Performa

Apple used the Performa label to market consumer-friendly hardware/software bundles to home users. In most cases, Performas were not really computer form factors. They were product bundles. Beginning in 1992, Apple’s grand vision of marketing consisted of a dizzying array of confusing nameplates that were duplicative across the product lines. Apple marketed the Quadra line …

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The History of the Macintosh Mouse (Apple Mouse)

Apple Inc. is responsible for the mouse interface standard used by today’s computers. Apple did not invent the mouse, but just like Apple’s popularization of the graphical operating system, the company made the mouse a fundamental part of the personal computer. The Apple mouse has been evolving since the early days of Lisa and Apple …

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Creation

The idea for the graphical user interface originated at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). The mission of PARC was to create the future without worrying about the commercial viability of the resulting technology. PARC was a scientific think tank staffed by brilliant software engineers. The PARC researchers created the Alto computer in 1973. The …

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Shufflepuck

Shufflepuck Cafe, by Broderbund Software © 1988, written by Christopher Gross, is a computer game simulation of air hockey. You play shufflepuck against aliens in a space cafe. You are free to play any alien you wish or play in a tournament. Shufflepuck Cafe is one of the truly great games released for the black …

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Lisa

Apple introduced the Lisa computer in January 1983. It was Apple’s first attempt to sell a computer designed from the bottom up with a graphical user interface (GUI). It was not merely an attempt to throw a graphical operating environment over a text-line operating system like early versions of Windows or early Apple II graphical …

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1984 Ad

The year was 1984 and Apple had just announced the Macintosh on January 24. A year earlier, Apple introduced the Lisa, but at a cost of nearly $10,000, it was not priced to make a big dent in the home computer market. But the Macintosh was designed for the home. It was Apple’s remarkable new …

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Obtronix

Apple Computer came into existence on April 1, 1976 as a partnership between Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Gerald Wayne. The purpose of the partnership was to sell Wozniak’s Apple Computer 1, later known as the Apple I. The Apple I was a kit computer. The Apple I kit included only the circuit board. You …

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Apple IIe Card

Apple introduced the Apple IIe Card in March 1991. The Apple IIe Card is a processor direct slot (PDS) card that emulates an Apple IIe computer. It basically turns your Macintosh into a fully functional Apple IIe. All the functionality of an entire Apple IIe computer is built into a single card, except the ROM, …

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Apple ii DOS

DOS and ProDOS were disk operating systems designed by Apple Computer, Inc. to run in the 8-bit Apple II line of computers. Apple also developed a 16-bit version of ProDOS to run in the Apple IIgs. DOS was released for the Apple II in the late 1970’s and was later replaced with ProDOS. ProDOS is much …

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Apple III

The Apple III and Apple III Plus are vintage computers developed by Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.). They were designed as business-oriented personal computers, marking Apple’s first attempt to enter the business market, which was dominated at the time by IBM and its clones. Apple III (Released in 1980) Apple III Plus (Released in 1983) …

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