History of Apple

Prehistory

By the end of the 60s of last century the development of electronic systems have been widely used in integrated circuits. At first, mainframe processors consist of several integrated circuits. However, the number of transistors on one chip (the degree of integration schemes) has increased steadily, reaching a few thousand items. In accordance with the rule of thumb, formulated in 1965 by Gordon Moore, the density of elements on a chip has doubled every eighteen months. Thus, it became apparent that the day when on a single chip can accommodate a processor.

First a little luck the U.S. firm Intel. While working on the project calculator, Intel engineers were able in 1971 to create a processor on a single chip (from the English. Chip - chip, chip). The new 4-bit microprocessor, receives the index of 4004, had a very modest resources, and not fit for the role of the mainframe CPU, but Intel has continued to develop and a year later released for 8-bit 8008 chip with a fairly successful in E response. A year later came the famous Intel-processor 8080, served as the basis for a variety of microcomputers, including the first commercially successful microcomputer Altair-8800.

Do not doze and competitors Intel - at about the same time, the company Motorolla, National Semiconductor, MOS Technology released to the market development of its own single-chip microprocessors. Thus began the era of microcomputers.



Apple I

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak

The first microcomputers available to fans, such as the Altair-8800, were simply collections of parts, they still had to be able to collect. Therefore, in the mid 70s in the U.S. there was a set of computer clubs where enthusiasts can share information or get advice on building a custom microcomputer. Some engineers have sought not only to collect the microcomputer of the already finished parts according to the instructions as to develop your own. The industry was in its infancy, no standards existed, and the development of any idea or had the right to life.
One of those fans was Steve Wozniak, 26-year-old engineer at Hewlett-Packard of Palo Alto campus, located in Silicon Valley in California. He worked on the paper is not a project of your own computer and even written some FORTRAN compilers and interpreters BASIC. However, the lack of funding prevented the implementation of the plan. Considered at the time the best microprocessor Intel-8080 Motorolla-6800 was too expensive for Wozniak. And yet he found a suitable CPU at affordable price. He was the chip MOS Technology 6502 companies with a system of commands, similar to used in the Motorolla-6800.

One of the drawbacks of the first microcomputers were very primitive user interface, making communication difficult with the machine operator. Thus, Altair-8800 had no monitor, no keyboard, no mouse even more so. The information had to be administered by the switches on the front panel, and the results are displayed on the LEDs. Later on the model of large machines were used teletype - telegraph apparatus with the keyboard. It is clear that the work required for such a computer by a considerable training and therefore remained the lot of a few enthusiasts.

Wozniak revolutionized the microcomputer interface for the first time applying for data entry keyboard, like the keyboard of a typewriter, and to display information - an ordinary TV set. The symbols displayed in 24 rows of 40 characters each, graphic mode is absent. The computer had 8 kilobytes of memory - half of them held a built-BASIC, and the remaining 4 kilobytes user could use for their programs. Compared to Altair-8800, who had only 256 bytes of memory, progress has been significant. In addition, Wozniak has provided for the expansion slot of your computer (connector) for connecting additional devices.

By the early 1976 production of the microcomputer has been completed, and Wozniak brought his creation to the Computer Club Homebrew, to demonstrate to his followers. However, most members did not appreciate the idea of ​​Wozniak and criticized him for using a microprocessor system is not the company Intel. But a friend of 21-year-old Wozniak, Steve Jobs has just realized that this machine has a great future. Unlike Wozniak, engineer to the bone, Jobs had a strong entrepreneurial streak. He therefore proposed to organize a company Wozniak for mass production of a computer in order to sell it to all who wish to mail in the form of a set of parts. Wozniak agreed, and by April 1, 1976 (the so-called April Fool's Day - an analogue of our "First of April - do not believe anyone") was founded Apple Computer Company; officially registered, it was almost a year later, in January 1977. A new computer called Apple I.

Immediately and found a buyer. The owner of a computer store "The Byte Shop" Paul Terrell has agreed to purchase a newly-made batch of 50 computers at $ 500 each, but with the proviso that they will all be assembled and ready to use. The young company just does not have the money to buy accessories for the whole party, however, Jobs managed to get a loan of 15,000 dollars a month. It was a big risk, but it paid off - Wozniak and Jobs had time to assemble and test in the garage of Jobs' parents, all computers, and Terrell did not really fooled by acquiring the entire store for your party. As a result, Paul Terrell sold for ten months, nearly two hundred copies of the Apple I at a price of 666 dollars. Now, every extant copy of the hundred became a collector's rarity and worth far more than 666 of those dollars that were paid for it in 1976.



Apple II

Apple II

At that time, as the Apple I was sold in the shop is slowly Terrell, Wozniak was working on the next version of the computer, called the Apple II. In it he tried to correct the many deficiencies of the first version: The computer has the color and graphics mode, the sound and extended memory, eight expansion slots instead of one and a cassette tape as a means of preservation programs. Finally, Apple II was dressed in a sleek plastic housing.

To expand the mass production of Apple II, demanded money, and considerable. First Jobs and Wozniak were trying to interest the idea of ​​mass production of the computer firm in which they previously worked, - Atari and Hewlett-Packard, but to no avail. Then, most people seemed to be a personal computer just a fun toy, highly questionable from a commercial point of view. However, Jobs managed to captivate his idea of ​​the entrepreneur Mike Markullu who invested in the young company 90 thousand dollars from his own savings, as well as Jobs introduced the more serious investor.

The basis of the first model Apple II was, as in the Apple I, a microprocessor company MOS Technology 6502 processor with a clock frequency of 1 megahertz. The permanent memory has been written BASIC, working only with integer data. The amount of memory in 4K is easily expanded to 48 KB. Information is displayed on a color or black and white TV, working in the NTSC, the standard for the United States. In text mode display 24 lines by 40 characters each, and the graphic resolution was 280 by 192 points (six colors).

For the first time Apple II was shown at the First West Coast Computer Fair in April 1977. The famous emblem of Apple - a colorful bitten apple - has been developed by that time the young artist Rob Yanov ordered Jobs. Apple's Fair Exposition attracted attention and made an impression on specialists - first, because it was located at the entrance and was visible to any traffic, and secondly, through kaleidoscopic video shows that demonstrated on a large screen, excellent graphics capabilities of the new computer.

Apple compete with new models of computers have made firms PET Commodore (based on the 6502 processor) and the TRS-80 Company Radio Shack (based upon the Z-80). Like the Apple II, these models can be attributed to the second generation of microcomputers, they have not carried the imprint of the initiative, have been fully assembled and ready to go. The competition has a low price (around $ 600) and functional completeness - the kit includes a monitor and a tape drive. The model Apple II without a monitor, and cassette drive and with a minimum of 4 KB of memory cost twice - in 1298 dollars. But the power of Apple II was in its extensibility - users can independently increase the amount of RAM to 48 KB and use the eight connectors for additional devices. In addition, thanks to a color chart Apple II could serve as an excellent gaming platform. Indeed, soon after the creation of Apple II games for it has become a serious business for both individual programmers and small start-up firms.

Apple II was the first computer, the most popular among people of different professions. From the owners were not required significant knowledge of microelectronics and the ability to keep the soldering iron in his hands. Knowledge of programming languages, as there was no need - to communicate with the Apple II used a few simple commands. As a result, the computer could use the scientists and businessmen, doctors, lawyers, students and housewives. Subsequently, many models of the so-called 8-bit home computers of different manufacturers, in fact, repeating the concept was first laid by Steve Wozniak in the design of Apple II: Built into the body of the keyboard, BASIC in ROM drive on the cassette recorder, output to TV.

But there was one difficulty which prevented use of Apple II in business - an imperfect way to store information. Cassette recorder and home - a constant headache for many early users of microcomputers. No businessman would not have to put up with numerous failures and repeated prolonged loading programs from tape. It was necessary to find a more elegant solution. And it was there - drives on floppy disks have long been used in large and mini-computers, it remains only to find a way to use the drive in the microcomputer. In December 1977, when President Markulla Apple was a list of improvements that need to be implemented next year, the word "floppy" stood in the first place. And in July 1978 Disk II floppy drive controller has been available for sale at $ 495. Many experts later acknowledged that the development of a floppy drive to Apple in the strategic plan was no less important than the creation of the computer itself. The drive is so broadened the Apple II, that in this form it can already be attributed entirely to the third generation of microcomputers.

Built-in ROM BASIC could not manage a complex file system on floppy disks, so the version of the Apple II was designed with the drive disk operating system is Apple-DOS, and at once version 3.1. In late 1978 a computer improved, giving him the name of the Apple II Plus. Now he has become suitable for use in business. A businessman has at its disposal a powerful tool for business management, storage, assistance in decision making. It was at this time began to take shape classes of software that are so familiar to us now - word processing, database management systems, personal information systems (organizers).

In 1979, graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Dan Bricklin and Bob Frenkston created a program VisiCalc - the world's first spreadsheet. This tool is best suited for accounting calculations. Its first version was written for the Apple II and caused an explosive growth in sales of those computers. People bought Apple just to work with VisiCalc. In fact, this was the first case, when the program was selling a computer.

Thus, only a few years turned into a microcomputer electronics and toys from the programmer's tool for business people of many professions. Computers spread around the world in millions of copies and took his place on the desks of engineers, doctors, businessmen, scientists, teachers and students. Much credit for this belongs to us Apple, one of the many pioneers of the microcomputer industry, which has managed, thanks to the genius of its founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, to rise above the general level of recreational development in this area, to guess the direction of microcomputers and the time to offer the right solutions.



IBM PC vs Apple

IBM PC

The explosive growth of the microcomputer industry drew attention to the last major computer corporations of America - IBM, DEC, Hewlett-Packard and other giants have decided to participate in the new section of the pie. But if the first microcomputers DEC and Hewlett-Packard are out of luck - the market did not accept them, then the share of IBM PC, which appeared in 1981, fell to unprecedented success. IBM PC became the de facto standard for the industry and a few years the market has replaced almost all of the competing models. Not that this helped some outstanding abilities IBM PC, against a background of its competitors, he does not stand out. More likely played a role unquestioned authority of the "Blue Giant".

It seemed that the days of Apple are numbered, especially as a new model - Apple III, which could compete with the IBM PC, - unlucky - in the computer showed a number of shortcomings. In those years, many reputable firms were forced to abandon their own original design of computers in favor of the production demand in the market had IBM-compatible models, and - copies of someone else's computer. But not Apple. In order not to disappear, required an outstanding non-standard solution. And it has been found - a graphical interface. In 1984 he was born Apple Macintosh - the first computer-controlled mouse.

To be fair to admit that the GUI was invented not Apple, as engineers, the Xerox Research Center in Palo Alto. In the early 80s, and Steve Jobs and Bill Gates visited the center and became acquainted with his designs. But the result was different visits. Jobs created the Macintosh, but Gates has started the development of graphical operating system Windows, the first version of which was born in 1985. Only ten years later, with the release of Windows'95, this operating system is caught up in its capabilities with MacOS, used in the Apple Macintosh in 1984.

By taking advantage of the Macintosh, Apple was able to stay on the market, desktops, though not a leading position. For some time she continued to support both their computer line - 8-bit Apple II based on the MOS Technology 6502 processor and its modifications, and 16-bit (later 32-bit) Apple Macintosh-based processor Motorolla 68000 and its variants. After the failure of the Apple III improvement company started by his predecessor. In 80 years there has consistently modified Apple IIe, Apple IIc, Apple IIGS. Demand for the 8-bit model is still high. First, it is a great gaming platform, and many Apple II sold a home computer. Secondly, thanks to a reasonable marketing strategy of the company managed to gain a significant position in the field of education. In the mid-80s, more than half of U.S. schools have been equipped with computers, Apple II. Release of the Apple II and its variants was completed only in 1993, but many instances is still kept by their owners, and even continue to work. Apple II marked a whole era in the development of computerization and has long been turned into a kind of "cult computer."

A Macintosh computers have been able to win a place in the sun in the areas where the demand for their outstanding graphics capabilities. The vast majority of publishers in the world still uses equipment from Apple. No one is better Macintosh is not coping with layout, image processing and other printing jobs. It's no secret that almost all the major graphics programs and program layout originally designed for the Macintosh and only later were transferred to the platform of Windows. There is still strong position in the Macintosh and education.

According to various sources, to date, Apple controls 10.8% of the global PC market. Most Macintosh computers located at U.S. users. In Russia, Apple's share is much lower and not higher than is believed to be a few percent. The company Apple has always been heavily focused on the domestic market, with foreign markets are much less attention.

From the entire set of firms who started a quarter century ago, the microcomputer revolution, survived only to Apple, the rest either went bankrupt or were absorbed by their more successful rivals. And all this time, Apple kept on the crest of technological progress. Will continue the word "Apple" to be synonymous with technical perfection? As they say, wait and see.