January 7, 1997: Steve Wozniak returns to Apple to participate in an advisory role, reuniting with co-founder Steve Jobs onstage at the Macworld Expo.
Woz’s Cupertino homecoming is revealed at the end of the Macworld conference. With Jobs’ recent return to Apple (thanks to the NeXT buyout, it marks the first time the two co-founders have been at Apple together since 1983. It’s a great way to celebrate Apple’s 20th anniversary. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last.
January 6, 1998: After taking over a company on the verge of bankruptcy, Steve Jobs shocks attendees at San Francisco’s Macworld Expo by revealing that Apple is profitable again.
Referring to Apple’s strategy since he took over as interim CEO, the recently returned Apple co-founder says, “It’s all come together for us.”
Little did most of us know exactly how massive Apple’s comeback trail was set to be.
January 5, 1999: Apple introduces its revised Power Mac G3 minitower, often nicknamed the “Blue and White G3” or “Smurf Tower” to separate it from the earlier beige model.
The first new Power Mac since the colorful plastic iMac G3 shipped, the pro-level machine borrows the same transparent color scheme. Unfortunately, it doesn’t hang around too long.
January 4, 1995: Apple signs a deal with third-party Mac accessory maker Radius, allowing the company to build Macintosh clones.
Radius is the second company to license the Macintosh operating system (Power Computing did the same thing a month earlier). However, Radius will become the first licensee to bring a clone to market when its System 100 ships in March 1995.
December 30, 1999: Microsoft hits the height of its 1990s dominance and begins its early-2000s decline, clearing a gap at the top for Apple.
After hitting its all-time high of $53.60, Microsoft stock starts to fall. Less than a year later, Microsoft shares fall more than 60 percent in value to $20.
December 29, 1999: Apple starts shipping its unfathomably large 22-inch LCD “Cinema Display.”
The biggest LCD computer display available anywhere in 1999, Apple’s all-digital flat panel is a far cry from the bulky cathode ray tube monitor the then-current iMac sported. It is also Apple’s first widescreen display and the first to sport a digital video interface.
December 21, 1994: Mac gamers get their hands on Marathon, a sci-fi first-person shooter designed as an answer to the massive success of PC title Doom.
Created by Bungie, the team that would later make the Halo games, Marathon introduces important features to the FPS genre. Just as importantly, it isn’t available on PC. Marathon quickly becomes a favorite among Mac gamers.
December 20, 1996: Apple Computer buys NeXT, the computer company Steve Jobs founded after leaving Cupertino a decade earlier.
The deal costs Apple $429 million. It’s a massive price to pay for the failing NeXT, which already saw its hardware division crash and burn. The price is worth it when you consider what Apple gets as part of the deal, however: the return of Steve Jobs.
December 16, 1994: Apple Computer inks a licensing deal with Power Computing, allowing the company to produce Macintosh-compatible computers.
With falling market share, and longtime rival Microsoft steaming ahead thanks to its software-licensing strategy, Apple executives think the only way to compete is for Apple to hand over its operating system for third-party Macs.
Of course, it doesn’t turn out exactly like that…
December 13, 1994: Apple strikes a deal with Bandai, Japan’s largest toymaker, to license Mac technology for the creation of a new videogame console.
Based on the PowerPC 603 CPU and running a stripped-down CD-ROM-based version of Mac OS, the resulting games machine is called the Pippin. Unfortunately, it’s a sales disaster.
