The History of Apple in Pictures

To fully appreciate the history behind Apple, you have to see this gallery of Apple products.  The captions on the side are generally correct for the layman but purist will contest as to which computer first came out with the mouse. Most of them repeat, which shows how much thought was given to them because Apple's products rarely fails to invoke opinions. Like if you want to see start of the "long lines" design phase of Apple, start with the Apple IIc. This design, including the keyboard, is brought to the Macintosh line and remained so almost until Steve Job's return to Apple.

In the beginning people made their own computer casings.

There is also something to be said about the products that have faded into the mists of time. Not everyone now knows that it was the Apple II computer that brought computing to the masses and is the basis for today's computers. The Apple II, together with te Commodore 64, Sinclair, Atari 1024 and the amazingly timeless Amiga, is the foundation of PCs of today. The Apple II introduced or popularized concepts like the expandable memory and slots for add-on cards. 

But even the obscure ones have a place in history too. A rough line can be drawn from the Apple Netwon to the PenPoint OS machines to the Psion Series 5 to the HP OmniGo 100 to the Palm Pilot to Windows CE to the iPad. So underneath all the glitz and shine of the iPhones and iPads lies the pedigree of innovation that has always been part of Apple. 

It is sad that Apple is now more known for shiny gadgets, slick advertising and questionable / innovative business practices rather than for it's innovative technologies that is really the heart of the company.