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Mac Musings
Happy Birthday, Macintosh
Dan Knight - 2009.01.02 - Tip Jar
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Happy birthday, Macintosh!
The Macintosh officially turns 25 on January 24, 2009, the
anniversary of Apple's announcement of the original Macintosh.
Here at Low End Mac, we'll be celebrating 25 years of Macintosh with 25
Days of Macintosh - starting on Monday, January 12, we'll look at
Macintosh history on a year-by-year basis.
Before that, we're going to spend a week preparing for that with a look at Apple from 1976 through 1983 - the original Apple computer, the Apple II family, the ill-fated Apple III and Lisa - as well as the broader personal computing context of the early 1980s.
Rather than choose the 25 most important Macs or the 25 most important events in Mac history, we've posed a different question to our staff: What were the most significant Mac-related events of each year?
I'm sure we'll each bring a different perspective to that, as we look at hardware, operating systems, software, networking, and who knows what else.
Here's what's planned for Jan. 5-9:
Jan. 5 - Apple origins
- Origin of the Apple I and Apple II computers, Tom Hormby, Orchard. From the first behemoth computers to the Apple II+, the computer that drove the personal computer revolution.
- Apple Has Always Been a Niche Player, Dan Knight, Mac Musings. "Despite the myths, Apple has never been a dominant player in the personal computer industry."
- Personal Computer History: The First 25 Years, Dan Knight, Low End PC. A brief history of personal computing.
Jan. 6 - The Apple II family
- VisiCalc and the rise of the Apple II, Tom Hormby. "VisiCalc was first released for the Apple II, which quickly became an invaluable tool for businesspeople - at least until IBM moved into the 'personal computing' market in 1981."
- Interview with Dan Bricklin, inventor of the electronic spreadsheet, Joshua Coventry, Cortland,. Until 1979, a spreadsheet was something you did by hand. VisiCalc changed all that and gave personal computers the first 'killer app'.
- Apple IIe nostalgia: A reunion 15 years in the making, Tommy Thomas. Sometimes nostalgia is all you remembered, like when you get to recreate your first computing experience from the Apple II era.
- Apples from other orchards: Apple II clones, Joshua Coventry. Before the IBM PC spawned compatibles, companies around the world cloned the Apple II - some with more success than others.
Jan. 7 - The Apple ///
- The Ill-Fated Apple III, Jason Walsh, Apple Before the Mac, 2005.01.05. "...not only was the Apple III mind crunchingly expensive, it was made with none of the passion of the Apple II or Macintosh."
- Apple III Chaos: Apple's First Failure, Joshua Coventry, Cortland, 2006.09.01. Apple had known nothing but success with its Apple II product line, but when it tried to enter the business world with the Apple III, the learned the cost of failure.
- 2 Apple Failures: Apple III and Lisa, Tom Hormby, Orchard, 2005.05.16. Apple's two not-so-great product lines between the Apple II line and the Macintosh.
- Apple's Worst Business Decisions: Another Perspective, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2006.10.03. Apple's poor business decisions predate the Macintosh. Let's hope they learn from their mistakes.
Jan. 8 - Lisa
- A history of Apple's Lisa, 1979-1986, Tom Hormby, Orchard, 2005.10.05. Originally envisioned as a business computer to replace the Apple II, the Lisa brought the mouse and GUI to the computer market - only to be felled by the less costly Macintosh.
- The innovative Lisa, Dan Knight, Online Tech Journal, 2001.05.31. Apple's Lisa and how it paved the way for the Macintosh.
- The Lisa legacy, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2003.01.20. We should always remember how Apple's innovation paved the way for all future computers.
- Lisa's DNA is all over modern computing, Ray Arachelian, Apple Seeds, 2007.06.06. Those who label Apple's Lisa a failure are ignoring the computer's legacy that shows up in every personal computer sold today.
Jan. 9 - IBM joins the personal computing world
- Thanks for the IBM PC, Dad, L. Victor Marks, My First Mac, 2001.08.30. Dad, thanks for bringing home that first IBM PC way back in 1981.
- What a legacy: The origin of the IBM PC, Tom Hormby, Orchard, 2006.08.11. IBM introduced its PC on August 12, 1981, shaking up the entire personal computer industry. Today even Apple makes its computers IBM compatible.
- Our debt to the IBM PC, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2001.08.13. A Mac user looks at the legacy of the IBM PC.
We hope you'll join use for our six-week look at Apple history.
Dan Knight has been using Macs since 1986, sold Macs for several years, supported them for many more years, and has been publishing Low End Mac since April 1997. If you find Dan's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
Recent Mac Musings
- IDE Is Dead; Long Live SATA!, 11.04. SATA has displaced parallel ATA. While IDE hard drives haven't disappeared, the best deals are in SATA hard drives.
- The Future of Personal Computing: Personal Servers and Low Cost Portables, 11.02. With WiFi everywhere, virtual network computing, and remote access, your iPhone, iTouch, iTablet, or MacBook Air becomes a gateway to your home or office computer.
- The Late 2009 Mac mini Value Equation, 10.21. We called the Mac mini 'the best value in desktop Macs' two months ago, and the refreshed Mac mini only improves that value.
- The Late 2009 MacBook Value Equation, 10.21. The redesigned consumer MacBook uses unibody construction, gains LED backlighting and battery life, but loses FireWire.
- More in the Mac Musings index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: Power Mac 4400, Nov. 1996 - Apple does cheap to compete with clones - and nobody is impressed.
- Group of the Day: LisaList supports Lisa users.
- November 7 in LEM history: 00: PowerBook Lite dreams - Our first Macs - 01: OS 9, OS X, or Linux? - 02: Xserve for the classroom - 03: Panther on slot-loading iMacs - High capacity Lombard/Pismo battery - 05: Clean keyboard residue from laptop screen with ROR - SeaMonkey - 06: Dan Bricklin, inventor of the spreadsheet - Turn any Mac into a gameshow buzzer - 07: The transforming PowerBook 1400 - PowerBook 540 on Compact Flash
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Quad-Core CPU Makes Sense in MacBook Pro, OS X 10.6 Causing Overheating, Overseas Power, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.06. Also Late 2009 MacBook reviewed, how to add RAM to new MacBook, 18.4in Acer notebook used Intel i7, and SanDisk SSD chosen for Sony VAIO X.
- Dumping Macs for Google Apps, SSD in iMac, Late 2009 iMac Performance Problems, and More, Mac News Review, 11.06. /newsrev/09mnr/1106.html
- WiFi Paranoia, iMac-O-Lantern, Magic Mouse Does Click, Free Clipboard Managers, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.05. Also strange time stamps, problem with ColorIt on Intel Mac, and the story behind OS X 10.5.4 install discs.
- QuickTime X in Snow Leopard Imports, Trims, and Publishes Video Quickly and Easily, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 11.04. The long, slow process of importing video into iMovie to edit it, then render it to another format, is history as QuickTime X does that much more quickly.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.03. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 8-core. $2,299; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.26 8-core, $2,799; 2.93, $4,999.
- Best iPhone Deals, 11.03. New 8 GB iPhone 3G, $$99; refurb 16 GB 3GS, $149; new, $199; 32 GB, $299.
- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.03. Used 867 MHz SperDrive, $348; 1 GHz, $499; 1.33 Combo, $298; SD, $559; 1.5 Combo, $448; SuperDrive, $589.
- Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $49; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733 MHz, $69; 933 MHz, $209; 1.25 GHz dual, $299.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.02. Used 2.0 GHz, $800; 2.2, $900; 2.4, $1,000; refurb 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,949; 3.06, $2,169; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
- Best Mac mini Deals, 10.30. Used 1.33 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.42, $389; 1.5, $419; 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $350; Core 2, $439; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $770; Server, $990.
- Best G4 iBook Deals, 10.30. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $225; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1 GHz, $349; 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz SuperDrive, $498.
- Best Classic Mac OS Deals, 10.30. System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.5 CD, $4; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
- More deals in our archive.
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