History of Apple: 1993-1994 – Most Significant Events
But by the mid nineties Apple were overpriced, and the majority of its products consisted of rehashes of the 1984 Macintosh with different improvements. Many competing products beat the Macintosh in performance, and their prices were much better. The company lost money in 1994, and 1995, 1996, 1997 followed suit . Even more, in the first quarter of 1997 Apple stock hit a 12-year low of $4 and the company reported a $708 million loss, and Microsoft (!) invested $150 million to save its competitor from disaster.
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The History of Apple (1976-2016) [Video]
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History of the Apple Computer Corporation 1993-1994
Apple History 1993
January 1993: At the Winter Consumer Electronics Show Apple Computer shows off the Apple Newton, the first PDA in history, and the StyleWriter II printer.
January 1993: Civilization becomes the top selling Macintosh computer game in the USA in January 1993.
January 6, 1993: MacWorld Exposition ’93 is held, in San Francisco, California.
January 14, 1993: The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show. A computer looking very much like a 1984 Apple Macintosh can be seen on the screen.
February 1993: In Japan, Apple makes its largest product announcement: Apple Computer discontinues the the Macintosh Classic II, the Macintosh IIci and the Quadra 700. The company introduces the Macintosh Color Classic (replacing the Macintosh Classic II), Macintosh LC III, Macintosh Centris 610 and 650, Macintosh Quadra 800, and PowerBook 165c. The Macintosh Color Classic features a Sony Trinitron 10-inch built-in color display (512×384 pixels), 4 MB RAM, 80 MB hard drive, 16 MHz 68030, 256 kB video RAM, LC Processor Direct Slot, math coprocessor slot, for US$1389. The Macintosh LC III features a 25 MHz 68030, 80 MB hard drive, 4 MB RAM, 512 kB video RAM, System 7.1, and 14-inch monitor, for US$1349. The Macintosh Centris 610 features a 20 MHz 68LC040, 80 MB hard drive (optional 230 MB), 4 MB RAM (optional 8 MB), 512 kB video RAM (optional 1 MB), System 7.1, for US$1859. The Macintosh Centris 650 features a 25 MHz 68LC040 (optional 68040 with math coprocessor), 80 MB hard drive (optional 230 MB or 500 MB), 4 MB RAM (optional 8 MB or 24 MB), 512 kB video RAM (optional 1 MB), and three NuBus slots for US$2699 (base model includes full 68040). The Macintosh Quadra 800 features a 33 MHz 68040, 230 MB hard drive (optional 500 MB or 1 GB), 8 MB RAM (optional 24 MB), 512 kB video RAM (optional 1 MB), and three NuBus slots, for US$4679. The Macintosh PowerBook 165c has a 33 MHz 68030, 68882 math coprocessor, 80 MB hard drive (optional 160 MB), 8.9-inch (diagonal) color passive-matrix LCD screen, 4 MB RAM (optional 14 MB), 512 kB video RAM, floppy disk drive, System 7.1, for US$3399. It weighs 7 pounds.
February 1993: The Mac Color Classic become the 10-millionth Macintosh computer manufactured and shipped by Apple Computer.
March 1993: At Microsoft’s Windows Hardware Engineering Conference, a few companies unveil the Plug and Play initiative. Compaq Computer, Intel, Microsoft, and Phoenix Technologies are among the initial supporters.
March 1993: Apple cancels project Tesseract, which was working on a RISC-based Macintosh. However the project Cognac continues, which is working on an alternative RISC design.
May 1993: Steve Wozniak presents an Apple PowerBook to Poland’s President Lech Walesa.
May 1993: Apple holds a developers conference, inviting software companies to test their applications on the PowerPC-based Macintosh. None of the applications tested break the 680×0 emulator.
June 1993: Apple Computer expands its PowerBook line with the PowerBook 180c and 145B.
June 1993: Prince of Persia becomes the top selling Macintosh computer game in the USA.
June (?) 1993: Apple Computer ships PlainTalk speech recognition and synthesis extensions for the Macintosh.
June 18 1993: John Sculley steps down as CEO of Apple Computer, remaining as chairman. The Apple Computer board of directors appoints Michael Spindler as CEO.
June 28 1993: The LC 520 computer is released. It was Apple’s attempt to create a viable all-in-one computer for the 90s. The device came in an attractive new one-piece case, sold for $2,000 and proved to be a popular home model. Many 520-style Macs have been produced since. The LC 520 was also released as the Performa 520. The 500 series included four main models, the 520, 550, 575, and 580, with the 520 and 550 both using different speeds of the Motorola 68030, and the 575 and 580 sharing the 33MHz Motorola 68LC040 processor. The models differed however on the rest of the hardware. The LC models in particular became very popular in schools for their small footprint, lack of cable-clutter, and durability. The Macintosh TV is closely related to this series, using the same case (in black instead of platinum) and a logic board similar to the Macintosh LC 550. The compact Color Classic series shares many components, and is able to swap logic boards, with the early 500 series machines.
The Macintosh LC 520 (codename: “Hook”) was introduced in June 1993, and was the first of the LC 500 series. The LC 500 case design was larger than the compact Macs, with a significantly larger screen. The 520 was discontinued in February 1994, when it was replaced by both the faster but otherwise essentially unchanged Macintosh LC 550 and the new, 68LC040-equipped Macintosh LC 575.
July 1993: Apple Computer announces layoffs of 2500, nearly 15% of its world-wide staff.
July 1993: Apple introduces the Macintosh Centris 660AV. It features a 33 MHz 68040, AT&T 3210 DSP, 1 MB video RAM, 8 MB RAM, and 230 MB hard drive. Codename during development was Tempest. Apple also releases the Macintosh Quadra 840AV. It features a 40 MHz 68040, AT&T 3210 DSP, 1 MB video RAM, System 7.1 operating system, QuickTime, 8 MB RAM, NuBus 90 expansion slots, 230 MB hard drive, for US$4069. Codename during development was Cyclone.
August 1993: Apple Computer ships the Apple PowerCD, a portable CD-ROM drive that supports audio CDs and Kodak Photo CDs as well.
August 2 1993: Apple Computer launches the Newton MessagePad 100 personal digital assistant at Macworld Expo, in Boston’s Symphony Hall. It features 640 kB RAM, 3 MB of ROM storing applications and the operating system (Newton Intelligence), a low-voltage 20-MHz 32-bit ARM 610 microprocessor, 240×336 resolution (85 dpi) 2.8 x 4-inch LCD screen, one PCMCIA Type II expansion socket, data transfer of 9600bps, and runs 14 hours on four AAA batteries. 50,000 units sell in the first 10 weeks, but only 80,000 are sold during the product’s life.
August 24, 1993: Apple loses its appeal of the ruling in favor of Microsoft in June, ending its legal battle against Microsoft Windows.
September 1993: Apple Computer’s net sales hit a record US$8 billion for fiscal year.
September 1993: Star Trek: 25th Anniversary becomes the top selling Macintosh computer game in the USA during the month of September.
October 1993: Apple announces Macintosh TV, which includes Apple CD 300i CD drive for audio CDs and data CD-ROMs, 640×240 resolution 14-inch TV, internal cable-TV tuner, 60 MB hard drive, 5 MB RAM, 1.4 MB SuperDrive, speakers, video ports, 32 MHz 68030 CPU, for US$2079.
October 1993: Apple renames the Macintosh Centris 610 as the Macintosh Quadra 610. It features a 25 MHz 68040, Ethernet port, 8 MB RAM, 160 MB hard drive, and 512 kB video RAM.
October 1993: Apple introduces the Macintosh LC 475. It features a 25 MHz 68LC040, 80 MB hard drive, 4 MB RAM, 512 kB video RAM, 14-inch monitor, for US$1299.
October 1993: Apple introduces the Macintosh Performa 475. It features a 25 MHz 68LC040, 160 MB hard drive, 4 MB RAM, 512 kB video RAM, and 14-inch monitor.
October 1993: Apple introduces the Macintosh Performa 476. It features a 25 MHz 68LC040, 230 MB hard drive, 4 MB RAM, 512 kB video RAM, and 14-inch monitor.
October 1993: Apple introduces the Macintosh Performa 460. It features a 33 MHz 68030, 80 MB hard drive, 4 MB RAM, 512 kB video RAM, and 14-inch Performa Display monitor, for US$1300. Apple Computer introduces the Macintosh Performa 466. It features a 33 MHz 68030, 160 MB hard drive, 4 MB RAM, 512 kB video RAM, and 14-inch monitor.
October 1993: Apple Computer introduces the Macintosh Performa 467. It features a 33 MHz 68030, 160 MB hard drive, 4 MB RAM, 512 kB video RAM, and 14-inch monitor. Apple introduces the Macintosh Performa 550. It features a 33 MHz 68030, 160 MB hard drive, 5 MB RAM, 768 kB video RAM, and 14-inch monitor.
October 1993: Apple introduces the Macintosh LC 520. It features a 25 MHz 68030, 80 MB hard drive, 5 MB RAM, 768 kB video RAM, 300 kBps internal CD-ROM, and 14-inch monitor.
October 1993: Apple renames the Centris 650 as the Quadra 650, with a 33 MHz 68040, 8 MB RAM, 230 MB hard drive, and 512 kB video RAM.
October 1993: Apple introduces the Quadra 605. It features a 25 MHz 68LC040, 80 MB or 160 MB hard drive, 4 MB RAM, and 512 kB video RAM.
October 1993: Apple introduces the PowerBook Duo 250. It features a 33 MHz 68030, 4 MB RAM, 200 MB hard drive, 9-inch diagonal 640 x 400 85 dpi grayscale active matrix LCD screen, Type II nickel metal hybrid batteries. It weighs 4.2 pounds.
October 1993: Apple Computer introduces the PowerBook Duo 270c. It features a 33 MHz 68030, 68882 math coprocessor, 4 MB RAM, 240 MB hard drive, 8.4-inch 94 dpi 640 x 400 16-bit color active matrix LCD screen, Type II nickel metal hybrid batteries. Weight is 4.8 pounds.
October 1993: Apple Computer releases System 7 Pro, which includes System 7.11, AppleScript 1.0, QuickTime 1.6.1, and PowerTalk 1.0.
October 1993: Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat is top selling Macintosh computer game in the USA during the October.
November 15, 1993: Apple Computer discontinues the Apple IIe computer line and drops it from its product list. In its 17 year history, 5 million units were shipped.
November 1993: At the Comdex trade show, Apple Computer demonstrates a Macintosh Quadra 610 with an Apple-designed 486SX board, running MS-DOS.
November 1993: Apple Computer licenses its PowerPC Macintosh operating system ROMs to DayStar Digital for upgrade cards.
November 1993: Sales of Apple Computer’s PowerBook series hit the 1 million mark.
November 1993: SimCity 2000 is top selling Macintosh computer game in the USA during November.
November (?) 1993: Apple Computer runs its 1984 TV ad in Russia.
November 1993: Apple announces that 50,000 Newton MessagePad PDA were shipped in 1993. In total, Apple shipped 2,050,000 personal computers during the period. Thus Apple Computer tops PC Vendor List in US shipments for the second consecutive year. Market share of personal computer operating systems worldwide during the year: MS-DOS 85.7%, Mac OS 6.7%, Unix 1.5%, OS/2 3.0%, other 3.0%.
1993 (month unknown): Apple renames the Macintosh Centris 660AV as the Macintosh Quadra 660AV, discontinues the Macintosh Iivx, discontinues the Macintosh Iivi, discontinues the Macintosh Performa 600, discontinues the Macintosh Quadra 800, discontinues the Macintosh Performa 400, discontinues the Macintosh Performa 405, discontinues the Macintosh Performa 430, discontinues the Macintosh Performa 450, discontinues the Macintosh Performa 200.
Apple History 1994
January 5, 1994: Apple announces eWorld, an online service for Apple tech support and a virtual shopping mall. It is to replace AppleLink.
January 1994: Apple Computer shows its first PowerPC product, an upgrade board with a 66 MHz PowerPC 601 microprocessor, for many of Apple’s Centris and Quadra Macintosh computers.
January 1994: Shipments of Apple Computer Macintosh computers hits 1 million for the previous four month period, for the first time.
January 1994: At Macworld Expo, Newer Technology introduces the Quadra Overdrive at Macworld Expo. The clock-doubled accelerator boards fit in the 68040 socket of the Macintosh Quadra or Centris. Processor speeds of 40 MHz and 50 MHz are available, for US$1700.
January 1994: Apple announces that it will license System 7.x OS to other hardware companies.
January 1994: SimCity 2000 is declared top selling Macintosh computer game in the USA during the month of January.
February 1994: Apple introduces the Macintosh LC 575 and LC 550.
February 1994: Apple Computer introduces QuickTime 2.0, with interactive television, music and full-screen video support (it will be released in June 1994).
February 1994: Apple releases the Apple Color StyleWriter Pro 360dpi color ink jet printer.
February 1994: Apple ships Macintosh Application Environment 1.0 for the HP-UX operating system with the Motif interface, and the Solaris OS with the OpenLook interface.
February 1994: Apple announces that it shipped 80,000 Newton MessagePad 100 systems in the first five months.
March 4, 1994: Apple introduces the Newton MessagePad 110 handheld computer, featuring 1 MB RAM, 20-MHz ARM610 processor, and runs on four AA batteries. Remote data transfer rate is 38.5 kbps. Battery life is five times that of the Model 100. Introductory price is US$599, but it will drop to US$499 in a few weeks. The Newton MessagePad 100 contains improved software in ROM.
March 14, 1994: Apple introduces the Power Macintosh 6100/60 computer. It features a 60 MHz PowerPC 601 processor, 68LC040 emulation ROM, 8 MB RAM, 160 MB hard drive, 14-inch monitor, SCSI, Ethernet, 1 NuBus slot, System 7 operating system. Price is US$2209.
March 14, 1994: Apple Computer introduces the Power Macintosh 7100/66 computer. It features a 66 MHz PowerPC 601 processor, 68LC040 emulation ROM, 8 MB RAM, 250 MB hard drive, 1 MB video RAM, 14-inch monitor, SCSI, Ethernet, 3 NuBus slots, System 7 operating system. Price is US$3379.
March 14, 1994: Apple introduces the Power Macintosh 8100/80 computer. It features a 80 MHz PowerPC 601 processor, secondary external cache, 68LC040 emulation ROM, 8 MB RAM, 250 MB hard drive, 2 MB video RAM, 14-inch monitor, SCSI, Ethernet, 3 NuBus slots, System 7 operating system. Price is US$4869.
March 14, 1994: Apple introduces an upgrade card for Macintosh computers using a 68040 processor. The card includes a PowerPC 601 processor running at 66 or 80 MHz, a Level 2 cache, and 4 MB ROM. Price is US$699.
March 1994: Apple Computer releases the System 7.1 OS for the Macintosh. The company discusses its next-generation operating system, code-named Copland, due for release in 1995, and Gershwin for 1996.
March 1994: Apple ships the Macintosh Quadra 610 DOS Compatible. It features a 40 MHz Motorola 68LC040 chip and a 25 MHz Intel 486SX chip, for US$1580.
May 1994: Apple introduces the 500 series of PowerBook computers (520, 520c, 540, 540c). All use clock-doubled Motorola 68LC040 microprocessors, at speeds of 50/25 MHz or 66/33 MHz. Prices range from US$2270 to US$3760.
May 1994: Apple introduces the PowerBook Duo 280 and 280c. The 280c features a 33 MHz 68LC040, and 8.4-inch LCD display.
June 1994: Apple discontinues the DOS Compatible Card after only 2.5 months of offering it. At the same time, Apple Computer introduces a prototype DOS compatibility card for the Power Macintosh. It uses a 50 MHz 486DX2 and has support for networks and SoundBlaster.
June 1994: Apple unveils System 7.5 OS.
June 1994: Apple Computer introduces Macintosh 630 line of computers, as well as the PowerBook 150.
June (?) 1994: Apple introduces the “Houdini” board, the DOS Compatibility Card for the Quadra 610, with a 25 MHz 486SX processor. The entire inventory of 25,000 boards will be sold out in a few months.
July 1994: Apple introduces the Macintosh PowerBook 540c (code-name Blackbird). The computer features a 9.5-inch diagonal active-matrix 640c480 LCD panel, 320 MB hard drive, 33 MHz 68LC040 processor.
August 24, 1994: Bob Dylan files suit in US Central District Court of California in Los Angeles for trademark infringement of Apple Computer’s Dylan programming language. Dylan and Apple quickly settle out of court, licensing use of the trademark name.
August 1994: Doom is top selling computer game in the USA for the month of August.
September 7, 1994: Apple Computer announces its intention to license the Macintosh operating system in 1995. The same day Mac OS logo is announced, which will be used to identify Mac application programs and Mac-compatible systems.
September 1994: An appeals court agrees with the June 1993 ruling against Apple Computer in its March 1988 suit against Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard. Apple immediately files an appeal of its suit versus Microsoft with the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
September 19, 1994: Apple announces it would initially sign up a maximum of six Mac licensees, with no restrictions imposed on them.
October 1, 1994: Personal computer shipments in the US for the past three months: Apple Computer 641,000, Compaq Computer 617,000, Packard Bell 575,000, IBM 470,000, Gateway 2000 230,000.
October 2, 1994: Apple Computer officially names its Macintosh operating system “MacOS”.
October 1994: Apple Computer expands its Macintosh Performa 6100 line with five new computers based on the PowerPC.
November 1994: Apple Computer debuts the Power Macintosh 8100/100, the industry’s fastest, most powerful personal computer.
November 1994: Apple Computer delivers QuickTime 2.0 for Windows.
November 1994: Apple ships the Power Macintosh Upgrade Card for Entry-Level Macintosh for US$599. DayStar ships the PowerCard 601 for 68040-based Macintosh computers. Price if US$699.
November 7, 1994: Apple Computer, Motorola, and IBM announce that they will create a computer platform to run all major operating systems, except the Intel x86-based Microsoft Windows 3.1 and successors. Apple Computer will port the Mac OS to this platform, and license other vendors to create Mac-compatible computers. IBM will port OS/2 and AIX, SunSoft will port Solaris, Motorola will port Windows NT, and Novell will port NetWare.
November 13, 1994: The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show episode where a character writes “Beat up Martin.” on a “Newton” handheld computer with green apple and worm logo, which interprets the writing as “Eat up Martha.”
December 13, 1994: Apple Computer licenses PowerMac technology to Bandai.
December 1994: Apple Computer sues San Francisco Canyon Company claiming unauthorized use of Apple Computer’s QuickTime code to speed up Microsoft’s Video for Windows product.
December 1994: Apple Computer demonstrates a PCI-based Power Macintosh using a 120 MHz PowerPC 604 processor.)
December 16, 1994: Apple Computer signs a licensing agreement with Power Computing, allowing the company to produce Macintosh-compatible computers.
December 1994: Apple Computer signs a licensing agreement with Radius, allowing the company to produce Macintosh compatible computers.
December 19, 1994: Apple files a write of certiorari with the US Supreme Court asking justices to review the case of Microsoft copyright infringement in Windows.
31 December 1994: Desktop computer market share in 1994: Apple Computer: 12%, Packard Bell: 12%, Compaq Computer: 11%, IBM: 9%, Dell: 6%, Gateway 2000: 5%, Hewlett-Packard: 3%, Digital: 2%, AST: 2%, Acer: 2%, Other: 36%. Market share of personal computers worldwide during the year: Compaq Computer 10.3%, Apple Computer 9.4%, IBM 8.5%.
Bibliography
- “iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It” by Steve Wozniak and Gina Smith
- “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson
Links
- Chronology of Personal Computers
- Apple History
- History of Apple: 1970-1989 – Most Significant Events – iGotOffer Apple Encyclopedia
- History of Apple: 1990–1992 – Most Significant Events – iGotOffer Apple Encyclopedia
- Sell your used Apple Mac computer online – iGotOffer
- News and Reviews About Electronic Gadgets and Apps – iGotOffer Blog
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