Apple history - page 5

June 22, 2009: Steve Jobs returns to work at Apple, a couple months after undergoing a liver transplant as part of his treatment for pancreatic cancer.

Although Jobs has been steadily getting back into work for the past several weeks, the news is made official when a quote from him appears on a June 22 press release about iPhone 3GS sales. An Apple employee also alerts the media after spotting Jobs on campus.

With his return confirmed, everyone wants to know how long Jobs will continue to lead Apple.

June 21, 2010: Apple releases iOS 4, which introduces a range of productivity features as well as the FaceTime videotelephony service. The iOS 4 launch represents a big step forward for Apple’s flourishing mobile devices.

Due to the arrival of the first-gen iPad earlier in the year, iOS 4 also brings a transition from the mobile operating system’s original name, “iPhone OS.”

June 20, 1994: Apple launches eWorld, a subscription service for Mac owners that’s designed to compete with America Online and other nascent online properties. Part messaging service and part news aggregator, the early internet service gives customers access to email, a bulletin board, and software downloads and support.

Apple envisions eWorld, which runs on Macs and Apple IIGS computers, competing with heavy hitters like AOL, Delphi, CompuServe and Prodigy. Unfortunately, Apple’s online service is doomed from the start.

June 19, 1995: Apple releases the Power Macintosh 9500, a high-end Mac that boasts a second-generation PowerPC chip that’s much faster than its predecessor.

The Power Mac 9500 is also significant for having six Peripheral Component Interconnect, or PCI, slots. They allow owners to attach hardware using Intel’s industry-standard connection. Along with seven bays for internal drives and a swappable daughterboard, this makes the 9500 the most expandable Power Mac ever produced.

June 18, 1993: John Sculley steps down as Apple CEO after a 10-year run. The Apple board asks Sculley to leave after AAPL shares collapse from a high of $4.33 in 1992 to a measly 73 cents.

Sculley hands over the CEO role to Michael Spindler before briefly taking the role of Apple chairman, prior to departing altogether.

June 17, 2009: Apple releases iPhone OS 3, the third iteration of its mobile operating system (and the last before a name change). It adds Cut, Copy and Paste functionality, among the most requested features since the original iPhone shipped in 2007.

“iPhone 3.0 has more than 100 new features for our customers,” says Scott Forstall, Apple’s senior vice president of iPhone software, as he demos the new operating system in front of developers. “Let me walk you through just a few, starting with Cut, Copy and Paste. So, we’ve been working really hard to design an easy-to-use, straightforward user interface for Cut, Copy and Paste on our large touchscreen display, and we think we’ve nailed it.”

iPhone OS 3 also brings a host of other new features, including MMS, a landscape keyboard, support for audiobooks and iTunes video, and Spotlight search, which users can access by swiping left on the iPhone’s Home Screen. And the Find My iPhone app comes along for the ride.

June 16, 2010: Apple reports a massive surge of interest in its latest smartphone, with iPhone 4 preorders racking up 600,000 sales on their first day.

The company calls the number “far higher” than expected. At the time, it’s the most iPhone preorders Apple has ever taken in a single day. AT&T suffers server problems thanks to the demand — with 10 times the usual traffic on its website. It’s proof positive that Apple is onto a winner!

June 15, 2011: Three people get sentenced to prison in China for leaking information about the iPad 2 prior to its release.

The Foxconn R&D employees receive sentences ranging from one year to 18 months. They also must pay fines between $4,500 and $23,000. If you ever wonder why more Apple products don’t leak prior to release, this might help explain why!

June 14, 2007: Paul McCartney sings his new song “Dance Tonight” in an iPod + iTunes ad, the latest in a series of Apple spots starring music industry legends.

The new animated ad signifies a thawing of the icy relationship between Apple and McCartney, whose original band The Beatles has been locked in a legal battle with Cupertino for decades.

June 13, 2013: Apple exec Eddy Cue takes the stand to defend the company’s iBooks business strategy in an antitrust case regarding e-book pricing.

Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of internet software and services, runs the iBooks Store initiative. His testimony proves vital to a case brought by the Department of Justice, in which potential damages climb well into the nine figures.

June 12, 2005: Apple CEO Steve Jobs delivers a brilliant commencement speech to graduating students at Stanford University.

Packed with incredible insights, the motivational speech includes many memorable lines that capture the essence of Jobs’ incredible life — and provide a template for success through following your passions. And he does it all in less than 15 minutes.

June 11, 2007: At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, CEO Steve Jobs unveils Safari 3 for Windows, bringing the company’s web browser to PCs for the first time.

Apple pitches Safari as the world’s fastest and easiest-to-use web browser, capable of rendering web pages up to twice as fast as Internet Explorer and 1.6 times faster than Firefox. Safari for Windows will last until 2012, but never becomes a major player on Microsoft’s dominant operating system.

June 10, 1977: Apple Computer Inc. ships its first Apple II computer.

A hulking beige behemoth with 4KB of RAM (upgradeable to a whopping 48KB), the Apple II is the computer that will define Apple for a generation of fans. Retailing at $1,298, it cost the equivalent of a handful of MacBook Pros today  — even though it seemed a total bargain at the time.

June 9, 2002: Apple launches its “Switch” advertising campaign, featuring real people talking about their reasons for switching from PCs to Macs. Apple’s biggest marketing effort since the “Think different” ad campaign a few years earlier, one “Switch” ad in particular turns a 15-year-old high school student named Ellen Feiss into an unlikely star.

She becomes a viral sensation after viewers suggest she was stoned while filming her sleepy-eyed “Switch” spot about a homework-devouring PC.

June 8, 2009: Apple introduces OS X Snow Leopard, a version of its Mac operating system that ranks among the company’s finest desktop updates.

Showcased at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Snow Leopard doesn’t seem as flashy as some other Mac operating system upgrades. In fact, Apple famously includes a slide in its WWDC presentation touting “0 new features.” However, OS X Snow Leopard more than delivers on Apple’s core values, paving a path to a bright future for the Mac.

June 7, 1993: Apple debuts the PowerBook 180c, a solid upgrade that brings a world of dazzling colors to the company’s laptop line.

The 180c’s big improvement over the grayscale PowerBook 180, which launched the previous October, is its active-matrix, 256-color screen. Such a screen is something of a novelty for laptops in the early 1990s.

June 6, 2005: Steve Jobs reveals that Apple will switch the Mac from PowerPC processors to Intel.

Speaking at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Jobs’ revelation reminds the tech world that he is a leader who can get things done. Given Intel’s focus on mobile computing, the move also offers a hint at what Apple’s CEO has planned for the second half of his reign.

June 5, 1977: The first Apple II, the personal computer that will put Cupertino on the map, goes on sale.

Previously shown off to a few thousand rabid fans at the West Coast Computer Faire, the Apple II’s arrival means the masses can finally get their hands on the breakthrough machine.  A base unit costs $1,298 — the equivalent of nearly $6,900 today.

June 4, 1997: Mac clone-maker Power Computing hits its high point as the company’s top exec reaches an agreement with Apple concerning the forthcoming Mac OS 8.

The deal allows the company to start making moves toward an IPO as the fastest-growing PC company of the decade. Things don’t turn out well, though.

June 3, 2011: iOS overtakes Research in Motion’s BlackBerry operating system for the first time, with Apple’s mobile operating system inching past BlackBerry OS.

While Android remains comfortably in the lead in terms of market share, the news marks the beginning of the end for BlackBerry as a smartphone powerhouse.

June 2, 2014: Apple shows off Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite for the first time at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Following the Jony Ive-redesigned iOS 7, Yosemite boasts an aesthetic change that brings Apple’s desktop computers closer than ever to the look of the company’s mobile software.

Named after Yosemite National Park, the update follows the previous year’s Mavericks as the second Mac operating system named after a California landmark.

June 1, 1978: Apple launches the Disk II floppy drive, one of the company’s most important peripherals ever.

The best floppy drive available at the time, Disk II solves the Apple II computer’s most glaring weakness — a lack of storage. It also helps establish Apple’s flair for handsome profit margins.

May 31, 2013: The Chicago Sun-Times fires all 28 of its photographers, with the goal of training its staff to shoot photos using iPhones instead. Pulitzer Prize winner John H. White is among those who lose their jobs.

The move is significant not just because of what it says about the declining newspaper industry. It also spotlights the iPhone’s growing acceptance as a professional camera.

May 30, 2013: Apple marks the sale of the 100 millionth iPod touch by launching a new, stripped-down model with a budget price of $229.

The 16GB music player lacks some features of its high-end siblings. However, the smaller price tag makes it appealing to new customers.

May 29, 1992: Apple demonstrates its Newton MessagePad for the first time, showing how the upcoming PDA can be used to order a pizza and pull off other time-saving tricks.

Hailed by Apple CEO John Sculley as “nothing less than a revolution,” the Newton is Apple’s first major new product since the original Macintosh shipped eight years earlier. During the first Newton demo at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, Apple shows how people can customize a pizza by moving topping icons on a symbolic pie. Then they can fax the order straight from the device.