| Cult of Mac

Today in Apple history: Google comes out of beta

By

Google Apple
Google and Apple were friends at first. It didn't last.
Photo: Google/Apple

September 21: Today in Apple history: Google comes out of beta September 21, 1999: A little startup called Google comes out of beta, with the launch of a website that will let the general public easily search the internet for information.

To Apple, which is embracing the internet with its twin iMac G3 and iBook products, Google seems like the perfect ally. Sadly, the relationship between the two companies won’t remain rosy for long.

Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs leaves and rejoins Apple

By

Steve Jobs before and after, with maybe a little judgement about water sales.
Two significant days in Jobs' career took place on this day.
Photo: Fulvio Obregon

September 16: Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs leaves and rejoins Apple September 16, 1985 and 1997: Twice on this day, Steve Jobs makes significant moves with regard to his career at Apple. In 1985, he quits the company he co-founded. Then, a little more than a decade later, he officially rejoins Apple as its new interim CEO.

In terms of the emotions associated with those historic occasions, it’s hard to think of two more polarizing days in Jobs’ life.

Today in Apple history: Raging success of Windows 95 makes Cupertino worry

By

Windows 95 banner
With Windows 95, Microsoft clearly had a hit on its hands. And that spurred nervous Apple execs into action.
Photo: Microsoft

September 6: Today in Apple history: Windows 95's success gets Cupertino worried September 6, 1995: The newly launched Windows 95 operating system dominates software sales, sending virtually every other company scurrying for cover — Apple included.

Microsoft’s $85 PC operating system only went on sale at the end of August. But by early September, the company reportedly sells a massive 1.63 million copies of Windows 95, according to excited analysts. It represents a massive triumph for Apple’s biggest rival of the 1990s.

Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs flip-flops on the Newton

By

The Newton MessagePad 2000 brought many upgrades to Apple's doomed PDA line.
The Newton MessagePad went from hero to zero overnight.
Photo: iFixit

September 4: Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs flip-flops on the Apple Newton PDA September 4, 1997: The writing is on the wall for Apple’s Newton product line as Steve Jobs tells executives at the recently spun-off company not to bother moving into their new offices.

It’s quite the turnaround for the Newton division. Only months earlier, it was being portrayed as large enough to become its own company.

Today in Apple history: Rainbow Apple logo gets a modern overhaul

By

Apple adds 5 new vice presidents to its executive lineup
On this day in 1999, Apple ditched its rainbow logo for something more subtle.
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

August 27: Today in Apple history: Rainbow Apple logo gets a modern overhaul August 27, 1999: Apple swaps out the striped, multicolored logo the company used since 1977 for a new single-color version.

The replacement of the iconic Apple logo shocks many longtime fans. However, it is part of a sustained, company-wide overhaul led by Steve Jobs. The makeover includes new products, the “Think Different” ad campaign and, eventually, the removal of the word “Computer” from the company’s name.

Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs and Bill Gates talk ‘future of the PC’

By

In a rare joint interview, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates trade barbs and debate the
In a rare joint interview from 1991, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates discuss the "future of the PC" in Forbes magazine.
Photo: Cult of Mac (stock image from Reviewsapex)

August 26: Today in Apple historyAugust 26, 1991: In their first joint interview, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates trade barbs and debate “the future of the PC” in Fortune magazine.

The spirited discussion marks 10 years since the first IBM PC shipped. The piece also looks at what the future holds for both men — described as the former “boy wonders of computing, now thirtysomething.”

Today in Apple history: Meet the ‘world-saving’ PowerBook 5300

By

Today in Apple history: The top-spec PowerBook 5300 remains the priciest (and most famous) laptop in Apple history.
The top-spec PowerBook 5300 remains the priciest (and most famous) laptop in Apple history.
Photo illustration: Cult of Mac/Serged

Aug25August 25, 1995: Apple releases the PowerBook 5300, the Mac laptop that will save the world from alien invaders in the 1996 blockbuster movie Independence Day.

The computer will make many more big-screen appearances, too. See some of the laptop’s most high-profile Hollywood cameos below.

Today in Apple history: FireWire wins Apple its first Emmy

By

FireWire lands Apple its first Emmy.
FireWire lands Apple its first Emmy.
Image: The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences/Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

August 22: Today in Apple history: FireWire wins Apple its first Emmy August 22, 2001: Apple takes home a technical Emmy for developing FireWire, the high-speed serial port that allows users to transfer data quickly between a Macintosh and another device, such as a digital camera.

“Apple enabled the desktop video revolution with its invention of FireWire,” says Jon Rubinstein, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, in a press release. FireWire plays a key role in Steve Jobs’ “digital hub” strategy at Apple. However, the technology’s origins go back much further than that.

Today in Apple history: PowerBook 165 becomes Apple’s most affordable laptop

By

PowerBook 165 was Apple's most affordable laptop.
A less-remembered PowerBook, but an important one.
Photo: Miguel Durán/Wikipedia CC

August 16: Today in Apple history: PowerBook 165 becomes Apple's most affordable laptop August 16, 1993: Apple ships the PowerBook 165, a lower-cost, grayscale version of the PowerBook 165c, which was the company’s first laptop to offer a color display.

The new model lacks the most attention-grabbing feature of the 165c, but it also brings its own claim to fame. The PowerBook 165 is Apple’s most affordable laptop yet.

Today in Apple history: Original iMac arrives to save Apple

By

On this day in 1998, the world says
On this day in 1998, the world said "hello" to the computer that would save Apple.
Photo: Apple

August 15: Today in Apple history: iMac G3 arrives to save Apple August 15, 1998: The iMac G3 — Apple’s brightly colored, translucent Macintosh relaunch — goes on sale to a rabid audience.

Steve Jobs’ first major new product since returning to Apple, the internet-ready iMac cements his legacy as a forward-thinking tech visionary. It also introduces the world to the design talents of Jony Ive — and pretty much saves Apple in the process.

Just another day at the office, eh?