VOL 41: Apple Inc. History, Apple-II Launch, Xerox PARC and the Lisa.-4
VOL 41: Apple Inc. History, Apple-II Launch, Xerox PARC and the Lisa.-4
History of Apple: The story of Steve Jobs and the company he founded
Hey Friends 🤓,
Trust you all had a great week 🤗?
This is the 4th post in a blog series on Apple Inc. History. Our comprehensive history of Apple will take you from its humble beginnings in the 1970s to Jobs' departure and subsequent return to Apple. Join us in following the Apple story!
Today at a Glance:
Quote of the WeekApple-IIThe first app on an Apple computer: VisicalcApple IIIXerox PARC and the LisaPast Greats 👴Business & StartupsRandom FactsTweet of the Week
Apple-II
Wozniak moved on from the Apple-I and began designing a greatly improved computer: the Apple II. By August 1976, Wozniak had completed a working prototype of the new machine.
It was a revolutionary machine, much like the Apple computer before it. It included colour graphics and housed its electronics inside a plastic case. At Jobs' request, programmers began developing applications for the Apple II.
More than 15,000 applications were soon available for the machine. This was the first mass-produced personal computer, and it catapulted Apple to new heights of success. The company also secured $600,000 venture funding under the management of Mike Markkula, who is now Apple’s chairman.
On April 16 and 17, 1977, the two Steves unveiled the Apple II computer to the public at the first West Coast Computer Faire. On the first day of the exhibition, Jobs showed the Apple II to a Japanese chemist named Toshio Mizushima, who went on to become Japan's first authorized Apple dealer.
In the May 1977 issue of Byte, Wozniak said of the Apple II design, "To me, a personal computer should be small, reliable, convenient to use, and inexpensive.
The Apple II was one of the three computers known as the "1977 Trinity" that are widely credited with establishing the home computer market (the other two being the Commodore PET and the Tandy Corporation TRS-80). Following that, a variety of Apple II models were produced, which remained in public use for nearly two decades. The Apple II series sold approximately six million units before being discontinued in 1993.
Yes, the Apple II was a true innovation, and Walter Isaacson, Jobs' biographer, credits it with launching the personal computer industry. Wozniak deserves historical credit for designing its awe-inspiring circuit board and operating system, which was a huge accomplishment at the time.
The problem was that the specifications alone weren't enough to justify the Apple II's $1,300 price tag. Business users needed a reason to dip into their IT budgets, and it took a few months for the perfect reason to present itself.
The first app on an Apple computer: Visicalc
In 1979, the Apple II was chosen to be the desktop platform for the first "killer app" of the business world: VisiCalc, a spreadsheet. So important that it was only available on the Apple II.
The application established a business market for the computer and provided an additional reason for home users to purchase it, attracting new influential investors at the time. Prior to VisiCalc, Apple was a distant third-place rival to Commodore and Tandy.
VisiCalc was introduced in 1979 as "a magical sheet of paper that can perform calculations and recalculations. For VisiCalc, the future wasn’t so bright, largely because its developers weren’t quick enough to address the exploding PC market.
Rival Lotus, another software company stepped in, and it quickly became the business standard. It acquired Software Arts, the developer of VisiCalc, in 1985 and remained top dog until Microsoft did to it what Lotus had done to VisiCalc – it usurped it with a rival that established a new digital order. That rival was Excel.
Apple III
The Apple II sales rose dramatically from 2,500 units in 1977 to 210,000 in 1981. Apple was now a real company with a dozen employees, it had moved out of the Jobs family garage into a rented office in Cupertino.
But Jobs already knew the Apple II would not remain successful forever, he wanted a product in his words, that would;
“make a dent in the universe.”
The Apple III was designed to take on the business environment in an attempt to compete with IBM in the business and corporate computing market.
When the Apple III began shipping in May 1980, with a retail price ranging from $4,340 to $7,800, it flopped big time. Jobs did not want the computer to have a fan; instead, he wanted the heat generated by the electronics to be dissipated through the machine's chassis, eliminating the need for a cooling fan.
The physical design of the case, however, was insufficient to keep the components inside cool. The Apple III overheated easily because it lacked a fan. Hundreds of thousands of Apple III computers were recalled. To address the issues, a new model was introduced in 1983.
Xerox PARC and the Lisa
Apple has never been slow to innovate, and note that we’re approaching the eighties in our trip through the company’s history and we’re at the point where it’s followed up with the company’s staff visit to Xerox PARC, a company established in 1970 to create a spawning ground for digital ideas.
I'm sure most of us have heard of or seen the movie "Pirates of Silicon Valley," which depicts the rivalry between the founders of Apple and Microsoft.
One of my favourite quote in the movie was said by the Anthony Michael who played Bill Gates, in describing Jobs's early success, he said;
“Success is a menace, it fools smart people into thinking they can’t lose.”
While Jobs and Gates were indisputably brilliant men, the movie claim they did not invent much of the technology that is widely attributed to them.
We’ll continue from here next week.
N.B: Some of these texts and quotes are from Steve Jobs's biography by Walter Isaacson.
PAST GREATS
FRANCIS BACON (1561 - 1626)
Sir Francis Bacon was a late Renaissance English philosopher, statesman, essayist, and scientist who is widely regarded as the first philosopher of modern science. He wrote a number of classic papers on religion, law, state, science, and politics.
He established the methodological foundation for the Scientific Revolution by rejecting the Aristotelian deductive reasoning taught in universities and introducing the inductive method of reasoning, in which the premises are viewed as supplying some evidence for the truth of the conclusion, as opposed to deductivism and generalizations over insufficient empirical data.
His method combined the process of carefully observing nature with a systematic accumulation of data. His book “Novum Organum” lays the foundation for the modern scientific method,
Bacon is also known as the father of empiricism. Under King James, he played a crucial role in the British colonization of North America, he was elevated to the House of Lords (as Baron Verulam) and became Lord Chancellor in 1618.
The philosophy of Sir Francis Bacon emphasized examination over speculation and set to explain science with tangible proof instead of pure logic. He said;
“Knowledge is the rich storehouse for the glory of the Creator and the relief of man’s estate.”
Business & Startups
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Random Facts
There are more than 590,000 tech companies in the United States.
Tweet of The Week
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