.
IMac
For home users, the company announced a family of new accelerated iMac computers with a lower price, which are presented in a gamut of five bright colors Blueberry (blueberry), Lime (lime), Tangerine (mandarin), Strawberry (strawberry) and Grape (grape). IMac computers are equipped with a faster PowerPC G3 266 MHz processor and hard drive 6 GB. iMac, with it easy fast installation, Internet access and the absence of endless wires has become a bestseller among personal computers in the United States.
Powermac g4
At the end of 1999, Apple announced the release of the PowerMac G4 - with a processor frequency of up to 500 MHz, these supercomputers (over a billion floating point operations per second) leave all Pentium computers far behind. New computers are equipped with 20, 30 and 40 GB hard drives.
At the same time, the production of dual-processor G4s began to develop, working more than twice as fast as conventional G4s.
PowerMac G4 Cube
In the summer of 2000, Apple launches a new class of machines - the Power Mac G4 Cube - computers designed to combine the power of the Power Mac G4 with the design and miniature iMac.
The G4 Cube, enclosed in a transparent 8-inch cube, despite its size, has a Power PC G4 450 processor. Designed as something a bit like a time machine, the G4 Cube has a central vertical cooling channel, as the new cooling technology was used, it doesn’t makes absolutely no sounds, and easily removable external panels will help you get access to any computer device in a matter of seconds. The Power Mac G4 Cube includes a 450 MHz PowerPC G4 processor with Velosity Engine (configurable up to 500 MHz), 64 MB of memory (maximum 1.5 GB), a 20 GB or 40 GB hard drive, a DVD slot on top of Cuba, two FireWire and two USB port, 10 / 100BASE-T Ethernet card, 56K V.90 modem and a new optical mouse with keyboard. Jobs said that Cube is one of the most beautiful creations of Apple engineers.
In 2000, the line "performing" disappeared from his position. In 2001, a new generation operating system was introduced - MacOS X, based on NEXTSTEP (the OS developed by NeXT Computers under the guidance of the same Jobs) and FreeBSD.
But the real success of Apple and Steve personally can be considered the creation of an iPod in 2001. Designed by a team of engineers led by John Rubinstein (Jon Rubinstein) with the participation of Tony Fadell (Tony Fadell) and Michael Dewey (Michael Dhuey) In less than a year, the iPod was introduced by Jobs in October 2001. Equipped with a 5-gigabyte drive and an innovative control system, the new player immediately gained wide popularity. By and large, Apple instantly became the market leader in portable digital audio players and has been confidently holding these positions ever since.
But Apple has traditionally not limited itself to creating only one product, in addition, an online store selling iTunes music has been created. The popularity of the iPod, a qualitatively new level of service led to the huge popularity of the store and, over time, multibillion-dollar sales.
Apple today
Every year, Apple is confidently regaining its status as a market leader in computer technology. Phone with a revolutionary interface - iPhone - showed that the ingenious engineers of the company have something else to surprise this world. Sales of iPods and profits from iTunes allowed us to completely update the line of computers, to raise the quality of the MacOS operating system to a new level, and today the prospects for Apple are very, very good.
Steve Jobs
Stephen Paul Jobs III (Steven Paul Jobs III) - founder of Apple Inc. - was born on February 24, 1955.
Stephen Wozniak
Stephen Wozniak (Stephen Gary Woźniak) - one of the founders of Apple Inc. - was born on August 11, 1950 in San Jose.
No, well, it’s all clear: both the love of apples and the desire to be higher in telephone directorybut why, after all, is a bitten apple and a worm? ..
The 20th century is called the century of astronautics. However, the seventies of the last century can also be safely called the era of the formation of the IT industry. Far from the last role in this matter was played by the legendary American company Apple, the history of the formation and development of which is interesting to many.
How it all began
The history of this company began more than three decades ago in hot California, but for many it is still a mystery who is the founder of Apple. At its source are two loyal friends Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. In the mid-seventies they put together their first personal apple computer Computer I. The device was assembled manually and worked on the basis of the eight-bit processor MOS Technology 6502. It was a motherboard without keyboard, case, graphics and sound. For ten months, Jobs and Wozniak assembled and sold 175 of these computers at a price of $ 666.66. After such success, young and talented entrepreneurs received the long-awaited financing and were able to register the company. The official founding date of Apple is April 1, 1976.
A breakthrough in the personal computer industry
In April 1977, the second computer of the company, Apple Computer II, was released. He became the first mass personal computer, which was released in a million copies. The release of this device was a significant step forward, and not only for the company itself. Apple Computer II had a keyboard, built-in speaker, and power supply. All this was packed in a unique molded plastic case. It also distinguished the Apple computer from other personal devices, which looked rather awkward in comparison. Over five million Apple Computer IIs have been sold worldwide. It is not surprising why it is generally accepted that it was Apple that paved the way for the IT industry.
Years of oblivion
The eighties and nineties were disastrous in the history of Apple. And there were several reasons for this. In 1981, a friend and colleague of Jobs, Steve Wozniak, was in a car accident. For a while he had to leave work. Steve Jobs had to shoulder everything. Sales problems with Apple Computer III led to the dismissal of 40 employees. Evil languages \u200b\u200bhave already predicted the imminent end of Apple. In 1983, Jobs invited the president, John Scully, who at that time held the chair of PepsiCo. Soon, differences began to arise between them. Because of this, in 1985, Jobs left his brainchild.
The advent of the Macintosh
The company introduced its first Macintosh in 1984. This event was a milestone in the history of personal computers. For that time, Mac OS was programming excellence itself. This operating system got its name from the Macintosh variety of apples. Over the years, the company has improved it. Today's Macintosh computers come in several product lines.
The heyday of the company
By the end of the nineties, the company's business had worsened. Apple suffered huge losses. The situation changed with the return of Steve Jobs. This happened in 1997, and already in 2001 the company presented its legendary iPod, which was able to quickly gain popularity. Six years later, Apple introduced the iPhone touchscreen smartphone, and in 2010 it was released iPad tablet. All of these devices to this day are in high demand around the world. They brought the company record profits. In 2011, Apple was recognized as the most expensive company in the world.
Apple today
In 2011, shortly before his death, Steve Jobs handed over the reins to his associate Tim Cook. The company to this day continues to keep the brand. The value of its shares is constantly growing in price, which says a lot. The company has received more than five thousand patents. Its turnover exceeds 70 billion dollars. It is safe to say that at the moment Apple is one of the most famous and successful brands in history.
One of the most expensive companies for 2014 is Apple. According to Fortune Global 500 estimates, the Yabloko occupy an honorable fifteenth place in 2014, losing a couple of positions to Samsung Electronics. But in 2012, when Apple reached a value of 500 billion net worth, bypassing the oil and gas company Exxon Mobil, Fortun assigned the Yabloko first place. But even $ 500 billion is not a record for them, because on February 10, 2015, a maximum world record was fixed at the stock trades - $ 122 per paper, the estimated value of the company amounted to more than seven hundred billion dollars.
Since their first birthday, the Yabloko have had many executives, including Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, who was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the lowest paid executive director with a daily salary of $ 1.
During the existence of Yabloko, the financial performance of the company grew rapidly, then with the same desire fell down, and the company's managers influenced the technological direction.
Among the significant figures was Steve Wozniak, who became the founder of Apple.
According to statistics from various research centers, the main growth of the Yabloko people was observed during the reign of Steve Jobs, and recessions - in the years of his absence. Therefore, you can safely call Steve Jobs the main key figure in the development of the company.
Apple founders
Over the years of existence and growth, there has been much debate about who is the founder of Apple - Wozniak or Jobs. And is it true that the first computer from Apple was assembled in a garage, or still in a student lab where both Steve worked.
Some authoritative publications, collecting historical information, interviews and answering the question of who is the founder of Apple, wrote "Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak", while others - "Steve Jobs - the sole founder of the company."
But both Steve, answering the question posed by journalists, evasively evaded the answer, not taking on sole responsibility for the creator. So who became the founder of Apple officially, according to the papers? Most sources say that after all, Steve Jobs is the official and sole creator of the company.
From historical background
The company was officially registered in April 1976, although Jobs and Wozniak started their activities much earlier, meeting in the garage and assembling the first computer based on the eight-bit microprocessor MOS 6502 Technology.
Many print media that have written and are writing articles about the history of Apple's creation, on the contrary to the question “who is the founder of apple,” point out: Steve Jobs, although Jobs himself always said:
Steve Wozniak and I worked together to create the first Apple computer.
After the official registration of the company, the first Apple-1 computer saw the light, and even a little later - Apple-2, which was sold in millions of copies.
The Apple-2 industry continued until 1993, somewhat improving from release to release.
Since the Apple-2 computers had few competitors in the 80s, the main peak of the popularization of the personal computer from the Yabloko people was during this period, more than five million devices were sold.
However, at the same time, the company was also experiencing failure, having released an unsuccessful Apple-3 computer model, which, surprisingly, had no effect on the sale of the first shares of the Yabloko company.
Failures continued to haunt the company in 1981, when Steve Wozniak left the company due to a plane crash, and Jobs was forced to lay off more than 50 employees. The mass dismissal was associated with the failed Apple-3 project.
To raise the company from the bottom, Jobs invited John Scully to the position of president of the company.
But the business relationship between Jobs and Scully did not work out, and Jobs leaves the Yabloko by creating Next.
Macintosh Birth
The famous Macintosh computer first saw the light of day in 1984. For twenty years, the Yabloko company has been releasing these computers as the main manufactured product, using Motorolla processors and its own Mac operating system.
In the mid-90s, Apple granted a license to use its own OS to other computer manufacturers, but soon the licenses were revoked.
In 1996, the Yabloko company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Losses amount to more than two billion dollars.
In 1997, the founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, returned to the Yabloko people, after which the company's business went uphill. The company begins to learn new technologies not related to computers, and already in 2001 saw the light of the first iPod music player.
In 2007, Apple released the sensational IPhone, and Steve Jobs began to be called the first person in the world who provided users with pocket Internet.
Three years later, Apple launches its first iPad.
The last three new products released by the company radically change their financial situation, and Apple becomes the most successful manufacturer in the market of modern gadgets.
Litigation
The stunning success of the "Yabloko" gave rise to envious, and caring competitors began to flood the company one by one with lawsuits.
Even the Finnish company Nokia did not stand aside and in 2009 filed a lawsuit against the Yabloko people, accusing them of violating several patents. The court then upheld the lawsuit from Nokia, and the Yabloko obliged them to pay compensation.
While the 2 giants were suing, the light saw a line of gadgets from Samsung Galaxylike two drops of water similar to the iPhone and iPad. Apple filed a lawsuit against Samsung with the wording “copying software, interface, and design” of the aforementioned gadgets, but Samsung responded with a lawsuit against the Yabloko with the same wording that Nokia filed and won in 2009.
The court recognized both companies as violators, having satisfied all the claims, and obliged to pay compensations to each other, and also banned the sale of both companies' popular gadgets on their territory (lawsuits took place in South Korea).
Steve Jobs's death
In 2011, Steve Jobs died of an incurable disease. Apple has continued its work and successfully launches new innovative devices.
Apple's history began thirty years ago when two friends, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, decided to found their own computer manufacturing and manufacturing company. Officially, Apple was founded on April 1, 1976, and it was then that the manually assembled Apple Computer I appeared on the market - 175 pieces were assembled and sold in ten months at a price of $ 666.66. In fact, Apple I was a motherboard without a case, keyboard, sound and graphics.
In May 1979, Apple employee Jeff Raskin began working on a new all-in-one computer that was targeted at the average user. It is this period that can be called the beginning of the birth of the firstMacintosh
In 1983, Apple launched Lisa, the first personal computer with graphics. user interfaceso named after Jobs's daughter. But due to the rather high price and a limited set of applications, this model is not widely used. Although from a commercial point of view Lisa was a complete failure, nevertheless, its release was not in vain - the Lisa 7/7 operating system used here had a window interface, a buffer that allowed data transfer between applications, and much more.
Years passed and, naturally, the computer industry did not stand still. Throughout the course of improving Macintosh computers, their operating system Mac OS (System) also developed, that is, new features expanded, its individual elements changed and new technologies were introduced. When Mac OS was first introduced in 1984, for that time it was the perfection of modern programming.
The system was developed from the very beginning with the expectation that any user who did not have the necessary qualifications, first sat down at a computer, could immediately start working on it immediately without delving into the technical parameters. Operating systems for other platforms that appeared several years later offered things like secure memory and multitasking, which ultimately gave the best user experience. Apple did not integrate these things into Mac OS because the microprocessors that were available during the development of Mac OS were not powerful enough. But over time, Mac OS acquired additional functionality, while remaining the easiest to learn and use. Convenience and simplicity of work in this system were one of the main goals of its creators, and the internal logic of the interaction of individual parts of the operating system was primarily subject to these requirements.
When Apple faced the question of developing a new generation operating system, after weighing all the pros and cons, the company decided to use the development of NeXT, which used operating Systems under the general name UNIX. It was the OpenStep system (NeXTStep) that became the basis for building the new Mac OS. The developers of the new Mac OS needed to ensure a smooth transition from old system to a new one so that users can still work with large quantity existing programs until more powerful and convenient ones are created. So the new Mac OS X came about.
Apple was founded on April 1st on April Fools Day. The first Apple logo featured Isaac Newton. Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan is considered one of the most photographed attractions in the world. Apple has more than 35,000 employees worldwide. Apple was the first company to introduce a mouse and trackpad. Apple.com is one of the top 50 visited websites in the world. The first Apple computer to go on sale for almost 11 years lived the longest. The average PC owner spends 50 hours a year troubleshooting. The average Mac owner spends troubleshooting only 5 hours a year. Teachers and students find Macs more than 44% more productive than PCs. The first image shown on the Macintosh was the Disney character Scrooge McDuck. The first Apple retail stores were opened in Virginia and California. what Steve Jobs named the Apple Lisa computer after his daughter is a well-known fact, but few know where the name “Macintosh” came from. This name in honor of a favorite apple variety was given to a new computer by Apple employee Jef Raskin, beautifully playing with the fruit theme of the company. The first color “soap box” appeared in the USA in 1994 and was made by Apple. The Apple QuickTake 100 could take 8 photos, and it connected to a Mac’s serial cable. Mac OS X Lion uses the processed photo from the Andromeda Galaxy M31 from astrophotographer Robert Gendler as standard wallpaper. Apple designers decided to edit the image to your taste. They got rid of the whole galaxy M110 and removed a few stars. Apple began working on the iPad, before starting sales of the first iPhone. However, the iPad came out only three years after the iPhone. Despite the fact that Stephen Wozniak has not been working with Apple since 1987, he is still on the staff there and even gets paid. When the Apple II computer (first introduced in 1977), with the most advanced GUI for that time, it gained popularity, Steve was only 25 and he became one of the youngest millionaires of his time. 90% of Apple employees never met Steve Jobs.
Many interesting facts surfaced during a lawsuit between Apple and Samsung, but plans to create a car from Apple look the most shocking.
According to Autoblog, Apple’s vice president of international marketing spoke in court yesterday. While most of the statements made by him focused on smartphones and tablets, as well as on determining what intellectual property is, he casually mentioned one surprising fact. Apple seemed to be considering a wide variety of projects before the company began manufacturing smartphones. Among them are cameras and a car. Schiller made these statements during his speech in which he accused Samsung of copying and stealing the design developed by Apple in the process of creating its own smartphones by the Korean company.
Now Google is one of the technology giants involved in the automotive business, thanks to the company's autonomous machine, but one can only guess which direction Apple would go in this industry. Knowing Apple, the company could well have developed touch-sensitive control of the car. However, at a time when this project still had a chance of implementation, it was still too early for this. But thanks to the widespread adoption of the iPhone and iPad, as well as other Apple products, the company could give this project another chance.
The birth of Apple Corporation, like any other unusual “child,” is full of wonderful and interesting stories. The company was founded on April 1, 1976 by three American entrepreneurs - and Ronald Wayne, one of America's most unlucky entrepreneurs, which we will talk about a little later. First, let's talk a little more in detail about who is the founder of Apple, namely Steve Jobs.
So, the restless Jobs, who at that time was working in the highly successful computer company Atari Computers, constantly pushed his more skeptical friend and engineer friend Steve Wozniak, nicknamed “Woz”, to enter into an indescribable adventure and start his own small computer company. Wozniak does not believe in the entrepreneurial power of Jobs, nor in the idea itself, but agrees to the undeniable argument of Jobs. “Even if we do not succeed, we can tell our children that they founded the company!”, Jobs assured Wozniak, and he finally agreed.
Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne are the three people who stand at the origins of Apple.
Entrepreneurs sell their personal items in order to collect $ 1,300 necessary for the purchase of spare parts for the first computer. In particular, Jobs sells a Volkswagen personal minibus, and Wozniak donates HP's scientific calculator. In Jobs' bedroom, friends are gathering their first product -. Jobs rents a little later. mailbox in Palo Alto, the place where other successful computer companies are located, and registers a new star at this mailing address - Apple Computers.
In addition to Steve Wozniak, or “another Steve,” as he was later called at Apple, Steve Jobs dragged his Atari Computers colleague Ronald Wayne into the “apple” adventure, who received a 10% stake in the original company for his contribution to the common cause. Wayne drew the first weird company logo, which was not yet an apple. In addition, Wayne became the author of the partnership agreement that began the history of Apple and written user instructions for Apple I.
Wayne was Apple's shareholder for exactly two weeks - on April 13, 1976, he sold his stake in the company to Steve Jobs for $ 800, citing the fact that he saw the new venture as very risky. At the same time, already in 1976, when the venture capitalists Arthur Rock and Mike Markulla took up the company, who helped Jobs and Wozniak draw up the first business plan and turn the partnership of two friends into a corporation, Apple earned 174 thousand dollars. In 1977, the company's sales grew to $ 2.7 million, turning into an immodest 7.8 million already in 1978. By 1982, Apple had become one of the most successful US companies with billions in sales. Unlucky Ronald Wayne refused all this for $ 800 paid to him by Jobs and an additional $ 1,500, which Wayne paid for the fact that the latter will not have any claims to Apple in the future.
The birth of Apple was made possible only thanks to the leadership and punching character of Steve Jobs, who was able to put the idea into a great engineer Steve Wozniak and find the proper financing from billionaire Mike Markulla, who believed in Apple and gave $ 250,000 for the first projects. Looking at this story from the side, we can safely say that without the initiative and unbroken tenacity of Jobs, there would have been nothing. But even without the talent of Wozniak, as well as many other talented specialists, Apple would not be what it is now.
