Thirty years ago in Los Altos, California on April 1, 1976 Apple Computer was founded by three special men: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Their aim: to sell the Apple I personal computer kit at $666.66. They were all hand-built in Jobs’s parents’ garage, and the Apple I was first shown to the public at the Homebrew Computer Club. The Apple I was delivered in June that year, and paid for on delivery. The original Apple I was simply a motherboard, it was nothing near a full computer as we know it today. Eventually 200 Apple I computers were built. It was the start of a company that in many ways shaped our digital world today. Though not as profound as the invention and development of the Internet, Apple still has a lot of impact on modern living, most notably when they embraced the world of digital MP3 players, with the introduction of the iPod in 2001. Off course a lot has happened after 1976, so it seems fitting to give a short round-up of some Apple history on this anniversary day. (Including the controversy around it’s name).
Let’s start with a nice roundup of Apple products. Engadget has a nice article: “30 years in Apple products: the good, the bad, and the ugly” that sums up the kewl (and less kewl) product Apple came up with.
Also, I would like to point to an article in the San Francisco chronicle: “APPLE TURNS 30: The man behind the Mac”. A rather nice background article about Steve Jobs. It paints a picture of a man that people tend to have a love-hate relationship with:
“Very few people … have ever worked for him more than once, because life is too short to really deal with that all that much.” (Steve Capps, software engineer)
According to the article:
Even people who have seen Jobs at his worst tend to come out as breathless admirers in the end.
Take it from John Sculley, whom Jobs accused in his Smithsonian interview of ruining Apple by bringing in corrupt values.
“What I learned about Steve,” Sculley told The Chronicle, “was that he was a visionary who was able to motivate people to want to follow him and build great products.”
Then there is the latest controversy, surrounding iTunes Music Store and Apple: in a new courtcase Apple Corp from England is – once again – disputing the right of Apple to use that name in relations to selling music. Some background on the whole thing:
Times Online: Apple vs Apple: High Court freaks out
Marketwatch: Apple vs. Apple is an old song
And just have a small look at Yahoo News:
Yahoo News: Apple
Yahoo! News: 30 years of Apple : Assesing Apple’s Impact
Video’s
Off course I could not leave this blog without some video’s.
Apple IIc
The Legendary Apple “1984” ad
Apple – 1000 Songs (introducing the iPod)
Apple – iPod user (Dave Chapelle)
Apple iPod & Itunes commercial
Apple ads mash-up
Apple 30 years video
And finally:
Apple sets Intel Free!
There you have it! Apple: think different!
Ps: for more kewl Apple videos go here!