30 years in Apple products: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Engadget ^ | 4/1/06 | Ryan Block

[qam1]

Has it really been 30 years since two buddies named Steve sold off their prized possessions (Woz's HP calculator and Jobs' VW van) to raise money and launch a company? Has it really been 30 years since the two Steves, tired of selling blue-boxes, built the Apple I and began selling it for $666.66? Yes, it has, and if you don't believe it, just compare Jobs' hairlines from 76 and today. And while the company has become known for many things, from its groundbreaking GUI to the iTunes Music Store, we know Apple has always been a hardware company at heart. So here's to you, Apple: the good, the bad and, yes, the ugly from the past 30 years. Happy Birthday.

The good
We're not going to go on about the contributions Apple's made to consumer electronics and personal computing. We don't really actually think they're all that innovative a lot of the time, they just have a knack for taking what's out there, what's a little higher end or out of reach to the average user, and bringing it to the mainstream at just the right time. Apple is Apple because they bring that technology home, and then package it with a friendly user experience and with an eye for style. High tech, good user experience, stylish presentation, it's not like those aren't things being done elsewhere, just usually not all together at the same time. Perhaps that's the essence of the Apple mystique. We've gathered some of the more groundbreaking devices of Apple's career; oh sure, we could have rounded up more, but we had to be fair to the bad and the ugly, too.

..Snip..
1976 - Apple I
1977 - Apple ][
1984 - Macintosh
1989 - Macintosh SE/30
1991 - PowerBook 100
1994 - QuickTake
1995 - Power Macintosh 9500
1998 - iMac
2000 - Apple flat panels
2001 - PowerBook G4
2001 - iPod
2006 - MacBook Pro

The bad
We like a good Apple as much as the next guy, but if you think we're gonna let 'em off easy for their flubs, flops, or complete misjudgments of their consumer base, well, you might not realize we dislike a bad Apple as much as the next guy, too. Sure, they may have some regrets over the years (seems to us like most probably come from simply pricing themselves right out of the hands of potential buyers) but occasionally concept and forward thinking become high concept and too-forward thinking, and what you wind up with is a device that people just aren't ready for yet -- or devices that just aren't ready for people yet.

..Snip...
1980 - Apple III
1983 - Lisa
1993 - MessagePad and Newton OS
1997 - Twentieth Anniversary Mac
2000 - Power Mac G4 Cube

The ugly
Let's face it, not every device in Apple's career has been lustrous, no matter how illustrious Apple may be. Now, we're not saying that Apple's continued success has been reliant strictly upon aesthetics, but there are a number of reasons why 1985 through 1997 were the lean years, and we don't think John Sculley's, Michael Spindler's, and Gil Amelio's sense of style exactly helped. Hey, even Jobs can't escape the fact that some serious fuglies made their way out the door under his watchful eye. We could make a gallery of Apple's egregiously uncomely, but we picked a few of our fav eyesores that we're no longer cursed by the gadget gods to gaze upon (at least not until we put together this piece, anyway).

..snip..
1989 - Macintosh Portable
1991 - Macintosh Quadra
1992 - Macintosh Performa
1996 - Network Server
2001 - Flower Power iMac

[qam1]

Comments on individual machines in link

[Lunatic Fringe]

Apple sucks.

[Glenn]

Apple sucks.

Thanks for that brilliant and well researched observation.

[qam1]

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[359Henrie]

Ya forgot the IIc. I think that goes in the bad.

[359Henrie]

Because I bought one, who knew?

[SteveMcKing]

The G4 Cube was a very good product.

It had a unique target market, so it shouldn't be compared to regular desktops.

[Proud_USA_Republican]

I guess you own a Mac.

[DB]

Okay, lets make it "fair and balanced"

Apple sucks.

Microsoft sucks.

Not necessarily in that order...

[blu]

Perfomra 410 (i think those are the correct numbers) The best of computers (it was my first) and the worst (too little storage, too slow, and it introduced me to crappy customer service!)

Had 100 mb hard drive, 10 mb max ram, and , this is what really cheesed me off...no software discs! Of course, this was back in the day when one little mistake could make me think I had to reinstall the system software. So I did, a lot! It would run Word, Pagemaker, Quark and Photoshop, but only one at a time. Oh, and let's not forget the blazing fast 2400 modem!

But, I must be honest. I haven't had AOHell in 10+ years, but I still get a nostalgic feeling when I hear someone else's computer say those magic words: "You've got mail." That computer taught me the ultimate computer fix: open window, throw computer out! Nowadays, I must be very careful and in a good mood when my iBook needs some work, it would actually fit thru the window.

[larryw408]

Well of course that's his response and it is well researched: he learned the hard/painful way. Look at his web site, he does IT--Macs cut into his profits and job stability.

[kilowhskey]

My bank bought an Apple/// when the product was launched. Big mistake. We had to run it in the Apple ][ emulation mode in order to run Visicalc, as they did not have the foresight to develop a version compatible with the allegedly more powerful machine. The first evolution of the Mac did not have a numeric keypad. The hallmark of a successful enterprise is its ability to recover from its mistakes. The firm has successfully developed that ability.

[cardinal4]

I love my iPod. I was listening to mine the other day on the plane. I was boppin pretty good when I realized I was in public. I looked around to see if anyone noticed and counte 8 people doing the same exact thing...

[RegulatorCountry]

The G4 Cube didn't sell well due to price, but the form factor was amazing for its time, and there were no performance issues, unless you were a bigtime power user, in which case a boutique, clear plastic cube with limited expansion wouldn't exactly be the ticket.

And, I take issue with saying the Quadra sucked. I had a Quadra 950, and produced huge, four color catalogs; I was an early adapter of digital photography via a Scitex Leaf digital back on a Mamiya, and had no problems. It was quite the workhorse at the time. It would feel like a slug now, no doubt, in comparison to a dual G5, but hey, we're talking 13 or 14 years ago.

[Conservomax]

OSX server is pretty good. it does run on a Linux kernal, however.

[driftdiver]

"Look at his web site, he does IT--Macs cut into his profits and job stability."

I do IT as well, we even do a little low leve MAC programming. Funny how much MAC is like certain other OS's out there.

Also learning about some of the MAC security problems that haven't been well publicised. he he

MAC doesn't compete with windows. It is widely used for graphics intensive uses but not in many other areas.

[Venerable Bede]

Al Gore is on the board of directors... that's enough for me not to buy one.

[Filo]

Apple's biggest failures are that they abandoned open architecture when they introduced the Lisa and Mac which forced the Apple aftermarket to turn to the IBM PC and clones for sales. Apple's market share plummeted and the PC’s grandchildren are the worldwide standard.

With the Mac Apple failed to realize that they are not a hardware company. Some people might buy Macs because they are cute (at twice the price pf a comparably powerful PC), but most buy them for the operating system and software. If Apple would allow that software to run on other machines they'd make a killing.

Selling their own computers and OS has kept them at a solid 2% market share with no hope of improvement.

Apple has had a few innovations, but not many. They get far too much credit for things they didn’t invent or popularize (digital music, GUIs, etc.) but they do have a fanatical following and they should have more customers.

I say this, by the way, as an owner of just about every Apple product through the early Macs (except an Apple I and an original Lisa – anyone got one for me? :D)

[Celtjew Libertarian]

Ya forgot the IIc. I think that goes in the bad.

I used one from 1985 to at least 1989 without any serious complaints. Got me through three and a half years of college and two degrees. Put it in the good column for me.

[operation clinton cleanup]

The Apple IIc was the first real computer I ever touched. The 5 1/4 inch floppies were the coolest thing I had ever seen at the time (1984). My other computer class required the use of a VAX system with key punch cards... no fun!