1. A Brief History of Apple Innovationby
Larry MacPhee
Associate Director, e-Learning
Northern Arizona University

2. Disclaimers
The views expressed are those of the presenter and not necessarily the views of e-Learning or Northern Arizona University 
I have no relatives who work for Apple Computer, but I have made a fair bit of money buying and selling AAPL stock.

3. “It's really hard to design products by focus groups
“It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them”
-Steve Jobs, 1998
Wayne Gretzky was once asked why he was so good at hockey. He explained that he skates to where the puck is going to be, not where it is now. Apple embodies that philosophy in the technology world.

4. History
Apple leads the personal computer (PC) industry not in market share, but in innovation. Apple introduces more new technologies to the public than any other computer company, and most of these technologies eventually find their way into all computers. Apple has shaped the PC industry like no other company. Not IBM. Not Intel. Not Microsoft. Not Adobe. Not HP. Not Dell. The following is a list of Apple firsts. Want to see the future computing? Watch Apple.
Apple is disruptive. Usually they don’t invent a technology, but they transform it into something useful or great. Then the rest of the industry follows.

5. 1. The Personal Computer 1977 Apple II
There were computer kits that one could assemble before the Apple II. But Apple built the first computer that worked right out of the box and looked like a commercial product. The Apple II was the first huge success in personal computing because there were a lot more people interested in writing software than tinkering with hardware. It would be four years before the first serious challenger, the IBM PC, was introduced in Steve Wozniak’s elegant circuit board design and Steve Jobs’s marketing prowess were the keys to early success.
Apple II

6. 2. The GUI
1984
Apple didn’t invent the graphical user interface; they borrowed the idea from Xerox. However, they perfected it and commercialized it with the Macintosh. Xerox executives never knew what to do with the brilliant work at PARC, and many talented PARC engineers ended up moving to Apple so they could realize their dreams. It would be another 11 years before Microsoft had a functional version of Windows. The all-in-one design of the Macintosh was also groundbreaking, with its 3.5 inch floppy drive and the use of a mouse.
Macintosh

7. 3. Plug and Play since 1984 Plug and play
Years before this became the standard practice, Apple labeled its ports so you would know what to connect to what. If a port on a PC had a label, it was LPT1 or COM1, which meant nothing to most people. And when you plugged it in, the devices worked properly without additional configuration. Apple invented plug and play. Trying to get a mouse or printer connected to an early Windows PC was an exercise in futility that people jokingly called “plug and pray!” Apple’s early marketing slogan, “It just works!” was actually true.
Plug and play

8. 4. The LAN 1984 AppleTalk Local Area Network
Apple computers were networkable right from the start using AppleTalk. You could share files and print to a networked laser printer in 1984 with a Mac.
Local Area Network

9. 5. Desktop Publishing 1985 WYSIWYG Desktop Publishing
Apple collaborated with Adobe to develop the LaserWriter and invented the desktop publishing industry. With the laser printer’s PostScript language, it was possible to print on paper exactly what you saw on screen. This advance was called “WYSIWYG” (what you see is what you get). Aldus PageMaker was the first “killer app” for the Mac, and this eventually led to the Mac becoming the preferred machine of graphic designers and other creative types.
Desktop Publishing

10. 6. Hypertext
1987
Apple’s software genius, Bill Atkinson, who also developed the Mac’s Quickdraw graphics engine and the intuitive MacPaint application, developed HyperCard in At the time, most computers were standalone boxes and nobody knew what to do with it, but it’s clear in retrospect that a hypercard stack was like the world-wide-web in miniature. Hypercard lasted until 1998; an incredibly long run for a software program at a time of such rapid change.
Hypercard

11. 7. AppleLink?
1989
Apple had a significant role in the early development of America Online, the most successful Internet business in the dial-up era.
AOL

12. 8. The Modern Laptop 1991 Powerbook
Before Apple, laptops looked like the clunker on the left. Except that the trackball was eventually replaced with a trackpad and that flatscreens gradually improved, modern laptop design has not really changed since Apple introduced the first PowerBook in 1991.
Powerbook

13. 9. Multimedia
1993
By 1993, when most PCs still ran DOS, lacked a sound card or a graphics card, and were incapable of displaying anything but monochrome text on the screen, Apple desktop computers had high-resolution color graphics, built-in speakers, CD-ROM drives and the Quicktime movie player. It would be years before Windows had anything comparable.
Quicktime

14. 10. The PDA
1993
Although widely ridiculed for its poor handwriting recognition software when introduced, the Newton laid the groundwork for the Palm PDA (personal digital assistant) and Windows Mobile devices that followed. By the time it was discontinued, the Newton had become a very capable device but Apple was in financial trouble and Jobs killed it off. It probably didn’t help that this was Scully’s baby, and Scully had sided with the Apple board to oust Jobs from the company ;)
Newton

15. 11. Digital Photography 1994 Quicktake
Apple worked with Kodak to introduce the first digital camera in Within a few years, digital cameras were everywhere and Kodak, which still relied heavily on their film business for most of their profits, would begin a long decline. To this day, Apple owns most of the patents related to digital photography because of this early partnership.
Quicktake

16. The Dark Years 1995-97 Windows 95 The first usable version Mac clones
Stole the high end
Brain drain
Morale problems
Copland
Need for a stable OS
Hardware Quality Problems
Performas
Too many models
Weak CEOs
Sculley
Spindler
Amelio
But finally…the return of Steve Jobs
A series of weak CEOs, an aging OS, a confusing array of low-end products with quality problems, and the introduction of Windows 95 spelled near doom for Apple, but the return of Steve Jobs breathed new life into Apple.

17. 12. The iMac 1998 Just in time for the Internet
Just as the Internet was becoming accessible to the general public, Jobs introduced the iMac and began Apple’s turnaround. It was another marked departure from what a computer looked like, and was a huge hit with consumers. Just as Apple is famous for introducing new technologies, they are also notorious for taking them away sooner than everyone is ready to let go. The iMac was controversial because it lacked a floppy drive but, before long, most of the industry followed suit.
Just in time for the Internet

18. 13. Wireless
1999
Apple introduced wireless technology to the world with its Airport base stations. It was around this time that momentum was shifting from desktops to laptops, and connection without wires was an amazing advance that we all now take for granted.
Airport

19. 14. Digital Video
2000
With iMovie and the firewire-connected digital video (DV) camera, Apple made it possible for anyone to shoot and edit digital video. Firewire was important because it was fast and easy to use. The ability to connect and disconnect devices without having to power everything down was huge! Apple’s only mistake was charging a licensing fee for other users of Firewire, which prevented it from becoming the standard. Though inferior, USB became the connection standard and Firewire eventually faded away.
iMovie

20. 15. MacOS X
2000 ->
Shortly after Jobs took over again, he acquired NeXt, his other computer company, and their advanced NeXt Step OS. Apple transitioned from its legacy Mac OS, which was intuitive but becoming increasingly unstable, ensuring a solid system architecture on which to build for the future. OS X also had a much more eye catching look, which helped to sell the “under-the-hood” changes.
MacOS X

21. 16. Digital Music 2001 iTunes and iPod
Not the first MP3 player, but the first really good one. Although few people knew it at the time, the iPod and iTunes would begin Apple’s transformation from a computer company to a media giant. Apple also saved the music industry from piracy by making it simpler for people to buy music than to steal it. The iPod, more than any other product, ensured Apple’s resurgence, as it was popular with young people and made Apple “cool” again. Making a version of iTunes for Windows greatly expanded the market. For many people, the iPod was the first Apple product they owned and it proved to have a “halo effect” on the computer line, particularly with young people.
iTunes and iPod

22. 17. The Switch to Intel Processor parity Windows on Mac 2006 Intel
While the AIM (Apple/IBM/Motorola) alliance had produced an impressive series of RISC processors, the PowerPC chip was not able to keep up with Intel’s offerings, so Apple made another major switch to industry standard Intel processors. This also made it possible for Macs to run Windows natively. It was a bold move to abandon the PowerPC because all of the Apple software developers had to re-write their applications for compatibility but, in the end, it paid off. The performance gap was closed, and those who preferred a Mac but had to run Windows for work could do so easily on their preferred hardware. Some joked that Apple now made the best Windows PCs money could buy.
Processor parity
Windows on Mac
Intel

23. 18. iPhone Apple reinvents the cell phone 2007
The button-laden Palm Treo and the Blackberry represented the pinnacle of smartphone design until Apple introduced the iPhone and turned the smartphone industry on its head. Now all Smartphones look like the iPhone. While Microsoft was still dominant at this time, this was the beginning of their decline. They were unable to come up with a product that matched the iPhone until far too late, and the ship had sailed. The cheaper Android phones became the iPhone alternative, but Apple makes more money on phones now that the rest of their products combined.
Apple reinvents the cell phone

24. 19. AppleTV Apple tries to repeat iPod’s success with movies 2007
Encountering greater resistance from the movie studios and tv networks, who didn’t want to see Apple dominate visual entertainment as they did music, the AppleTV and iTunes have been successful but not dominant. Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon are strong competitors.
Apple tries to repeat iPod’s success with movies

25. 20. iPad Apple’s reinvents the computer…again 2010
While Microsoft struggled for years to popularize the Tablet PC, Apple’s iPad was an immediate success. Now, the entire computer industry is in decline as tablets rise, and Microsoft is scrambling to get back into the game with its Surface platform.
Apple’s reinvents the computer…again

26. The Future? The Post-Steve Era
With the passing of Steve Jobs, who’s marketing genius, obsession to the details of good design, and intuition for the next big thing returned Apple to dominance, what does the future hold? Apple will ride on momentum for years, but it’s unclear whether the company can continue to innovate without its founder, idea man, and chief evangelist.
The Post-Steve Era

27. More good stuff http://www.apple-history.com

28. Why Macintosh? Not a major target for hackers
Very few viruses affect Macs
Runs the most popular software
Seamless Hardware-OS integration
Low TCO (Total cost of ownership)
High resale value
Innovative industrial design
Supportive user community
High reliability
High customer satisfaction
The choice of creative professionals
Runs Windows too
iOS and MacOS are very similar

29. Why not Macintosh? Some websites will treat you poorly
Some services come later to Mac
Some applications may not be available
Gaming is a drag
Some hardware/drivers not Mac compatible
Harder to get local repairs
More limited shopping options
International customers have to wait
Costs more up front than a budget PC
Mac haters will pick on you
You can still use your iPod with a PC
Apple can be fickle towards its users

30. Decisions, decisions
Is it worth it?