History of Panasonic

panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Under this brand Matsushita sells plasma display panels, DVD players, telephones, microwave ovens, projectors, digital cameras, laptop computers (under the sub-brand Toughbook), portable CD and analog tape decks and home stereo equipment, all of which are marketed under their slogan "Ideas for Life."

Introduction

The brand Panasonic was created by Matsushita in 1955 for the US, Canada and Mexico because the National brand was already registered by others. The Panasonic brand was created from the elements "pan" meaning "all" combined with "sonic" meaning "sound", because it was first used for audio equipment.

Based on 2004 annual sales of electronics, Matsushita is the largest Japanese electronics maker ahead of Hitachi. Within the category of white goods, Matsushita is the world’s largest manufacturer. In the past, due to its imitation tactics Matsushita has been ridiculed in Japan as "Maneshita" ("mane" means imitation), but in fact Matsushita does vast amounts of its own product planning, research and development.

Including its related companies, Matsushita has developed a wide variety of enterprises, centering on home electronics, industrial equipment, and telecommunications equipment. Though not widely advertised before, in recent years its notebook computer line (Toughbook) has gained popularity and commercials for it are being aired on television. Other brand names associated with Panasonic include its Viera televisions and Lumix digital cameras.

The companys management style and corporate culture have been often compared to that of competitor Sony. When Sony is doing well, the number of books that praise Sony management increases, when conditions reverse, then more books that praise Panasonic management style are displayed in bookstores. Regardless of favorable sales and conditions, Sony and Panasonic are often viewed as rivals. This view probably arose from the videotape format wars between VHS (supported by Panasonic) and Betamax (supported by Sony).The largest direct competition between Sony and Panasonic is currently in the segment of audio products; Panasonic is also considered as Sony’s rival in sales of flat panel TVs, digital cameras and DVD recorders – areas where Panasonic is focusing its production, marketing and sales efforts. In contrast, Sony has recently diversified into the cinema, video game, and financial areas, whereas Panasonics whitegoods have no competition from Sony.

Matsushitas current corporate strategy is to seek cooperation and joint ventures in the development of certain technologies (such as LCDs), while continuing to compete against other companies such as Toshiba, Hitachi and Minebea to become the benchmark for Japanese electronics.

Automobile Audio

Panasonic sells radio (audio) products for automobiles and light trucks in the US market under the Panasonic brand (aftermarket) and as OEM equipment in automobile brands such as the Toyota Corolla. The primary examples of the OEM Radios are the Toyota Corolla single CD AM/FM radio labeled A51813 and the six disc changer AM/FM radio labeled A51814.

Panasonic Corporation of North America

Panasonic Corporation of North America is the name for the American branch of Matsushita. It was known as Matsushita Electric Corporation of America (MECA) prior to 2005.

Panasonic Corporation in Europe

Shop@Panasonic

Shop@Panasonic is a chain of stores in the United Kingdom which sells only Panasonic electronics. The store is based on the same structure as Sony Centre. The stores are usually located in shopping centres such as Centrale, and brand itself the official Panasonic retailer. The stores along with Sony Centre are usually overwhelmed by other eletronic stores on the high street such as Currys.digital, and are often despited as overpriced, although this is mainly because as it sells only Panasonic items which are mainly upstream, however they tend to be the recommended retail price.

Panasonic Avionics Corporation

Panasonic Avionics Corporation (PAC) is the worlds leading supplier of in-flight entertainment (IFE) and communication systems. Headquartered in Lake Forest, California where engineering, development and testing is performed while system installation, field engineering, major quality functions, certification and program management are performed at the Bothell, Washington facility - Panasonic Avionics Corporation employs approximately 2,800 employees based in over 70 locations worldwide, with major facilities in London, Toulouse, Hamburg, Dallas, Dubai and Singapore. A majority of the component manufacturing is carried out in Osaka, Japan.

The company provides airline passengers with a wide array of interactive applications at their seats, combining entertainment (digital music and movies on demand, games, interactive moving maps, satellite TV, and online shopping) with business tools (E-mail, live flight schedules, and in-flight internet access). PAC is also one of the chief suppliers to both Boeing and Airbus and their IFE systems will be featured on both the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A380 aircraft.

Among the many worldwide customers that use PAC systems are award-winning airlines such as Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.

Panasonic Avionics Corporation is a subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation of North America (PNA).

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History of DELL

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL SEHK: 4331), an American computer-hardware company based in Round Rock, Texas, develops, manufactures, sells and supports personal computers, servers, data storage devices, network switches, personal digital assistants (PDAs), software, televisions, computer peripherals and other technology-related products. As of 2006, Dell employed more than 78,700 people worldwide. Formerly holding a substantial lead in sales of PCs and of servers^{[citation needed]}, the company recently slipped behind Hewlett-Packard (HP) in these markets.

In 2006, Fortune magazine ranked Dell as the 25th-largest company in the Fortune 500 list, 8th on its annual Top 20 list of the most-admired companies in the United States. A 2006 publication identified Dell as one of 38 high-performance companies in the S&P 500, which consistently out-performed the market over the previous 15 years.

History

Michael Dell, the founder, chairman and CEO of Dell.

Origins and evolution

While a student at the University of Texas at Austin in 1984, Michael Dell founded the company as PCs Limited with just $1000^[2]. Operating from Michael Dells off-campus dorm room at Dobie Center [6], the startup aimed to sell IBM-compatible computers built from stock components. Michael Dell started trading in the belief that by selling personal computer systems directly to customers, PCs Limited could better understand customers needs and provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those needs. Michael Dell dropped out of school in order to focus full-time on his fledgling business.

In 1985, the company produced the first computer of its own design (the "Turbo PC"), which contained an Intel 8088-compatible processor running at a speed of 8 MHz. PCs Limited advertised the systems in national computer magazines for sale directly to consumers, and custom-assembled each ordered unit according to a selection of options. This offered buyers prices lower than those of retail brands, but with greater convenience than assembling the components themselves. Although not the first company to use this model, PCs Limited became one of the first to succeed with it. The company grossed more than $73 million in its first year.

In 1989, PCs Limited set up its first on-site-service programs in order to compensate for the lack of local retailers prepared to act as service centers. Also in 1987, the company set up its first operations in the United Kingdom; eleven more international operations followed within the next four years. In June 1988, Dells market capitalization grew by $30 million to $80 million from its initial public offering of 3.5 million shares at $8.50 a share. The company changed its name to "Dell Computer Corporation" in 1988.

In 1990, Dell Computer Corporation tried selling its products indirectly through warehouse-clubs and computer-superstores, but met with little success, and the company re-focused on its more successful direct-to-consumer sales model. In 1992, Fortune magazine included Dell Computer Corporation in its list of the worlds 500 largest companies.

In 1996, Dell began selling computers via its web site.

In 1999, Dell overtook Compaq to become the largest seller of personal computers in the United States of America with $25 billion in revenue reported in January 2000.

In 2002, Dell attempted to expand by tapping into the multimedia and home-entertainment markets with the introduction of televisions, handhelds, and digital audio players. Dell has also produced Dell-brand printers for home and small-office use.

In 2003, at the annual company meeting, the stockholders approved changing the company name to "Dell Inc." to recognize the companys expansion beyond computers.

In 2004, the company announced that it would build a new assembly-plant near Winston-Salem, North Carolina; the city and county provided Dell with $37.2 million in incentive packages; the state provided approximately $250 million in incentives and tax breaks. In July, Michael Dell stepped aside as Chief Executive Officer while retaining his position as Chairman of the Board. Kevin B. Rollins, who had held a number of executive posts at Dell, was appointed the new CEO.

In 2005, the share of sales coming from international markets increased, as revealed in the companys press releases for the first two quarters of its fiscal 2005 year. In February 2005 Dell appeared in first place in a ranking of the "Most Admired Companies" published by Fortune magazine. In November 2005 BusinessWeek magazine published an article titled "Its Bad to Worse at Dell" about shortfalls in projected earnings and sales, with a worse-than-predicted third-quarter financial performance — a bad omen for a company that had routinely underestimated its earnings. Dell acknowledged that faulty capacitors on the motherboards of the Optiplex GX270 and GX280 had already cost the company $300 million. The CEO, Kevin Rollins, attributed the bad performance partially to Dells focus on low-end PCs.

In 2006, Dell purchased the computer hardware manufacturer Alienware. Dell Inc.s plan anticipated Alienware continuing to operate independently under its existing management. Alienware expected to benefit from Dells efficient manufacturing system.

On January 31, 2007, Kevin B. Rollins, CEO of the company since 2004, resigned abruptly as both CEO and as a director, and Michael Dell returned as CEO. Investors and many shareholders had called for Rollins resignation because of poor company performance. At the same time, the company announced that, for the fourth time in five quarters, earnings would fail to reach consensus analyst-estimates.

In February 2007, Dell became the subject of formal investigations by the US SEC and the US Attorney General for the Southern District of New York. The company has not formally filed financial reports for either the third or fourth fiscal quarter of 2006, and several class action lawsuits in the wake of its recent financial performance. The companys lack of formal financial disclosure would normally subject the company to de-listing from the NASDAQ, but the exchange has granted Dell a waiver, allowing the stock to trade normally.

On 1 March, 2007, the company issued a preliminary quarterly earnings report which showed gross sales of $14.4 billion, down 5% year-over-year, and net income of $687 million (30 cents per share), down 33%. Net earnings would have declined even more if not for the effects of eliminated employee bonuses, which accounted for six cents per share. NASDAQ extended the companys deadline for filing financials to May 4.

Dell and AMD

On August 17, 2006, a Dell press-release stated that starting in September 2006, Dell Dimension desktop computers would have AMD processors and that later in the year Dell would release a two-socket, multi-processor server using AMD Opteron processors, moving away from using Dells traditional Intel processors.

CNets News.com on August 17, 2006 cited Dells CEO Kevin Rollins as attributing the move to AMD processors to cost-advantage and to AMD technology. AMDs senior VP in commercial business, Marty Seyer, stated: "Dells wider embrace of AMD processor-based offerings is a win for Dell, for the industry and most importantly for Dell customers."

On October 23, 2006, Dell announced two new AMD-based servers — the PowerEdge 6950 and the PowerEdge SC1435 — marking its entry into the AMD-based server market.

On November 1, 2006, Dells website began offering notebooks with AMD processors (the Inspiron 1501 with a 15.4" display) with the choice of a single-core MK-36 processor, dual-core Turion X2 chips or Mobile Sempron.

Dell and desktop Linux

First attempt in 2000

In 1998, Ralph Nader asked Dell (and 5 other major OEMs) to offer alternate operating systems to Microsoft Windows, specifically including Linux, for which "there is clearly a growing interest" Dell started offering Linux notebook systems which "cost no more than their Windows 98 counterparts" in 2000, and soon expanded, with Dell becoming "the first major manufacturer to offer Linux across its full product line"But by early 2001 Dell had "disbanded its Linux business unit".

The reason(s) for such a quick reversal remain the subject of debate. Court documents accused Microsoft of coercing OEMs to drop Linux:

Microsoft executive Joachim Kempin described his plan of retaliation and coercion to shut down competition from Linux: "I am thinking of hitting the OEM harder than in the past with anti-Linux actions" and will "further try to restrict source code deliveries where possible and be less gracious when interpreting agreements — again without being obvious about it," continuing "this will be a delicate dance"^[15]

While in a 2003 interview Michael Dell denied that Microsoft pressured Dell Inc. into doing an about-face with regard to desktop Linux, citing a lack of sales: "unfortunately the desktop Linux market didnt develop in volume. Its more of a server opportunity" but adding: "We continue to offer Linux on the desktop and there is nothing else to say." However, a 2004 report noted that Dell no longer offered preinstalled desktop Linux:

So what does it mean "factory installed Linux"? If you want Dell to install Linux for you, first add on $119. But here is the annoying part. They wont send you a computer with Linux pre-installed. They sell you the computer and the boxes of software on the side, and then they make an appointment to send you someone who comes to your house or business and installs it there.

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History of laptop

A laptop computer, or simply laptop

(also notebook computer or notebook), is a small mobile computer, which usually weighs 2-18 pounds (1-6 kilograms), depending on size, materials, and other factors.

Laptops usually run on a single main battery or from an external AC/DC adapter which can charge the battery while also supplying power to the computer itself. Many computers also have a 3 volt cell to run the clock and other processes in the event of a power failure.

As personal computers, laptops are capable of the same tasks as a desktop computer, although they are typically less powerful for the same price. They contain components that are similar to their desktop counterparts and perform the same functions, but are miniaturized and optimized for mobile use and efficient power consumption. Laptops usually have liquid crystal displays and most of them use different memory modules for their random access memory (RAM), for instance, SO-DIMM in lieu of the larger DIMMs. In addition to a built-in keyboard, they may utilize a touchpad (also known as a trackpad) or a pointing stick for input, though an external keyboard or mouse can usually be attached

History of Acer laptop

History of Apple laptop

History of Dell laptop

History of HP laptop

History of Lenovo laptop

History of Panasonic laptop

History of Sony laptop

History of Toshiba laptop

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History of HP compaq

Compaq Computer Corporation is an American personal computer company founded in 1982, and now a brand name of Hewlett-Packard.

The company was formed by Rod Canion, Jim Harris and Bill Murto — former Texas Instruments senior managers. The name "COMPAQ" was derived from "Compatibility and Quality", as at its formation Compaq produced some of the first IBM PC compatible computers.

Once the largest supplier of computing systems in the world and previously regarded as perhaps the most reputable manufacturer of mid-range hardware, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it merged with Hewlett-Packard.

History

Compaq was founded in February 1982 by Rod Canion, Jim Harris and Bill Murto, three senior managers from semiconductor manufacturer Texas Instruments. Each invested $1,000 to form the company. Their first venture capital came from Ben Rosen and Sevin-Rosen partners. Like many small startups with unique beginnings, the original Compaq PC was first sketched out on a placemat by the founders while dining in a local Houston restaurant, House of Pies.

In its early years Compaq was in many respects what IBMs PC Group should have been, and indeed, two of Compaqs key marketing executives, Jim DArezzo and Sparky Sparks, had moved from there.

Compaq Portable

In November 1982 Compaq announced their first product, the Compaq Portable, a portable IBM PC compatible personal computer. It was released in March 1983 at $2995, considerably more affordable than competitors at the time. The Compaq Portable was one of the progenitors of todays laptop. It was the second IBM PC compatible, being capable of running all software that would run on an IBM PC. It was a commercial success, selling 53,000 units in its first year. The Compaq Portable was the first in the range of the Compaq Portable series. Compaq was able to market a legal IBM clone because IBM mostly used "off the shelf" parts for their PC. Furthermore, Microsoft had kept the right to license the operating system to other computer manufacturers. The only part which had to be duplicated was the BIOS, which Compaq did legally by using clean room reverse engineering for $1 million[1][2][3]. Phoenix Technologies were the first to follow their lead, but soon "clone BIOSes" were available from several vendors.

Deskpro

On June 28th 1984 Compaq Released the Compaq Deskpro, a 16-bit desktop computer using an Intel 8086 microprocessor running at 7.14MHz. It was considerably faster than an IBM PC and was, like the Compaq Portable, also capable of running IBM software. This was the first of the Compaq Deskpro line of computers.

Deskpro 286

In 1985, Compaq released the Compaq Deskpro 286, a 16-bit desktop computer using an Intel 80286 microprocessor running at 8 MHz and capable of supporting up to 7 MB of RAM. It cost $2000 for the 40-MB hard disk model. It was considerably faster than an IBM PC AT which ran at 6MHz at that time and was, like the Compaq Portable, also capable of running IBM software.

After making half a billion dollars turnover, in 1986 Compaq released the Compaq Portable II. The Portable II was significantly lighter and smaller than its predecessor, featuring a revised design with an 8 MHz processor and 10 MB hard disk. It was cheaper than the IBM PC/AT at $3199, or $4799 with a hard disk.

Deskpro 386

When in 1986 Compaq introduced the first PC based on Intels new 80386 microprocessor, the Compaq Deskpro 386[4], they began a period of increasing performance leadership over IBM, who were not yet using this processor. An IBM machine eventually reached the market seven months later, but by that time Compaq was the 386 supplier of choice and IBM had lost its image of technical leadership.

Systempro

This technical leadership and the rivalry with IBM was emphasised when the Systempro server was launched in late 1989 - this was a true server product with standard support for a second CPU and RAID, but also the first product to feature the EISA bus which was designed in reaction to IBMs MCA (MicroChannel Architecture).

1990s

At the same time as they began to dominate the server market, in the early 1990s Compaq entered the retail computer market with the Presario, and was one of the first manufacturers in the mid-1990s to market a sub-$1000 PC. In order to maintain the prices it wanted, Compaq became the first first-tier computer manufacturer to utilize CPUs from AMD and Cyrix. The price war resulting from Compaqs actions ultimately drove numerous competitors, most notably IBM and Packard Bell, from this market.

In 1997, Compaq bought Tandem Computers, known for their NonStop server line. This acquisition instantly gave Compaq a presence in the higher end business computing market. In 1998, Compaq acquired Digital Equipment Corporation, the leading company in the previous generation of computing during the 1970s and early 1980s. This acquisition made Compaq, at the time, the worlds second largest computer maker in the world in terms of revenue. Unfortunately for the company, CEO Eckhard Pfeiffer, who engineered both mergers, had little vision for what the combined companies should do, or indeed how the three dramatically different cultures could work as a single entity, and Compaq struggled as a result. Pfeiffer was forced out as CEO in 1999 in a coup led by board chairman Ben Rosen and was eventually replaced by Michael Capellas, formerly CIO of the company. Capellas was able to restore some of the luster lost in the latter part of the Pfeiffer era, but the company still struggled against lower-cost competitors such as Dell.

During November 1999, Compaq began to work with Microsoft to create the first in a line of small-scale, web-based computer systems called MSN Companions.

2000s

In 2001, Compaq engaged in a merger with Hewlett-Packard. Numerous large HP shareholders, including Walter Hewlett, publicly opposed the deal, which resulted in a nasty proxy battle between those for and against the deal. The merger was approved only after the narrowest of margins, and allegations of vote buying (primarily involving an alleged last-second back-room deal with Bank of America) haunted the new company. Capellas left the company after serving less than a year as President of HP and became CEO of MCI Worldcom before Verizon bought MCI. Carly Fiorina, the CEO of HP, added Capellass responsibilities to her own. Fiorina helmed HP for nearly three years after Capellas left. During that time, HP laid off thousands of former Compaq employees, its stock price generally declined, profits did not perk up, and it continued to lose market share to Dell. Facing dismissal from a hostile Board of Directors, Fiorina opted to leave in February 2005 before the board could fire her. Mark Hurd took her place as CEO of HP. Most Compaq products have been re-branded with the HP nameplate, such as the companys market leading ProLiant server line, while the Compaq brand remains on only some consumer-orientated products, notably Compaq Presario PCs. HPs business computers line was deprecated in favour of the Compaq Evo line, which was rebranded HP Compaq. HPs Jornada PDAs were replaced by Compaq iPAQ PDAs, which were renamed HP iPAQ. Before the merger, Compaqs ticker symbol was CPQ, but this was melded with Hewlett-Packards previous symbol (HWP) to create the current symbol of HPQ. In late 2005, HPQ seemed to find its feet under the new leadership of Mark Hurd. At this same time Dell seemed to be faltering and eventually conceded the #1 sales position to archrival HPQ. Hurd took the merger once considered a huge mistake by industry experts and turned it into a huge success story for other merger candidates to model.

Compaq also made a Tablet PC notepad laptop, an interactive pen and fold down option where you can still use it as normal with on-screen keyboard & the interactive pen.

In May of 2007, HP in a press release announced a new logo for their Compaq Division to be placed on the new model Compaq Presarios. The full logo can be seen on the new Compaq Home page on

( From http://www.notebookreview.com )

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History of lenovo

Lenovo Group Limited, (SEHK: 0992) is the fourth largest personal computer manufacturer in the world, and the largest in the Asia-Pacific region as of 2006. "Lenovo" is a portmanteau of "Le-" (from Legend) and "novo", pseudo-Latin for "new."

Lenovo produces desktop, laptop, servers, handheld computers, imaging equipment, and mobile phone handsets. Lenovo also provides information technology integration and support services, and its QDI unit offers contract manufacturing. Lenovo also offers Internet access through its FM365.com portal.

Its executive headquarters are located in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, the home of IBMs former ThinkPad group, and in Beijing, China. It is incorporated in Hong Kong.

As of May 31, 2007, 39.6% of Lenovo is owned by public shareholders, 42.4% by Legend Holdings Limited, 7.9% by IBM and 10.1% by Texas Pacific Group, General Atlantic LLC and Newbridge Capital LLC. Because the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a Chinese government agency, owns 65% of Legend Holdings, effectively the Communist Chinese government owns about 27.5% of Lenovo and is the largest shareholder

Origins

The company was founded in 1984 by a group of eleven engineers, headed by Liu Chuanzhi, in Beijing. Originally known as Legend Group Ltd and New Technology Developer Incorporated, the listed holding company was incorporated in 1988 in Hong Kong. The company had become the biggest PC manufacturer of domestic and distributed third party products through its wholesale business.

The company underwent restructuring and separated into two entities. They were Lenovo and Digital China Holdings Limited. Lenovo became the personal computer manufacturer and Digital China took on the wholesale and distribution of IT products and services.

In 2005 Lenovo purchased IBMs PC Division which transformed it into a major international personal computer manufacturer. Lenovo paid $1.27 billion to IBM which consisted of $655 million in cash and $600 million in Lenovo stock. As a result of the acquisition, Lenovo gained the rights to the product lines as well as licensed trademarks such as ThinkVision, ThinkPad, ThinkVantage, ThinkCentre, Aptiva, and NetVista. As of May 1, 2005, IBM owned 19.9% of Lenovo.

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History of Apple

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL, LSE: ACP, FWB: APC) (formerly Apple Computer, Inc.) is an American multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing consumer electronics and closely related software products. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple develops, sells, and supports a series of personal computers, portable media players, computer software, and computer hardware accessories; Apple is also currently involved in the creation of new technology concepts, such as the iPhone, Apple TV, and many features of its new, upcoming operating system, Mac OS X "Leopard". Apple also operates an online store for hardware and software purchases, as well as the iTunes Store, a comprehensive offering of digital downloadable music, audiobooks, games, music videos, TV shows, and movies. The companys best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of personal computers and related peripherals, the iPod line of portable media players, and the iPhone. Apples best-known software products include the Mac OS X operating system and the iLife software suite, a bundle of creative software products that are highly integrated with the OS and are designed for amateur users. (Both Mac OS X and iLife are included on all Macs sold.) Apple is also a major provider of professional and "prosumer" audio- and film-industry software products, primarily for Mac computers, including Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Final Cut Studio, and related tools.

Apple had worldwide annual sales in its fiscal year 2006 (ending September 30, 2006) of US$19.3 billion.

The company, incorporated January 3, 1977,was known as "Apple Computer, Inc." for its first 30 years. On January 9, 2007, the company dropped "Computer" from its corporate name. The change followed Apples announcement of its new iPhone smartphone and Apple TV digital video system and reflects the companys ongoing expansion into the consumer electronics market in addition to its traditional focus on personal computers.

Apple also operates 183 (as of June 2007) retail stores in the United States, and more in the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, and Italy.The stores carry most of Apples products as well as many third-party products and offer on-site support and repair for Apple hardware and software. Apple employs over 20,000 permanent and temporary workers worldwide.

For a variety of reasons, ranging from its philosophy of comprehensive aesthetic design to its countercultural, even indie roots, as well as their advertising campaigns, Apple has engendered a distinct reputation in the consumer electronics industry and has cultivated a customer base that is unusually devoted to the company and its brand.

History

The company introduced the Apple II microcomputer in 1977. A few years later, in 1983, it introduced the Lisa, the first commercial personal computer to employ a graphical user interface (GUI), which was influenced in part by the Xerox Alto. Lisa was also the first personal computer to have the mouse. In 1984, the Macintosh was introduced, which arguably advanced the concept of a new user-friendly graphical user interface. Apples success with the Macintosh became a major influence in the development of graphical interfaces elsewhere, with major computer operating systems, such as the Commodore Amiga, and Atari ST, appearing on the market within two years of the introduction of the Macintosh.

In 1991, Apple introduced the PowerBook line of portable computers. The 1990s also saw Apples market share fall as competition from Microsoft Windows and the comparatively inexpensive IBM PC compatible computers that would eventually dominate the market. In the 2000s, Apple expanded its focus on software to include professional and prosumer video, music, and photo production solutions, with a view to promoting their products as a "digital hub". It also introduced the iPod, the most popular digital music player in the world.

1976 to 1980: The early years

Apple was founded on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne(and later incorporated January 3, 1977 without Wayne, who sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak) to sell the Apple I personal computer kit. They were hand-built by Steve Wozniak in the living room of Jobs parents home, and the Apple I was first shown to the public at the Homebrew Computer Club. Eventually 200 computers were built. The Apple I was sold as a motherboard (with CPU, RAM, and basic textual-video chips) — not what is today considered a complete personal computer. The user was required to provide two different AC input voltages (the manual recommended specific transformers), wire an ASCII keyboard (not provided with the computer) to a DIP connector (providing logic inverter and alpha lock chips in some cases), and to wire the video output pins to a monitor or to an RF modulator if a TV set was used.

Jobs approached a local computer store, The Byte Shop, which ordered fifty units and paid US$500 for each unit after much persuasion. He then ordered components from Cramer Electronics, a national electronic parts distributor. Using a variety of methods, including borrowing space from friends and family and selling various items including a Volkswagen Type 2 bus, Jobs managed to secure the parts needed while Wozniak and Ronald Wayne assembled the Apple I.

The Apple II was introduced on April 16, 1977 at the first West Coast Computer Faire. It differed from its major rivals, the TRS-80 and Commodore PET, because it came with color graphics and an open architecture. While early models used ordinary cassette tapes as storage devices, this was quickly superseded by the introduction of a 5 1/4 inch floppy disk drive and interface, the Disk II.

Another key to business for Apple was software. The Apple II was chosen by programmers Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston to be the desktop platform for the first "killer app" of the business world—the VisiCalc spreadsheet program.^[16] VisiCalc created a business market for the Apple II, and the corporate market attracted many more software and hardware developers to the machine, as well as giving home users an additional reason to buy one—compatibility with the office.(See the timeline for dates of Apple II family model releases—the 1977 Apple II and its younger siblings the II+, IIe, IIc, and IIGS.)

According to Brian Bagnalls book, "On the Edge" (pg. 109-112), Apple exaggerated their sales figures and that Apple was a distant 3rd place until VisiCalc came along. VisiCalc was first released on Apple II because Commodore and Tandy computers were tied up in VisiCalcs software development office due to their popularity. VisiCalcs association with Apple was thus pure happenstance, not a technical decision. And even after VisiCalc, Apple II didnt surpass the Tandy TRS-80, whose sales were helped by the large number of Radio Shack stores. However, VisiCalc did put Apple ahead of Commodores PET, at least in the US. (Commodore later regained the lead for a while with the Commodore 64 in the mid 80s, the best selling specific model of computer to date.)

By the end of the 1970s, Jobs and his partners had a staff of computer designers and a production line. The Apple II was succeeded by the Apple III in May 1980 as the company struggled to compete against IBM and Microsoft in the lucrative business and corporate computing market. The designers of the Apple III were forced to comply with Jobs request to omit the cooling fan, and this ultimately resulted in thousands of recalled units due to overheating. An updated version, the Apple III+, was introduced in 1983, but it was also a failure due to bad press and wary buyers.

In the early 1980s, IBM and Microsoft continued to gain market share at Apples expense in the personal computer industry. A fundamentally different business model evolved, once cloners forced-open the IBM PC hardware standard against IBMs will. The IBM compatible hardware market became highly competitive, with clones running a bundled Microsoft MS-DOS OS, or running a competing IBM-style DOS such as DR DOS.

Apples sustained growth during the early 1980s was partly due to its leadership in the education sector, attributed to their adaptation of the programming language LOGO, used in many schools with the Apple II. The drive into education was accentuated in California with the donation of one Apple II and one Apple LOGO software package to each public school in the state. The deal concluded between Steve Jobs and Jim Baroux of LCSI, and having required the support of Sacramento, established a strong and pervasive presence for Apple in all schools throughout California. The initial conquest of education environments was critical to Apples acceptance in the home where the earliest purchases of computers by parents was in support of childrens continued learning experience.

1981 to 1989: Lisa and Macintosh

Jobs and several other Apple employees including Jef Raskin visited Xerox PARC in December 1979 to see the Alto computer. Xerox granted Apple engineers three days of access to the PARC facilities in return for selling them US$1 million in pre-IPO Apple stock (approximately US$18 million net).

It is said that Jobs was immediately convinced that all future computers would use a GUI, and decided to turn over design of Apples first project, the Apple Lisa, to produce such a device. The Lisa was named after Jobs daughter (however, a backronym, Local Integrated Software Architecture, was coined). He was eventually pushed from the group due to infighting, and instead took over Jef Raskins low-cost computer project, the Macintosh. Branding the new effort as the product that would "save Apple", an intense turf war broke out between the Lisas "corporate shirts" and Jobs Macintosh "pirates", both teams claiming they would ship first and be more successful. In 1983 the Lisa team won the race and Apple introduced the first personal computer to be sold to the public with a GUI. However, the Lisa was a commercial failure as a result of its high price tag (US$9,995) and limited software titles.

In 1984, drawing upon its experience with the Lisa, Apple next launched the Macintosh. Its debut was announced by a single national broadcast of the now famous US$1.5 million television commercial, "1984", based on George Orwells novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. The commercial was directed by Ridley Scott and aired during Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984. Jobs intention with the ad was to represent the IBM PC as Big Brother, and the Macintosh as a nameless female action hero portrayed by Anya Major. While the Macintosh initially sold well, follow-up sales were not particularly strong.The machines fortunes changed with the introduction of the LaserWriter, the first laser printer to be offered at a reasonable price point, and PageMaker, an early desktop publishing (DTP) package. The Mac was particularly powerful in this market due to its advanced graphics capabilities, which were already necessarily built-in to create the Macintosh GUI. It has been suggested that the combination of these three products was responsible for the creation of the DTP market. As DTP became widespread, Apples sales reached a series of new highs.

In anticipation of the Macintosh launch, Bill Gates, co-founder and chairman of Microsoft, was given several Macintosh prototypes in 1983 to develop software. While the company was indeed ready with its BASIC and the MultiPlan spreadsheet at the Macintoshs launch, in 1985 Microsoft launched Windows, its own GUI for IBM PCs. Although sales started slow, by the mid 1990s it became the most commonly-used desktop operating system, cutting deeply into the Macintoshs sales.

An internal power struggle developed between Jobs and new CEO John Sculley in 1985. Apples board of directors sided with Sculley and Jobs was removed from his managerial duties. Jobs later resigned from Apple and founded NeXT Inc., a computer company that built machines with futuristic designs and ran the UNIX-derived NeXTStep operating system. Although powerful, NeXT computers never caught on with buyers, due in part to their high purchase price.

1989 to 1991: The Golden Age

Having learned several painful lessons after introducing the bulky Macintosh Portable in 1989, Apple turned to industrial designers and adopted a product strategy based in three portable devices. One portable was built by Sony, which at the time had a strong reputation for designing small, durable and functional electronics devices^{[citation needed]}. Sony took the specs of the Mac Portable, put in a smaller two-hour battery, a much smaller (physically) 20 MB hard drive and a smaller nine-inch passive matrix screen.

Called the PowerBook 100, this landmark product was introduced in 1991 and established the modern form and ergonomic layout of the laptop computer. This solidified Apples reputation as a quality manufacturer, both of desktop and now portable machines.The same year, Apple introduced a massive upgrade to the Mac OS, in the form of System 7. Although resource-hungry (for the era), System 7 dramatically improved the Macintosh experience, adding color to the interface, simplifying common operations, and introducing a number of powerful new networking capabilities. System 7 would be the basis for the Mac OS until 2001.

The success of the PowerBook and several other Apple products during this period led to increasing revenue. The computer press listened to Apple press releases with rapt attention and speculation was rife about what projects from Apples famed Advanced Technology Group would next come to market. Apple merely had to mention a technology, Taligent for instance, for people to christen it the "new standard".For some time, it appeared that Apple could do no wrong, introducing fresh new products and generating increasing profits in the process. The magazine MacAddict named the period between 1989 to 1991 the "first golden age" of the Macintosh.

The continuing development of Microsoft Windows had given birth to an interface that was competitive with Apples. Combined with a huge base of low-cost computers and peripherals and an improving software suite, an increasing number of potential customers turned to the "Wintel" standard.

Apple, relying on high profit margins to maintain their massive R&D budget, never developed a clear response. Instead they sued Microsoft for theft of intellectual property.The lawsuit dragged on for years before finally being thrown out of court. Worse, the lawsuit distracted management while a deep rot developed within the engineering ranks, which became increasingly unmanageable. At first there was little outward sign of the problem, but a series of major product flops and missed deadlines destroyed Apples reputation of invincibility.

At about the same time, Apple branched out into consumer electronics. One example of this product diversification was the Apple QuickTake digital camera, one of the first digital cameras brought to the consumer market. A more famous example was the Newton, termed a "Personal digital assistant" or "PDA" by Sculley, that was introduced in 1993. Though it failed commercially, it defined and launched a new category of computing and was a forerunner of devices such as Palm Pilot, PocketPC, and eventually the iPhone.

During the 1990s, Apple greatly expanded its computer lineup. It offered a multitude of models ("Quadra 840av", "Performa 6116"), but many felt Apple failed to adequately differentiate one model from another and the cost of supporting so many products adversely affected profitability. Apple lost market share to Microsoft Windows, particularly Windows 95 — a major turning point in the history of the rival Windows operating system.

1994 to 1997: Attempts at reinvention

By the mid-90s, Apple realized that it had to reinvent the Macintosh in order to stay competitive in the market. The needs of both computer users and computer programs were becoming, for a variety of technical reasons, harder for the existing hardware and operating system to address.

In 1994 Apple surprised its loyalists by allying with its long-time competitor IBM and CPU maker Motorola in the so-called AIM alliance. This was a bid to create a new computing platform (the PowerPC Reference Platform or PReP), which would use IBM and Motorola hardware coupled with Apples software. The AIM alliance hoped that PRePs performance and Apples software would leave the PC far behind, thus countering Microsoft, which had become Apples chief competitor.

As the first step toward launching the PReP platform, Apple started the Power Macintosh line in 1994, using IBMs PowerPC processor. This processor utilized a RISC architecture, which differed substantially from the Motorola 68k series that had been used by all previous Macs. Apples OS was rewritten so that most software for the older Macs could run on the PowerPC series (in emulation).

Throughout the mid to late 1990s, Apple tried to improve its operating systems multitasking and memory management. After first attempting to modify its existing code, Apple realized that it would be better to start with an entirely new operating system and then modify it to fit the Macintosh interface. Apple did some preliminary work with IBM towards this goal with the Taligent project, but that project never produced a replacement operating system. A new internal effort, Copland, ran afoul of Apples now uncontrollable engineering and became a massive failure. A fresh attempt was made with the Gershwin operating system.

In 1995 Apple made a break into the gaming industry with the Apple Pippin. Despite the success of competing game consoles like Sony PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Sega Saturn, Pippin experienced very limited success and as little as 5000 units were sold worldwide and there was a very small variety of games available for those who did own a console. Overall this was a failure for Apple; its scope was more general in purpose than serious gaming, leaving the console expensive and underpowered compared with its rivals.

Next, the company considered its options for an operating system, investigating Be Inc.s BeOS, NeXTs NeXTSTEP OS, and also Microsofts Windows NT. NeXTSTEP was chosen, and this supplied the platform for the modern Mac OS X. On February 7, 1997, Apple completed its purchase of NeXT and its NeXTSTEP operating system, in the process bringing Steve Jobs back to Apple. On July 9, 1997, Gil Amelio was ousted as CEO of Apple by the board of directors after overseeing a 3-year record-low stock price and crippling financial losses. Jobs stepped in as the interim CEO and began a critical restructuring of the companys product line.

At the 1997 Macworld Expo, Steve Jobs announced that Apple would be entering into partnership with Microsoft. Settlement discussions regarding Apples "Look and Feel" lawsuit and the "QuickTime piracy" lawsuit resulted in a five-year commitment from Microsoft to release Microsoft Office for Macintosh as well as a US$150 million investment in non-voting Apple stock. (This event is often inaccurately described as a "bailout" of Apple by Microsoft. At the time Apple had a little over US$1 billion in cash and cash equivalents according to their 10-Q statement Microsoft later sold its shares for a tidy profit.) Jobs also announced that Internet Explorer would be shipped as the default browser on the Macintosh. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates appeared at the expo on the large screen, explaining Microsofts plans for the software they were developing for the Macintosh, and saying that he was very excited to be helping Apple. This was met with a less than positive response from the audience. Steve Jobs said:

If we want to move forward and see Apple healthy and prospering again, we have to let go of a few things here. We have to let go of this notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose. We have to embrace a notion that for Apple to win, Apple needs to do a really good job. And if others are going to help us thats great, because we need all the help we can get, and if we screw up and dont do a good job, its not somebody elses fault, its our fault. So I think that is a very important perspective. If we want Microsoft Office on the Mac, we should treat the company that puts it out with a little bit of gratitude; we like their software.

So, the era of setting this thing up as a competition between Apple and Microsoft is over as far as Im concerned. This is about getting Apple healthy, this is about Apple being able to make incredibly great contributions to the industry and to get healthy and prosper again.

On November 10, 1997, Apple announced a new online retail store, based upon the WebObjects application server the company had acquired in its purchase of NeXT. The new direct sales outlet was also tied to a new build-to-order manufacturing strategy and announced at the same time as new machines using the G3 PowerPC processor.

1998 to 2005: New beginnings

On August 15, 1998, Apple introduced a new all-in-one Mac computer reminiscent of the original Macintosh 128K: the iMac. The iMac design team was led by Jonathan Ive, who would come later to design the iPod and the iPhone. While not groundbreaking from a technological standpoint, the iMac featured an innovative new translucent plastic exterior, originally in Bondi Blue, but later many other colors. The iMac proved phenomenally successful, selling close to 800,000 units in its first five months and significantly boosting the companys revenue and profitability. Thanks in part to the iMac; fiscal 1998 was Apples first profitable year since 1993. Some consider the iMac an industrial design icon of the late 90s, and its designer, Jonathan Ive, has won awards for its innovation.

At the National Association of Broadcasters convention, Apple purchased the Final Cut software from Macromedia, beginning its entry into the digital video editing market, and signaling a return to application development after a decade long policy of delegating non-system software to its Claris subsidiary. iMovie was released in 1999 for consumers, and Final Cut Pro was released for professionals in the same year. Final Cut Pro has gone on to be a significant video-editing program. Similarly, in 2000 Apple bought Astartes DVDirector software, which morphed into iDVD (for consumers) and DVD Studio Pro (for professionals) at the Macworld Conference and Expo of 2001.

In 2001, Apple introduced Mac OS X, the operating system based on NeXTs OPENSTEP and BSD Unix. Aimed at consumers and professionals alike, Mac OS X aimed to marry the stability, reliability and security of the Unix operating system with the ease of use afforded by a completely overhauled user interface. To aid users in moving their applications from Mac OS 9, the new operating system allowed the use of OS 9 applications through Mac OS Xs Classic environment. Apples Carbon API also allowed developers to adapt their OS 9 software to use Mac OS Xs features often with a simple recompile.

On May 19, 2001, after much speculation, Apple announced the opening of the first official Apple Retail Stores, to be located in major U.S. consumer locations. These stores were designed for two purposes: to stem the tide of Apples declining share of the computer market and to counter a poor record of marketing Apple products by third-party retail outlets. The company faced challenges to balance the deployment of its own retail stores with its dependence on, and the demands of, its existing channel partners and dealers. Apple slowly built up the number of stores in the U.S., (now totaling 183 as of June 2007)later opening stores in Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, recently Italy, and has plans for a France location. These efforts in retail succeeded and proved to be very profitable, averaging annual returns of US$4,032 per square foot of every store, the most in retail. These returns bested retail favorites such as Best Buy at $930 and Tiffanys at $2666.

On October 23, 2001 Apple introduced its first iPod portable digital audio player and released it on November 10 of that year. The product has proven phenomenally successful; over 100 million units have been sold.Apples iTunes Store was introduced soon after, offering online music downloads for US 99¢ a song and integration with the iPod. The service quickly became the market leader in online music services, with over 3 billion downloads by August 2007.

In 2002 Apple purchased Nothing Real and their advanced digital compositing application Shake, raising Apples professional commitment even higher. In the same year they also acquired Emagic, and with it, obtained their professional-quality music productivity application Logic, which led to the development of their consumer-level GarageBand application. With iPhotos release in 2002, this completed Apples collection of consumer and professional level creativity software, with the consumer-level applications being collected together into the iLife suite.

Apples design team progressively abandoned the flashy colors of the iMac G3 era in favor of white polycarbonate for consumer lines such as the iMac and iBook, as well as the educational eMac, and metal enclosures for the professional lines. This began with the 2001 release of the titanium PowerBook and was followed by the 2001 white iBook, the 2002 flat-panel iMac, the 2003 Power Mac G5, and the 2004 Apple Cinema Displays. Divergent to this consumer/professional identity, the low-cost Mac mini has an aluminum case while featuring the distinctive white polycarbonate top.

In the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote address on June 6, 2005, Steve Jobs officially announced that Apple would begin producing Intel-based Mac computers beginning in 2006. Jobs confirmed rumors that the company had secretly been producing versions of its current operating system Mac OS X for both PowerPC and Intel processors for the previous five years and that the transition to Intel processor systems would last until the end of 2008.

On January 10, 2006, Apple released its first Intel chip computers, a new notebook computer known as the MacBook Pro (with a 15.4" screen) and a new (though cosmetically identical) iMac with purportedly two to three times faster performance compared with its predecessor. Both used Intels Core Duo chip technology. Later in February, Apple introduced the new Intel-based Mac mini, running up to four times faster and also featuring Front Row, available with a Core Duo or Core Solo (single core) processor. In February 2006, the Apple Online Store sold its last 17" iMac G5, Apple ended the life of its 15" PowerBook G4 on February 22, 2006, and the G4 Mac mini was removed from the Apple online store on February 28, 2006 and replaced with the Intel Core Mac mini. On March 10, 2006 Apple retired the iMac G5 and on May 16, 2006, replaced the iBook G4 and the 12" PowerBook G4 with the MacBook. On August 7, 2006, the PowerMac was replaced with the Mac Pro, completing the transition of all Mac computers, well in advance of their original prediction. On September 6, 2006, Apple updated its iMac line to include new Intel Core 2 Duo processors, and adding a model with a 24" screen to the line-up, as well as quietly bumping the speeds of their Mac mini. The Xserve was transitioned in mid-November 2006. On October 24, 2006 the MacBook Pros were fitted with Intel Core 2 Duo processors as well, running up to 39% faster than the original Intel Core Duo MacBook Pros. The MacBooks were fitted with the Core 2 Duo processors on November 8, and run up to 25% faster than the Core Duo ones according to Apples tests.

Apples current operating system, Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger", runs natively on the new Intel machines, as do the Darwin open source underpinnings. Many applications, such as iLife 06, also run natively on Intel chips. Other applications (including Microsoft Office) which have not been updated to run on the Intel architecture, run using a technology known as Rosetta. Because Rosetta is a translation software that allows PowerPC programs to run on Intel processors, these PowerPC programs run slower than native applications. Programs compiled only for the PowerPC must be recompiled to run at full speed on the new Intel machines. Programs that have been designed to run on both PowerPC and Intel chips can be certified by Apple as "Universal". The Intel-based machines also do not support Classic, which allows Mac OS X to run applications written for OS 9 and earlier, so applications that require this environment will not run on these machines. Apple currently has no plans to bring Classic support to the Intel platform.

The Intel chip also allows the new machines to run the Windows operating system. On March 16, 2006 a bootloader CD image and a how-to for getting XP on your MacBook Pro, iMac, or mini was released to the Internet as an entry into a US$13,000 contest. Many hackers attempted over three months to win the prize by becoming the first to run Windows natively on a new Intel Mac. The Intel-based Macs are now the only computers officially capable of running both Mac OS X and Windows without emulation (a pre-release version of Mac OS X for Intel was patched to run on non-Apple PCs through the OSx86 community; however such procedure is not permitted by the Apple EULA). Further, on April 5, 2006, Apple announced a new piece of software called Boot Camp that helps users install Windows XP on their Intel Mac alongside Mac OS X. Apple has said that Boot Camp will be included, as standard, in Apples next OS release (10.5, “Leopard”).

The Apple/Intel partnership coined several catch phrases among Apple fans and technology reporters. Some of the most widespread ones include "Mactel" and "Macintel", a response to the phrase "Wintel", which is an informal moniker that describes all Intel-powered systems running the Microsoft Windows operating system. Another is "ICBM", for "Intel-chip-based Mac." Apple itself has not publicly used these terms.

Apples success during this period, beginning in 1997 (the first year the company turned a profit after losses through 1995 and 1996), but accelerating between 2003 to 2005, was evident in its skyrocketing stock. Between early 2003 and January 2006, the price of a share of Apples stock increased more than tenfold, from a little more than US$6 per share (split-adjusted) to more than US$80 per share. On January 13, 2006, Apples market cap surpassed that of Dell.Nearly ten years prior, in 1997, Dells CEO, Michael Dell, had asserted that if he ran Apple he would "shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders."

Delivering his keynote at Macworld 2007 (January 9, 2007), Steve Jobs announced a change of name: Apple Computer Inc. would from that point be known as Apple Inc. The event also saw the announcement of the iPhone, and the Apple TV. The following day, Apple shares hit US$97.80, then an all-time high. In May 2007, Apples share price passed the US$100 mark.

On February 7, 2007, Apple indicated that it would be willing to sell music on the iTunes store without Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection (allowing tracks to be played on any compatible player) if major record labels would agree to drop that anti-piracy technology.On April 2, 2007, Apple and record label EMI jointly-announced the removal of anti-piracy technology from EMIs catalog in the iTunes Store, effective in May.

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