Today, it is hard to believe that an experimental personal computer created by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1975 was rejected for commercial futility. After all, this is something without which it is difficult to imagine the modern world thanks to the now huge corporation called "Apple", once created in an ordinary garage by the same two Steves, young talented engineers.
"Yabloko" - a new word in the world of computers
The date of foundation of the Apple company is considered to be April 1, 1976, when it was officially registered. Curiously, the world's largest computer and other personal technology firm was founded on April Fools' Day, reflecting the eccentric nature of its creator, Steve Jobs.
While preparing to present the first computer model, which his close friend Steve Wozniak helped him create, to the management of Hewlett-Packard, Jobs did not expect that it would cause unflattering reviews, but he did not abandon his idea. To release his brainchild, he founded the Apple company. This name was chosen for two reasons. First, Steve ate only fruit, his favorite being the apple. Secondly, in the telephone directory, it went ahead of all possible competitors.
The third in the company of young engineers was Ron Wein, then at Atari. The guys were both developers and assemblers, as well as a delivery, advertising and sales service. The latter was the most difficult of all. Jobs called almost every store in his city of Cupertino, California, but eventually found a customer. It was Paul Terrell, who went down in history as the first and last boss of Steve Jobs.
For the sale of the Apple I, Jobs himself set the price at $ 666.66. This computer did not yet look like modern personal computers, it was just a connection of several boards, to which it was still necessary to connect power, a monitor and a keyboard. The first batch of goods consisted of 50 units. On the 12th day of the company's existence, Ron Wayne left, and the two Steves were left alone again. To get all the necessary parts and be on time, the guys ran into a lot of debts and worked literally 24 hours a day.
A total of 600 Apple I computers were sold and, inspired by the rapid sales, young engineers embarked on a new Apple II project, which appeared in the form that is known to everyone today - dressed in a molded plastic case, with a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Despite the sales success, big businessmen were in no hurry to finance the project, but tireless Jobs managed to find venture capitalist Mike Markulu, who invested about 100,000 of his own money in the young company and provided it with a line of credit at Bank of America for $ 250,000.
Apple revolution
The success of "Apple II" did not subside for 20 years, each new batch was sold out in a matter of days. In 1997, Apple accounted for more than 20% of all computers used by Americans. In 1983, the company introduced the Macintosh to the world, which again revolutionized people's understanding of computers and whose technologies were adopted by other companies. In 1984, the famous operating system Mac OS was released, which had such a user-friendly interface that even an absolutely inexperienced beginner could master it in just 10 minutes.
In the mid-90s, Apple ceased to be just a computer company. She began to produce cameras, in particular, the first soap dishes, and other equipment. Unfortunately, by this time the then management had serious disagreements with Steve Jobs and he left the company. By that time, there was no other founder in it - Steve Wozniak. By the end of the 90s, the business of the company went into a significant recession, which was liquidated only thanks to the return of Jobs.
In 2001, Apple released another famous novelty - the iPod. In 2003, iTunesStore, one of the most popular online audio and video stores, was opened. In 2006 and 2008, dedicated users were once again rewarded for their expectations with the launch of the MacBook Pro professional notebooks and the ultra-thin MacBook Airs. In 2007, the company pleasantly surprised fans of mobile phones by presenting them with a very convenient touchscreen smartphone iPhone. 2010 saw the release of the iPad, a super-efficient tablet computer.
In 2011, Steve Jobs, the main ideological inspirer and creator of Apple, was gone. He passed away after an 8-year battle with pancreatic cancer. However, the company continues to maintain its leading position in the world of technology. So, in 2012, it finally broke the record of the most important competitor to Microsoft, becoming the most valuable company in history. In addition, its market value exceeded the combined value of Google and Microsoft combined.
