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Apple_Computer (including recent related patents.)
Apple ComputerCorporate logo of Apple Computer, Inc. Usage restricted. Trademarks on this page belong to their owner. See Wikipedia:Image use policy. Apple Computer, Inc. is a Silicon Valley company based in Cupertino, California, whose main business is computer technologies. It is best known for its range of Macintosh computers, and has a reputation for innovation in the high-tech industry. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Pre-history 2 Early Years 3 The Macintosh 4 Recent Years 5 Hardware currently made by Apple 6 Apple Software 7 Devices formerly made by Apple 8 Documentation 9 Slogans 10 Apple as a corporation 10.1 Trademark dispute with Apple Corps 10.2 A "snapshot" of its own data center 11 External links 11.1 News 11.2 Rumors 11.3 People 11.4 History 11.5 Support and Service 11.6 Mac Sales, Deals, and Reviews 11.7 Other Pre-history Before he co-founded Apple, Steve Wozniak had always been an electronics hacker, and in 1975 he started attending meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club. He was inspired by what was going on. At the time the only microcomputer CPUs generally available were the $179 Intel 8080, and the $170 Motorola 6800. Wozniak preferred the 6800, but both were out of his price range. So he watched, and learned, and designed computers on paper waiting for the day he could afford a CPU. When MOS Technologies released the famous 6502 in 1976 at $25, Wozniak immediately started writing a version of BASIC for the chip. After completion, he started designing a computer it would run on. The 6502 was designed by the same people who designed the 6800, as many in Silicon Valley left employers to form their own companies. Wozniak's earlier 6800 paper-computer needed only minor changes to run on the new chip. Wozniak completed the machine and started taking it to Homebrew Computer Club meetings, where to show off the system. There he bumped into old friend Steve Jobs, who had an interest in the future commercial applications of these tiny hobby machines. Early Years Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak ("the two Steves") had been friends for some time, and Jobs managed to interest Wozniak in assembling the machine and selling it. Jobs approached a local computer store, The Byte Shop, who said they would be interested in the machine, but only if it came fully assembled. The owner, Paul Terrell, went further, saying he would order 50 of the machines and pay $500 each on delivery. The machine had only a few notable features. One was the use of a TV as the display system, whereas many machines had no display at all. This was not like the displays of later machines however, and displayed text at a terribly slow 60cps. This machine, the Apple I also included bootstrap code on ROM, which made it easier to start up. Finally, at the insistence of Paul Terrell, Wozniak also designed a cassette interface for loading and saving programs, at the then-rapid pace of 1200bps. Although the machine was fairly simple, it was nevertheless a masterpiece of design, using far fewer parts than anything in its class, and quickly earning Wozniak a reputation as a master designer. Joined by another friend, Ron Wayne, the three started to build the machines. Using a variety of methods, including borrowing space from friends and family, selling various prized items (like calculators and a VW bus), scrounging and some white lies, Jobs managed to secure the parts needed while Wozniak and Wayne assembled them. They were delivered in June, and as promised, they were paid on delivery. Eventually 200 of the Apple I's were built. But Wozniak had already moved on from the Apple I. Many of the design features of the I were due to the limited amount of money they had to construct the prototype, but with the income from the sales he was able to start construction of a very much upgraded machine, the Apple II. The main difference internally was a completely redesigned TV interface, which held the display in memory. Now not only useful for simple text display, the Apple II included graphics, and eventually, color. Jobs meanwhile pressed for a much improved case and keyboard, with the idea that the machine should be complete and ready to run out of the box. This was almost the case for the Apple I machines sold to the Byte Shop, but one still needed to plug various parts together and type in the code to run BASIC. Building such a machine was going to cost a lot more money. Jobs started looking for cash, but Wayne was somewhat gun shy due to a failed venture four years earlier, and eventually dropped out of the company. Jobs eventually met "Mike" Markkula who co-signed a bank loan for $250,000, and the three formed Apple Computer on April 1, 1976. With both cash and a new case design in hand, the Apple II was released in 1977 and became the computer generally credited with creating the home computer market. Millions were sold well into the 1980s. When Apple went public in 1980, they generated more money than any IPO since Ford in 1956, and instantly created more millionaires than any company in history. A number of different models of the Apple II family were built, including the Apple IIe and IIgs, which could still be found in many schools as late as the end of the 1990s. The Macintosh By the 80s Apple faced emerging competition in the personal computing business. Chief among them was IBM, the first "big name" in computing. IBM's PC model, running DOS (short for Disk Operating System, and licensed to IBM by Bill Gates) was capturing a large share of the emerging desktop computing market in large companies. Several smaller businesses were using the Apple II, but the company felt it needed a newer, more advanced model to compete in the corporate desktop computing market. Thus, designers of the Apple III were forced to comply with Jobs' lofty and sometimes impractical goals. Among them was the omission of a cooling fan - it is reported Jobs found them "inelegant." The new machines were prone to overheating, and most early models had to be recalled. The Apple III was also expensive, and, though the company introduced an updated version in 1983, largely a failure. Meanwhile various groups within Apple were working on a completely new kind of personal computer, with advanced technologies such as a graphical user interface, computer mouse, object-oriented programming and networking capabilities. These people, including Jef Raskin and Bill Atkinson, agitated for Steve Jobs to put the company's focus behind such computers. It was only when they brought him to see the work being done at Xerox PARC on the Alto in December 1979 that Jobs decided the future was in such graphics-intensive, icon-friendly computers, and supported the competing Apple Lisa and Apple Macintosh teams. Over the objections of some PARC researchers, many of whom (such as Larry Tesler) ended up working at Apple, Xerox granted Apple engineers 3 days of access to the PARC facilities in return for selling them one million dollars in pre-IPO Apple stock (~$18mil. net). The Lisa debuted in January 1983 at $10,000. Once again, Apple had introduced a product that was ahead of its time, but far too expensive (the company would continue to follow this pattern for the next few years), and Apple again failed to capture the business market. The Lisa was discontinued in 1986. The Lisa project was removed from Jobs' control midway through development. Jobs soon turned his attention to the Macintosh project, originally envisioned as a kind of "budget Lisa." The Apple Macintosh was launched in 1984 with a now famous Super Bowl advertisement based on George Orwell's novel 1984, declaring, "On January 24, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you'll see why 1984 won't be like '1984'" — the obvious implication being that the Mac's new, "user friendly" GUI would liberate computing and information from an elite of large corporations and technocrats. Apple also spawned the concept of Mac evangelism which was pioneered by Apple employee, and later Apple Fellow, Guy Kawasaki. The Macintosh was and continues to be a success for Apple, but not as big a success as it could have been. On a visit to Apple headquarters in Cupertino Jobs showed Bill Gates, now president of Microsoft, a prototype of the Mac GUI. In 1985 Microsoft launched Microsoft Windows, its own GUI for IBM PCs. By that point many companies were also making IBM PC Compatibles, cheaper copies of the PC. Apple did not allow other computer makers to clone the Mac. Although the first version of Windows was technologically inferior to the Mac, it and a PC clone could be had for less than the price of a Mac, and there was soon more software available for Windows as well. Microsoft and Windows would go on to become one of the most phenomenal business success stories of the late 20th century, and Apple would never again be the world's number one personal computer maker. By 2003 Apple's share of the personal computer market had dwindled to less than 5%. Recent Years After the failed Macintosh Portable of 1989, a much more popular laptop, the PowerBook, was introduced in the early 1990s. Products from Apple also include operating systems such as ProDOS, Mac OS and A/UX, networking products such as AppleTalk and multimedia program QuickTime. Significant discontinued products include the Apple Power Macintosh G4 Cube and the Apple Newton handheld computer. After an internal power struggle with new CEO John Sculley in the 1980s, Jobs resigned from Apple and went on to found NeXT Computer, which ultimately failed, after a promising start. Later on, Apple in an effort to save the company, bought up NeXT and its UNIX based OS NeXTSTEP, and this move brought back Jobs to Apple's management. One of his first acts as new acting CEO was to instigate development of the iMac, which saved the company from going under while they had time to work on sorting out the operating system. More recent products include the Apple AirPort which uses Wireless LAN technology to connect computers of different brands to the Internet without wires. There is also the iBook and G4 Computer. In early 2002, Apple unveiled a new one-piece design of the new iMac. It has a hemispherical base and a flat panel all-digital display supported by a swiveling neck. In 2001, Apple introduced Mac OS X, a new version of their operating system that finally marries the stability, reliability and security of Unix with the ease of use of the Macintosh interface in an OS targeted at professionals and consumers alike. Apple computers such as the PowerBook, and more recently the iBook and the iMac, are frequently featured as props in films and television series. Occasionally the heroes use Apple computers while the villains are relegated to PC compatibles. At one time, Apple ran an advertising campaign for the PowerBook featuring clips from the film Mission Impossible. In addition to computers, Apple has also produced very popular consumer devices. In the 1990s, Apple released the Newton, a handheld electronic note-taking device. It experienced mediocre success, but was clearly many years ahead of its time. Through the 1990s, Microsoft began to gain a much larger percentage of new computer users than Apple. As a result Apple fell from controlling 20% of the total personal computer market to 5% by the end of the decade. The company was struggling financially when on August 6, 1997 Microsoft bought a $150 million non-voting share of company. Perhaps more significantly, Microsoft simultaneously announced its continued support for Mac versions of its office suite, Microsoft Office and soon created a Macintosh Software Unit. This reversed the earlier trend within Microsoft that resulted in poor Mac versions of their software and resulted in several award-winning releases. In May of 2001, after much speculation, Apple announced the opening of a line of Apple retail stores, to be located throughout the major U.S. computer buying markets. The stores were designed for two primary purposes: to stem the tide of Apple's declining share of the computer market, as well as a response to poor marketing of Apple products at third-party retail outlets. In October of 2001, Apple introduced the iPod, a portable digital music player. Its signature was the incredible amount of storage space, initially 5 GB, able to hold approximately 1,000 songs. Apple has since revised its iPod line several times in the past few years with newer versions, a slimmer, more compact design, Windows compatibility, AAC compatability, storage sizes of up to 40 GB, and the ability to easily hook it up to a car or home stereo. Apple has revolutionized the computer and music industry by signing the five major record companies to join its new Music download service, the successful iTunes Music Store. Unlike other fee-based music services, the iTunes Music Store charges a flat $.99 per song (or $9.99 per album). Also unlike other services, users actually own the music they purchase, and can burn the songs onto a CD, share and play the songs on up to 3 computers, and of course download songs onto an iPod, all with very few restrictions. The acclaimed iTunes Music Store was launched in 2003 with 2 million downloads in only 16 days; all of which were only purchased on Macintosh computers. Apple has released a version of iTunes for Windows, allowing Windows users the ability to access the store as well. In addition, Apple plans for a worldwide release for its music store; currently, it is only available to customers in the United States. In January of 2004, Apple released a more compact version of their iPod player, the iPod mini. Called "Apple's answer to the mp3 player market", the mini could hold less songs than the full-size iPod but was cheaper, remarkably smaller, and otherwise full-featured. Hardware currently made by Apple
This article is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Panther Edition by David Pogue Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Pro 4 by Diana Weynand Apple Pro Training Series: Advanced Editing and Finishing Techniques in Final Cut Pro 4 by DigitalFilm Tree Macromedia Flash MX 2004 for Windows and Macintosh : Visual QuickStart Guide by Katherine Ulrich Apple Confidential 2.0: The Definitive History of the World's Most Colorful Company by Owen Linzmayer InDesign CS for Macintosh and Windows : Visual QuickStart Guide by Sandee Cohen Teach Yourself Visually Mac OS X v. 10.3 Panther by Ruth Maran Mac OS X Panther Killer Tips by Scott Kelby Learning Unix for Mac OS X Panther by Dave Taylor Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Second Edition by David Pogue Mac OS X Panther for Unix Geeks by Brian Jepson Mac OS X Panther Unleashed, Third Edition by John Ray Mac OS X All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies by Mark L. Chambers iMovie3 &iDVD: The Missing Manual by David Pogue Mac OS X Bible, Panther Edition by Samuel A. Litt Recent Apple_Computer related patents From USPTO: 6718415: Computer system and method including console housing multiple computer modules having independent processing units, mass storage devices, and graphics controllers 6718414: Function modification in a write-protected operating system 6718032: Read-only in-memory tables for intelligent call processing system 6717952: Method and apparatus for media data transmission 6717589: Computerized help system with modal and non-modal modes 6717576: Deferred shading graphics pipeline processor having advanced features 6717575: Image drawing method, image drawing apparatus, recording medium, and program 6715142: Execution program generation method, execution program generation apparatus, execution program execution method, and computer-readable storage medium 6715126: Efficient streaming of synchronized web content from multiple sources 6715045: Host cache for haptic feedback effects 6714984: Method and apparatus for media data transmission 6714815: Method for the iontophoretic non-invasive determination of the in vivo concentration level of an inorganic or organic substance 6714612: Method and device for synchronization of phase mismatch in communication systems employing a common clock period 6714221: Depicting and setting scroll amount 6714209: Browser-based system providing methodology for labeling of photo compact discs with a photo-facsimile table of contents 6714199: Method and apparatus for typographic glyph construction including a glyph server 6713298: Method and apparatus for the delivery of samples to a chemical sensor array 6712802: Metabolic therapy directed at electron transport 6712331: Holder for mold assemblies with indicia D487893: Display device with a moveable assembly 6711691: Power management for computer systems 6711564: System and method for opening and activating applications, windows or data sets based on search criteria 6711430: Method and apparatus for performing neuroimaging 6711283: Fully automatic rapid microscope slide scanner 6711245: Method and apparatus for processing call progress of a serial communication device 6711181: System and method for packet parsing and data reconstruction in an IEEE 1394-1995 serial bus network 6711173: Fly-by serial bus arbitration 6710782: Data driven layout engine 6710771: Information processing method and apparatus and medium 6709257: Eyeglass lens forming apparatus with sensor RE38471: Method and apparatus for display image rotation 6708332: Run-time modules for dynamically adjusting computer operation 6708278: Apparatus and method for awakening bus circuitry from a low power state 6708202: Method for highlighting information contained in an electronic message 6708196: Method and system for caching presentation data 6708156: System and method for projecting market penetration 6707667: Integral computer 6707474: System and method for manipulating relationships among signals and buses of a signal measurement system on a graphical user interface 6707459: Adjustment of color values for optimized image processing 6707398: Methods and apparatuses for packing bitstreams 6707397: Methods and apparatus for variable length codeword concatenation 6707284: Programmable power supply 6705522: Mobile object tracker 6704806: Method and device for monitoring the creation and destruction of child processes within an application executing in a computer system 6704743: Selective inheritance of object parameters in object-oriented computer environment 6704710: Assigning meanings to utterances in a speech recognition system 6702564: System for preparing an eyeglass lens using colored mold holders 6702351: Mobile multi-display billboard vehicle and method of advertizing 6701513: Program-development environment for use in generating application programs |
