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The history of the creation and development of Apple, or how to become the most expensive company in the world Views: 1499
"The apple does not fall far from the apple tree," says the folk wisdom.
We have a great reason to explore how right the Russian proverb is.
After all, today's article is dedicated to the legendary Apple company (from the English "apple"), which was founded by the equally famous Steve Jobs.
We introduced this person to our readers earlier, and now it's time to get acquainted with his "brainchild" — Apple, the largest manufacturer of personal and tablet computers, audio players, mobile phones and software.
Apple was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.
She has already crossed her 35 year milestone and can boast of certain achievements.
At the time of the company's founding, Steve Jobs was 21 years old, Steve Wozniak was 25 years old and Ronald Wayne was 41 years old.
This significant event took place in the house of Steve Jobs ' foster parents, or rather in the garage:
Please pay special attention to this fact.
Many well known global brands that are worth billions of dollars started their journey in an ordinary garage.
Many newcomers who want to start their own business think that they need a lot of money to start their own business, that they need to rent a business premises, buy goods or equipment, hire a lot of staff.
As a result, even at the start, a rather large amount runs up, which a beginner simply does not have.
And this amount usually scares a person away.
Of course, there are types of businesses that require fabulous money to open from the very first days.
Look for ideas that do not need a lot of money to implement, and so that this business can be started in your parents ' garage or even right in your room.
But back to Apple.
Apple is the most influential brand in the world and the most expensive company in the world In May 2011, according to the rating of the research agency Millward Brown, the Apple brand was named the most expensive trademark in the world.
According to Forbes data for October 2012, the Apple brand broke out into the leaders in the ranking of the "most influential", ahead of brands such as Coca Cola, Microsoft and IBM.
In November 2013, the company's market capitalization, that is, its actual value is about $ 472 billion, and the company reached its maximum capitalization in September 2012, when its market value was estimated at more than $ 700 billion, which made Apple the most expensive company in history!
The headquarters of Apple is located in the small town of Cupertino, 75 km from San Francisco, California.
Interestingly, the number of Cupertino residents is even less than the number of Apple employees – the company currently employs 60,400 employees!
What distinguishes the multi thousandth Apple company from its competitors and allows it to earn billions of dollars?
The company, historically a manufacturer of PCs and software, has expanded its market segments in the 21st century, entering the next development orbit with new audio players, smartphones and tablet computers.
Apple is certainly a leader company, an innovator company, and in this it is very similar to its co founder Steve Jobs.
Apple's merits are undeniable, because the iPod audio player made a real breakthrough in the world of digital music, the iPhone smartphone turned our vision of mobile phones, and the iPad tablet set the vector of development of the digital device market.
All these "ai gadgets" have become an integral part of the image of a business, solid and successful person.
I would not be surprised if intelligent "Apple" devices with an " ai " prefix will generally replace such names as "audio player", "phone" and "tablet computer"from everyday use.
Tim Cook, Apple's CEO since 2011, said that he is very proud that the company enters the pre holiday season "with the best iPhones, iPads, Macs, iPods in history and full confidence in the potential of our new product line."
The production of these new products, which are in high demand around the world, has indeed dramatically improved Apple's financial situation.
As Steve Jobs said at the presentation of the first iPhone in 2007: "We did not create a new phone, we invented it anew” And at the presentation of the iPad 2 Internet tablet in 2011, Steve Jobs announced the advent of the era of post computer devices.
According to him, they are simpler and clearer than the usual PCs and it is for them that he sees the future, while his competitors are only "trying to find the optimal balance in new PC models".
And even if these same competitors in the person of Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, call the iPad just "a good reader and nothing more," time will tell who is right.
And this is the highlight of Apple.
More precisely, one of many.
After all, if you unravel the secret formula for the success of an apple company and master the art of creating such popular and beloved products and devices, you can fabulously enrich yourself.
I note that some online publications after the appearance of the tablet began to develop special applications for it, for example, the most popular magazine in the United States, Time, developed a whole concept for its iPad version.
However, is it really only innovations and high technologies that have helped Apple reach the pedestal on which the company is comfortably located today?
After all, now Apple is more than new IT technologies and modern production.
Apple is an aesthetic design, a unique reputation, a recognizable style, a successful image and a whole culture in the consumer electronics industry.
In a word, Apple is a legend.
And let them say that "it's easy to find out if a person has an iPhone — he will show it off himself in the first five minutes of dating" and "the main purpose of the iPad is to show that you can afford an iPad".
There is some truth in every joke, and the fact that "apple" jokes have appeared indicates that all these "ai things" have leaked into our market, have taken root there and have fallen in love.
Although this is true.
Today, Apple products are rather primarily a symbol of the wealth and prosperity of its owner.
People who buy an iPhone for the first time do it not because of its technical features, but because they want to get a status.
After all, if you understand it this way, then for the same price you can buy a more technically sophisticated gadget, but whose name is not so well known.
Perhaps, this feature should be adopted.
If you are engaged in a business or are planning to create it, then you need to aim not only at the technical parameters of your product or service, but also at its social aspects.
If you manage to create a product that will be cool to own, then your business will go as it should.
To dot the "I" in this "Apple" prefix, I will say that Apple is even more than a manufacturer of AI gadgets.
After all, the company was at the origins of the creation of personal computers, its history is not easy and interesting.
One of the merits of Apple is that it was this company that with its Apple II series of PCs paved a wide road before the production of personal computers.
In addition, Apple saw the great possibilities of the graphical interface and the computer mouse before others, introducing them into its products.
Let's describe in order the important stages of Apple's great journey: 1976 the year of the company's foundation.
One version of the origin of the name says that Steve Jobs wanted to see the company on the first pages of the telephone directory, hence the name on "a", and according to the second version, he simply fulfilled his threat to call the company "Apple", since nothing better was invented.
By the way, this is how the first Apple Computer logo looked like
By the way, this logo was invented by the third Apple co founder Ronald Wayne (Ronald Gerald Wayne).
He is also called one of the biggest losers in the world, because he lost a tenth of the company for just $ 2,300.
The fact is that when they opened Apple, Ronald Wayne did not have confidence in the favorable future of this company.
In addition, he had property that he risked if things went wrong in this business.
Legally, all members of the company were responsible for any debts of the company, even if they arose through the fault of another partner.
Jobs and Wozniak still had nothing at that time.
They risked almost nothing, and Wayne could lose his property, which could go in favor of creditors if things went badly.
Let me remind you that Apple Computer, Inc. was officially registered on April 1, 1976, and Wayne gave up his share on April 12, that is, less than 2 weeks later.
Thus, he deprived himself of a potential fortune of $ 70 billion!
Let me remind you that in September 2012, Apple was worth more than $ 700 billion, and 10% of this amount is $70 billion.
Well, as they say “ " If I knew the purchase, I would live in Sochi”" And we will return to the history of the company, or rather the logo.
The logo created by Ron Wayne did not take root in the company.
It was used for about a year, after which they decided to replace it with something simpler and more understandable.
As a result, Steve Jobs turned to designer Rob Janoff, who created such a logo:
This logo was created in just a week, and it was bitten in order for it to be firmly associated with an apple, because without a bite it could be confused with a tomato.
The Apple logo is simple, clear and recognizable.
He flashes in films, in meeting places of successful people and increasingly in everyday life.
They say that even the president of Samsung, Apple's main competitor in the smartphone market, is afraid to eat apples in crowded places: suddenly paparazzi will take a picture of him with a bite? ;)
By the way, this logo existed in the company from 1976 to 1998, after which it was replaced with a monochrome one:
Now let's go back to the Apple story.
In 1976, the release of the Apple I programmable computer begins.
1977-93 release of various models of Apple II computers.
It became the first computer mass produced by the company.
1980 Apple conducts the largest initial public offering in history after 1956 (that year Ford entered the stock exchange).
Thus, Apple becomes a public company, and now its shares are traded on the NASDAQ stock market and the London Stock Exchange.
In 2012, the company's shares exceeded the $ 500 mark for the first time, and in the same year they reached the $ 700 mark on the NASDAQ electronic trading.
1980 characterized by the failed release of the Apple III PC.
This computer turned out to be quite raw.
It was constantly breaking down and besides, there were very few offers for it on the computer software market.
Problems with their sales lead to the fact that Jobs fires 40 employees, and the media is talking about the imminent collapse of the company.
By that time, Jobs had cooled down to the Apple III project and switched all his attention to the Apple Lisa project.
And around the same time, Jobs begins the first "grating" with other co owners of the company and the board of directors.
Jobs was quite a tough person.
He always wanted it to be the way he wants, which is why there were conflicts with employees, engineers and partners ami.
The fact is that for the development of a particular project, companies like Apple create special working groups that solve the tasks set.
Each group has its own leader.
And Jobs used to get into the affairs of a particular group and make significant amendments to previously developed projects.
Something like this happened with the Lisa project.
Imagine that a computer project has been developed and work is in full swing on it.
Then Jobs appears and orders everything to be done differently.
Naturally, all this terribly slowed down the work, and since Jobs was a perfectionist, he did not calm down until he brought every little thing to an ideal state.
This led to delays in the deadlines for the completion of projects and, accordingly, to a shortfall in the company's profit, which the shareholders did not like terribly.
As a result, Jobs was removed from the Lisa project.
which upset him terribly.
1983 Steve Jobs invites the experienced John Scully, at that time the CEO of PepsiCo, to the post of president of the company.
The phrase with which Jobs managed to "lure" a top Pepsi manager to the Apple director's chair has become one of the most famous statements in business – "Do you intend to sell soda for the rest of your life or do you want to come with me and change the world?".
Scully chooses Apple and heads the company until 1993.
However, Jobs will soon regret this, saying that inviting Scully to work was the most unfortunate decision in his life.
1984 Apple introduces a new 32 bit Macintosh computer, named by developer Jeff Ruskin in honor of his favorite apple variety.
However, Jeff led the project at the beginning, and then he was sent on a forced vacation, and the project was headed by Steve Jobs.
The release of Macintosh computers strengthened Jobs ' position in the company, as thanks to the release of this model, it was possible to increase the company's profit.
After that, the company stops producing an uncompetitive Apple III family PC.
The Macintosh series becomes the main business of the company.
1985 due to conflicts in the management, the company leaves its co founder Steve Jobs.
Although leaving the company does not sound quite right.
In fact, he was fired from his own company.
Despite the fact that the Macintosh sold, but not as well as planned.
Shareholders accused Steve Jobs of creating non competitive computers, and Jobs accused shareholders and company executives of overcharging the Macintosh.
Jobs considered Scully, whom he once dragged from Pepsi, to be the main villain.
As a result of this confrontation, the board of directors chose John Scully as a more experienced leader who could improve Apple's affairs.
In the same year, Jobs founded the company NeXT.
Later, in 2005, speaking to graduates of Stanford University, Jobs would say that quitting Apple was the best and right decision at that moment.
Cooperation with Scully does not bring Apple much success.
All this time, the company is teetering on the verge of survival.
As a result, after a significant drop in Apple's market value, the board of directors dismisses John Scully.
At Jobs, things are also going neither shakily nor valko at NeXT.
As a result, the new Apple management decides that the company needs drastic changes and that only Jobs can initiate these changes.
It is worth noting that NeXT's business was going so badly that Jobs had to curtail all computer production, leaving only software development afloat.
Subsequently, the developments made became the basis of the Mac OS operating system.
1996 Steve Jobs returns to the Apple director's chair.
The company buys Jobs ' firm NeXT, paying no less than $ 430 million for it.
I would like to note that over the years of its existence, Apple has repeatedly absorbed various companies operating in the IT technology market – Siri, Anobit Technologies, etc.
From 1996 to 1998, Apple underwent drastic changes.
It was decided to abandon many projects.
More than 3,000 employees were laid off.
The company has focused its efforts on four main areas: stationary models of computers for professionals Power Macintosh G3 portable models of computers for professionals PowerBook G3 stationary models of computers for ordinary consumers iMac portable models of computers for ordinary consumers iBook
1998 – As a result of the work done in the arena of computer technology, a new futuristic model of the iMac G3 appears, which became the fastest selling computer in the history of Apple.
At the same time, Jobs begins to hatch the idea of creating his own chain of stores that will sell apple products.
He was not satisfied with the fact that Apple products are on the same shelf with other brands.
He wanted his products to be sold in a special way.
So that sellers do not put it on a par with other products.
And this is another highlight that makes Apple products higher than their competitors.
When you believe that your product is special and try to make it so, then it will be so.
Jobs didnot like mediocrity.
And I have always tried to combine elegant design and the latest technologies in my products.
2000 the dot com crash.
Dotcom literally translates as".
com".
Dot coms are companies related to the Internet.
Apple has never been a company that can be called a dotcom.
But it was very dependent on this market, because Apple products are aimed at PC users, and with the advent of the Internet in our lives, “computer and the Internet” have become almost inseparable words.
So, in 2000, there was a collapse of companies related to the Internet in the United States.
The share price of such companies began to fall, including the value of Apple shares.
This crisis has also spread to other sectors of the economy.
In general, there is an opinion that it was the dot com crash that provoked the subsequent collapse of the world economy in 2007-2008, the consequences of which we still feel.
I wrote more about the dot com crash and the crisis here: The Internet is the source of today's crisis How the crisis developed.
What caused the demand for real estate?
The causes of the global financial crisis, or how unscrupulous borrowers and greedy Wall Street dealers brought down the real estate market How did the financial crisis that arose in the United States affect Russia, and what does it threaten us in the future?
Why am I even writing about the crisis now?
What does the crisis, dot coms and Apple have to do with it, you may ask?
In fact, this is very important, because it was the crisis that served to change the vector of Apple's development.
It was the dot com crash that forced Steve Jobs to look for new markets, thanks to which his company could not just survive, but also thrive.
As a result of the search for new technological solutions, such devices as the iPod, iPhone, iPad appeared, as well as various software that users of apple products love so much.
According to Jobs ' idea, the computer in the future should become a multifunctional complex consisting not only of a monitor, a system unit and a keyboard, but also of various peripheral devices, such as a player, a phone, etc.
Jobs began to implement his idea with the creation of high quality software.
among which I would especially like to note the appearance of the universal iTunes media player.
It was with the advent of this software that Apple turned into one of the key players in the music market.
The fact is that the music market was also going through hard times at that time.
With the development of the Internet and the advent of the mp 3 format, pirates have strongly bitten the music market.
And the appearance of iTunes, or rather the iTunes Store.
which will be discussed below, allowed to increase sales of legal content.
With the advent of iTunes, there was an urgent need for a music device that will work with this software.
That's how the iPod appeared.
2001 presentation of the iPod audio player.
In parallel with the launch of the iPod, Apple opens the first two Apple stores.
Experts predicted the failure of this idea, but as of September 2013, 413 stores were opened and successfully operated in 14 countries of the world.
The Apple Store is not just a hardware store – it's a paradise for geeks!
2003 presentation of the online music store iTunes Store.
The key feature of this store was that it was possible to buy songs individually, and not the whole album as it was previously accepted, and also the fact that the main buyers were the owners of apple products.
The iTunes Store predicted a million sales in the first 6 months of operation.
As a result, a million songs were sold out in 6 days of work.
2007 the release of the iPhone smartphone, which was announced by Steve Jobs himself.
It was under his leadership that Apple was able to discover new market segments.
In the same year, the company changes its official name from Apple Computer to just Apple, in connection with the entry into the consumer electronics market.
The appearance of the iPhone is due to the fact that with the development of mobile technologies, the demand for cameras and digital cameras has fallen.
Developers of mobile devices began to combine a phone, a camera and audio players.
Jobs understood that the audio player market was doomed and would soon be absorbed by phones that combined all these devices.
And then he set the task to his subordinates to develop a new phone that will combine all these functions and, according to Apple's tradition, will be elegant and convenient.
Time Magazine subsequently recognizes the iPhone as the invention of the year!
2008 iPhone takes the 2nd place in the rating of the most useful modern technologies, according to the publication PCWorld.
20 08 Apple releases the thinnest laptop in the world called the MacBook Air
The two thousandth became a real triumph for Jobs and his team.
Apple almost every year surprises the world with something and makes its army of fans more and more.
2010 Apple releases the iPad tablet computer.
The most interesting thing is that the idea of tablet computers with a touch screen was proposed back in 1988 by students of the University of Illinois.
At that time, they were working on the topic "What will be the personal computer of the year 2000" as part of a competition held by Apple.
By the way, he looked like this:
In the same 2010, the iPhone 4 takes 1st place in the list of the best phones in the categories "Bestseller" and "Image" according to Mobile Review.com 2011 Steve Jobs leaves in August for health reasons, and in November he died.
Steve Jobs ' love for his business largely ensured the company's success.
Part of his individual character traits, the "parent" inherited his "apple" - this is a love of innovation, creativity, courage and style.
Since September 2012, the iPhone 5 has been on official sale.
They joke that the iPhone is the smartest phone, and it has the highest percentage of owners who are much dumber than their phone ) I donot know about the IQ of smartphone owners, but the fact that there are a lot of them is a fact.
The number of pre orders for the fifth iPhone reached 2 million in a day!
Probably, among the happy owners of the smartphone there is also Evgeny Chichvarkin, the ex founder of Euroset, now living in London.
According to him, he intended to change the iPhone 4S to the iPhone 5 as soon as its sales begin in the Foggy Albion.
As for Russia, Apple smartphones have also won a wide audience here.
Although some argue that the iPhone would sell better if it went on the Russian market under the translated name "yaMobilko";)
However, Apple is already widely known in our territory.
It positions itself as a manufacturer of simple devices created for the convenience, communication and entertainment of people.
Although all this equipment of the future, sold already in the present, is very, very expensive.
If you look at the official Russian language website http://www.apple.com/ru/, then it can be traced that the key words in the description of the company's products are not dry technical characteristics, but enthusiastic glossy epithets.
Apple doesnot just have "12 megapixels, 17 inches, 3 GB", it has unlimited possibilities, amazing quality, a magnificent display and the most advanced operating system in the world!
Everything from Apple works automatically, easily and imperceptibly laptops are "faster than you can imagine", iPhones "do everything for you" and iPods, with which "sword battles become sharper, and zombie hunting becomes more effective!"
Apple protects its technical developments very jealously.
The company monitors the quality of its trademark, opens branded stores and creates an entire ecosystem of software and numerous applications.
Regarding Apple, they say that the company has " patented a patent for patenting a patent."
Quite a true remark, because as of October 2012, the company has received 5,440 patents for its inventions and design projects!
Protecting intellectual property rights, Apple is suing one firm, then another, while winning lawsuits, then losing them.
So, Nokia accused Apple of violating 10 patents, and Apple filed a lawsuit against Samsung.
She, however,was found innocent by a British court, but patent battles continue.
Now Apple has the highest profitability, as with the points
