The history of the graphical user interface, understood as the use of graphic icons and a pointing device to control a computer, covers a fivedecade span of incremental refinements, built on some constant core principles. Its beige case consisted of a 9 in 23 cm crt monitor and came with a keyboard and mouse. The first computer in the line was called mac 128k, and although it was a less expensive successor to the apple lisa, it was also less advanced. The macintosh 128k, originally released as the apple macintosh, is the original apple macintosh personal computer. The apple macintosh revolutionized the entire computer industry by the year of 1984. Nine months after introducing the mac, apple upgraded the computer with more memory and a faster processor.
The macintosh operating system mac os is an operating system os designed by apple inc. The history of the apple macintosh computer disk drill. This new way of working with a computer was known as graphical user interface. Its xserve server was discontinued in 2011 in favor of the mac mini and mac pro. The aim alliance hoped that preps performance and apples software would leave the pc far behind and thus counter microsofts monopoly. The classic mac os is the original macintosh operating system that was introduced in 1984 alongside the first macintosh and remained in primary use on macs until the introduction of mac os x in 2001 apple released the original macintosh on january 24, 1984. The macintosh xl is a hardware and software conversion kit to effectively reboot lisa into macintosh mode. Evolution of mac computers timeline timetoast timelines. If the invention of the apple macintosh computer had to be narrowed down to one person, then it would have to be jef raskin march 9, 1943february 26, 2005 mr. Steve jobs and his ingenious macintosh team arranged for the computer to be used by the normal person in the street and not only by experts. Dont miss this pdf boasting the benefits of the lisas native software.
Introduction of the apple macintosh computer, 1984 citation. The macbook air was the biggest change in apples laptop line for years, and invented a whole new category of computers called ultrabooks by intel. The name macintosh is based on the name of an apple cultivar, the mcintosh. The macintosh was the product that first made apple sexy, said berlin, the stanford historian. Jobs co invented the apple i and apple ii computers together with wozniak, who was the main designer, and others. The new imac takes that idea to the next level giving you even more amazing tools to do just about anything.
One of the favorite varieties of apple, the mcintosh apple or mac as it is sometimes called, originated in canada. The apple macintosh created a personal computing epoch with its complete graphical user interface gui platform in a compact, portable, lowcost package featuring highresolution bitmap graphics, onebutton mouse, and innovative switching power supply. Insanely great steve jobs could hardly put into words his enthusiasm by the launch of the macintosh. They both have some different feature from each other in contrast software and hardware. The apple macintosh or just mac is a line of personal computers made by the american company apple inc. And from time to time lots of changes have come in this field. Comparing apple macintosh computers to microsoft windows.
Jobs figured that software was the way to win the consumer over and in 1985, the macintosh computer line received a big sales boost with the introduction of the laserwriter printer and aldus pagemaker, which made home desktop publishing possible. Apple has developed a series of macintosh operating. Lets start with knowing what exactly these two computers are. The next generation of apple computers was already under way in 1979 when a visit to xerox parc changed steve jobs and apple forever. We start with the early days, the tale of how apple was founded, moving on through the apple i, to the apple ii, the launch of the macintosh and the. Today the name mcintosh for legal reasons spelled without a capital i or mac is best known as one chosen by jef raskin, an employee of apple inc. The software and hardware was spectacular when compared to even the highestend pcs even if the lisa was a little sluggish, but the lisa was priced well out of their range and had to compete with wang, dec, and xerox not to mention apples own macintosh, which was released in 1984. The early mac team members in 1979 consisted of jef raskin, brian howard, marc lebrun, burrell smith, joanna hoffman, and bud tribble.
The first macintosh was introduced on january 24, 1984, by steve jobs see the lower photo and it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature two old known then, but still unpopular featuresthe mouse and the graphical user interface, rather than the commandline. The macintosh, or mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers, manufactured by apple inc. It was built around the new motorola 68000 chip, which was. In 2001, apple created the ipod, which changed apples direction so. Apple macintosh is a line of computers introduced by steve jobs and steve wozniak of apple inc. Macintosh by apple complete history of mac computers. The apple ii is considered to be one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers. Apple was trying to sell a workstation like a personal. Jobs and wozniak wanted to make computers small enough for people to have them in their homes or offices. Apple allows other computer companies to clone its computer by announcing its licensed the macintosh operating system rights to radius on january 4. Released with much fanfare in january of 1984, the macintosh was the first affordable computer to include a graphical user interface.
Includes specifications, a description and pictures of every apple computer ever made. The macintosh heralded the era of graphical user interface gui systems, and it inspired microsoft corporation to develop its own gui, the windows os. Unlike virtually all other contemporary pcs, the mac os initially designated simply system software, with a version number appended was graphically based. Apple introduces itunes worlds best and easiest to use. Apple introduces macintosh advanced personal computer. The machine featured a gui, an operating system known as system 1 the earliest version of mac os, and a number of software programs, including the word processor macwrite and the graphics editor macpaint. Apples core product lines are the iphone smartphone, ipad tablet computer, ipod portable media players, and macintosh. It is an easy to use, allinone desktop computer with graphical user interface macintosh system software, retailing for. Apple s core product lines are the iphone smartphone, ipad tablet computer, ipod portable media players, and macintosh.
The first versions initially had no name but came to be known as the macintosh system software in 1988, mac os in 1997 with the release of mac os 7. Mac os, operating system os developed by the american computer company apple inc. The new machine came with an upgraded version of the lisa office system, now renamed 77. If you were a designer or desktop publisher, this was a cool computer. The next generation of interesting software will be done on the macintosh, not the ibm pc, claims microsoft cofounder bill gates in a businessweek cover story. The same year, apple introduced the power macintosh, the first of many apple computers to use motorolas powerpc processor. Steve jobs and his ingenious macintosh team arranged. The os was introduced in 1984 to run the companys macintosh line. Apple introduced system 7 operating system on may, 1991. It was this feature of the macintosh that made it so popular.
Introduced in 1984, it is a graphical user interface gui based os that has since been released as multiple different versions. Several vendors have created their own windowing systems based on independent code, but with basic elements in common that. By daniel eran dilger friday, january 24, 2014, 03. Biography of steve jobs, cofounder of apple computers. The macintosh was developed by a team of engineers at apple computers. Apple macintosh simple english wikipedia, the free. Jobs compensated by making sure developers created software for the new macintosh. Initially jef raskin proposed the idea and was joined by bill atkinson.
A handle built into the top of the case made it easier for the computer to be lifted and carried. Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the apple ii and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the macintosh. This was a software emulation layer that allowed the lisa to run mac software and applications. Apples boss steve jobs liked the early ideas for the. Apples presentation tool and steve jobs software of choicekeynotealso hadnt entered the market. The os was introduced in 1984 to run the companys macintosh line of personal computers pcs. Transform the desktop experience by fitting powerful, easytouse technology into an elegant, allinone design. Apples macintosh has forced the world to change for 30 years. Apple s marketing for the introduction of the macintosh focused heavily on its operating systems intuitive ease of use.
The apple macintosh was the first widely successful personal computer offering an integrated standard graphical user interface gui. Macintosh 128 came bundled with what was later called the mac os, but then known simply as the system software or system. The mac 128k had an easytouse gui that utilized icons, windows, and a mouse as. In 1988 apple launched the mac, creating a fan following since then. The apple ii didnt have an incorporated display and although the mouse had been invented it wasnt bundled with the machine. The macintosh was one of the first computers in which the people could use a mouse for pointing on a screen which had icons. Dedicated apps for music, tv, and podcasts, a whole new class of mac apps, and sidecar.
Apple has developed a series of macintosh operating systems. It introduces the apple macintosh computer, which utilizes a graphical user interface instead of needing to type in commands. The power macintosh g3 also sold with additional software as the macintosh server g3 is a series of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by apple computer, inc. You must be at least 18 years old to be eligible to trade in for credit or for an apple store gift card. On january 24, 1984, powerpoint had yet to be invented. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators and creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and. It represented apples first step towards eliminating redundancy and complexity in the product line by replacing eight power macintosh models and the twentieth anniversary macintosh. In 1984, apple introduced its most successful product yet the macintosh, a personal computer that came with a builtin screen and mouse. In 1984, wozniak, jobs, and others co invented the apple macintosh computer, the first successful home computer with a mousedriven graphical user interface. They licensed a code base from another company and then made substantial additions and improvements on it before they licensed it to ibm and other pc manufacturers.