Dictionary of Computers - Apple

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US computer company, manufacturer of the iPod and Macintosh range of computers.

The success of PCs running Microsoft's Windows 3, launched in 1990, put pressure on Apple and the arrival of Windows 95 started Apple's decline. Apple's annual revenues peaked at US$11.1 billion in 1995, and by 1998 had slumped to US$5.9 billion. For comparison, Compaq, the market-leading PC supplier, increased its sales from US$10.9 billion in 1995 to US$18.1 billion in 1997. In 1997, however, Microsoft invested heavily in Apple, and, in October 1998, Apple announced its first profit (£182 million) in three years. This was largely due to the success of the iMac computer. In 2001, Apple launched its iPod MP3 music player. In April 2003, Apple entered the music sector with the launch in the USA of its iTunes Music Store, an online music download service designed for Macintosh users. The service was extended to users of Windows PCs in October 2003. In 2006 Apple launched its first Intel-chip computers which are able to run both Windows and Mac operating systems.

History
In 1977, Apple's founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak received backing from a rich venture capitalist, Mike Markkula, who backed the production of the Apple II. Apple's early market lead in personal computing was destroyed by the entry of the computer industry's behemoth, IBM, in 1981. Unfortunately Apple's imaginative response – the Macintosh, launched 1984 – was a proprietary design and was never able to gain enough market share to compete with thousands of firms making computers compatible with IBM's PCs. In 1994 Apple licensed the Macintosh for the first time, thus enabling other manufacturers to make cheaper machines, the first appearing in 1996. Unfortunately Apple proved unable to compete and reversed its licensing strategy, buying its licence back from Power Computing, and leading Motorola to leave the clone business in 1997. The Macintosh has a very strong following in the creative world, particularly in the publishing and the multimedia industries, thanks to its ease of use and the availability of the most popular software for these applications. Early in 1997, Steve Jobs returned to Apple, which had bought his company NeXT, and became ‘interim chief executive’. Later that year, Microsoft invested US$150 million in Apple. At the beginning of 2000, Jobs became permanent chief executive officer of Apple.

Green expresses hope. White symbolizes peace. It is said that the saltire may have been based on the former flag of Belgian airline, Sabena. Red represents the blood shed in the struggle for independence. Effective date: 27 September 1982. >>