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Apple
Apple Computer Company is founded by Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, and Ron Wayne. -
Apple
Apple Computer introduces Apple II. -
Apple
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak announce the Apple I personal computer. -
Microsoft
Microsoft refines and enhances BASIC to sell to other customers including DTC, General Electric, NCR, and Citibank. -
Microsoft
Microsoft develops its first ad campaign, called "The Legend of Micro-Kid." -
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Tandy Corporation announces TRS-80 Model 1 microcomputer. -
Microsoft
A partnership agreement between Paul Allen and Bill Gates is officially executed. -
Microsoft
The Personal Electronic Transactor -better known as the Commodore PET- had an integrated, self-contained design and was aggressively priced at less than $800. Microsoft developed its first 6502-based BASIC for the Commodore and sold the source code to Apple. The machine used a cassette recorder for loading and storing data. -
Microsoft
They introduce COBOL-80. -
Apple
34-year-old Jef Raskin joins Apple Computer exactly one year after becoming incorporated. Becomes employee #31. -
Microsoft
Microsoft 8080 BASIC is the first microprocessor product to win the ICP Million Dollar Award. Traditionally dominated by software for mainframe computers, this recognition is indicative of the growth and acceptance of the PC industry. -
Apple
The Lisa Project, a $2000 Apple III-like computer, begins under Ken Rothmuller. Expected release was March 1981. -
Microsoft
Microsoft expands its service to the European market with the addition of a new representative, Vector Microsoft, of Belgium. Microsoft has already established contracts with ICL, Phillips, R2E, and several other OEMs. -
Microsoft
Microsoft announces Microsoft XENIX OS, a portable operating system for 16-bit microprocessors. It is an interactive, multi-user, multi-tasking system that will run on Intel 8086, Zilog Z8000, Motorola M68000, and DEC PDP-11 series. All of Microsoft's existing system software (COBOL, PASCAL, BASIC and DBMS) will be adapted to run under the XENIX system, and all existing software written for UNIX OS will be compatible as well. -
Apple
The Apple III is released at the National Computer Conference (NCC) for $4340 to $7800 depending on configuration. -
Apple
: Apple goes public. Apple's share rises 32% that day, making 40 employees instant millionares. Jobs, the largest shareholder, makes $217 million dollars alone. Markkula makes $203 million that day, an incomprehensible 220,700% return on investment . Neither Jef Raskin, nor Daniel Kottke (one of the original Apple employees) were allowed to buy stock and so made no money during this time. -
Microsoft
The original IBM Personal Computer was actually introduced with several options in operating systems, including the CP/M-86 from Digital Research and the UCSD P-System. -
Apple
Mike Markkula becomes president of Apple. The original ship date for the Lisa is missed, coming out 3 years later. -
Apple
introduces the IBM PC for $1565. With 16k RAM, a 5.25" floppy drive, running the first version of MS-DOS, it is a rather pitiful computer that rarely reached the efficiency of the Apple II released 4 years earlier. Nevertheless, it becomes an instant success. -
Microsoft
The Microsoft Local Area Network (MILAN) is now fully functional, linking all of Microsoft's in-house development computers including a DEC 2060, two PDP-11/70s, a VAX 11/250 and many MC68000 machines running XENIX. This system will simplify e-mail delivery on-site. -
Apple
Lisa is declared ready for market. -
Microsoft
An essential decision in the early development of MS-DOS was to make it an open system, designed to run on multiple computers. -
Apple
The Lisa is introduced for $9998. The Apple IIe is introduced for $1395, later aguably becoming the most successful and most popular Apple computer. It will be produced for 10 and a half more years. -
Apple
Apple II+ introduced for $1195. -
Apple
The Apple III+ is introduced for $2995. It replaced the defective Apple III models. -
Microsoft
Microsoft announces that MSX-DOS, an 8-bit disk operating system for MSX microcomputers, will be available to 14 Japanese and one U.S. micro manufacturers next January. MSX-DOS is CP/M-80 2.2 compatible and runs all Microsoft's 8-bit software including the languages BASIC, COBOL-80, and FORTRAN-80, and Multiplan. -
Apple
$2495 Macintosh and $3495 Lisa 2 introduced. -
Microsoft
Microsoft announces and released Word, Multiplan, File, Chart, BASIC, and other programs. -
Apple
Apple renames the Lisa 2/10 the Macintosh XL, and discontinues all other Lisa configurations. -
Apple
Sculley signs agreement to let Bill Gates use Mac technology in Windows, if Microsoft continues to produce products for the Mac. -
Microsoft
Microsoft releases Excel for Macintosh. -
apple
The Apple IIGS is introduced for $999. -
Apple
Apple declares 6 different Mac Pluses the 1 milionth Mac. Raskin is presented with one of them, which he still uses, -
Microsoft
Microsoft releases the first version of its GUI OS, Windows 1.01. It's arcane user interface is almost unsuable, a large disapointment. -
Microsoft
Microsoft and IBM announce the delivery of the jointly developed Operating System/2 (OS/2) 1.1 with Presentation Manager. Presentation Manager is the graphical user interface (GUI) for the OS/2 operating system. This is the second major release of the Standard Edition of OS/2. -
Apple
The Apple IIc+, the last in the Apple II line, is introduced. GS/OS System 1, a Mac-like GUI for the IIGS, is introduced. -
Microsoft
IBM and Microsoft Expand Partnership. -
Apple
The NeXTstep OS is introduced. It will eventually be bought by Apple and used in its next generation OS, Rhapsody. -
Microsoft
Microsoft and IBM broaden the scope of their development agreement by agreeing to jointly develop a consistent, full range of systems software offerings for the 1990s. -
Microsoft
Windows 3.0 released. -
Microsoft
Microsoft introduces Russian MS-DOS 4.01. MS-DOS is the first Microsoft product localized for the Soviet market. The Russian version brings the total number of foreign-language versions to 13, including versions in Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese (Kanji), and Korean (Hangeul). -
Apple
The Apple/IBM alliance becomes official. Among the many agreements, Apple and IBM will create PowerPC-based machines and produce two companies, Taligent and Kaleida. The former a now-defunct company that worked on the now-defunct Pink, the latter a company that produces multimedia tools. -
Apple
Steve Jobs announces NeXTstep 3.0, NeXTstep 486, a version of NeXTstep that could run on an Intel 486 simultaneously with MS-DOS, and promises 33 MHz '40 processor versions of the NeXTcube and NeXTstation/Color at the NeXTWORLD Expo in San Fransisco. NeXT would eventually move its OS entirely to the Intel x86 platform.Coincidently, the exposition is held at the same time and in the same city as the Macworld Expo. -
Microsoft
Microsoft NT is released. -
Apple
Apple liscenses PowerPC ROMs to DayStar Digital, so they can begin creating PPC Upgrade cards. DayStar also later becomes one of the first Mac OS liscense holders, as well an authority in multiprocessing PowerPC-based Macs. -
Apple
Apple releases the first PowerMacs (6100/60, 7100/66, 8100/80) using the PowerPC 601. -
Apple
Apple releases System 7.5, with a bunch of new features everybody already had as shareware. -
Microsoft
Windows 95 launches. -
Apple
Steve Jobs introduces the new Power Mac G3 and the color iMacs at Macworld San Francisco -
Apple
Apple releases the first PCI Mac, the $5000 PowerMac 9500/120 using the new Tsunami motherboard. -
Apple
System 7.55 is introduced. -
Microsoft
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0. -
Apple
Mac OS 7.6, the first part of Apple's new OS strategy, is released exactly 13 years after the introduction of the Macintosh. -
Apple
At worldwide "Apple Event", Apple releases the PowerMac G3. The Apple Store is also introduced, and a deal is made with CompUSA for an "Apple store within the store". Though this greatly increases Mac sales, many disapointed by lack of bigger news. -
Apple
Jobs announces a projected $47 million profit for the first quarter at Macworld Expo, finally bringing Apple back to profitability. -
Microsoft
Windows 2000 Professional and Server are the business operating systems. -
Apple
At Macworld San Francisco, Steve Jobs drops the 'interim' in his title and officially becomes Apple’s CEO. He also demoes Mac OS X's revolutionary Aqua interface to a bewildered audience -
Apple
After four years of hard work, Mac OS X 10.0, the new incarnation of NeXTSTEP, ships -
Apple
Steve Jobs unveils iPod at a small media event on the company's campus. He has no idea how it will tranform Apple.