Introduced in January 1984, Apple’s Macintosh changed everything – but the world of personal computing was nearly a decade old, and Apple was already successful with its Apple II line. These articles look at Apple before the advent of the Mac, as well as the broader world of personal computing.

For coverage of the Macintosh Era, see our 25 Years of Macintosh in 25 Days index.

Apple Before the Apple II, 1976-77

• Apple 1: Apple’s First and Rarest Computer, Dan Knight.
• 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.

The Apple II Era, 1977-93

• Apple II and II+: Apple’s First Personal Computers, Dan Knight
• 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: Finally Fixing Some Old Problems, Dan Knight
• 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.
• Apple IIc and IIc Plus: Compact Apples with Internal Floppy Drives, Dan Knight
• The Apple IIGS, Apple’s Home Computer for 1986, Jason Walsh.
• Apple IIGS: More Power, More Colors, Awesome Sound, Dan Knight
• 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.

The Apple III, 1980-84

• 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.

Apple’s Lisa, 1983-86

• 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.
• 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.

The Home Computer Era, 1977-94

More details in Timeline of Home Computers and Personal Computer History: The First 25 Years.

• Apple II family launches, 1977.06.10
• Radio Shack TRS-80 family launches, 1977.08.03
• Commodore PET, 1977.10
• TI 99/4, 1979.10
• Atari 400 and 800, 1979.11
• TRS-80 Color Computer, 1980.07.31
• Commodore VIC-20, 1980.09
• IBM PC launch marks the beginning of the end for home computers, 1981.08.12
• The 1983 Home Computer Price War, Dan Knight. Commodore killed off TI but wounded itself severely in the process.
• 1984-85: Apple Macintosh, Atari ST, and Commodore Amiga 1000 introduced 32-bit computing for home and office users.
• 1991: Atari phases out its 8-bit home computers
• 1993: Apple IIe discontinued, last of the Apple II family
• 1994: Commodore 64 discontinued after nearly 12 years on the market as Commodore goes bankrupt.
• 1994: Apple introduces its first PowerPC models, the Power Mac 6100, 7100, and 8100.

The IBM PC

• 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.
• 30 Years On: The Legacy of the IBM PC, Low End Mac Round Table, 2011.08.12

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