A Brief History of Apple Computers

Today viewers will learn about the origin of the Apple Computer Dynasty, how it affected the company when the CEO left until the time of his death and its effect on the company. Apple’s struggles and successes over the years lend themselves too many new products that have changed the course of history. The first computer ever created by Apple was the Apple I. It was created by Steve Woznaik and was released to the public eye on April 1, 1976. The Apple I came with a completed circuit board which set it apart from most computers at this time. It provided viewers with the easiest PC on the market to use and maintain at the time Paul Terell, owner of the Byte Shop, was the only computer store chain at the time, was impressed by the Apple I and agreed to buy 50 assembled computers for 500 dollars each.

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The next computer Apple made was the Apple II. It was created in 1977 and was very different from the Apple I. It was the first successful mass-marke0t personal computer and one of the most popular. It had new features such as: a color display, eight internal expansion slots, and a case with a keyboard. The Apple II was one of the first computers to have color display and the best feature of the computer was its eight expansion slots. No other computers at this time had its flexibility or expansion possibilities.

Apple did not expect the Apple II to sell many machines so they put out the Apple III. The Apple III was mostly designed for business environments. It was released on May 19, 1980. Apple decided to first ship the Apple III in limited addition. It ran twice as fast as the Apple III, had two times more memory and was the first computer to have a built in floppy drive. Steve Jobs supervised this project that was ridiculous including: dimensions that were too small to fit all the components, and no cooling fans. This resulted in the motherboard over-heating,

and sometimes even melting some chips so they would come lose in their sockets which would cause system malfunctions. The real-time clock didn’t work either. On Apple 24, 1984 the Apple III line was retired.

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After that Apple decided to make a new computer line called the Macintosh. It was the original iMac and was created in 1984. This computer changed the world of personal computers because it was cheaper than the competing GUI-driven computers and it was more intuitive and user friendly than most PCs. Next few computers that followed this were the Macintosh SE/30, Macintosh Portable, Macintosh Performa, the Flower Power iMac, and the Macintosh Quadra.

The first iMac was created in 1998 was also known as the blue internet Macintosh. It was a simple computer with just a few simple lines and USB ports. To top that off it was low-priced and sold many units and took Apple out of its slump and put them on their way to shareholder happiness. First though, they started the seemingly inescapable iTrend and iCliché. Other Computers that Apple made include: the Power Book 100, the Lisa, and the Power Mac G4 Cube. The Power Book 100 was Apple’s 1^st laptop. It was lightweight and well-designed computer. The PB100 proved that Apple could make a decent laptop and began making a line that would continue until 2010, and then Apple began dismantling the brand for the Mac Book Pro.

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In 1994 Apple created its first camera, the Quick take to be exact. It was made by Kodak. The Quick Take only worked with Macintosh computers but the company later created software that would work with Windows computers called the 150. Kodak and Fuji went on and created their own successful camera businesses and Apple stayed out of it until 2003 with the iSight. The iSight is a webcam made to be an accessory for the Quick Take. It is one of the best webcams ever made. It has great image quality, a microphone, and is compatible with iChat and iMovie, which makes it perfect for any Mac computer. It also has three different mounting options and takes care of the focusing for you.

In 2001 Apple created the iPod 1G. It was very small using a 1.8” hard drive. It was easy to use with a mechanical scroll wheel and a center select button. It also had four auxiliary buttons around the wheel. In 2002 the company created the iPod 2G. It had the same body as the first generation but they changed the hold switch and a cover was added to the FireWire port and the mechanical wheel was replaces with a touch-sensitive wheel along with the front plate was rounded. The iPod 3G, created in 2003, was thinner than the previous iPods. They also replaced the FireWire port with a dock connector and for the first time the touch wheel with

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a new wired remote connector and lastly, a 4-pin jack adjacent to the headphone port. Apple added many different iPods to the line such as the iPod Photo, the iPod 4G, and 5G, iPod Video, iPod Nano, iPod mini 1G and 2G, and the iPod Shuffle 1G. In 2012 Apple created the iPod 5G and it was a huge upgrade. It came with a new Lightning connector, a thinner design, and for the first time a variety of colors. You can also purchase matching wrist straps. The camera is also upgraded, it has a 5-megapixel camera with image stabilization and face detection that shoots f/2.4 for better low-light performance. The iPod 5G also has twice the processing power of other models and seven times the graphics performance as the last iPod. The iPod 5G is also Apple’s first iPod to have Siri. It can hold 40 hours of music and 8 hours of video as the battery life.

Apple surprised the world by going into the cell phone business. Apple partnered with AT&T Wireless to created the iPhone 2G. It was meant to represent the merging of an iPod with a cell phone. On July 11, 2008 Apple upgraded the iPhone 2G for the iPhone 3G. It had the fastest 3G Internet connectivity. The iPhone 3GS is very different from its former models. It has a more durable screen with the three GS and it responds to oil and water resistant finishes. The iPhone 4 is all about image. The phone has Retina Display screen and a 5-megapixel

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camera. It also has HD recording to FaceTime video calls. The text is sharper and easier to read. It also has camera flash.

The 4S looks identical to the 4 by size and weight. It can transmit and receive data faster than other models. The iOS 5 and a + button, as a shutter when taking landscape shots, were also added. The iPhone 4S was also dedicated to Steve Jobs. The iPhone 5 is thinner, lighter, faster, and simpler than previous models. It’s the lightest iPhone, even though it’s longer. It has all new aluminum back. The iPhone 5S has a fingerprint identity sensor. A better, faster camera and an operating system built specially for its chip. The iPhone 5C is just like the 5S but Apple wanted to make the phone better so they added colors. They even designed the Home screen and wallpaper colors to complement the exterior. As a result, it is more delightful and engaging.

Apple created a tablet called the iPad. The iPad had a light sensor to adjust to brightness, an accelerator to determine orientation, and a digital compass to determine direction and rotation around gravity. It couldn’t work on Verizon or Sprint. Basically Apple took the iPod and iPhone and enlarged it. Apple also added a new App, the iBooks where you can purchase them at the new iBookstore. Since

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then Apple has upgraded to the iPad 2G which added the camera. Lastly, it added the iPad 3G.

Steve Jobs is the creator of Apple. He started Apple with Steve Wozniak. Apple officially started on April fool’s Day. Steve Jobs named the company Apple because he ate a lot of fruits and he thought that the apple was the best fruit. Steve thought that the apple was perfect and he wanted his computers to be perfect so he named the company Apple. Jobs wanted his computers to be able to access floppy disks for extra storage. Steve left Apple for Pixar when he was offered to work with George Lucas. Lucas’s company had created a new kind of animation using a computer. Jobs wanted to sell his computer systems to Pixar. Pixar was losing a lot of money at the time in fact, Jobs put in 50 million dollars of his own money into the company. In 1991, Jobs laid off most workers but one person in particular he didn’t lay off. His name was John Lassater. He never laid him off because he made a bunch of short computer-animated films. One of his programs, Tin Toy, won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 1989. He convinced Disney to give Pixar enough money to make 3 animated films. Steve Jobs created Toy Story and it became one of the most popular movies at the time and is still popular today.

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At the time that Jobs was making billions, Apple was losing billions. Apple computers didn’t conform to times and their computers were slow. Apple offered Steve Jobs a spot back on the board. He would have said no to any other company but Apple was his baby. He then agreed to come back to Apple but only for a little while. As head of Apple he only gave himself a salary of $1 per year! He then made a deal to work with Microsoft. He advertised with Apple’s new logo “Think Different” and would put up posters with celebrities faces on them and then put the logo in the corner. In 2003, Jobs found out that he had cancer in his pancreas. On October 5, 2011 Steve Jobs lost his battle with Cancer.