The 6 years that made Apple

As a new year dawns for the world’s top tech firm, we recall when it wasn’t

From humble beginnings...

1 1976

The Apple Computer 1, hand–built by Steve Wozniak, goes on sale at the Byte Shop, Mountain View, CA, for $666.66. Twelve days after founding the company with Wozniak and Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne sells back his shares, becoming officially the rubbishest tech investor ever.

2 1977

With sales of the Apple I nearing 200, Jobs and Woz incorporate Apple, Inc and launch the Apple II, with a keyboard and everything. It will go on to sell five million, establishing the concept of a personal computer. Rob Janoff draws the Apple logo.

3 1979

Visiting Xerox PARC, Apple employees including Jobs and Jef Raskin see computers using GUIs and mice. The concept is incorporated into the Lisa, a putative business computer.

4 1981

Woz crashes his plane and effectively retires. Famous multi–millionaire Steve Jobs is heckled by Apple shareholders. With glitches dogging the Apple III, and the Lisa team telling him his ideas cost too much, Jobs switches his focus to Raskin’s Macintosh project.

5 1984

After the Lisa flops, the Mac finally launches, with a marketing blitz including a Super Bowl TV ad. At $2,495, it sells well, encouraging investors to believe Apple will beat IBM’s new ‘PC’.

6 1985

Apple does not beat IBM’s new PC. Having rapidly expanded, the company is forced to slash costs and staff. Jobs quits, outmanoeuvred by John Sculley, the marketing guru he hired as president. Dark years follow — but the seeds are sown for the history of the first trillion– dollar company.