Macintosh

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For other uses, see Macintosh (disambiguation) and Mac.
The Macintosh 128K, the first Macintosh, was the first commercially successful personal computer to use images, rather than text, to communicate.
The Macintosh 128K, the first Macintosh, was the first commercially successful personal computer to use images, rather than text, to communicate.
The early-2008 revision of the iMac is Apple's newest Macintosh Computer.
The early-2008 revision of the iMac is Apple's newest Macintosh Computer.

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.

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. Apple consolidated multiple, consumer-level desktop models into the 1998 iMac all-in-one, which sold extremely well and saw the brand name revitalized. 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.

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. Apple exclusively produces Mac hardware, choosing internal systems, designs, and prices. Apple does use third party components, however; current Macintosh CPUs use Intel's x86 architecture. Previous models used the AIM alliance's PowerPC and early models used Motorola's 68k. Apple also develops the operating system for Macs, currently Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard". This is in contrast to most IBM compatible PCs, where multiple vendors create hardware intended to run another company's software. 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.

Contents

[edit] History

See also: History of Apple

[edit] 1979 to 1984: Development

Part of the original Macintosh design team, as seen on the cover of Revolution in the Valley.Left to right: George Crow, Joanna Hoffman, Burrell Smith, Andy Hertzfeld, a Macintosh, Bill Atkinson, Jerry Manock.
Part of the original Macintosh design team, as seen on the cover of Revolution in the Valley.
Left to right: George Crow, Joanna Hoffman, Burrell Smith, Andy Hertzfeld, a Macintosh, Bill Atkinson, Jerry Manock.

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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.[1]

The original 1984 Mac OS desktop featured a radically new graphical user interface. 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.
The original 1984 Mac OS desktop featured a radically new graphical user interface. 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.

The design caught the attention of Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple. 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. 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.[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.

[edit] 1984: Introduction

This television commercial, which aired during the Super Bowl, launched the original Macintosh.
This television commercial, which aired during the Super Bowl, launched the original Macintosh.

The Macintosh 128k was announced to the press in October 1983, followed by an 18-page brochure included with various magazines in December.[5] Its debut, however, was announced by a single national broadcast of the now famous US$1.5 million television commercial, "1984." 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."[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). [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."

For a special post-election edition of Newsweek in November 1984, Apple spent more than US$2.5 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).[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. Although the Mac garnered an immediate, enthusiastic following, it was too radical for some, who labeled it a mere "toy." 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. In April 1984 Microsoft's MultiPlan migrated over from MS-DOS, followed by Microsoft Word in January 1985.[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.[14] Apple introduced Macintosh Office the same year with the lemmings ad, infamous for insulting potential customers. It was not successful.[11]

[edit] 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. Initially, desktop publishing was unique to the Macintosh, but eventually became available for IBM PC users as well. 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.

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. 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. 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. Its floppy drive was increased to an 800 KB capacity. 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.[15]

The Macintosh II, one of the first expandable Macintosh models.
The Macintosh II, one of the first expandable Macintosh models.

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. 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. In August 1987 Apple unveiled HyperCard, and introduced MultiFinder, which added cooperative multitasking to the Macintosh. 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 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.

In 1987, Apple spun off its software business as Claris. It was given the code and rights to several applications that had been written within Apple, notably MacWrite, MacPaint, and MacProject. 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. 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. 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. It was available from 1989 to 1991 and could run System 6 and System 7.
The Macintosh Portable was Apple's first portable Macintosh. It was available from 1989 to 1991 and could run System 6 and System 7.

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. 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.[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. 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"). 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). System 7 was the first Macintosh operating system to support 32-bit addressing.[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.[24] The following year the Macintosh IIfx, starting at US$9,900, was unveiled. 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.[25]

[edit] 1990 to 1998: Growth and decline

The Macintosh Classic, Apple's early 1990s budget model.
The Macintosh Classic, Apple's early 1990s budget model.

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. 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 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.[27] The Macintosh IIsi, essentially a 20 MHz IIci with only one expansion slot, cost US$2500.[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 was the first major upgrade of the Macintosh operating system.

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. Later that year, Apple introduced the Macintosh Quadra 700[30] and 900,[31] the first Macs to employ the faster Motorola 68040 processor. 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.[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.[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.
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.

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.[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.[36]

In 1992, Apple started to sell a low-end Mac, the Performa, through nontraditional dealers. 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.[37] Apple also unveiled the miniaturized PowerBook Duo range. 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.

Also in 1994, Apple abandoned Motorola CPUs for the RISC PowerPC architecture developed by the AIM alliance of Apple Computer, IBM, and Motorola.[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.[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. These significantly enhanced the multimedia capability and performance of IBM PC compatible computers, and brought Windows still closer to the Mac GUI. In response, Apple started the Macintosh clone program, by which third-parties manufactured hardware to run Apple's System 7. 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. 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.[40]

[edit] 1998 to 2005: New beginnings

The original "Bondi Blue" iMac G3, introduced in 1998. 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.
The original "Bondi Blue" iMac G3, introduced in 1998. 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. Its translucent plastic case, originally Bondi blue and later many other colors, is considered an industrial design hallmark of the late 1990s. The iMac did away with most Apple standard (and usually proprietary) connections, such as SCSI and ADB, in favor of two USB ports. 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.[42] The "blue and white" aesthetic was applied to the Power Macintosh, and then to a new product: the iBook. 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 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. 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.

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 v10.5 "Leopard" is the latest in the long line of Macintosh operating systems, including numerous functionality and appearance changes.

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 2.0 in Mac OS 8.6)[46]—made a replacement necessary. 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 was not released to the public until September 2000, as the Mac OS X Public Beta, with an Aqua interface. 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. 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"). 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). The Intel version of Leopard received certification as a Unix implementation by The Open Group.

[edit] 2006 onward: Intel era

The MacBook Pro is the first Mac notebook to use an Intel processor. It was released at Macworld 2006.
The MacBook Pro is the first Mac notebook to use an Intel processor. It was released at Macworld 2006.
The MacBook Air, Apple's latest Mac, dubbed "The world's thinnest notebook". It was released at Macworld 2008.
The MacBook Air, Apple's latest Mac, dubbed "The world's thinnest notebook". It was released at Macworld 2008.

Partially because of a failure to produce laptop-ready G5 chips, Apple discontinued the use of PowerPC microprocessors in 2006. All new Macs now use x86 processors made by Intel, and some Macs were given new names to signify the switch. Intel-based Macs can run pre-existing PowerPC-based software using an emulator called Rosetta, although at noticeably slower speeds than native programs. 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. In March 2006, a group of hackers announced that they were able to run Windows XP on an Intel-based Mac. 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. 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. 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. 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.[49]

Timeline of Macintosh models

Main article: Timeline of Macintosh models

See also: Timeline of Apple II Family

[edit] Product line

Main article: Comparison of Macintosh models
Ultracompact Consumer Professional
Desktop Mac mini
The Mac mini
Entry-level; ships without keyboard, mouse, or monitor; uses Intel Core 2 Duo processors		 iMac
The iMac
All-in-one; available in 20" and 24" screen sizes; uses Intel Core 2 Duo processors		 Mac Pro
The Mac Pro
Workstation desktop; highly customizable with dual processors; uses up to two quad-core Intel Xeon processors
Portable
(MacBook)		 MacBook Air
The MacBook Air
13.3" ultraportable with aluminum casing; uses Intel Core 2 Duo processors		 MacBook
The white MacBook
13.3" laptop with polycarbonate casing; available in black and white; uses Intel Core 2 Duo processors		 MacBook Pro
The MacBook Pro
15.4" or 17" models with aluminum casing; uses Intel Core 2 Duo processors
Server n/a Xserve
The Xserve
1U rack-mount; uses dual quad-core Intel Xeon processors for up to 8 cores

[edit] Hardware and software

[edit] Hardware

The internals of the original 20-inch iMac G5. Many hardware components can be seen.
The internals of the original 20-inch iMac G5. 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. By contrast, most other companies (including Microsoft) create software that can be run on a variety of third-party hardware. The current Mac product family uses Intel x86 processors. All Mac models ship with at least 1 GB RAM as standard. 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. Macs include two standard data transfer ports: USB and FireWire. 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. 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.[50]

Until 2005, Mac computers have shipped with a single-button mouse, largely because surveys showed users did not know which button to use.[citation needed] 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. 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.

[edit] 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. It used a desktop metaphor, depicting real-world objects like documents and a trashcan as icons onscreen. The System software introduced in 1984 with the first Macintosh and renamed Mac OS in 1997, continued to evolve until version 9.2.2. In 2001, Apple introduced Mac OS X, based on Darwin and NEXTSTEP; its new features included the Dock and the Aqua user interface. The most recent version is Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard". 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.

Mac OS X enjoys a near-absence of the types of malware and spyware that affect Microsoft Windows users.[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. A BIOS compatibility module for Intel-based Macs allows users to run Windows natively. 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. 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.

[edit] Advertising

Main article: Apple Inc. advertising

Macintosh advertisements have usually attacked the established market leader, directly or indirectly. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

[edit] Market share and demographics

Since the introduction of the Macintosh, Apple has struggled to gain a significant share of the personal computer market. 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.[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.[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. 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.[78]

[edit] See also

Apple Inc. Portal

[edit] References

[edit] Footnotes

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  2. ^ Hertzfeld, Andy. The father of the Macintosh. Folklore.org. Retrieved on April 24, 2006.
  3. ^ Horn, Bruce. On Xerox, Apple and Progress. Folklore.org. Retrieved on February 3, 2007.
  4. ^ Tracy, Ed. History of computer design: Snow White. Landsnail.com. Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  5. ^ Apple Macintosh 18 Page Brochure. DigiBarn Computer Museum. Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  6. ^ Apple's 1984: The Introduction of the Macintosh in the Cultural History of Personal Computers
  7. ^ Apple's '1984' Super Bowl commercial still stands as watershed event
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  10. ^ 1984 Newsweek Macintosh ads. GUIdebook, Newsweek. Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  11. ^ a b Hormby, Thomas (2006-10-02). Apple's Worst Business Decisions. OS News. Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
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  19. ^ Mac SE at LowEndMac
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  33. ^ Macintosh LC II: Technical Specifications. Apple Inc. (2007-06-13). Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  34. ^ Kunkel, Paul (1). AppleDesign: The work of the Apple Industrial Design Group, Rick English (photographs), New York City: Graphis. ISBN 1888001259. 
  35. ^ Polsson, Ken. Chronology of Apple Computer Personal Computers. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
  36. ^ Jade, Kasper (2007-02-16). Apple to re-enter the sub-notebook market. AppleInsider. Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
  37. ^ Apple Computer (1995-06-19). Macintosh Centris, Quadra 660AV: Description (Discontinued). Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
  38. ^ Hormby, Thomas (2005-01-03). Apple's Transition to PowerPC put in perspective. Kaomso. Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
  39. ^ Polsson, Ken (2007-12-16). Chronology of Apple Computer Personal Computers. Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
  40. ^ Knight, Dan (2007-08-30). 1997: Apple Squeezes Mac Clones Out of the Market. Low End Mac. Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
  41. ^ 800,000 iMacs Sold in First 139 Days. Apple Inc. (1999-01-05). Retrieved on 2007-12-23.
  42. ^ Markoff, John (1998-10-15). COMPANY REPORTS; Apple's First Annual Profit Since 1995. New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-12-23.
  43. ^ Apple Averages Three Thousand iBooks Per Day In Pre-orders!. The Mac Observer (1999-08-31). Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
  44. ^ PC Data Ranks iBook Number One Portable in U.S.. Apple Inc. (2000-01-25). Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
  45. ^ Markoff, John; Hansell, Saul (2005-01-12). "Apple Changes Course With Low-Priced Mac". New York Times. Retrieved on 2006-01-16.
  46. ^ Apple Developer Connection - Compatibility with Older System Software. Apple Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-11-17.
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  50. ^ Apple Introduces the New iMac G5. Apple Inc. (2005-10-12). Retrieved on 2006-07-12.
  51. ^ Apple Introduces Mighty Mouse. Apple Inc. (August 2, 2005). Retrieved on 2006-07-12.
  52. ^ Apple Debuts Wireless Mighty Mouse. Apple Inc. (2006-07-25). Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
  53. ^ Welch, John (2007-01-06). Review: Mac OS X Shines In Comparison With Windows Vista. Information Week. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
  54. ^ Granneman, Scott (2003-10-06). Linux vs. Windows Viruses. The Register. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
  55. ^ Gruber, John (2004-06-04). Broken Windows. Daring Fireball. Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  56. ^ Eazel, William (2006-02-17). Mac OS X: The new target. SC Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
  57. ^ Roberts, Paul (2006-02-21). New Safari Flaw, Worms Turn Spotlight on Apple Security. eWeek. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
  58. ^ OSX/Leap-A Worm. Sophos. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
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  71. ^ Spero, Ricky (2004-07-14). Apple Posts Profit of $61 million; Revenue Jumps 30 Percent. The Mac Observer.
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