Introduction of Apple Company

Apple Inc, is an American multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing consumer electronics and closely-related software products. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple develops, sells, and supports a series of personal computers, portable media players, computer software, and computer hardware accessories; Apple is also currently involved in the creation of new technology concepts, such as the iPhone, Apple TV, and many features of its new, upcoming operating system, Mac OS X “Leopard”.
Apple also operates an online store for hardware and software purchases, as well as the iTunes Store, a comprehensive offering of digital downloadable music, audiobooks, games, music videos, TV shows, and movies. The company’s best-known hardware products include the Mac line of personal computers and related peripherals, the iPod line of portable media players, and the iPhone, which has a confirmed release date of June 29 2007 in the U. S. Apple’s best known software products include the Mac OS operating system and the iLife software suite, a bundle of integrated amateur creative software products. Both Mac OS and iLife are included on all Macs sold. )
Additionally, Apple is also a major provider of professional (as well as “prosumer”) audio- and film-industry software products. Apple’s professional and “prosumer” applications, which run primarily on Mac computers, include Final Cut Pro, Logic Audio, Final Cut Studio, and related industry tools. Apple had worldwide annual sales in its fiscal year 2006 (ending September 30, 2006) of US$19. 3 billion. The company, first incorporated January 3, 1977, was known as Apple Computer, Inc. or its first 30 years. On January 9, 2007, The company dropped “Computer” from its corporate name to reflect that Apple, once best known for its computer products, now offers a broader array of consumer electronics products. The name change, which followed Apple’s announcement of its new iPhone smartphone and Apple TV digital video system, is representative of the company’s ongoing expansion into the consumer electronics market in addition to its traditional focus on personal computers.

In 1977, the Apple II computer became the first personal computer to include color graphics. Steve Jobs created a sleek plastic case design for the new system having drawn his inspiration from the calculators cases he saw being produced at Hewlett Packard; previously, computer cases had been manufactured out of sheet metal. The Apple II was a major success with earnings of close to $139 million within only three years. People began to take notice of the young company.
In 1981, Steve Jobs introduced the Apple III computer. Because of a flaw in the computer’s design the first 14,000 units were recalled which in turn caused sales of the system to taper off. In 1983, with its dynamic growth, Steve Jobs figured that Apple could use a professional CEO, feeling that he did not have the necessary experience to keep the position. He personally recruited John Sculley, president of Pepsi Co. , as Apple’s new Chief Executive Officer.
The same year, Apple announced the release of the first personal computer that would be almost entirely mouse-based. This revolutionary new system would be called the Lisa. Unfortunately, the Lisa’s retail price of $9,995 made it cost prohibitive for the majority of the general public. Having been removed from the Lisa team, Steve Jobs joined the staff of a smaller project at Apple. He headed the design of a new computer system for the home market that would retail for a more price friendly $500. This proposed system was later named the Macintosh.
The emphasis on the design of the Macintosh was in simplicity; Steve Jobs wanted it to appeal to the average computer user. The Macintosh was eventually fitted with a number of the Lisa’s GUI features. Like the Lisa, the Macintosh’s operating system lacked function keys which forced users to rely on the mouse to navigate through the operating system. The Macintosh contained 128K of memory which was twice that of the equivalent PC at the time and a 32-bit microprocessor which outclassed the PC’s 16-bit microprocessor