Apple 1 Nisan 1976 tarihinde Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak ve Ronald Wayne tarafından kurulmuş olan bilgisayar firmasıdır. Şirket merkezi Cupertino, Kaliforniya, Amerika’dadır. 2005 itibarı ile genel müdürü Steve Jobs’dur. Apple Macintosh, iPhone ve iPod bilinen önemli ürünlerindendir.
Apple zamanında fotoğraf makinası ve yazıcı gibi ürünleri de piyasaya sürmüştür. Günümüzde ise bilgisayarlar, ekranlar, müzikçalar ve yazılım ürünleri geliştirmektedir.

Apple Computer’dan Apple’a

9 Ocak 2007 tarihinde şirketin ismi Apple Computer’dan Apple’a çevrilmiştir. Steve Jobs değişikliği iPhone’un tanıtıldığı MacWorld Expo 2007 açılış konuşmasında duyurmuştur. Bilgisayar kelimesinin çıkarılmasına sebep olarak “Apple bilgisayar” denildiğinde akla gelen bilgisayarın zaten Mac olduğuna dikkat çekilmiş, bu yüzden şirketin adının şu anki ürün yelpazesini daha iyi yansıtmak amacıyla değiştirildiği belirtilmiştir.Ancak ABD’de 2004 yılı itibari ile satılan bilgisayar sayısı 204.542.560 iken mac sayısı sadece 110.4 milyon adet ile sınırlı kalmıştır…

Apple Macintosh

Macintosh, kısaca Mac olarak bilinen ve adını McIntosh elma türünden alan, kişisel bilgisayar üreten Apple Computer, Inc.’in bir ürünüdür. Ürün yelpazesi 1984 yılında başlamış, ve piyasada fare ve grafik arayüz kullanan ilk başarılı bilgisayar serilerinden biri olmuştur. Bu başarıdan dolayı, 1986 yılından itibaren şirketin Lisa, Apple II, Apple III gibi yelpazeleri sonlandırılıp tüm bilgisayarları Macintosh serisi altında toplanmıştır. PowerPC mimarisini kullandığı 1994-2005 yılları arasında x86 sınıfı bilgisayarlardan ayrılan en önemli özelliği RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) mimarisiydi.

İşletim Sistemleri

Mac OS

Macintosh serisi bilgisayarlar, genellikle Apple’in kendi ürünü olan Mac OS işletim sistemini kullanır. Mac OS, kendi içinde Mac OS Classic (1984-2001/1.0-9.2.2) ve Mac OS X (2001-/10.1–) olarak ikiye ayrılır. İki işletim sistemi birbirinden bağımsızdır, ve Mac OS X, Classic altında çalışan programları Classic (Mac OS X) adı verilen bir program ile çalıştırmaktadır, ama Classic desteği, Apple’in Macintosh serisinde Intel işlemcileri kullanması ile bitmiştir, ve günümüzde sadece PowerPC sahibi Macintoshlar Classic programlarını çalıştırabilmektedir.

Windows

Intel işlemcili Macintoshlar, Boot Camp adı verilen bir program sayesinde Microsoft Windows işletim sistemi de kullanabilmektedir. Program, Windows XP SP2 ve Windows Vista desteği ile, işletim sisteminin Macintoshlarda rahatlıkla çalışabilmesi için gerekli sürücüleri de yüklemektedir.

A/UX

Macintosh’larda çalışabilen başka bir işletim sistemi ise, gene Apple’in kendi ürünü olan A/UX işletim sistemidir. İşletim sistemi Macintosh II, Macintosh Quadra ve Macintosh Centris serisi Macintoshlarda UNIX çalıştırılabilmesi, ve ayrıca Mac OS işletim sisteminin arayüzünü koruma amacıyla, 1988 yılında piyasaya sürülmüştür. Sistem fazla tutmamış, ve PowerPC işlemci serisine uyarlanmadan 1995 yılında geliştirilmesi durdurulmuş ve piyasadan kaldırılmıştır.

Linux

Macintosh serisi bilgisayarlarda, çeşitli Linux sürümlerinin çalıştırlabilmesi mümkündür. Bunlardan belki de Macintosh için en ünlüsü MkLinux işletim sistemidir. Sistem 1996 yılında OSF Research Institute ve Apple C

iApps

iApps, Apple’ın genelde Macintosh bilgisayarları ile birlikte dağıttığı, veya iLife veya iWork gibi yazılım paketleri ile satışa sunduğu programlara denir. Bu programlar, iTunes dışında, sadece Mac OS X altında çalışmaktadır.

Bazı iApps türü uygulamalar

iTunes, ‘digital jukebox’ programı. Mac OS X ve Windows için.
iChat, görüntülü sohbet özelliği taşıyan bir AOL Instant Messenger sohbet programı
iMovie, dijital video kameralar ile kullanılmak için hazırlanan video düzenleme programı
iPhoto, dijital fotograf makinalarında fotograf aktarma, arşivleme ve düzelme için bir düzenleme programı
iWeb, web sayfa düzenleme programi

Donanım

Şu anda üretimde olan bütün Macintosh serisi bilgisayarlar Intel x86 işlemcileri kullanmaktadır. Bu bilgisayarlar standart olarak minimum 512MB hafıza içermektedirler. Macintoshlar, Combo Drive (DVD okuyucu ve CD yazıcı) veya SuperDrive (DVD ve CD yazıcı) ile gelmektedir. Güncel Macintoshlar, veri transferi için USB veya FireWire portlarını kullanmaktadırlar .

İşlemci

Orijinal Macintosh, Macintosh 128k, 8 Mhz hız ile çalışan Motorola 68000 işlemcisi ile üretilmiştir. Macintosh’larda kullanılan işlemciler doksanlı yılların başında kendini PowerPC, ve 2005 yılında ise Intel x86 işlemcilerine bırakmıştır.

Veri Transferi ve bağlantılar

İlk çıkan Macintosh’lar, hard disk veya disket okuyucular için Apple’ın özel olarak hazırlanmış seri portunu kullanmaktaydı. Bu daha sonra kendisini Macintosh Plus’ın piyasaya sürülmesi ile SCSI’ye bırakmıştır. Klavye, fare gibi aygıtlar için, Macintosh II ile beraber Apple Desktop Bus(ADB) portu kullanılmaya başlanıldı. 1998 yılında iMac’in piyasaya sürülmesi ile birlikte, Apple, ADB yerine USB kullanmaya başladı. ADB portuna sahip olan son Macintosh, 1999 yılında piyasaya sürülen PowerMac G3 (B&W) oldu. Bu Macintosh ADB ile birlikte USB’yi destekleyen ilk ve tek Macintosh’du.

Apple’ın Tarihçesi

1976	Wozniak ve Jobs, klavyesi, kasası, ses ve grafiği olmayan bir bilgisayar devre tahtasından ibaret “Apple I”i yarattı.
1976 1 Nisan	Muhteşem ikili Steven Wozniak ve Steven Jobs Apple’ı kurdular.
1977 Nisan	West Coast Fuarı’nda renkli grafiklere sahip, plastik kasalı ilk Apple bilgisayar “Apple II” tanıtıldı.
1977 Nisan	Enine altı renk çizgisinden oluşan, kenarı ısırılmış elma figürü ilk Apple logosu tasarlandı.
1977 Haziran	ABD’de Apple II’nin satışına başlandı.
1978 Mart	Bilgisayarları yazıcılara bağlayan arabirim kartlarının tanıtımı yapıldı
1978 Haziran	Apple’ın ilk minyatür disket sürücüsü unvanını taşıyan Apple Disk II, Consumer Electronics Show’da tanıtıldı.
1979	Steven Jobs Apple’ın Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı oldu.
1979 Mayıs	Apple çalışanı Jef Raskin tarafından önerilen “hepsi bir arada” bilgisayar projesi için araştırma projesi kabul edildi.
1980 Mart	Dönemin en iyisi olarak bilinen Pascal işletim sistemi altında çalışan ve daha hızlı olduğu kanıtlanan Apple Fortran tanıtıldı.
1980 Mayıs	Grafik ve ses arayüzleri ile güçlendirilmiş ilk Mac Apple III tanıtıldı ve Apple bilgisayarları yurtdışında da satılmaya başlandı.
1980 Aralık	Ürettiği yeni teknolojilerle hızla büyüyen Apple halka açıldı.
1981	IBM ilk PC’sini üretti.
1981 Eylül	Apple’ın ilk yedekleme ünitesi 5 MB’lik ProFile sabit disk, yaklaşık 3.500 USD fiyatla satılmaya başlandı.
1982 Temmuz	Apple nokta vuruşlu yazıcılar yaklaşık 2.200 USD’lik fiyatla satışa çıktı.
1983 Ocak	İsmini tasarımcının kız kardeşinden alan ve grafik işleyebilme arayüzüne sahip ilk Apple bilgisayar Lisa tanıtıldı.
1983 Kasım	Kelime işlemci, veritabanı uygulaması ve hesap makinesi uygulamalarının entegre çalıştığı AppleWorks pazara sunuldu.
1983 Aralık	Apple fiyatı yaklaşık 700 USD olan ImageWriter yazıcıyı satışa çıkardı.
1983	John Sculley Apple’ın Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı oldu. Jobs Macintosh üzerinde çalışmaya başladı.
1984	Jobs, Sculley ile anlaşamayarak Apple’dan istifa etti. Apple ilk kez çeyrek bazında zarar açıkladı.
1984 Ocak	Apple, Ridley Scott’ın yönettiği meşhur 60 saniyelik reklamını yayınladı. Reklamda, Orwell’ın 1984 kitabından alıntı yapılmış ve IBM dünyası yeni bir bilgisayar tarafından tamamen paramparça edilmişti.
1984 Ocak	NFL Super Bowl finalinde “Herşeyi başlatan bilgisayar” olarak tanımlanan Macintosh tanıtıldı.
1984-1987	Mac için ilk PostScript yazıcı olan LaserWriter ve ilk masaüstü yayıncılık programlarından PageMaker pazara sunuldu. Mac, yayıncılık için ideal ve ucuz bir çözüm haline geldi.
1984 Ocak	Microsoft, Windows kullanıcılarından önce Mac kullanıcıları için geliştirdiği Word 1.0’ı üretti.
1985 Ocak	En yeni Apple’ların son kullanıcıyla buluşma noktası Macworld Expo Fuar’larının ilki San Francisco’da yapıldı.
1985 Eylül	Microsoft yine Windows kullanıcılarından önce Mac için Excel 1.0’ı üretti.
1985 Eylül	17 Eylül tarihinde Steve Jobs Apple’dan ayrıldı.
1985 Kasım	Microsoft Windows 1.0’ı üreterek pazara sundu.
1986 Ocak	Apple tamamen kendisine ait olan işletim sistemi System 3.0’ı üretti.
1987	Apple, genişleyebilirlik ilkesi ile üretilen Mac ll’yi duyurdu, ayda 50.000 Mac satıldı.
1987 Mart	Apple kendi işletim sisteminin yeni sürümü System 4.0’ı üretti.
1987 Nisan	Masaüstü yayıncılıktan çığır açan ünlü QuarkXpress yazılımı üretildi.
1987 Eylül	Fortran’dan istediği verimi alamayan Apple, bu sistemi ürün katalogundan çıkardı.
1987 Ekim	Apple System 4.2 ve Finder 6.0’ı buluşturduğu Apple System 5.0’ı üretti.
1988 Ocak	Microsoft, Apple işletim sistemine benzeyen Windows 2.3’ü üretti.
1988 Mart	Apple Windows 2.3’ün ardından Microsoft’a telif hakları nedeniyle dava açtı.
1988 Haziran	Apple sürekli geliştirdiği işletim sistemi System’ın 6.0 sürümünü üretti.
1989 Haziran	Microsoft Windows kullanıcıları için Office 1.0’ı üretti.
1989 Haziran	Dizüstü bilgisayarların atası sayılan “Macintosh Portable” pazara sunuldu.
1990	Apple, Mac satan tek şirket oldu.
1990	Microsoft Windows 3.0’ı üretti.
1990 Şubat	Ünlü yazılım şirketi Adobe, Apple bilgisayarlarla yüzde yüz uyumlu çalışacak grafik ve fotoğraf işleme yazılımı Photoshop’u üretti.
1991 Mayıs	Apple işletim sistemi System 7.0’ı, System 6.0’dan üç yıl sonra pazara sundu.
1991 Mayıs	Apple ilk dizüstü Macintosh olan PowerBook 100’ü üretti.
1991 sonu	İlk taşınabilir bilgisayar modeli PowerBook satışa sunuldu.
1992 Nisan	Microsoft Windows işletim sisteminin yeni sürümü 3.1’i üretti.
1992 Mayıs	Teknoloji dünyasının güçlü üç şirketi Apple, IBM ve Motorola RISC işlemciler için güç birliği oluşturdu.
1993 Ağustos	Apple ile Microsoft arasındaki dava düştü, Apple temyize başvurdu.
1993 Ağustos	Apple yeni tür bir bilgisayar alan Newton MessagePad avuçiçi bilgisayarını üreterek piyasaya sundu.
1994	IBM ve Motorola tarafından ortak geliştirilen ve çok hızlı bir işlemci olan PowerPC işlemcisinin kullanıldığı ilk Macintosh olan PowerMac ailesi anons edildi.
1994 Kasım	Apple, Power PC Mac 8100 ile 100MHz limitini geçerek hız sınırlarını zorlamaya başladı.
1995 Şubat	Apple ile Microsoft arasında telif hakları yüzünden açılan ve temyize kadar giden dava düştü.
1996 Mayıs	Microsoft, internet tarayıcısı Internet Explorer’ın Macintosh sürümünü üretti.
1996	İlk çeyrekte 740 milyon dolar zararda olan Apple, 3. çeyrekte yaklaşık 30 milyon dolar kar elde etti.
1996 Ağustos	Apple Power Mac 9.500 ile birden çok işlemciye sahip bilgisayar üretimine başladı.
1996 sonu	Steven Jobs Apple’a geri döndü.
1997 Ocak	Apple, kod adı Rhapsody olan yeni işletim sistemiyle ilgili stratejilerini açıkladı.
1997 Ağustos	Apple “işletim sistemi” kelimelerinin İngilizcesi olan Operating System kelimelerinin baş harflerini, ürettiği sistemlerde kullanmaya başladı. Bunun ürünü olarak da Mac OS 8 üretildi.
1997 Ağustos	MacWorld Boston’da Jobs Microsoft ile işbirliğine gidileceğini, Microsoft’un satın aldığı 150 milyon dolarlık Apple hissesi karşılığında Microsoft ve Apple’ın 5 yıllık süreyle birbirlerine teknolojilerini lisanslamalarını ve grafik arayüz tartışmalarına son verecek anlaşmasının yapıldığını duyurdu.
1997 Kasım 10	Apple telefonla ve web üzerinden makine satmaya başlayacağını duyurdu. Apple Store 1 haftada en büyük e-ticaret sitesi haline geldi.
1997 Kasım 10	PowerMac G3 ve PowerBook G3 modelleri duyuruldu.
1998 Mayıs	Eğitime yönelik Apple Store sitesi tanıtıldı.
1998 Mayıs	Apple’ın tüketici pazarında kullanıcılara gerekenden çok daha fazlasını hesaplı koşullarda sunan yepyeni bir Mac tasarımı olan iMac’i tanıttı.
1998 Mayıs	Apple’ın yeni nesil işletim sisteminin adının Mac OS X olacağı açıklandı.
1998 Haziran	Microsoft Windows işletim sisteminin yeni sürümü Windows 98’i üretti.
1999 Ocak	Bütün dünyada büyük beğeni kazanan renkli iMac’lerin renk skalasına yeşil, turuncu, mor, mavi ve çilek olmak üzere 5 yeni renk daha eklendi.
1999 Ocak	İlk renkli profesyonel bilgisayar olan PowerMac G3 serisi duyuruldu.
1999 Nisan	Apple, günümüzün hızla değişen dijital video kurgu ihtiyaçlarına yönelik tüm çözümleri tek bir kutuda sunan dijital kurgu yazılımı Final Cut Pro’yu üretti.
1999 Eylül	Power Mac’lerde Apple’ın hız rekoru kıran G4 yongaları standart hale getirildi.
1999 Ekim	Apple Mac OS 8’in geliştirilmiş ve kullanımı kolaylaştırılmış sürümü Mac OS 9’u üretti.
2000 Ocak	Jobs yeniden Apple başkanı oldu.
2000 Eylül	Apple, UNIX tabanlı ve açık kaynak kodlu yeni işletim sistemi Mac OS X’in beta sürümünü üretti.
2001 Mart	Yeni işletim sistemi Mac OS X pazara sunuldu.
2001 Ekim	Apple, dünyada devrim olarak üretilen dijital müzikçalar iPod’u üretti.
2002 Mayıs	Xserve ile network pazarına girdi.
2002 Ağustos	Power Mac G4 ile gigahertz hız sınırına ulaştı.
2002 Ağustos	Mac OS X’in bir sonraki versiyonunun kod adı Jaguar olarak belirlendi.
2003 Nisan	Online müzik mağazası iTunes ile dijital müzik sektörüne girdi.
2003 Ekim	Mac OS X’in bir sonraki versiyonunun kod adının Panther olacağını açıkladı.
2004 Ağustos	Gümüş, altın, pembe, mavi ve yeşil olmak üzere beş farklı renkte üretilen kartvizit boyutundaki iPod mini, pazara sunuldu.
2004 Ocak	PowerMac G5’in mimari kanıtı olan Xserve G5 duyuruldu.
2004 Ocak	Flash kart teknolojisi ile üretilen 22 gram ağırlığındaki dijital müzikçalar iPod Shuffle pazara sunuldu.
2004 Ocak	Apple tarihinin en hesaplı ve küçük bilgisayarı Mac mini pazara sunuldu.
2004 Nisan	Bütün Powerbook çizgisini tek bir isim altında toplayan yeni Powerbook G4 ailesi tanıtıldı.
2004 Mayıs	Mercedes ve Swatch firmaları tarafından gençlere yönelik dinamik tasarımlı olarak üretilen Smart otomobiller, İngiltere’de Apple iPod entegrasyonu ile pazara sunuldu.
2004 Ağustos	Masaüstü bilgisayara G5 gücünü getiren iMac G5’in duyurusu yapıldı.
2004 Ekim	Siyah kapağa sahip ve arkasında U2 Grubu üyelerinin imzalarının bulunduğu iPod U2’yu pazara sundu.
2004 Ekim	Fotoğrafların görüntülenebildiği ve kaydedilebildiği renkli ekran iPod Photo’yu pazara sundu.
Nisan 2005	Apple’ın 200’den fazla yeni özellik ve buluşu bir araya getirdiği Mac OS X işletim sisteminin yeni sürümü Tiger pazara sunuldu.
2005 Haziran	Yüksek performansa ulaşılması hedefiyle PowerPC’lerde Intel işlemci kullanılacağı açıklandı.

Dünden Bugüne Apple 1976 Apple I 1977 Apple ][ 1979 Apple ][+ 1980 Apple /// & ///+ 1983 Apple ][e Lisa/Lisa 2/Mac XL 1984 1984 Commercial Graphical User Interface (GUI) Macintosh 128k Apple //c & //c+ Macintosh 512K 1985 Apple //e Enhanced/Platinum 1986 Macintosh Plus Macintosh Plus ED Macintosh 512Ke Macintosh ED Apple //gs 1987 Macintosh II Macintosh SE 1988 Macintosh IIx 1989 Macintosh SE/30 Macintosh IIcx Macintosh SE FDHD Macintosh IIci Macintosh Portable 1990 Macintosh IIfx Macintosh Classic Macintosh IIsi Macintosh LC 1991 Macintosh Classic II Macintosh Quadra 700 Macintosh Quadra 900 PowerBook 100 PowerBook 140 PowerBook 170 1992 Macintosh LC II Macintosh Quadra 950 PowerBook 145 Macintosh IIvi Macintosh IIvx PowerBook 160 PowerBook 180 PowerBook Duo 210 PowerBook Duo 230 PowerBook Duo 270c PowerBook DuoDock 1993 Macintosh Centris 610 Macintosh Centris 650 Macintosh Color Classic Macintosh LC III Macintosh Quadra 800 PowerBook 165c Workgroup Server 80 Workgroup Server 95 Macintosh LC 520 PowerBook 180c Macintosh Quadra 660av Macintosh Quadra 840av PowerBook 145B Workgroup Server 60 Newton Message Pad (OMP) PowerBook 165 Macintosh Centris 660av Macintosh Color Classic II Macintosh LC 475 Macintosh LC III+ Macintosh Quadra 605 Macintosh Quadra 610 Macintosh Quadra 650 Macintosh TV PowerBook Duo 250 1994 Macintosh LC 550 Macintosh LC 575 Newton Message Pad 100 Newton Message Pad 110 Power Macintosh 6100 Power Macintosh 7100 Power Macintosh 8100 PowerBook Duo 280 PowerBook Duo 280c PowerBook DuoDock Plus/II Workgroup Server 6150 Workgroup Server 8150 Workgroup Server 9150 PowerBook 520 PowerBook 520c PowerBook 540 PowerBook 540c Macintosh LC 630 Macintosh Quadra 630 PowerBook 150 Newton Message Pad 120 1995 Macintosh LC 580 Power Macintosh 5200 LC Power Macintosh 6200 Power Macintosh 7200 Power Macintosh 7500 Power Macintosh 8500 Power Macintosh 9500 PowerBook 550c Power Macintosh 5300 LC PowerBook 190 PowerBook 190cs PowerBook 5300 PowerBook 5300c PowerBook 5300ce PowerBook 5300cs PowerBook Duo 2300c 1996 Network Server 500/700 Workgroup Server 7250 Workgroup Server 8550 Newton Message Pad 130 Power Macintosh 5260 LC Power Macintosh 5400 LC Power Macintosh 7600 Power Macintosh 8200 Power Macintosh 6400 PowerBook 1400c/cs Power Macintosh 4400 Power Macintosh 7220 Power Macintosh 6300/120 1997 Power Macintosh 5500 Power Macintosh 6500 Power Macintosh 7300 Power Macintosh 8600 Power Macintosh 9600 PowerBook 3400 eMate 300 Newton Message Pad 2000 Workgroup Server 7350 Workgroup Server 9650 20th Anniversary Macintosh PowerBook 2400 Newton Message Pad 2100 Power Macintosh G3 PowerBook G3 1998 Macintosh Server G3 Power Macintosh G3 All-in-one PowerBook G3 Series iMac PowerBook G3 Series (rev. 2) 1999 iMac (Rev. C) Power Macintosh G3 (Blue & White) iMac (Rev. D) PowerBook G3 (Bronze Keyboard) iBook Power Macintosh G4 (AGP Graphics) Power Macintosh G4 (PCI Graphics) iMac (Slot Loading) iMac DV/SE 2000 iBook SE PowerBook G3 (FireWire) iMac (Summer 2000) iMac DV (Summer 2000) iMac DV SE (Summer 2000) iMac DV+ Power Macintosh G4 (Gigabit Ethernet) Power Macintosh G4 Cube iBook/iBook SE (FireWire) 2001 Power Macintosh G4 (Digital Audio) PowerBook G4 iMac (Early 2001) iMac SE (early 2001) iBook (Dual USB) iMac (Summer 2001) Power Macintosh G4 (Quicksilver) iBook (Late 2001) iPod PowerBook G4 (Gigabit Ethernet) 2002 iBook (14.1") iMac (Flat Panel) Power Macintosh G4 (Quicksilver 2002) eMac PowerBook G4 (DVI) iBook (Mid 2002) Xserve iMac (17") Power Macintosh G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors) iBook (Late 2002) PowerBook G4 (1 GHz/867 MHz) 2003 Power Macintosh G4 (FireWire 800) PowerBook G4 (12.1") PowerBook G4 (17") iMac (Early 2003) Xserve (Cluster Node) Xserve (Slot Load) / Xserve RAID iBook (Early 2003) iPod (Dock Connector) eMac (ATI Graphics) Power Macintosh G5 iMac (USB 2.0) PowerBook G4 (12.1" DVI) PowerBook G4 (15" FireWire 800) PowerBook G4 (17" 1.33 GHz) iBook G4 2004 iPod mini Xserve G5 Xserve G5 (Cluster Node) eMac (USB 2.0) iBook G4 (Early 2004) PowerBook G4 Family Power Macintosh G5 (June 2004) iPod (Click Wheel) iMac G5 iBook G4 (Late 2004) iPod (U2 Special Edition) iPod photo 2005 iPod shuffle Mac mini PowerBook G4 (1.5 - 1.67 GHz) iPod mini (2nd gen) Power Macintosh G5 (Early 2005) eMac (2005) iMac G5 (Ambient Light Sensor) iPod (color U2 SE) iPod (color) iBook G4 (Mid 2005) iPod nano iMac G5 (iSight) iPod (with video) Power Macintosh G5 (Late 2005) PowerBook G4 (Dual Layer SD) 2006 iMac (Early 2006) MacBook Pro Mac mini (Early 2006) MacBook Pro (17-inch) MacBook iPod (with video, U2 SE) iMac (Mid 2006) Mac Pro iMac (Late 2006) iPod nano (2nd Generation) iPod shuffle (Second Generation) Mac mini (Late 2006) MacBook Pro (Late 2006) MacBook (Late 2006) Xserve (Late 2006) 2007 Apple TV MacBook (Mid 2007) iPhone MacBook Pro (Mid 2007) iMac (Mid 2007) Mac mini (Mid 2007) iPod classic iPod nano (3rd Generation) iPod touch MacBook (Late 2007) 2008 Mac Pro (Early 2008) MacBook Air Xserve (Early 2008) MacBook (Early 2008) MacBook Pro (Early 2008) iMac (Early 2008) iPhone 3G iPod classic (120 GB) iPod nano (4th Generation) iPod touch (2nd Generation)

Apple Ailesi Pre-Macintosh Apple /// & ///+ Apple //c & //c+ Apple //e Enhanced/Platinum Apple //gs Apple I Apple ][ Apple ][+ Apple ][e Lisa/Lisa 2/Mac XL Classic Macs Macintosh 128k Macintosh 512K Macintosh 512Ke Macintosh Classic Macintosh Classic II Macintosh Color Classic Macintosh Color Classic II Macintosh ED Macintosh Plus Macintosh Plus ED Macintosh SE Macintosh SE FDHD Macintosh SE/30 iBook iBook iBook (14.1") iBook (Dual USB) iBook (Early 2003) iBook (Late 2001) iBook (Late 2002) iBook (Mid 2002) iBook G4 iBook G4 (Early 2004) iBook G4 (Late 2004) iBook G4 (Mid 2005) iBook SE iBook/iBook SE (FireWire) iMac eMac eMac (2005) eMac (ATI Graphics) eMac (USB 2.0) iMac iMac (17") iMac (Early 2001) iMac (Early 2003) iMac (Early 2006) iMac (Early 2008) iMac (Flat Panel) iMac (Late 2006) iMac (Mid 2006) iMac (Mid 2007) iMac (Rev. C) iMac (Rev. D) iMac (Slot Loading) iMac (Summer 2000) iMac (Summer 2001) iMac (USB 2.0) iMac DV (Summer 2000) iMac DV SE (Summer 2000) iMac DV+ iMac DV/SE iMac G5 iMac G5 (Ambient Light Sensor) iMac G5 (iSight) iMac SE (early 2001) Mac mini Mac mini (Early 2006) Mac mini (Late 2006) Mac mini (Mid 2007) iPod Apple TV iPhone iPhone 3G iPod iPod (Click Wheel) iPod (color U2 SE) iPod (color) iPod (Dock Connector) iPod (U2 Special Edition) iPod (with video) iPod (with video, U2 SE) iPod classic iPod classic (120 GB) iPod mini iPod mini (2nd gen) iPod nano iPod nano (2nd Generation) iPod nano (3rd Generation) iPod nano (4th Generation) iPod photo iPod shuffle iPod shuffle (Second Generation) iPod touch iPod touch (2nd Generation) Mac Pro Mac Pro Mac Pro (Early 2008) MacBook MacBook MacBook (Early 2008) MacBook (Late 2006) MacBook (Late 2007) MacBook (Mid 2007) MacBook Air MacBook Pro MacBook Pro (17-inch) MacBook Pro (Early 2008) MacBook Pro (Late 2006) MacBook Pro (Mid 2007) Macintosh Centris Macintosh Centris 610 Macintosh Centris 650 Macintosh Centris 660av Macintosh II Macintosh II Macintosh IIci Macintosh IIcx Macintosh IIfx Macintosh IIsi Macintosh IIvi Macintosh IIvx Macintosh IIx Macintosh LC Macintosh LC Macintosh LC 475 Macintosh LC 520 Macintosh LC 550 Macintosh LC 575 Macintosh LC 580 Macintosh LC 630 Macintosh LC II Macintosh LC III Macintosh LC III+ Macintosh TV Power Macintosh 5200 LC Power Macintosh 5260 LC Power Macintosh 5300 LC Power Macintosh 5400 LC Macintosh Quadra Macintosh Quadra 605 Macintosh Quadra 610 Macintosh Quadra 630 Macintosh Quadra 650 Macintosh Quadra 660av Macintosh Quadra 700 Macintosh Quadra 800 Macintosh Quadra 840av Macintosh Quadra 900 Macintosh Quadra 950 Newton eMate 300 Newton Message Pad (OMP) Newton Message Pad 100 Newton Message Pad 110 Newton Message Pad 120 Newton Message Pad 130 Newton Message Pad 2000 Newton Message Pad 2100 Other 1984 Commercial Graphical User Interface (GUI) Performa Performa 200 Performa 250 Performa 275 Performa 400 Performa 405 Performa 410 Performa 430 Performa 4400 Performa 450 Performa 460 Performa 466 Performa 467 Performa 475 Performa 476 Performa 5200CD Performa 5210CD Performa 5215CD Performa 5220CD Performa 5260CD Performa 5270CD Performa 5300CD Performa 5320CD Performa 5400CD Performa 5410CD Performa 5420 (black case) Performa 5420CD Performa 5430CD Performa 5440CD Performa 550 Performa 560 Performa 575 Performa 576 Performa 577 Performa 578 Performa 580CD Performa 588CD Performa 600/600CD Performa 6110CD Performa 6112CD Performa 6115CD Performa 6116CD Performa 6117CD Performa 6118CD Performa 6200 Performa 6205CD Performa 6210CD Performa 6214CD Performa 6216CD Performa 6218CD Performa 6220CD Performa 6230CD Performa 6260CD Performa 6290CD Performa 630 Performa 6300CD Performa 630CD Performa 6310CD Performa 631CD Performa 6320 Performa 635CD Performa 636 Performa 6360 Performa 636CD Performa 637CD Performa 638CD Performa 6400 Performa 640CD PowerBook Macintosh Portable PowerBook 100 PowerBook 140 PowerBook 1400c/cs PowerBook 145 PowerBook 145B PowerBook 150 PowerBook 160 PowerBook 165 PowerBook 165c PowerBook 170 PowerBook 180 PowerBook 180c PowerBook 190 PowerBook 190cs PowerBook 2400 PowerBook 3400 PowerBook 520 PowerBook 520c PowerBook 5300 PowerBook 5300c PowerBook 5300ce PowerBook 5300cs PowerBook 540 PowerBook 540c PowerBook 550c PowerBook Duo 210 PowerBook Duo 230 PowerBook Duo 2300c PowerBook Duo 250 PowerBook Duo 270c PowerBook Duo 280 PowerBook Duo 280c PowerBook DuoDock PowerBook DuoDock Plus/II PowerBook G3/G4 PowerBook G3 PowerBook G3 (Bronze Keyboard) PowerBook G3 (FireWire) PowerBook G3 Series PowerBook G3 Series (rev. 2) PowerBook G4 PowerBook G4 (1 GHz/867 MHz) PowerBook G4 (1.5 - 1.67 GHz) PowerBook G4 (12.1" DVI) PowerBook G4 (12.1") PowerBook G4 (15" FireWire 800) PowerBook G4 (17" 1.33 GHz) PowerBook G4 (17") PowerBook G4 (Dual Layer SD) PowerBook G4 (DVI) PowerBook G4 (Gigabit Ethernet) PowerBook G4 Family PowerMac 20th Anniversary Macintosh Power Macintosh 4400 Power Macintosh 5500 Power Macintosh 6100 Power Macintosh 6200 Power Macintosh 6300/120 Power Macintosh 6400 Power Macintosh 6500 Power Macintosh 7100 Power Macintosh 7200 Power Macintosh 7220 Power Macintosh 7300 Power Macintosh 7500 Power Macintosh 7600 Power Macintosh 8100 Power Macintosh 8200 Power Macintosh 8500 Power Macintosh 8600 Power Macintosh 9500 Power Macintosh 9600 PowerMac G3/G4/G5 Power Macintosh G3 Power Macintosh G3 (Blue & White) Power Macintosh G3 All-in-one Power Macintosh G4 (AGP Graphics) Power Macintosh G4 (Digital Audio) Power Macintosh G4 (FireWire 800) Power Macintosh G4 (Gigabit Ethernet) Power Macintosh G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors) Power Macintosh G4 (PCI Graphics) Power Macintosh G4 (Quicksilver 2002) Power Macintosh G4 (Quicksilver) Power Macintosh G4 Cube Power Macintosh G5 Power Macintosh G5 (Early 2005) Power Macintosh G5 (June 2004) Power Macintosh G5 (Late 2005) Servers Macintosh Server G3 Network Server 500/700 Workgroup Server 60 Workgroup Server 6150 Workgroup Server 7250 Workgroup Server 7350 Workgroup Server 80 Workgroup Server 8150 Workgroup Server 8550 Workgroup Server 9150 Workgroup Server 95 Workgroup Server 9650 Xserve Xserve (Cluster Node) Xserve (Early 2008) Xserve (Late 2006) Xserve (Slot Load) / Xserve RAID Xserve G5 Xserve G5 (Cluster Node)

Apple History

1976-1981

Steven Wozniak and Steven Jobs had been friends in high school. They had both been interested in electronics, and both had been perceived as outsiders. They kept in touch after graduation, and both ended up dropping out of school and getting jobs working for companies in Silicon Valley. (Woz for Hewlett-Packard, Jobs for Atari) Wozniak had been dabbling in computer-design for some time when, in 1976, he designed what would become the Apple I. Jobs, who had an eye for the future, insisted that he and Wozniak try to sell the machine, and on April 1, 1976, Apple Computer was born. Hobbyists did not take the Apple I very seriously, and Apple did not begin to take off until 1977, when the Apple II debuted at a local computer trade show. The first personal computer to come in a plastic case and include color graphics, the Apple II was an impressive machine. Orders for Apple machines were multiplied by several times after its introduction. And with the introduction in early '78 of the Apple Disk II, the most inexpensive, easy to use floppy drive ever (at the time), Apple sales further increased. With the increase in sales, however, came an increase in company size, and by 1980, when the Apple III was released, Apple had several thousand employees, and was beginning to sell computers abroad. Apple had taken on a number of more experienced mid-level managers and, more importantly, several new investors, who opted to take seats on the board of directors. Older, more conservative men, the new directors made sure that Apple became a "real company," much to the dismay of many of its original employees. In 1981, things got a bit more difficult. A saturated market made it more difficult to sell computers, and in February. Apple was forced to lay off 40 employees. Wozniak

1981-1983

Following the historic visit to Xerox PARC in 1979, Jobs and several other engineers began to develop the Lisa, which would redefine personal computing. Jobs, however, proved to be a poor project manager, and was taken off the Lisa by Mike Markkula, then president of Apple, and one of the major stockholders. Jobs, who owned only 11% of Apple, decided to take over someone else's project, and began working with the Macintosh--which had started as a $500 personal computer. Jobs made sure it was much more. In 1981, IBM released its first PC. With the power of Big Blue behind it, the PC quickly began to dominate the playing field. Jobs' team would have to work very quickly if they hoped to compete with IBM in the personal computer market. Jobs began to realize that Apple would have to become a "grown-up" company, and realized he was not the man for the job. In early 1983, Jobs began to court John Sculley, then president of Pepsi-Cola. In April, he was successful, and Sculley became president and CEO of Apple. Jobs believed Sculley would help Apple "grow up," but had no idea how right he would turn out to be. Eventually, it cost him his job.

1983-1985

Although a successful businessman, it soon became clear that Sculley did not know much about the computer industry. He and Jobs were at odds almost immediately. As the announcement of the Macintosh drew closer, Jobs went into hyperdrive. He worked hard to get developers to write programs for the upcoming machine--Jobs had realized that the Mac would ultimately be made or broken by the software industry. On January 22nd, 1984, during the third quarter of the Super Bowl, Apple aired its infamous 60 second commercial (13.4 MB) introducing the Macintosh. Directed by Ridley Scott, the Orwellian scene depicted the IBM world being shattered by a new machine. Initially, the Mac sold very well, but by Christmas of 1984, people were becoming fed up with its small amount of RAM, and lack of hard drive connectivity. It was around the beginning of 1985 that Jobs and Sculley began to argue. Sculley believed Jobs was dangerous and out of control; Jobs believed that Sculley knew nothing about the computer industry, and was making a poor effort to learn. In May of 1985 Jobs decided to make a play for control of the company. He enticed Sculley to schedule a meeting in China, and planned to stage a boardroom coup while Sculley was gone. At the last minute someone leaked the information to Sculley, and he decided to confront Jobs. After a heated argument between the two, the board took a vote, and sided unanimously with Sculley. Jobs resigned that day, leaving Sculley as the head of Apple. Although a successful businessman, it soon became clear that Sculley did not know much about the computer industry. He and Jobs were at odds almost immediately. As the announcement of the Macintosh drew closer, Jobs went into hyperdrive. He worked hard to get developers to write programs for the upcoming machine--Jobs had realized that the Mac would ultimately be made or broken by the software industry. On January 22nd, 1984, during the third quarter of the Super Bowl, Apple aired its infamous 60 second commercial (13.4 MB) introducing the Macintosh. Directed by Ridley Scott, the Orwellian scene depicted the IBM world being shattered by a new machine. Initially, the Mac sold very well, but by Christmas of 1984, people were becoming fed up with its small amount of RAM, and lack of hard drive connectivity. It was around the beginning of 1985 that Jobs and Sculley began to argue. Sculley believed Jobs was dangerous and out of control; Jobs believed that Sculley knew nothing about the computer industry, and was making a poor effort to learn. In May of 1985 Jobs decided to make a play for control of the company. He enticed Sculley to schedule a meeting in China, and planned to stage a boardroom coup while Sculley was gone. At the last minute someone leaked the information to Sculley, and he decided to confront Jobs. After a heated argument between the two, the board took a vote, and sided unanimously with Sculley. Jobs resigned that day, leaving Sculley as the head of Apple.

1985-1993

Sculley became the de facto head of Apple in May 1985. Over the next few months, Apple was forced to lay off a fifth of its work force, some 1,200 employees. The company also posted its first quarterly loss. All this, and the resignation of Jobs, served to erode confidence in Sculley's abilities as CEO of Apple. At the same time, Sculley became locked in a battle with Microsoft's Bill Gates over the introduction of Windows 1.0, which had many similarities to the Mac GUI. Gates finally agreed to sign a statement to the effect that Microsoft would not use Mac technology in Windows 1.0--it said nothing of future versions of Windows, and Gates' lawyers made sure it was airtight. Apple had effectively lost exclusive rights to its interface design. This would prove to be an important document in future lawsuits between Apple and Microsoft, involving the Windows interface. What brought Mac out of the hole were the twin introductions of the LaserWriter, the first affordable PostScript laser printer for the Mac, and PageMaker, one of the first Desktop Publishing programs ever. These two in tandem made the Mac an ideal solution for inexpensive publishing, and the Mac became an overnight success, again. In 1987, Apple introduced the Mac II. Built with expandablity in mind, the Mac II made the Macintosh line a viable, powerful family of computers. Apple was a "Wall Street darling" again, (Rolling Stone) shipping 50,000 Macs a month. It seemed in 1989 that Windows would be a flop, and the Mac would be riding high for the next decade. It didn't. By 1990 the market was saturated with PC-clones of every conceivable configuration, and Apple was the only company selling Macs. In late May, Microsoft rolled out Windows 3.0, which could run on virtually all of the PC-clones in the world. Apple was in trouble. Apple's top idea for a solution was to license the Mac OS. While many believed it would erode the quality of the Mac, or that it would create even more competition, it was becoming clear that Apple could not provide both the hardware and the software to drive an industry. There was also talk of porting the OS to run on Intel-based machines. It was Michael Spindler, Apple's new COO, who nixed the idea, saying that it was "too late to license." In late 1991, Apple released its first generation of PowerBooks, which were an instant success. Work was being done on a new type of computer, the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), which Apple called the Newton. Sculley took an immediate interest in the Newton, and drove the Newton to completion in August 1993. The first generation of Newtons had extremely poor hand-writing recognition (2.1 MB), and did not sell particularly well. Sculley began to lose interest in the day to day operations of Apple. Eventually the Apple Board of Directors decided they'd had enough. In June of 1993, They relieved Sculley of his position as CEO, putting Spindler in the big chair. Sculley remained with the company as chairman for several months and then resigned.

1993-1996

Spindler, by all accounts, was the wrong man for the job. A fairly impersonal man, Spindler's office was nearly impossible to get into. However, in his two and a half years as CEO, Spindler oversaw several accomplishments. In 1994 Apple announced the PowerMac family, the first Macs to be based on the PowerPC chip, an extremely fast processor co-developed with IBM and Motorola. The PowerPC processor allowed Macs to compete with, and in many cases surpass, the speed of Intel's newer processors. Spindler also decided to license the Mac OS to several companies, including Power Computing, one of the more successful Mac-clone makers. But many believe the Apple was too restrictive in its licensing agreements, and only a handful of companies ever licensed the Mac OS. Apple's worst problem wasn't selling computers--it was building them. By June 1995 Apple had $1 billion dollars in backorders--and did not have the parts to build them. Apple's problems were added to by the late-summer release of Windows '95, which mimicked the Mac GUI better than ever. Apple took its worst plunge ever in the winter of 1995-96. Misjudging the market, Apple pushed low-cost Performas over mid-range PowerMacs, and failed to make a profit at all. Apple posted a $68 million loss for that quarter. In January 1996, Spindler was asked to resign as CEO and was replaced by Gil Amelio, the former president of National Semiconductor.

1996-1997

Amelio made a strong effort to bring Apple back to profitability, but his efforts would prove to be largely unsuccessful. Following his first 100 days as CEO, Amelio announced broad changes in the corporate structure of the company. The company was to be split into 7 separate divisions, each responsible for its own profit or loss. He has also made an effort to keep developers and customers better informed about the day-to-day affairs of the company. Although the company announced a staggering $740 million loss for Q1 1996, they brought that loss down to $33 million for Q2, beating all estimates by the best financial experts. In Q3 Apple profited nearly $30 million, again astounding financial experts, who had predicted a loss of as much. (Apple lost considerably more in Q4.) In late december 1996, Apple made an industry-shattering announcement that it would be acquiring NeXT, and that Steven Jobs would be returning to the fold. The merger was brought about in order to acquire NeXTstep, which was to become the basis for Apple's next-generation OS, Rhapsody, which was slated for a 1998 release. The Newton department was spun off into a wholly-owned subsidiary, Newton, Inc. In early July 1997, Apple announced the resignation of Gil Amelio, following another multi-million dollar quarterly loss. This came as a surprise to nearly everyone, and at this time a new CEO has yet to be announced. The Executive Board reportedly felt that Amelio had done all he could for Apple, and that while he had been responsible for a number of improvements at Apple, he could do no more. In the meantime Fred Anderson, Apple's CFO, has been put in charge of day-to-day operation, and Steve Jobs was given an "expanded role" at Apple for the interim.

1997-2000

Jobs' presence was known almost as quickly as NeXT was acquired. The degree of Jobs' "expanded role" soon became quite clear. With no CEO and Apple Stock lower than it had been in 5 years, there were many decisions to be made, and not much time to make them. Jobs began to make striking changes in the structure of Apple, including the canceling of the Newton spin-off. (The Newton was discontinued several months later.) The time and place for the most ground breaking announcements, however, would be MacWorld Boston in August 1997. Jobs, who by now was being referred to as "interim CEO," made the keynote speech, and spoke of the company's upcoming aggressive advertising campaign, upcoming new Macs, and Rhapsody. He also announced an almost entirely new Board of Directors, including Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle. But he saved the best for last. In a ground breaking decision, Jobs announced an alliance with Microsoft. In exchange for $150 million in Apple Stock, Microsoft and Apple would have a 5-year patent cross-license and, more importantly, a final settlement in the ongoing GUI argument. Microsoft agreed to pay an unreleased sum of additional funds to quiet the allegations that it had stolen Apple's intellectual property in designing its Windows OS. Microsoft also announced that Office '98, its popular office package, would be available for the Mac by years end. These announcements gave Apple new life, but Jobs was not finished. There was one more big obstacle to tackle: Clones. Jobs felt that Clone Vendors such as Power Computing were cutting into Apple's high-end market, where they traditionally made the most profit. Clones had failed to effectively expand the MacOS market, instead taking customers away from Apple. Jobs remedied this apparent failure of the Clone experiment by all but pulling its plug. In early Fall 1997, Apple announced its intention to buy out Power Computing's MacOS license, and much of its engineering staff. Power went out of business several months later, with Apple taking over its product support. Apple also bought out its MacOS licences from Motorola and IBM. Umax was allowed to stay in the game, but with the tacit understanding that it would fill the low-end market, with machines selling for under $1000. Umax sold its remaining inventory of Macs, and is now selling "Wintel" boxes.

On November 10, 1997, Apple held another press conference, in which Jobs announced further changes to Apple's corporate strategy. Apple would now sell computers direct, both over the web and the phone, as Power Computing had done so well in the past. Jobs also announced two new Apple machines: the PowerMac G3, and the PowerBook G3. The Apple Store was a runaway success, and within a week was the third-largest eCommerce site on the web. At MacWorld San Francisco in January, Jobs announced that Apple had, for the first time in more than a year, had a profitable First Quarter--to the tune of $44 Million. This far eclipsed analysts' projections, and sent Apple's stock back into the 20s. In April 1998, Jobs announced another profitable quarter ($57 Million), which came as a big surprise to nearly everyone. Jobs kept momentum moving, and in early May announced a new PowerBook G3, an Educational Apple Store, and an entirely new Mac design--the iMac. The iMac would be Apple's answer to the low-end consumer question, with more than enough computing power for most people, at an affordable price. Later that month, in his keynote at the WWDC, Jobs announced a dramatic shift in Apple's OS direction. Mac OS X would merge OS 8 and Rhapsody--Apple's upcoming version of NeXTStep--into one robust OS, with all the features of a modern OS and backward compatibility with most OS 8 applications. In July 1998, Jobs announced that Apple had profited for the 3rd consecutive quarter--to the tune of $101 million. This helped to push Apple's stock to several 52-week highs in just a few days. The iMac was the best-selling computer in the nation for most of the fall, and it drove Apple sales well beyond most predictions. In the fall, Jobs announced another profitable quarter, making a full year of profitability. In January 1999, Jobs announced a 5th consecutive profitable quarter, with year-over-year growth, and a sleek new PowerMac G3.

In July 1999, Steve Jobs filled the final quadrant in the "Apple Product Matrix"--The consumer portable--when he introduced the iBook. Based on the same principles that had made iMac such a hot sell a year earlier, the iBook brought style to the low-end portable market. Several months later, Jobs announced the PowerMac G4, a significant new professional desktop machine. Apple's stock had risen all summer, and by mid-September was trading at an all-time high, in the high 70s. In a dramatic Keynote at MacWorld Expo SF in January 2000, Jobs unveiled Apple's new Internet strategy: a suite of mac-only internet-based applications called "iTools" and an exclusive partnership with Earthlink as Apple's recommended ISP. Jobs also announced that he would be dropping the "interim" from his title, becoming the permanent CEO of Apple. Apple's sales continued to rise, as did the stock price, which had climbed to 130 by early March. In July 2000, Apple announced a slew of new machines, including the PowerMac G4 Cube, which added a fifth category to Apple's four-corner product strategy. The Cube was Apple's answer to those who wanted an iMac without a monitor, as well as challenge to the computing industry to continue to minimize the size of computers while increasing their visual appeal. The Cube was the biggest gamble Jobs had made since the release of the iMac. It would turn out to be a resounding failure.

2000-

The second half of 2000 was rocky for Apple. Slower sales (both for Apple and the industry as a whole), combined with a misunderstanding of the consumer market resulted in the first unprofitable quarter in three years. One factor in this decline was the G4 Cube, which sold poorly due primarily to its high price compared to Apple's other products. Another factor was Apple's decision to include DVD-ROM drives in their consumer and professional machines instead of CD-RW drives. As a result, Apple missed sales opportunities to customers who wanted to burn their own CDs. Apple began to rectify these problems in late 2000, when it cut prices on the entire PowerMac line. Apple took the next step in January of 2001, when it announced a new line of PowerMacs, with either CD-RW drives or a new "SuperDrive" which could read and write both CDs and DVDs. Apple also announced two new application: iDVD, a DVD-authoring program, and iTunes, which allowed users to encode and listen to MP3 songs, and then burn them to CDs. All this was part of Apple's new corporate strategy, developed in the face of a massive slow down in the Technology industry: Apple would take advantage of the explosion of personal electronic devices--CD-players, MP3 players, digital cameras, DVD-players, etc.--by building Mac-only applications that added value to those devices. Just as iMovie had added tremendous value to Digital Cameras, iDVD would add value to Digital Cameras and to DVD-players, and iTunes would add value to CD and MP3 players. It was Apple's hope that making the Mac the "Digital Hub" of the new "Digital Lifestyle" would revitalize Apple's sales and guarantee the long-term security of the company. In May 2001, Steve Jobs announced that Apple would be opening a number of retail stores across America, selling not only Apple computers, but various third-party "digital lifestyle" products, such as mp3 players, digital still and video cameras, and PDAs. Apple also announced a major update to the iBook line, a smaller and lighter design that borrowed heavily from the PowerBook G4. In July, Apple refreshed iMacs and G4, and "suspended production" of the G4 Cube, ending months of speculation as to how Apple would deal with the Cube's resounding failure in the marketplace.

The Fall of 2001 brought new revisions to the PowerBook G4 and iBook lines, the latter of which had sold extremely well during the summer. In late October, Apple announced its first non-computer product in several years, the iPod. The iPod was a small hard-drive-based digital music player, and represented Apple's first hardware addition to its "digital hub" strategy. At $399, the iPod faced a similar challenge to the woeful G4 Cube: it favored style and form-factor over price. Apple was taking another gamble by charging a premium for the iPod's superior design and small size. In January 2002, Apple reinvented the consumer desktop, again, when it released its flat panel iMac. It also announced iPhoto, a new software package aimed at improving the digital camera user experience. Apple rolled through the first half of 2002, showing profits through the first two quarters. Apple stumbled in the second half of 2002, however, largely due to macroeconomic conditions. With fewer PC purchases being made, Apple scrambled to keep itself fresh in a shrinking marketplace. In June, Apple introduced its "Switchers" ad campain, which would grow to be one of the most popular and successfull of Apple's history. Based on non-scripted monologues of real people, the Switchers campain made the strongest case yet for Macs in a PC world. In July 2002, Steve Jobs announced that the free iTools service would be rolled into a new subscription-based "dotMac" service. Combined with the newly announced iCal and iSync, dotMac was aimed at futher centralizing the Mac in the high-tech lifestyle. In January 2003, Apple released iLife, a bundled software package that included iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD, for $50. (all but iDVD could be freely downloaded from Apple's site), in a play to further push the digital-hub concept into the consumer space. Apple's financial troubles continued throughout 2002. In October, it announced a quarterly loss of $45 million, due to weak PowerBook and PowerMac sales. In 2003, however, Apple began to recover, and to build for the future. In January, Apple announced two new PowerBook G4 models, a 12" model similar to existing 12" iBooks, and a giant, wide-screen 17" model, aimed squarely at the graphic design market. Apple also announced that it would be shipping its own Web Browser, Safari, in an apparent attempt to depend less on Microsoft for what was widely believed to be an inferior product.

The new PowerBooks sold well, and sales of flat panel iMacs remained steady, but Apple was still in trouble in the professional desktop market. Motorola's development and production of the G4-family of processors continued to lag well behind Apple's expectations. It appeared that the G4 processor had hit a dead end. Apple worked to remedy the situation by developing a new processor with IBM, and in June 2003 came to fruition with the release of the PowerMac G5. The G5 chip, based on IBM's Power4 chip, was a 64-bit processor, meaning it could address more memory and process larger numbers than its 32-bit G4 cousin. The PowerMac G5 represented a hugh shift for Apple, who redesigned the motherboard and case from scratch. Unlike the PowerMac G4, which was based strongly on existing G3 hardware, the G5 was all new, and fast. Though supplies were constrained, the G5 sold well and did much to improve Apple's bottom line. Meanwhile, the iPod was beginning to take off. In April of 2003, Apple unveiled the iTunes Music Store, which would sell individual songs through the iTunes application, for 99 cents each. These songs could be played only on Macs or iPods, but Apple felt that by offering an easy to use, no-nonsense music service, it could make significant inroads to the digital music market. Apple did their homework: when announced, the iTunes Music Store already had the backing of the five major record labels, and a catalog of more than 200,000 songs. In October 2003, Apple released iTunes for Windows. While the iPod had been available for Windows for some time, it had used third-party software which failed to provide the unique user experience that iTunes/iPod integration allowed. With the release of a stable, user-friendly Windows version of iTunes, which included both iPod and Music Store integration, Apple was poised to take the digital music industry by storm. Apple cemented its position with the January 2004 release of the iPod mini, which while smaller in capacity than the original iPod, was smaller than many cellphones. In the first year alone, the iTunes Music Store sold more than 70 million songs, and by July this number had increased to more than 100 million. The iTunes Music Store had a 70% market share among all legal online music download services. iPods had moved from expensive toys to must-have Christmas presents, and Apple found itself in the position of having a monopoly for the first time in several decades.

[Kaynak: bilkom.com.tr, apple-history.com]