Apple Of My i
by Kenneth Lyen
I have never bought an Apple computer because my office went for the safer choice, IBM. However, I have always envied the way that Apple always appeared to be the more imaginative company. It dared to make bold innovations, challenge goliath companies, and to this day, it continues to blaze paths for others to follow.
Steven Wozniak made the very first apple computer in 1976, and shortly after joined forces with Steven Jobs to produce and market it. This machine only had a RAM memory of 32 kB, and a processor (CPU) speed of 1 MHz. But that did not deter users, because they could play games and write their own programmes for it. The Apple Computer was an instant success, and a stream of inspiring software was written for it.
IBM entered the personal computer fray in 1981, and gave Apple a run for their money. Steve Jobs fought back by introducing the Lisa in 1983, which metamorphosed into the Macintosh computer. The latter used the Motorola 68000, and boasted a 1 MB RAM memory and a processor speed of 5 MHz. It also introduced the 3½ inch floppy drive. To this day, the Macintosh remains unsurpassed as the computer of choice for music, graphics, and video editing.
In 1983, Steve Jobs lured John Sculley from Pepsi Cola to run Apple, but found himself ousted from his own company in 1985.
This prompted Steve to start NeXT Computer, but this computer was not a commercial success. In 1986 Steve co-founded Pixar, which specialised in animation. It became so successful that it is now able to challenge Disney for animation hegemony.
With the worldwide recession, computer sales slumped. Apple computer branched out into personal electronics and music. It developed the iPod portable music player, which proved to be an instant hit. Recent figures showed that Apples profits surged threefold from US $19 million to $61 million, thanks to iPod.
I am on the verge of helping Apples profits by buying one of these iPods. With 40 GB storage, it can hold over 10,000 songs. This means that I can listen to 25 songs a day, and will not need to repeat any song for well over one year.
So Apple, please continue to amaze me with your creativity! Continue knocking down all those goliaths out there!
