Apple Computer celebrates 20 years of innovation
Mac Tip #134/28-Jan-2004

Twenty years ago on 24 January 1984 Apple Computer launched an innovative computer called the Macintosh. It introduced a graphical user interface (GUI) which allowed people to click on icons instead of typing complex strings of commands.

To let users click on things Apple also had to introduce a new piece of hardware: the mouse. Many reports had to include a definition of the mouse: “a handheld device that slides across a table top and moves the cursor on the screen.”

All Macs included sound, and Apple brought ease-of-use, built-in networking, high-speed firewire connections, speech technology, handwriting recognition and a huge list of other features to Macs long before they appeared on other types of computers.

On those early Macs you could only do one thing at a time. If you wanted to refer to a spreadsheet while writing a letter you’d have to quit Word, start up Excel, quit Excel and start up Word. Eventually Apple introduced the Multi-Finder, allowing users to switch between activities with ease.

Microsoft Word and Excel, now thought to be something you use on Windows computers, were created first for Macintosh computers in 1985. Apple laser printers and PageMaker soon made desktop publishing possible for the ordinary Mac user.

In 1998 the multi-coloured iMac revolutionised personal computing again and soon applications such as iMovie and iTunes were starting to swing users away from words and numbers to photos, movies and music — the digital lifestyle. The astoundingly successful iPod music player and hard drive appeared in late 2001 and at this time demand still exceeds supply.

Visit www.apple-history.com and www.folklore.org for some fascinating facts about the Apple company and the computers they make.

Twenty years on we have magnificent Macs and Apple are still innovating. Mac OS X is a superb operating system and the Tips this year will help you get the best use out of your machine.

We start in February with “Safari Month” — some tips for using Apple’s Safari web browser. If you don’t already have it, download it now. It’s near the bottom of this page: www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple.