AppleHistory
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Blast from the Past: Original Macintosh manual
Here's a nice find. Peter Merholz recently got ahold of an original Mac User Manual from 1984 and has posted a bunch of pics along with commentary. The most interesting thing, of course, is seeing them trying to explain basic computing GUI concepts like click-and-drag and scrolling that we take so much for granted. Like Peter, I love the helpful simile that the "Finder is like a central hallway in the Macintosh house." You know, just looking at the thing makes me want a Mac classic! [via Digg]
30 significant Apple products
Everyone loves a good list. The folks at Macworld have identified 30 significant Apple products. The top five contain no surprises, of course: The Mac 128k, the iMac, the iPod, the Apple II and the iTunes Store. There are some unexpected choices as well, like item number 18: The Apple logo sticker. Before you scoff, consider that people are willing to buy these things from Ebay and Red Light Runner. When I bought my car three years ago, I brought a white sticker with me so I could affix it to the window before I even drove the car home. But that's me.Also on the list are the ill-fated Cube and Newton, the 20th Anniversary Mac and the great Hypercard. Check it out.
Top 10 Apple flops
Every one loves a good list post, and this one is certainly entertaining. Newlaunches.com has compiled their list of Top Ten Apple Products which Flopped. There are some gems in the list, including a couple of products I hadn't even heard of. Here they are: Apple Cyberdog, which was an internet suite for the Mac OS back in 1996. I hadn't heard of this until now. Taligent, an Apple and IBM collaborative OS EWorld. Ah, now here's one I remember! An AOL-like online experience for Mac users in 1994, EWorld only lasted two years (but it was fun!). Pippin. The Pippin was a game console that I've never had the chance to play with. Too bad. The 20th Anniversary Mac. Waaay overpriced but super-cool to look at, the "TAM" as it's called is sought after by certain nerdy collectors...like me. Motorola ROKR. Let's just move on. Macintosh TV. Let's just move on. Macintosh Portable. The $6500 "portable" Mac was about the size and weight of a baby dolphin. The rest should be self explanatory. Apple Lisa. As the first personal computer to have a GUI and a mouse, it was a trailblazer. At a cost of $9,995US (that's $21,500US in Feb. 2007 dollars, Newlaunches points out), it didn't sell very well. The Newton. Yes, yes, we all knew that the poor, maligned Newt would top the list. However, I love mine, so there. Any surprises? Glaring omissions? Let us know.
Found Footage: Epic Empire's 3 part Apple mini documentary
Epic Empire is producing a 3 part documentary about Apple Computer. The first part (which is embedded in this post, or which can be seen here) details the rise of Apple Computer and the trouble the company faced with the introduction of the IBM PC.This film looks well done (though I can't explain the musical choices) and I can't wait for the rest of it.Thanks, Lonely Star.
The AP looks at 30 years of Apple
The AP has penned an article looking back at Apple history in light of its fast approaching 30th birthday (what do you get the corporation that has everything? An iPod case?). The article mentions a few of Apple's missteps, and kind of glosses over the dark times (also known as the 90's) to end with the Apple that we all know and love today.It boggles the mind to think that it has only been 30 years since personal computing went mainstream (as we all know Apple ignited the personal computing revolution).[via MacMinute]
Apple Matters' This Day in Apple History
Hadley over at Apple Matters pinged me last week to let me know they were doing this, but today it is official: Apple Matters introduces This Day in Apple History. They've set up a whole section of the site to keeping track of what happened when, they put together their own widget with three very cool Apple flavors, and they've launched a contest celebrating the launch giving away a custom engraved 5G iPod, a Newton, or an Apple II.I need to dig through the archives to find out when TUAW first launched and to let Hadley know important dates like when Scott and I first started blogging for TUAW. ;-)
