November 23, 2010: An early Apple-1 computer, complete with its original packaging and a letter signed by Steve Jobs, sells for $210,000.
At the time, it ranks as the most expensive personal computer ever sold at auction. That makes sense, because it’s an incredibly rare find. The working Apple-1 is thought to be one of only approximately 50 still in existence.
Steve Wozniak suffered a minor stroke but is now recovering at home.
The Woz is now 73 but not really retired from a career that included co-founding Apple with Steve Jobs in 1977.
October 22, 2008: During an Apple conference call, Steve Jobs reveals that a user downloaded the 200 millionth app from the App Store that very day.
The news comes less than five months after the launch of the App Store, and only a month after Apple surpassed 100 million app downloads.
September 3, 1982: The Us Festival, an extravagant music and technology event staged by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, kicks off in California. The festival costs $8 million to stage, and boasts appearances from some of the biggest musical acts of the day.
It’s a wild venture for Woz, who is on hiatus from Apple after surviving a serious plane crash in 1981.
A unique bit of Apple history just went up for auction: Apple Computer check “No. 2” signed by company co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Bidding for the $116.97 check is already up to more than $55,000.
A number of other rare Apple items are also up for sale, some signed by Jobs.
July 8, 1997: Steve Jobs begins his path to becoming chief executive officer of Apple, after former CEO Gil Amelio departs the company following a massive quarterly loss. Also leaving Apple is Ellen Hancock, executive vice president of technology.
To run Apple’s day-to-day operations, CFO Fred Anderson takes over until a new CEO can be found. Jobs, meanwhile, moves from strategic adviser to take “a more expanded role with Apple’s board and executive management team,” according to CNN Money.
Cupertino’s turnaround has started!
June 26, 2008: Apple sends an email to developers, calling for software that will be distributed in the forthcoming App Store.
Devs around the world greet the news with excitement. They hurry to submit their apps and get in on the looming App Store gold rush. Many rake in small fortunes when the App Store goes live less than a month later.
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.
Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple along with Steve Jobs, warned that generative AI will make scams much easier to pull off.
Woz called for regulation to require AI-generated content to be labeled as such.
April 12, 1976: Apple’s third co-founder, a former Atari colleague of Steve Wozniak’s named Ron Wayne, cashes in his Apple shares for just $800.
Wayne, who owns a 10% stake in the company, throws in the towel after worrying that he doesn’t have the time or energy to properly invest in Apple. He later receives an extra $1,500 check to seal the deal. When he cashes it, he loses out on an investment that could have been worth billions.
“I was 40 and these kids were in their 20s,” Wayne told Cult of Mac decades later, referring to Wozniak and Steve Jobs. “They were whirlwinds — it was like having a tiger by the tail. If I had stayed with Apple I probably would have wound up the richest man in the cemetery.”
