The Macintosh 128K, the first Macintosh, was the first commercially successful personal computer to use images, rather than text, to communicate. The Macintosh is the original Apple Macintosh Personal computer.

The early-2008 revision of the iMac is Apple's newest Macintosh Computer. The iMac is a desktop Macintosh computer designed and built by Apple Inc

Macintosh, or for newer models, Mac, is a brand name which covers several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The original Macintosh was released on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a graphical user interface (GUI) rather than a command line interface. A brand is a collection of Images and ideas representing an economic producer more specifically it refers to the descriptive verbal attributes and concrete symbols such as a A personal computer ( PC) is any Computer whose original sales price size and capabilities make it useful for individuals and which is intended to be operated Apple Inc, ( formerly Apple Computer Inc, is an American Multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing Consumer electronics The Macintosh is the original Apple Macintosh Personal computer. Events 41 - Gaius Caesar (Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel Despotism, is Assassinated by his disgruntled Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) In Computing, a mouse (plural mice, mouse devices, or mouses)

The idea for a personal computer appropriate for the ordinary consumer dates to the late 1970s and an Apple development team was established in 1979. After the success of the original Macintosh in 1984, the company quickly established market share only to see it dissipate in the 1990s as Microsoft came to monopolize personal computing. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer Apple consolidated multiple, consumer-level desktop models into the 1998 iMac all-in-one, which sold extremely well and saw the brand name revitalized. The iMac G3 was the first model of the IMac line of personal computers made by Apple Inc Current Mac systems are mainly targeted at the home, education, and creative professional markets. They are: the aforementioned (though upgraded) iMac and the entry-level Mac mini desktop models, the workstation-level Mac Pro tower, the MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops, and the Xserve server. The Mac Mini (officially capitalized Mac mini) is a desktop computer made by Apple Inc A desktop computer is a Personal computer (PC in a form intended for regular use at a single location as opposed to a mobile Laptop or portable computer A workstation, such as a Unix workstation, RISC workstation or Engineering workstation, is a high-end Microcomputer The Mac Pro is a Workstation computer manufactured by Apple Inc The MacBook is a Macintosh Notebook computer by Apple Inc that replaced the iBook G4 series The MacBook Air is a thin lightweight Macintosh Notebook computer designed by Apple. The MacBook Pro is a line of Macintosh portable Computers by Apple Inc A laptop computer, also known as a notebook computer, is a small Personal computer designed for mobile use. Xserve is the name of Apple Inc 's 1U rackmount line of server computers A server is a Computer dedicated to providing one or more services over a computer network typically through a request-response routine

Production of the Mac is based on a vertical integration model in that Apple facilitates all aspects of its hardware and creates its own operating system that is pre-installed on all Macs. In Microeconomics and Management, the term vertical integration describes a style of Management control. Hardware is a general term that refers to the physical artifacts of a Technology. An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination Apple exclusively produces Mac hardware, choosing internal systems, designs, and prices. A desktop computer is a Personal computer (PC in a form intended for regular use at a single location as opposed to a mobile Laptop or portable computer Industrial design is an Applied art whereby the Aesthetics and Usability of mass-produced products may be improved for marketability and Apple does use third party components, however; current Macintosh CPUs use Intel's x86 architecture. See also X86 assembly language The generic term x86 refers to the most commercially successful Instruction set architecture in the history of Personal Previous models used the AIM alliance's PowerPC and early models used Motorola's 68k. The AIM alliance was an alliance formed in September 1991 between Apple Computer, IBM and Motorola to create a new computing standard based PowerPC is a RISC Instruction set architecture created by the 1991 Apple – IBM – Motorola alliance known as AIM Motorola Inc ( is an American, multinational Fortune 100, Telecommunications company based in Schaumburg Illinois. The Motorola 680x0 / m68k / 68k / 68K is a family of 32-bit CISC Microprocessor CPU chips and was the primary Apple also develops the operating system for Macs, currently Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard". Mac OS X (mæk oʊ ɛs tɛn is a line of computer Operating systems developed marketed and sold by Apple Inc, the latest of which is pre-loaded on all currently Mac OS X version 105 “Leopard” is the sixth major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server Operating system for Macintosh This is in contrast to most IBM compatible PCs, where multiple vendors create hardware intended to run another company's software. IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. The modern Mac, like other personal computers, is capable of running alternative operating systems such as Linux, FreeBSD, and Microsoft Windows, the latter of which is considered to be the Mac's biggest competitor. Linux (commonly pronounced ˈlɪnəks FreeBSD is a Unix-like free Operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD branch through Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft.

History

See also: History of Apple

1979 to 1984: Development

Part of the original Macintosh design team, as seen on the cover of Revolution in the Valley. 1975-1984 Jobs and Woz Pre-foundation Before Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple he was an electronics hacker
Left to right: George Crow, Joanna Hoffman, Burrell Smith, Andy Hertzfeld, a Macintosh, Bill Atkinson, Jerry Manock. George L Crow Jr was a member of the original Apple Macintosh team in 1984 at Apple Computer. Joanna Hoffman was the fifth person hired by Jef Raskin to be part of the original Apple Macintosh developer team Burrell Carver Smith (born December 16, 1955 in upstate New York is an engineer who while working at Apple Computer, designed the digital board for the Andy Hertzfeld (born April 6, 1953) was a key member of the original Apple Macintosh development team Bill Atkinson (born 1951 is an American Computer engineer and Photographer. Jerry Manock is an industrial designer, known for creating the Enclosures of the Apple II and

The Macintosh project started in the late 1970s with Jef Raskin, an Apple employee, who envisioned an easy-to-use, low-cost computer for the average consumer. Jef Raskin ( March 9, 1943 &ndash February 26, 2005) was an American Human-computer interface expert best-known for starting In September 1979, Raskin was authorized to start hiring for the project, and he began to look for an engineer who could put together a prototype. Bill Atkinson, a member of Apple's Lisa team (which was developing a similar but higher-end computer), introduced him to Burrell Smith, a service technician who had been hired earlier that year. Bill Atkinson (born 1951 is an American Computer engineer and Photographer. For the MOS 6502 assembler for Apple II computers see Lisa assembler. Burrell Carver Smith (born December 16, 1955 in upstate New York is an engineer who while working at Apple Computer, designed the digital board for the Over the years, Raskin assembled a large development team that designed and built the original Macintosh hardware and software; besides Raskin, Atkinson and Smith, the team included Chris Espinosa, Joanna Hoffman, George Crow, Jerry Manock, Susan Kare, Andy Hertzfeld, and Daniel Kottke. Hardware is a general term that refers to the physical artifacts of a Technology. Chris Espinosa is a senior employee of Apple Computer, officially employee number 8 Joanna Hoffman was the fifth person hired by Jef Raskin to be part of the original Apple Macintosh developer team George L Crow Jr was a member of the original Apple Macintosh team in 1984 at Apple Computer. Jerry Manock is an industrial designer, known for creating the Enclosures of the Apple II and Susan Kare (born 1954 is an artist and Graphic designer who created many of the interface elements for the Apple Macintosh in the 1980s Andy Hertzfeld (born April 6, 1953) was a key member of the original Apple Macintosh development team Daniel Kottke, born April 4th 1954 in Bronxville New York is a U

Smith’s first Macintosh board was built to Raskin’s design specifications: it had 64 kilobytes (KB) of RAM, used the Motorola 6809E microprocessor, and was capable of supporting a 256×256 pixel black-and-white bitmap display. A kilobyte (derived from the SI prefix Kilo -, meaning 1000 is a unit of Information or Computer storage equal to either 1024 Motorola Inc ( is an American, multinational Fortune 100, Telecommunications company based in Schaumburg Illinois. The Motorola 6809 is an 8-bit (arguably an 8/ 16-bit) Microprocessor CPU from Motorola, introduced circa 1979 A microprocessor incorporates most or all of the functions of a Central processing unit (CPU on a single Integrated In Digital imaging, a pixel ( pict ure el ement is the smallest piece of information in an image Black-and-white is a number of Monochrome forms in Visual arts. In Computer graphics, a raster graphics image or bitmap, is a Data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of Pixels Bud Tribble, a Macintosh programmer, was interested in running the Lisa’s graphical programs on the Macintosh, and asked Smith whether he could incorporate the Lisa’s Motorola 68000 microprocessor into the Mac while still keeping the production cost down. Guy L "Bud" Tribble, MD PhD is Vice President of Software Technology at Apple Inc. The Motorola 68000 is a 16/32-bit CISC Microprocessor core designed and marketed by Freescale Semiconductor (formerly Motorola Semiconductor By December 1980, Smith had succeeded in designing a board that not only used the 68000, but bumped its speed from 5 to 8 megahertz (MHz); this board also had the capacity to support a 384×256 pixel display. The hertz (symbol Hz) is a measure of Frequency, informally defined as the number of events occurring per Second. Smith’s design used fewer RAM chips than the Lisa, which made production of the board significantly more cost-efficient. The final Mac design was self-contained and had far more programming code in ROM than most other computers; it had 128 KB of RAM, in the form of sixteen, 64 kilobit (Kb) RAM chips soldered to the logicboard. A kilobit is a unit of information abbreviated kbit (or kb) The standard definition is 1 kilobit = 103 bit = 1000 Bit. A solder is a fusible metal Alloy with a melting point or melting range of 90 to 450 ° C (200 to 840 ° F) used in a process called A motherboard is the central or primary Printed circuit board (PCB making up a complex electronic system such as a modern Computer or Laptop Though there were no memory slots, its RAM was expandable to 512 KB by means of soldering sixteen chip sockets to accept 256 Kb RAM chips in place of the factory-installed chips. The final product's screen was a 9-inch, 512x342 pixel monochrome display, exceeding the prototypes. Monochrome comes from the Greek μονόχρωμος ( monochromos) meaning “of one color” which is a combination ^[1]

The original 1984 Mac OS desktop featured a radically new graphical user interface. On January 24, 1984, Apple Computer Inc (now Apple Inc) introduced the Apple Macintosh Personal computer, with the Macintosh 128K Users communicated with the computer not through abstract lines of code but rather using a metaphorical desktop that included items that the user was already familiar with. In Computer science, source code (commonly just source or code) is any sequence of statements or declarations written in some Human-readable The desktop metaphor is an Interface metaphor which is a set of unifying concepts used by Graphical user interfaces to help users more easily interact with the

The design caught the attention of Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple. Steven Paul Jobs (born February 24 1955 is the Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc and former CEO of Pixar Animation Realizing that the Macintosh was more marketable than the Lisa, he began to focus his attention on the project. Raskin finally left the Macintosh project in 1981 over a personality conflict with Jobs, and the final Macintosh design is said to be closer to Jobs’ ideas than Raskin’s. ^[2] After hearing of the pioneering GUI technology being developed at Xerox PARC, Jobs had negotiated a visit to see the Xerox Alto computer and Smalltalk development tools in exchange for Apple stock options. PARC (Palo Alto Research Center Inc formerly Xerox PARC, is a Research and development company in Palo Alto California that began as a division of The Xerox Alto was an early Personal computer developed at Xerox PARC in 1973. Smalltalk is an object-oriented, dynamically typed, reflective programming language. The Lisa and Macintosh user interfaces were partially influenced by technology seen at Xerox PARC and were combined with the Macintosh group's own ideas. ^[3] Jobs also commissioned industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger to work on the Macintosh line, resulting in the "Snow White" design language; although it came too late for the earliest Macs, it was implemented in most other mid- to late-1980s Apple computers. Hartmut Esslinger (born 1944 is a German-American Industrial designer. Snow White design language was an industrial design language developed by frog design founded by Hartmut Esslinger. ^[4] However, Jobs’ leadership at the Macintosh project was short-lived; after an internal power struggle with new CEO John Sculley, Jobs angrily resigned from Apple in 1985, went on to found NeXT, another computer company, and did not return until 1997. John Sculley (born April 6 1939) is an American businessman Sculley was vice-president (1970-1977 and president of PepsiCo (1977-1983 until NeXT Computer Inc (later NeXT Software Inc) was an American Computer company headquartered in Redwood City, California that

1984: Introduction

This television commercial, which aired during the Super Bowl, launched the original Macintosh. 1984 is the American Television commercial which introduced the Macintosh Personal computer for the first time Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game that was played on January 22, 1984 at Tampa Stadium in Tampa Florida to decide

The Macintosh 128k was announced to the press in October 1983, followed by an 18-page brochure included with various magazines in December. The Macintosh is the original Apple Macintosh Personal computer. ^[5] Its debut, however, was announced by a single national broadcast of the now famous US$1. 5 million television commercial, "1984. 1984 is the American Television commercial which introduced the Macintosh Personal computer for the first time " It was directed by Ridley Scott, aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on 22 January 1984, ^[6] and is now considered a "watershed event" ^[7] and a "masterpiece. Sir Ridley Scott (born November 30 1937 in South Shields, Tyne and Wear) is a British Academy Award Nominated and Golden Globe Emmy Award and BAFTA Award winning Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game that was played on January 22, 1984 at Tampa Stadium in Tampa Florida to decide Events 565 - Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus. Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) "^[8] 1984 used an unnamed heroine to represent the coming of the Macintosh (indicated by her white tank top with a Picasso-style picture of Apple’s Macintosh computer on it) as a means of saving humanity from "conformity" (Big Brother). Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso (October 25 1881 &ndash April 8 1973 Apple Inc, ( formerly Apple Computer Inc, is an American Multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing Consumer electronics Macintosh, commonly nicknamed Mac is a Brand name which covers several lines of Personal computers designed developed and marketed by Apple Inc Big Brother is a Fictional character in George Orwell 's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, the ^[9] These images were an allusion to George Orwell's noted novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, which described a dystopian future ruled by a televised "Big Brother. An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference or representation of or to a well-known person place event literary work myth, or work of art Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950 who used the Pseudonym George Orwell, was an English writer Nineteen Eighty-Four (also titled 1984) by George Orwell (the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair) is a 1949 English Novel A dystopia (from the Greek δυσ- and τόπος alternatively cacotopia, kakotopia, cackotopia, or anti-utopia) is the vision of a society Big Brother is a Fictional character in George Orwell 's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, the "

For a special post-election edition of Newsweek in November 1984, Apple spent more than US$2. Newsweek is an American weekly Newsmagazine published in New York City. 5 million to buy all 39 of the advertising pages in the issue. ^[10] Apple also ran a “Test Drive a Macintosh” promotion, in which potential buyers with a credit card could take home a Macintosh for 24 hours and return it to a dealer afterwards. While 200,000 people participated, dealers disliked the promotion, the supply of computers was insufficient for demand, and many were returned in such a bad shape that they could no longer be sold. This marketing campaign caused CEO John Sculley to raise the price from US$1,995 to US$2,495 (adjusting for inflation, about $5,000 in 2007). The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been ^[11][12]

Two days after the 1984 ad aired, the Macintosh went on sale. It came bundled with two applications designed to show off its interface: MacWrite and MacPaint. MacWrite was a Word processor application released along with the first Apple Macintosh systems in 1984 MacPaint is a Bitmap -based graphics painting software program developed by Apple Computer and released with the original Macintosh Although the Mac garnered an immediate, enthusiastic following, it was too radical for some, who labeled it a mere "toy. This article is about playthings For other uses of the term see Toy (disambiguation. " Because the machine was entirely designed around the GUI, existing text-mode and command-driven applications had to be redesigned and the programming code rewritten; this was a challenging undertaking that many software developers shied away from, and resulted in an initial lack of software for the new system. A software developer is a person or organization concerned with facets of the software development process wider than design and coding a somewhat broader scope of In April 1984 Microsoft's MultiPlan migrated over from MS-DOS, followed by Microsoft Word in January 1985. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer Multiplan was an early Spreadsheet program developed by Microsoft. MS-DOS (short for M icro' s' oft D isk O perating S ystem is an Operating system commercialized by Microsoft. Microsoft Word is Microsoft 's flagship word processing software. ^[13] In 1985, Lotus Software introduced Lotus Jazz after the success of Lotus 1-2-3 for the IBM PC, although it was largely a flop. Lotus Software (called Lotus Development Corporation before its acquisition by IBM) is a Software company with headquarters in Westford, Lotus Jazz was an office productivity suite for the Apple Macintosh, released in 1985 for $595 after the substantial success of Lotus 1-2-3 Lotus 1-2-3 is a Spreadsheet program from Lotus Software (now part of IBM) ^[14] Apple introduced Macintosh Office the same year with the lemmings ad, infamous for insulting potential customers. Lemmings is the title of the Television commercial that launched the " Macintosh Office " by Apple Computer in the United States It was not successful. ^[11]

1985 to 1989: Desktop publishing era

In 1985, the combination of the Mac, Apple’s LaserWriter printer, and Mac-specific software like Boston Software’s MacPublisher and Aldus PageMaker enabled users to design, preview, and print page layouts complete with text and graphics—an activity to become known as desktop publishing. The Apple LaserWriter was one of the first Laser printers available to the mass market PageMaker was the first Desktop publishing program introduced in 1985 by Aldus Corporation, initially for the Apple Macintosh but soon after also Desktop publishing (also known as DTP) combines a Personal computer and WYSIWYG page layout Software to create Publication Documents Initially, desktop publishing was unique to the Macintosh, but eventually became available for IBM PC users as well. IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Later, applications such as Macromedia FreeHand, QuarkXPress, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator strengthened the Mac’s position as a graphics computer and helped to expand the emerging desktop publishing market. QuarkXPress ("Quark" is a computer application for creating and editing complex page layouts in a WYSIWYG environment Adobe Illustrator is a vector-based drawing program developed and marketed by Adobe Systems.

The limitations of the first Mac soon became clear: it had very little memory, even compared with other personal computers in 1984, and could not be expanded easily; and it lacked a hard disk drive or the means to attach one easily. A hard disk drive ( HDD) commonly referred to as a hard drive, hard disk, or fixed disk drive, is a Non-volatile storage device In October 1985, Apple increased the Mac’s memory to 512 KB, but it was inconvenient and difficult to expand the memory of a 128 KB Mac. In an attempt to improve connectivity, Apple released the Macintosh Plus on January 10, 1986 for US$2,600. The Macintosh Plus computer was the third model in the Macintosh line introduced two years after the original Macintosh and a little more than a year after the Macintosh Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) It offered one megabyte of RAM, expandable to four, and a then-revolutionary SCSI parallel interface, allowing up to seven peripherals—such as hard drives and scanners—to be attached to the machine. A megabyte is a unit of Information or Computer storage equal to either 106 (1000000 Bytes or 220 (1048576 bytes depending on Its floppy drive was increased to an 800 KB capacity. A floppy disk is an increasingly Obsolete data storage medium that is composed of a disk of thin flexible ("floppy" Magnetic storage medium encased A kilobyte (derived from the SI prefix Kilo -, meaning 1000 is a unit of Information or Computer storage equal to either 1024 The Plus was an immediate success and remained in production until October 15, 1990; on sale for just over four years and ten months, it was the longest-lived Macintosh in Apple's history. Events 533 - Byzantine General Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) ^[15]

The Macintosh II, one of the first expandable Macintosh models. The Apple Macintosh II was the first personal computer model of the Macintosh II series in the Apple Macintosh line

Other issues remained, particularly the low processor speed and limited graphics ability, which had hobbled the Mac’s ability to make inroads into the business computing market. Updated Motorola CPUs made a faster machine possible, and in 1987 Apple took advantage of the new Motorola technology and introduced the Macintosh II, which used a 16 MHz Motorola 68020 processor. The Apple Macintosh II was the first personal computer model of the Macintosh II series in the Apple Macintosh line The Motorola 68020 is a 32-bit Microprocessor from Motorola, released in 1984. This marked the start of a new direction for the Macintosh, as now, for the first time, it had an open architecture, with several expansion slots, support for color graphics, and a modular break-out design similar to that of the IBM PC and inspired by Apple’s other line, the expandable Apple II series. It had an internal hard drive and a power supply with a fan, which was initially fairly loud. ^[16] One third-party developer sold a device to regulate fan speed based on a heat sensor, but it voided the warranty. ^[17] Later Macintosh computers had quieter power supplies and hard drives.

In September of 1986 Apple introduced the Macintosh Programmer's Workshop, or MPW that allowed software developers to create software for Macintosh on Macintosh, rather than cross-developing from a Lisa. Macintosh Programmer's Workshop or MPW, is a software development environment for the Classic Mac OS, written by Apple Computer. In August 1987 Apple unveiled HyperCard, and introduced MultiFinder, which added cooperative multitasking to the Macintosh. HyperCard was an Application program created by Bill Atkinson for Apple Computer Inc MultiFinder was the name of a piece of extension software for the Apple Macintosh, introduced in System Software 5 in 1988 and included with System Software 6 In the Fall Apple bundled both with every Macintosh.

Alongside the Macintosh II, the Macintosh SE was released, the first compact Mac with a 20 MB internal hard drive^[18][19] and one expansion slot. The Macintosh SE was a Personal computer manufactured by Apple between March 1987 and October 1990 " Compact Macintosh " or " Classic Macintosh " are informal terms that refer to the direct descendants of the original Macintosh personal computer The SE also updated Jerry Manock and Terry Oyama's original design and shared the Macintosh II's Snow White design language, as well as the new Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) mouse and keyboard that had first appeared on the Apple IIGS some months earlier. Jerry Manock is an industrial designer, known for creating the Enclosures of the Apple II and Snow White design language was an industrial design language developed by frog design founded by Hartmut Esslinger. Apple Desktop Bus (or ADB) is an obsolete bit-serial Computer bus connecting low-speed devices to computers The Apple Mouse began as one of the first commercial mice available to consumers The Apple, the fifth model inception of the Apple II, was the most powerful member of the Apple II series of personal computers made by Apple Computer.

In 1987, Apple spun off its software business as Claris. Claris was a Computer software company formed as a spin-off from Apple Computer (now Apple Inc It was given the code and rights to several applications that had been written within Apple, notably MacWrite, MacPaint, and MacProject. MacProject was a Project management and scheduling business application released along with the first Apple Macintosh systems in 1984. In the late 1980s, Claris released a number of revamped software titles; the result was the “Pro” series, including MacPaint Pro, MacDraw Pro, MacWrite Pro, and FileMaker Pro. To provide a complete office suite, Claris purchased the rights to the Informix Wingz spreadsheet on the Mac, renaming it Claris Resolve, and added the new presentation software Claris Impact. Wingz was a Spreadsheet program sold by Informix in the late 1980s and early 1990s A spreadsheet is a Computer application that simulates a paper worksheet Claris Resolve was a Spreadsheet Software program for the Apple Claris Impact is a Presentation and Chart Software program made for the Apple Macintosh computer developed by Claris. By the early 1990s, Claris applications were shipping with the majority of consumer-level Macintoshes and were extremely popular. In 1991, Claris released ClarisWorks, which soon became their second best-selling application. AppleWorks refers to two different Office suite products both of which are now discontinued When Claris was reincorporated back into Apple in 1998, ClarisWorks was renamed AppleWorks beginning with version 5. 0. ^[20]

The Macintosh Portable was Apple's first portable Macintosh. The Macintosh Portable was Apple Computer 's first attempt at making a battery -powered portable Macintosh Personal computer that held It was available from 1989 to 1991 and could run System 6 and System 7. System 6 (also referred to as System Software 6) is a Graphical user interface -based Operating system for Macintosh computers System 7 (codenamed "Big Bang" and sometimes called Mac OS 7) is a single-user Graphical user interface -based Operating system for Macintosh

In 1988, Apple sued Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard on the grounds that they infringed Apple’s copyrighted GUI, citing (among other things) the use of rectangular, overlapping, and resizable windows. After four years, the case was decided against Apple, as were later appeals. The United States courts of appeals (or circuit courts) are the intermediate appellate courts Apple’s actions were criticized by some in the software community, including the Free Software Foundation (FSF), who felt Apple was trying to monopolize on GUIs in general, and boycotted GNU software for the Macintosh platform for seven years. The Free Software Foundation ( FSF) is a Non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the Free software movement ^[21][22]

With the new Motorola 68030 processor came the Macintosh IIx in 1988, which had benefited from internal improvements, including an on-board MMU. The Motorola 68030 is a 32-bit Microprocessor in Motorola 's 68000 family. The Macintosh IIx was introduced by Apple in 1988 as an incremental update of the original Macintosh II model A memory management unit ( MMU) sometimes called paged memory management unit ( PMMU) is a Computer hardware component responsible for handling It was followed in 1989 by a more compact version with fewer slots (the Macintosh IIcx) and a version of the Mac SE powered by the 16 MHz 68030 (the Macintosh SE/30, breaking the existing naming convention to avoid the name "SEx"). Half a year following the release of the Macintosh IIx passed before Apple introduced the Macintosh IIcx in 1989 The Macintosh SE/30 is a Personal computer that was designed manufactured and sold by Apple Computer Inc Later that year, the Macintosh IIci, running at 25 MHz, was the first Mac to be “32-bit clean,” allowing it to natively support more than 8 MB of RAM, unlike its predecessors, which had “32-bit dirty” ROMs (8 of the 32 bits available for addressing were used for OS-level flags). The Apple Macintosh IIci was an improvement on the Macintosh IIcx. Historically the Mac OS used a form of Memory management that has fallen out of favour in modern systems In Computer programming, flag refers to one or more Bits that are used to store a binary value or Code that has an assigned meaning System 7 was the first Macintosh operating system to support 32-bit addressing. System 7 (codenamed "Big Bang" and sometimes called Mac OS 7) is a single-user Graphical user interface -based Operating system for Macintosh ^[23] Apple also introduced the Macintosh Portable, a 16 MHz 68000 machine with an active matrix flat panel display that was backlit on some models. The Macintosh Portable was Apple Computer 's first attempt at making a battery -powered portable Macintosh Personal computer that held An active matrix Liquid crystal display ( AMLCD) is a type of Flat panel display, currently the overwhelming choice of Notebook computer A backlight is the form of illumination used in a Liquid crystal display (LCD ^[24] The following year the Macintosh IIfx, starting at US$9,900, was unveiled. The Macintosh IIfx was a model of Apple Macintosh computer introduced in 1990 as the fastest Mac and discontinued in 1992. Apart from its fast 40 MHz 68030 processor, it had significant internal architectural improvements, including faster memory and two Apple II-era CPUs dedicated to I/O processing. The Motorola 68030 is a 32-bit Microprocessor in Motorola 's 68000 family. The MOS Technology 6502 is an 8-bit Microprocessor that was designed by Chuck Peddle for MOS Technology in 1975 In Computing, input/output, or I/O, refers to the communication between an Information processing system (such as a Computer) and the outside ^[25]

1990 to 1998: Growth and decline

The Macintosh Classic, Apple's early 1990s budget model. The Macintosh Classic was a Personal computer manufactured by Apple Computer.

Microsoft Windows 3.0, which began to approach the Macintosh operating system in both performance and feature set, was released in May 1990 and was a usable, less expensive alternative to the Macintosh platform. Windows 30 is the third major release of Microsoft Windows, and came out on 22 May 1990 Apple's response was to introduce a range of relatively inexpensive Macs in October 1990. The Macintosh Classic, essentially a less expensive version of the Macintosh Plus, sold for US$999,^[26] making it the least expensive Mac until early 2001. The Macintosh Classic was a Personal computer manufactured by Apple Computer. The 68020-powered Macintosh LC, in its distinctive “pizza box” case, was available for US$1800; it offered color graphics and was accompanied by a new, low-cost 512 × 384 pixel monitor. The Macintosh LC (meaning low-cost color) was Apple Computer 's product family of low-end consumer Macintosh Personal computers in the early 1990s In Computing, a pizza box is a style of case for Computers They tend to be very thin normally one or two Rack units (1U or 2U in height making ^[27] The Macintosh IIsi, essentially a 20 MHz IIci with only one expansion slot, cost US$2500. The Macintosh IIsi was a compact three-box desktop unit effectively a cut-down Macintosh IIci in a smaller case (used for no other Macintosh model made cheaper by the ^[28] All three machines sold well,^[29] although Apple’s profit margin was considerably lower than on earlier machines. ^[26]

System 7 was the first major upgrade of the Macintosh operating system. System 7 (codenamed "Big Bang" and sometimes called Mac OS 7) is a single-user Graphical user interface -based Operating system for Macintosh

The year 1991 saw the much-anticipated release of System 7, a 32-bit rewrite of the Macintosh operating system that improved its handling of color graphics, memory addressing, networking, and co-operative multitasking, and introduced virtual memory. System 7 (codenamed "Big Bang" and sometimes called Mac OS 7) is a single-user Graphical user interface -based Operating system for Macintosh The range of Integer values that can be stored in 32 bits is 0 through 4294967295 or −2147483648 through 2147483647 using Two's complement encoding Mac OS is the trademarked name for a series of Graphical user interface -based Operating systems developed by Apple Inc In computing Multitasking is a method by which multiple tasks also known as processes, share common processing resources such as a CPU. Virtual memory is a Computer system technique which gives an application program the impression that it has contiguous working memory while in fact it may be physically Later that year, Apple introduced the Macintosh Quadra 700^[30] and 900,^[31] the first Macs to employ the faster Motorola 68040 processor. The Macintosh Quadra series was Apple Computer 's product family of professional high-end Apple Macintosh Personal computers built using the Motorola The Motorola 68040 is a Microprocessor from Motorola, released in 1990. They were joined by improved versions of the previous year’s top sellers, the Macintosh Classic II^[32] and Macintosh LC II, which used a 16 MHz 68030 CPU. The Apple Macintosh Classic II (also known as the Performa 200) replaced the Macintosh SE/30 in the Compact Macintosh line in 1991 The Macintosh LC (meaning low-cost color) was Apple Computer 's product family of low-end consumer Macintosh Personal computers in the early 1990s ^[33] Also during this time, the Macintosh began to shed the "Snow White" design language, along with the expensive consulting fees they were paying to Frogdesign, in favor of bringing the work in-house by establishing the Apple Industrial Design Group to establish a new fresh look to go with the new operating system. frog design is a strategic-creative consultancy founded in 1969 by Industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger and partners Andreas Haug and Georg Spreng in Mutlangen The Apple Industrial Design Group (IDg is the Industrial design arm of Apple Inc ^[34]

The PowerBook 100 (shown here), 140 and 170 introduced a line of professional laptop Macs. They pioneered notebook ergonomics by placing the keyboard behind a palm rest. Ergonomics is the Scientific discipline concerned with Designing according to the human needs and the profession that applies theory principles data and methods

In October 1991, the Macintosh Portable was replaced by the first three models in Apple’s enduring PowerBook range—the PowerBook 100, a miniaturized Portable; the 16 MHz 68030 PowerBook 140; and the 25 MHz 68030 PowerBook 170. The PowerBook is a line of Macintosh Laptop Computers that was designed manufactured and sold by Apple Computer Inc The PowerBook 100 was a portable Subnotebook Personal computer manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced on October 21 1991 at the COMDEX The PowerBook 140 was released in the first line of PowerBooks It was the mid range PowerBook between the lower end 100 and the high end 170. The PowerBook 170 was released by Apple Inc in 1991 along with the PowerBook 100 and the PowerBook 140. ^[35] They were the first portable computers with the keyboard behind a palm rest, and with a built-in pointing device (a trackball) in front of the keyboard. A trackball is a Pointing device consisting of a Ball housed in a socket containing sensors to detect rotation of the ball about two axes&mdashlike an upside-down ^[36]

In 1992, Apple started to sell a low-end Mac, the Performa, through nontraditional dealers. The Macintosh Performa series was Apple Computer 's Consumer product family of Apple Macintosh Personal computers from 1992 until 1997 when the At Apple dealers, a mid-range version of the Quadra series called the Macintosh Centris was offered, only to be quickly renamed Quadra when buyers became confused by the range of Classics, LCs, IIs, Quadras, Performas, and Centrises. Macintosh Centris was a set of three 1993 Macintosh models that were built around the Motorola 68LC040 and 68040 CPUs ^[37] Apple also unveiled the miniaturized PowerBook Duo range. The PowerBook Duo was a line of small Subnotebooks manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from 1992 until 1997 as a more compact companion to the PowerBook It was intended to be docked to a base station for desktop-like functionality in the workplace, and was sold until early 1997. In May 1994, Apple released the second-generation PowerBook models, the PowerBook 500 series, which introduced the novel trackpad. History It was introduced on 16 May 1994 with the expensive active matrix LCD PowerBook 540c and 540 with the passive matrix 520c and 520 soon after A touchpad (also trackpad) is a Pointing device consisting of specialized surface that can translate the motion and position

Also in 1994, Apple abandoned Motorola CPUs for the RISC PowerPC architecture developed by the AIM alliance of Apple Computer, IBM, and Motorola. The AIM alliance was an alliance formed in September 1991 between Apple Computer, IBM and Motorola to create a new computing standard based ^[38] The Power Macintosh line, the first to use the new chips, proved to be highly successful, with over a million PowerPC units sold in nine months. Power Macintosh, later Power Mac, is a line of Apple Macintosh Workstation -class Personal computers based on various models of PowerPC ^[39]

Despite these technical and commercial successes, Microsoft and Intel began to rapidly lower Apple's market share with the Windows 95 operating system and Pentium processors respectively. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer Market share, in Strategic management and Marketing, is the percentage or proportion of the total available Market or Market segment that is Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented Graphical user interface -based Operating system. The Pentium brand refers to Intel 's single-core x86 Microprocessor based on the P5 fifth-generation Microarchitecture. These significantly enhanced the multimedia capability and performance of IBM PC compatible computers, and brought Windows still closer to the Mac GUI. IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. In response, Apple started the Macintosh clone program, by which third-parties manufactured hardware to run Apple's System 7. A Macintosh clone is a personal computer made by a manufacturer other than Apple, using (or compatible with Macintosh ROMs and System software This succeeded in increasing the Macintosh's market share somewhat and provided cheaper hardware for consumers, but hurt Apple financially. As a result, when Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, he ordered that the OS that had been previewed as version 7. 7 be branded Mac OS 8. Mac OS 8 is an Operating system released by Apple Computer on July 26 1997. Since Apple had licensed only System 7 to third-parties, this move effectively ended the clone line. The decision caused significant financial losses for companies like Motorola and Power Computing Corporation, which had invested substantial resources in creating their own Mac-compatible hardware. Power Computing Corporation (often referred to as Power Computing) was the first company selected by Apple Computer to create Macintosh -compatible ^[40]

1998 to 2005: New beginnings

The original "Bondi Blue" iMac G3, introduced in 1998. The iMac G3 was the first model of the IMac line of personal computers made by Apple Inc One of the first products produced under CEO Steve Jobs since he left the company in the mid eighties, it brought Apple back into profitability.

In 1998, a year after Steve Jobs had returned to the company, Apple introduced an all-in-one Macintosh called the iMac. The iMac is a desktop Macintosh computer designed and built by Apple Inc Its translucent plastic case, originally Bondi blue and later many other colors, is considered an industrial design hallmark of the late 1990s. Bondi blue is a Color. It belongs to the Cyan family of blues Industrial design is an Applied art whereby the Aesthetics and Usability of mass-produced products may be improved for marketability and The iMac did away with most Apple standard (and usually proprietary) connections, such as SCSI and ADB, in favor of two USB ports. Apple Desktop Bus (or ADB) is an obsolete bit-serial Computer bus connecting low-speed devices to computers It proved to be phenomenally successful, with 800,000 units sold in 139 days,^[41] making the company an annual profit of US$309 million—Apple's first profitable year since Michael Spindler took over as CEO in 1995. Michael Spindler (born 1942 in Germany) nicknamed "the Diesel" for his reputed around-the-clock work habits was president and CEO of Apple from ^[42] The "blue and white" aesthetic was applied to the Power Macintosh, and then to a new product: the iBook. The Power Macintosh G3 series (commonly known as the " Blue and White G3 " or sometimes just the " B&W G3 " to distinguish it from the original The iBook is a line of Laptop computer that was developed and sold by Apple Computer Inc Introduced in July 1999, the iBook was Apple's first consumer-level laptop computer. More than 140,000 pre-orders were placed before it started shipping in September,^[43] and by October it was as much a sales hit as the iMac. ^[44] Apple continued to add new products to their lineup, such as the eMac for the education market and PowerBook G4 laptop for professionals. The eMac, short for education Mac, was a Macintosh desktop computer made by Apple Inc The PowerBook G4 was a series of Notebook computers that was manufactured marketed and sold by Apple Computer Inc The original iMac used a G3 processor, but the upgrades to G4 and then to G5 chips were accompanied by a new design, dropping the array of colors in favor of white plastic. The iMac G3 was the first model of the IMac line of personal computers made by Apple Inc PowerPC G3 is a designation used by Apple Computer to a third generation of PowerPC Microprocessors from the PowerPC 750 family designed The iMac G4 was a Computer that was produced by Apple from the beginning of 2002 to mid 2004. The iMac G5 was a desktop Macintosh computer designed and built by Apple Inc Current iMacs use aluminum enclosures. On January 11, 2005, Apple announced the release of the Mac mini priced at US$499,^[45] the least expensive Mac to date. Events 1055 - Theodora is crowned Empress of the Byzantine Empire. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Mac Mini (officially capitalized Mac mini) is a desktop computer made by Apple Inc

Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard" is the latest in the long line of Macintosh operating systems, including numerous functionality and appearance changes. Mac OS X (mæk oʊ ɛs tɛn is a line of computer Operating systems developed marketed and sold by Apple Inc, the latest of which is pre-loaded on all currently Mac OS X version 105 “Leopard” is the sixth major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server Operating system for Macintosh

Mac OS continued to evolve up to version 9. 2. 2, but its dated architecture—though retrofitted a few times (for example, as part of the PowerPC port, a nanokernel was added and Mac OS 8.6 was modified to support Multiprocessing Services 2. Mac OS 8 is an Operating system released by Apple Computer on July 26 1997. A multi-core processor (or chip-level multiprocessor, CMP) combines two or more independent cores into a single package composed of a single Integrated 0 in Mac OS 8.6)^[46]—made a replacement necessary. Mac OS 8 is an Operating system released by Apple Computer on July 26 1997. As such, Apple introduced Mac OS X, a fully overhauled Unix-based successor to Mac OS 9, using Darwin, XNU, and Mach as foundations, and based on NEXTSTEP. Mac OS X (mæk oʊ ɛs tɛn is a line of computer Operating systems developed marketed and sold by Apple Inc, the latest of which is pre-loaded on all currently Unix (officially trademarked as UNIX, sometimes also written as Unix with Small caps) is a computer Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's "Classic" Mac OS. Darwin is an open source UNIX -based computer Operating system released by Apple Inc XNU is the computer Operating system kernel that Apple Inc acquired and developed for use in the Mac OS X Operating system and released Mach is an Operating system Microkernel developed at Carnegie Mellon University to support operating system research primarily distributed and parallel Mac OS X is the culmination of Apple Inc 's decade-long search for an Operating system to replace the original Mac OS. Nextstep was the original object-oriented, multitasking Operating system that NeXT Computer developed to run on its range of proprietary computers Mac OS X was not released to the public until September 2000, as the Mac OS X Public Beta, with an Aqua interface. The Mac OS X Public Beta is an early beta version of Apple Computer 's Mac OS X Operating system. Aqua is the Graphical user interface and primary visual theme of Apple Inc At US$29. 99, it allowed adventurous Mac users to sample Apple’s new operating system and provide feedback for the actual release. ^[47] The initial release of Mac OS X, 10.0 (nicknamed Cheetah), was released on March 24, 2001. Mac OS X version 100, Code named “Cheetah”, was the first major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server Operating Events 1401 - Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus. 1603 - James VI of Scotland Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Older Mac OS applications could still run under early Mac OS X versions, using an environment called Classic (though Apple has since removed Classic from Mac OS X in version 10. 5, "Leopard"). Mac OS X version 105 “Leopard” is the sixth major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server Operating system for Macintosh Subsequent releases of Mac OS X were 10.1 "Puma", (September 25, 2001), 10.2 "Jaguar", (August 24, 2002), 10.3 "Panther", (October 24, 2003), 10.4 "Tiger", (April 29, 2005) and 10.5 "Leopard" (October 26, 2007). Mac OS X version 101, Code named “Puma”, was the second major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server Operating Events 303 - On a voyage preaching the Gospel, Saint Fermin of Pamplona is beheaded in Amiens, France Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Mac OS X version 102 “Jaguar” was the third major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server Operating system. Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar 's General Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in the Second Battle of the Bagradas River See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Mac OS X version 103 “Panther” was the fourth major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server Operating system. Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Mac OS X version 104 “Tiger” was the fifth major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server Operating system for Macintosh Events 1429 - Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orleans. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Mac OS X version 105 “Leopard” is the sixth major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server Operating system for Macintosh Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The Intel version of Leopard received certification as a Unix implementation by The Open Group. Unix (officially trademarked as UNIX, sometimes also written as Unix with Small caps) is a computer The Open Group is an industry Consortium to set vendor- and technology-neutral open standards for Computing infrastructure

2006 onward: Intel era

The MacBook Pro is the first Mac notebook to use an Intel processor. The MacBook Pro is a line of Macintosh portable Computers by Apple Inc It was released at Macworld 2006. Produced by Boston -based IDG World Expo, Macworld Conference & Expo is a trade show dedicated to the Apple Macintosh platform with conference tracks held

The MacBook Air, Apple's latest Mac, dubbed "The world's thinnest notebook". The MacBook Air is a thin lightweight Macintosh Notebook computer designed by Apple. It was released at Macworld 2008. Produced by Boston -based IDG World Expo, Macworld Conference & Expo is a trade show dedicated to the Apple Macintosh platform with conference tracks held

Partially because of a failure to produce laptop-ready G5 chips, Apple discontinued the use of PowerPC microprocessors in 2006. The PowerPC 970, PowerPC 970FX, PowerPC 970GX, and PowerPC 970MP, are 64-bit Power Architecture processors from IBM The Apple Intel transition was the process of changing the CPU of Macintosh Computers from PowerPC processors to Intel X86 PowerPC is a RISC Instruction set architecture created by the 1991 Apple – IBM – Motorola alliance known as AIM All new Macs now use x86 processors made by Intel, and some Macs were given new names to signify the switch. See also X86 assembly language The generic term x86 refers to the most commercially successful Instruction set architecture in the history of Personal Intel-based Macs can run pre-existing PowerPC-based software using an emulator called Rosetta, although at noticeably slower speeds than native programs. An emulator duplicates (provides an emulation of the functions of one System using a different system so that the second system behaves like (and appears to Rosetta is a lightweight dynamic translator for Mac OS X distributed by Apple. With the release of Intel-based Mac computers, the potential to natively run Windows-based operating systems on Apple hardware without the need for emulation software such as Virtual PC was introduced. Microsoft Virtual PC is a Virtualization suite for Microsoft Windows Operating systems and an Emulation suite for In March 2006, a group of hackers announced that they were able to run Windows XP on an Intel-based Mac. Windows XP is a family of 32-bit and 64-bit Operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on Personal computers including home and The group has released their software as open source and has posted it for download on their website. ^[48] On April 5, 2006 Apple announced the public beta availability of their own Boot Camp software which will allow owners of Intel-based Macs to install Windows XP on their machines; later versions added support for Windows Vista. Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Boot Camp is a utility included with Apple Inc 's Mac OS X v10 Windows Vista (ˈvɪstə is a line of Operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on Personal computers including home and business desktops Boot Camp is now a standard feature.

In recent years, Apple has seen a significant boost in sales of Macs. Many claim that this is due, in part, to the success of the iPod, a halo effect whereby satisfied iPod owners purchase more Apple equipment. iPod is a popular brand of Portable media players designed and marketed by Apple Inc The halo effect refers to a Cognitive bias whereby the perception of a particular trait is influenced by the perception of the former traits in a sequence of interpretations The iPod digital audio players have recaptured a brand awareness of the Mac line that had not been seen since its original release in 1984. A digital audio player, more commonly referred to as an MP3 player, is a Consumer electronics device that stores organizes and plays audio files Some From 2001 to 2007, Mac sales increased continuously on an annual basis. On October 22, 2007, Apple released its fourth quarter results, reporting shipment of 2,164,000 Macs—exceeding the previous company record for quarterly Macintosh shipments by over 400,000. Events 202 BC - Hannibal Barca, leader of the Carthaginians, is defeated by the Roman legions under Scipio Africanus Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[49]

Timeline of Macintosh models

Main article: Timeline of Macintosh models

See also: Timeline of Apple II Family

Product line

Main article: Comparison of Macintosh models

	Ultracompact	Consumer	Professional
Desktop	Mac mini Entry-level; ships without keyboard, mouse, or monitor; uses Intel Core 2 Duo processors	iMac All-in-one; available in 20" and 24" screen sizes; uses Intel Core 2 Duo processors	Mac Pro Workstation desktop; highly customizable with dual processors; uses up to two quad-core Intel Xeon processors
Portable (MacBook)	MacBook Air 13. Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This timeline of Macintosh models lists all major types of Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This timeline of Apple II Family models lists all major types This is a comparison of Macintosh models, produced by Apple Inc A desktop computer is a Personal computer (PC in a form intended for regular use at a single location as opposed to a mobile Laptop or portable computer The Mac Mini (officially capitalized Mac mini) is a desktop computer made by Apple Inc The Core 2 brand refers to a range of Intel 's consumer 64-bit dual-core and 2x2 MCM quad-core CPUs with the X86-64 instruction set The IMac is a midrange to high-end desktop computer offered by Apple Inc The Core 2 brand refers to a range of Intel 's consumer 64-bit dual-core and 2x2 MCM quad-core CPUs with the X86-64 instruction set The Mac Pro is a Workstation computer manufactured by Apple Inc The Xeon brand refers to many families of Intel 's x86 Multiprocessing CPUs – for dual-processor (DP and multi-processor (MP configuration A laptop computer, also known as a notebook computer, is a small Personal computer designed for mobile use. The MacBook family is a range of Macintosh Notebook computers by Apple Inc The MacBook Air is a thin lightweight Macintosh Notebook computer designed by Apple. 3" ultraportable with aluminum casing; uses Intel Core 2 Duo processors	MacBook 13. WikipediaNaming The Core 2 brand refers to a range of Intel 's consumer 64-bit dual-core and 2x2 MCM quad-core CPUs with the X86-64 instruction set The MacBook is a Macintosh Notebook computer by Apple Inc that replaced the iBook G4 series 3" laptop with polycarbonate casing; available in black and white; uses Intel Core 2 Duo processors	MacBook Pro 15. The Core 2 brand refers to a range of Intel 's consumer 64-bit dual-core and 2x2 MCM quad-core CPUs with the X86-64 instruction set The MacBook Pro is a line of Macintosh portable Computers by Apple Inc 4" or 17" models with aluminum casing; uses Intel Core 2 Duo processors
Server	n/a		Xserve 1U rack-mount; uses dual quad-core Intel Xeon processors for up to 8 cores

Hardware and software

Hardware

The internals of the original 20-inch iMac G5. WikipediaNaming The Core 2 brand refers to a range of Intel 's consumer 64-bit dual-core and 2x2 MCM quad-core CPUs with the X86-64 instruction set A server is a Computer dedicated to providing one or more services over a computer network typically through a request-response routine Xserve is the name of Apple Inc 's 1U rackmount line of server computers A rack unit or U (less commonly RU) is a unit of measure used to describe the Height of equipment intended for mounting in a 19-inch rack The Xeon brand refers to many families of Intel 's x86 Multiprocessing CPUs – for dual-processor (DP and multi-processor (MP configuration The iMac G5 was a desktop Macintosh computer designed and built by Apple Inc Many hardware components can be seen.

Main article: Macintosh hardware

Apple directly sub-contracts hardware production to Asian manufacturers, maintaining a high degree of control over the end product. The Hardware of the Macintosh (or Mac) is produced solely by Apple Inc An original equipment manufacturer, or OEM is typically a company that uses a component made by a second company in its own product or sells the product of the second company By contrast, most other companies (including Microsoft) create software that can be run on a variety of third-party hardware. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer A third-party developer is a developer not directly tied to the primary product that a consumer is using The current Mac product family uses Intel x86 processors. See also X86 assembly language The generic term x86 refers to the most commercially successful Instruction set architecture in the history of Personal All Mac models ship with at least 1 GB RAM as standard. A gigabyte (derived from the SI prefix Giga-) is a unit of Information or Computer Current Mac computers use an ATI Radeon, nVidia GeForce or Intel GMA graphics cards and include either a Combo Drive, a DVD player and CD burner all-in-one; or the SuperDrive, a dual-function DVD and CD burner. ATI Radeon is a brand of Graphics processing units (GPU that since 2000 has been manufactured by ATI Technologies and subsequently AMD and is GeForce is a Brand of PC graphics processor units (GPUs designed by Nvidia. The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator, or GMA, is Intel 's current line of graphics processors (GPUs built into various Motherboard chipsets A video card, also known as a graphics accelerator card, display adapter, or graphics card, is a hardware component whose function is to A Combo drive is a type of optical drive that combines CD-R / CD-RW recording capability with the ability to read (but not write DVD media DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an Optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio SuperDrive is a trademark used by Apple Inc for two different storage drives from 1988–1999 to refer to a high-density Floppy disk drive capable of reading all Macs include two standard data transfer ports: USB and FireWire. The IEEE 1394 interface is a serial bus Interface standard for high-speed communications and Isochronous real-time data transfer frequently USB was introduced in the 1998 iMac G3 and is ubiquitous today; FireWire is mainly reserved for high-performance devices such as hard drives or video cameras. The iMac G3 was the first model of the IMac line of personal computers made by Apple Inc Starting with a new iMac G5 released in October 2005, Apple started to include built-in iSight cameras to appropriate models, and a media center interface called Front Row that can be operated by remote control for accessing media stored on the computer. iSight was a Webcam developed and marketed by Apple Inc The iSight was sold retail for US$ 149 as an external unit which connects to a computer via The Apple Remote is a Remote control made for use with Apple products with Infrared capabilities released after October 2005 ^[50]

Until 2005, Mac computers have shipped with a single-button mouse, largely because surveys showed users did not know which button to use. In Computing, a mouse (plural mice, mouse devices, or mouses) Although Microsoft's IntelliMouse, featuring two buttons and a scroll wheel, was introduced in 1995 to great success, The Mac operating system did not support more than one mouse button until Mac OS X arrived in 2001. IntelliMouse is a brand name by Microsoft for its line of computer mice. Apple released the four-button Mighty Mouse in August 2005,^[51] and a wireless version in July 2006,^[52] and began to ship it with new desktop Macs. The Apple Mighty Mouse is a multi-button USB or Bluetooth mouse manufactured and sold by Apple Inc

Software

Main articles: Mac OS, Mac OS history, and Mac OS X

The original Macintosh was the first successful computer to use a graphical user interface devoid of a command line. Mac OS is the trademarked name for a series of Graphical user interface -based Operating systems developed by Apple Inc On January 24, 1984, Apple Computer Inc (now Apple Inc) introduced the Apple Macintosh Personal computer, with the Macintosh 128K Mac OS X (mæk oʊ ɛs tɛn is a line of computer Operating systems developed marketed and sold by Apple Inc, the latest of which is pre-loaded on all currently It used a desktop metaphor, depicting real-world objects like documents and a trashcan as icons onscreen. The desktop metaphor is an Interface metaphor which is a set of unifying concepts used by Graphical user interfaces to help users more easily interact with the On Computer displays, a computer icon is a small Pictogram. Icons have been used to supplement the normal alphanumerics of the computer The System software introduced in 1984 with the first Macintosh and renamed Mac OS in 1997, continued to evolve until version 9.2.2. On January 24, 1984, Apple Computer Inc (now Apple Inc) introduced the Apple Macintosh Personal computer, with the Macintosh 128K System 7 (codenamed "Big Bang" and sometimes called Mac OS 7) is a single-user Graphical user interface -based Operating system for Macintosh Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's "Classic" Mac OS. In 2001, Apple introduced Mac OS X, based on Darwin and NEXTSTEP; its new features included the Dock and the Aqua user interface. Darwin is an open source UNIX -based computer Operating system released by Apple Inc Nextstep was the original object-oriented, multitasking Operating system that NeXT Computer developed to run on its range of proprietary computers A dock is a User interface feature of a number of Operating systems that typically provides a user with a way of launching and switching Aqua is the Graphical user interface and primary visual theme of Apple Inc The most recent version is Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard". Mac OS X version 105 “Leopard” is the sixth major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server Operating system for Macintosh In addition to Leopard, all new Macs are bundled with assorted Apple-produced applications, including iLife, the Safari web browser and the iTunes media player. iLife is a suite of Multimedia Software applications created by Apple Inc Safari is a Web browser developed by Apple Inc and included in Mac OS X. A web browser is a software application which enables a user to display and interact with text images videos music games and other information typically located on a iTunes is a proprietary digital media player application introduced by Apple Inc

Mac OS X enjoys a near-absence of the types of malware and spyware that affect Microsoft Windows users. Malware, a Portmanteau word from the words '''mal'''icious and soft'''ware''', is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without Such content will be deleted Specific software is to be mentioned in this article only Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. ^[53][54][55] Worms as well as potential vulnerabilities were noted in February 2006, which led some industry analysts and anti-virus companies to issue warnings that Apple's Mac OS X is not immune to viruses, as is commonly misconceived. ^[56][57][58] However, there has not been an outbreak of Mac malware, and Apple routinely issues security updates for its software.

Following the release of the Intel-based Mac, third-party virtualization software such as Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion, and Crossover Mac began to emerge, allowing users to run Microsoft Windows or previously Windows-only software, on Macs at near native speed. Parallels Desktop for Mac is a software product by Parallels Inc VMware Fusion is a Virtual machine software product developed by VMware for Macintosh computers with Intel processors CrossOver (known before version 60 as CrossOver Office) is the collective name for three commercial and proprietary programs developed by CodeWeavers Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. A BIOS compatibility module for Intel-based Macs allows users to run Windows natively. In Computing, the BIOS (ˈbaɪoʊs Apple also released Boot Camp, which helps users to install Windows XP or Vista, along with Mac-specific Windows drivers, and dual boot between Mac OS X and Windows, on these Macs. Boot Camp is a utility included with Apple Inc 's Mac OS X v10 Windows XP is a family of 32-bit and 64-bit Operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on Personal computers including home and Windows Vista (ˈvɪstə is a line of Operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on Personal computers including home and business desktops In computing a device driver or software driver is a Computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a Hardware device Multi boot or Multi booting (usually dual booting, but many OSes can be booted from the same computer is the act of installing multiple Operating Because Mac OS X is less common than Microsoft Windows, less third-party software is available,^[59] although popular applications such as Microsoft Office, are usually cross-platform and Mac versions run without Windows emulation. Microsoft Office is a set of interrelated desktop applications servers and services collectively referred to as an Office suite, for the Microsoft Windows and In computing cross-platform (also known as multi-platform) is a term used to refer to Computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented

Advertising

Main article: Apple Inc. advertising

Macintosh advertisements have usually attacked the established market leader, directly or indirectly. In the past two decades Apple Inc has become appreciated for the "artistic" and free-thinking messages of its advertisements, which reflect a business They tend to portray the Mac as an alternative to overly complex or unreliable PCs. Apple hyped the introduction of the original Mac with the now-famous 1984 commercial, which aired during the Super Bowl. 1984 is the American Television commercial which introduced the Macintosh Personal computer for the first time Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game that was played on January 22, 1984 at Tampa Stadium in Tampa Florida to decide It was supplemented by a number of printed pamphlets and other TV ads demonstrating the new interface and emphasizing the mouse. Many more brochures for new models like the Macintosh Plus and the Performa followed. The Macintosh Plus computer was the third model in the Macintosh line introduced two years after the original Macintosh and a little more than a year after the Macintosh The Macintosh Performa series was Apple Computer 's Consumer product family of Apple Macintosh Personal computers from 1992 until 1997 when the In the 1990s Apple started the “What's on your PowerBook?” campaign, with print ads and television commercials featuring celebrities describing how the PowerBook helps them in their businesses and everyday lives. In 1995, Apple responded to the introduction of Windows 95 with several print ads and a television commercial demonstrating its disadvantages and lack of innovation. In 1997 the Think Different campaign introduced Apple’s new slogan, and in 2002 the Switch campaign followed. "Think Different" is an Advertising slogan created for Apple Computer in 1997 by the Los Angeles office Switch was an Advertising campaign launched by Apple Computer (now Apple Inc The most recent advertising strategy by Apple is the Get a Mac campaign, with North American, UK and Japanese variants. ^[60][61]

Today, Apple focuses much of its advertising efforts around “special events”, and keynotes at conferences like the MacWorld Expo and the Apple Expo. Stevenote is a colloquial term for Keynote speeches by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, generally given at Apple events such as the Macworld Expo, Produced by Boston -based IDG World Expo, Macworld Conference & Expo is a trade show dedicated to the Apple Macintosh platform with conference tracks held The Apple Expo is a European annual Sales conference and Technology exposition held by Apple Inc The events typically draw a large gathering of media representatives and spectators. In the past, special events have been used to unveil its desktop and notebook computers such as the iMac and MacBook, and other consumer electronic devices like the iPod, Apple TV, and iPhone. iPod is a popular brand of Portable media players designed and marketed by Apple Inc The iPhone is an internet-connected Multimedia Smartphone designed and marketed by Apple Inc

Market share and demographics

Since the introduction of the Macintosh, Apple has struggled to gain a significant share of the personal computer market. Market share, in Strategic management and Marketing, is the percentage or proportion of the total available Market or Market segment that is At first, the Macintosh 128K suffered from a dearth of available software compared to IBM's PC, resulting in disappointing sales in 1984 and 1985. It took 74 days for 50,000 units to sell. ^[13]

By 1997, there were more than 20 million Mac users, compared to an installed base of around 340 million Windows PCs. Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. ^[62][63] Statistics from late 2003 indicate that Apple had 2. 06 percent of the desktop share in the United States, which had increased to 2. 88 percent by Q4 2004. ^[64] As of October 2006, research firms IDC and Gartner reported that Apple's market share in the U. S. had increased to about 6 percent. ^[65] Figures from December 2006, showing a market share around 6 percent (IDC) and 6. 1 percent (Gartner) are based on a more than 30 percent increase in unit sale from 2005 to 2006. The installed base of Mac computers is hard to determine, with numbers ranging from a conservative 3 percent^[66] to an optimistic 16 percent. Installed base is a measure of the number of units of a particular type of system (usually a computing platform actually in use as opposed to Market share, which only reflects ^[67]

Three ways of measuring market share are: i) by browser hits, ii) by sales, and iii) by installed base. If using the browser metric, Mac market share has increased substantially in 2007[1]. However, results for market share measured as a percentage of current sales provides different results than when market share is measured by installed base.

Whether the size of the Mac’s market share and installed base is actually relevant, and to whom, is a hotly debated issue. Industry pundits have often called attention to the Mac’s relatively small market share to predict Apple's impending doom, particularly in the early and mid 1990s when the company’s future seemed bleakest. Others argue that market share is the wrong way to judge the Mac’s success. Apple has positioned the Mac as a higher-end personal computer, and so it may be misleading to compare it to a low-budget PC. ^[68] Because the overall market for personal computers has grown rapidly, the Mac’s increasing sales numbers are effectively swallowed by the industry’s numbers as a whole. Apple’s small market share, then, gives the false impression that fewer people are using Macs than did (for example) ten years ago. ^[69] Others try to de-emphasize market share, citing that it's rarely brought up in other industries. ^[70] Regardless of the Mac’s market share, Apple has remained profitable since Steve Jobs’ return and the company’s subsequent reorganization. ^[71] Notably, in a report published in the first quarter of 2008, it was found that the Apple Macintosh computers made up a total of 66% of all computers sold that were above $1,000, and 14% of all computers sold. ^[72]

Market research indicates that Apple draws its customer base from a higher-income demographic than the mainstream PC market. Market research is the process of systematically gathering recording and analyzing data and information about Customers, Competitors and the Market Higher income theoretically correlates with well-educated social behaviors, which may explain the platform’s visibility within certain youthful, avant-garde subcultures. ^[73] Steve Jobs speculates that “maybe a little less” than half of Apple’s customers are Republicans, “maybe more Dell than ours. ”^[74] This perception may or may not be accurate—several prominent conservatives, including Rush Limbaugh, are Mac users^[75]—but it can only be reinforced by the company's pattern of political donations,^[76] by Al Gore’s membership on its board,^[77] and surely not least by Jobs’ own personal history. Rush Hudson Limbaugh III (born January 12, 1951) is an American radio host and conservative Political commentator. Albert Arnold Gore Jr (born March 31 1948 is an American environmental Activist, author Businessperson, former Politician, and former ^[78]

See also

• History of computing hardware (1960s-present)
• List of Macintosh models grouped by CPU
• List of Macintosh models by case type
• List of Macintosh software
• Apple Inc. litigation
• Mac gaming
• Apple rumors community

References

Footnotes

Further reading

External links

• Apple's website
• The 1984 introduction of the Macintosh (QuickTime movie)
• Articles by Jef Raskin about the history of the Macintosh
• Making the Macintosh: Technology and Culture in Silicon Valley