Some companies seem to have a knack for revolutionizing any market that they enter. They produce innovative new products that sell in huge numbers, change people's expectations and become world famous. In the movie world, for example, you may know Pixar and Dreamworks. Online, you are probably familiar with the Google and Facebook. In the computer world, there is one name that instantly comes to mind. That company is Apple.
The beginning of Apple is a legendary story. In 1976, twenty-one year old Steve Jobs started the company from his family home in California. He worked with computer scientist Steve Wozinak, and businessman Ronald Wayne, to develop, build, and market a personal computer, their first product. These first computers were not very slick or professional, but they were definitely innovative. The Apple I was the first low-cost computer system to have built-in video capabilities. This means it was able to display its output on a TV screen. Following the success of Apple I, Apple launched a second computer in 1977. This model came with its own monitor and keyboard and was called the Apple II increased when it was chosen as the platform for the first spreadsheet program, called VisiCalc. This made the Apple II popular with business users as well.
Apple's next innovative success came in January 1984 when it released the Apple Macintosh. It was the first commercially successful computer to feature a mouse and a graphical user interface (GUI). Before the Macintosh, computer users operated their computer by typing instructions on a keyboard. Now they could operate their computer by pointing and clicking on the GUI with a mouse The Macintosh inspired many similar operating system, including Microsoft Windows.
Visionary founder, Steve Jobs, left Apple in 1985 and the company's reputation for innovation seemed to leave with him. However, when Jobs returned to his old job in 1996, he quickly revitalized the company. Most people are familiar with Apple’s success since Job’s return. Starting in 1998 and continuing to the present day, Apple has release several new and very popular production including the iMac (1998), the iPod (2001), the iPhone (2007), and finally the iPad (2010). All these products combined stylish good looks with a powerful, simple to use, operating system – a combination that is very popular with customers. These days, Apple’s reputation for innovation is second to none.