37 years of Apple

Almost four decades ago the two Steves started what is known today as Apple Inc.  Thirty seven years later what was once an idea is now rated by Interbrand as the world's "top brand," overthrowing Coca Cola from the top of the list. Today Apple is considered by many consumers as the most valuable brand in the world,  enjoying higher rates of consumer satisfaction and loyalty than any other company in the world.  Celebrating its 37 year anniversary, I gathered a chronological timeline of the most important historic points of Apple's journey to share with you.

1976: Wozniak and Jobs create the Apple I.

1977: Apple unveils the Apple II.

1978: Apple introduces interface cards for connecting its computers to most printers.

1979: May Software Arts unveils VisiCalc, an electronic spreadsheet.

1980: Apple FORTRAN is introduced.

1981: Steve Jobs joins Raskin’s Macintosh project.

1982: Apple rolls out the Apple Dot Matrix printer.

1983: Apple introduces the Lisa; releases the ImageWriter printer.

1984: The landmark “1984” commercial introduces the Macintosh during Super Bowl XVIII; Microsoft releases Word 1.0 for Mac; Apple ships the Macintosh 512K.

1985: Apple releases the Apple LaserWriter; Apple introduces the ImageWriter II, the HD-20 hard disk, and the Apple Personal Modem; Apple officially discontinues the Lisa, now named the Macintosh XL.

1986: Apple releases the Macintosh Plus. The first Mac to include a SCSI port.

1987: Macintosh II—which is both the first color Mac and the first NuBus Mac—debuts.

1988: Microsoft launches Windows 2.03, featuring Mac-like icons and overlapping windows.

1989: The Beatles’ Apple Corps recording company sues Apple Computer for marketing products with music-synthesizing capabilities.

1991: Apple announces QuickTime, a new system-software architecture for the integration of dynamic media..

1993: A federal judge dismisses Apple’s Windows 2.03 suit against Microsoft. The decision is upheld on appeal.

1994: PowerPC processors make their Mac debut, with the release of the Power Mac 6100.

1995: The Supreme Court declines to review Apple’s copyright-infringement case against Microsoft, ending the seven-year legal dispute.

1996: Internet Explorer 2.0—the first Mac version of Microsoft’s Web browser—ships; Apple gets into the multiprocessor game with the dual-180MHz Power Mac 9500. Apple won’t release another dual-processor machine for four years.

1997: To mark its 20th anniversary as a company, Apple releases the 20th Anniversary Macintosh (price: $10,000).

1998: Apple unveils a revised OS strategy, changing the name of its next-generation OS to OS X.

1999: The G4 chip becomes the processor for Power Macs.

2001: Apple enters the portable-music business, unveiling the first iPod music player.

2002: OS X becomes the default operating system for all new Macs.

2003: iLife—a suite that includes iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie, and iTunes—debuts, along with Safari, an Apple-built Web browser.

2004: Apple expands its iPod offers to include the slender—and colorful—iPod mini.

2006: The first Intel-based Macs—a flat-panel iMac and the portable MacBook Pro—arrive.