INTRODUCTION OF APPLE
Apple Inc, is an American multinational corporation with a focus on designing and
manufacturing consumer electronics and closely-related software products.
Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple develops, sells, and supports a series of
personal computers, portable media players, computer software, and computer hardware
accessories; Apple is also currently involved in the creation of new technology concepts,
such as the iPhone, Apple TV, and many features of its new, upcoming operating system,
Mac OS X “Leopard”. Apple also operates an online
store for hardware and software purchases, as well as the iTunes Store, a comprehensive
offering of digital downloadable music, audiobooks, games, music videos, TV shows, and
movies. The company’s best-known hardware products include the Mac line of personal
computers and related peripherals, the iPod line of portable media players, and the
iPhone, which has a confirmed release date of June 29 2007 in the U.S. Apple’s best
known software products include the Mac OS operating system and the iLife software
suite, a bundle of integrated amateur creative software products. (Both Mac OS and iLife
are included on all Macs sold.)
Additionally, Apple is also a major provider of professional (as well as “prosumer”)
audio- and film-industry software products.
Apple’s professional and “prosumer” applications, which run primarily on Mac
computers, include Final Cut Pro, Logic Audio, Final Cut Studio, and related industry
tools. Apple had worldwide annual sales in its fiscal year 2006 (ending September 30,
2006) of US$19.3 billion. The company, first incorporated January 3, 1977, was known
as Apple Computer, Inc. for its first 30 years. On January 9, 2007,
The company dropped “Computer” from its corporate name to reflect that Apple, once
best known for its computer products, now offers a broader array of consumer electronics
products. The name change, which followed Apple’s announcement of its new iPhone
smartphone and Apple TV digital video system, is representative of
the company’s ongoing expansion into the consumer electronics market in addition to its
traditional focus on personal computers.
In 1977, the Apple II computer became the first personal computer to include color graphics.
Steve Jobs created a sleek plastic case design for the new system having drawn his inspiration
from the calculators cases he saw being produced at Hewlett
Packard; previously, computer cases had been manufactured out of sheet metal. The Apple II
was a major success with earnings of close to $139 million within only three years. People
began to take notice of the young company. In 1981, Steve Jobs introduced the Apple III
computer. Because of a flaw in the computer’s design the
first 14,000 units were recalled which in turn caused sales of the system to taper off. In 1983,
with its dynamic growth, Steve Jobs figured that Apple could use a professional CEO, feeling
that he did not have the necessary experience to keep the position. He personally recruited
John Sculley, president of Pepsi Co., as Apple’s new Chief Executive Officer. The same
year, Apple announced the release of the first personal computer that would be almost
entirely mouse-based. This revolutionary new system would be called the Lisa.
Unfortunately, the Lisa’s retail price of $9,995 made it cost prohibitive for the majority of the
general public. Having been removed from the Lisa team, Steve Jobs joined the staff of a
smaller project at Apple. He headed the design of a new computer system for the home
market that would retail for a more price friendly $500. This proposed system was later
named the Macintosh. The emphasis on the design of the Macintosh was in simplicity; Steve
Jobs wanted it to appeal to the average
computer user. The Macintosh was eventually fitted with a number of the Lisa’s GUI
features. Like the Lisa, the Macintosh’s operating system lacked function keys which forced
users to rely on the mouse to navigate through the operating system. The Macintosh
contained 128K of memory which was twice that of the equivalent PC at the time and a 32-
bit microprocessor which outclassed the PC’s 16-bit microprocessor