Apple

Apple Technology has come a long way since its start in 1977. The Apple II was the first popular microcomputer manufactured by Apple. Its direct ancestor was the Apple I, which was introduced at the West Coast Computer Faire in 1977. The Apple II was one of the very first and most successful personal computers within the Apple family. A number of different models were sold, and the most popular model was manufactured with relatively minor changes into the 1990s. By the end of its production in 1993, somewhere between five and six million Apple II series computers had been produced.

Throughout the 1980s and much of the 1990s, the Apple II was the standard computer in American education; some of them are still operational in classrooms today. The Apple II was popular with business users as well as with families and schools, particularly after the release of the first-ever personal computer spreadsheet, VisiCalc, which initially ran only on the Apple II. Apple's Macintosh product line finally eclipsed the Apple II series in the early 1990s. Even after the introduction of the Macintosh, the Apple II had remained Apple's primary revenue source for years.

The Apple II series of computers had an enormous impact on the technology industry and on everyday life. The Apple II was the first computer many people ever saw, and its price was within the reach of many middle-class families. The success of the Apple II in business spurred IBM to create the IBM PC, which was then purchased by middle managers in all lines of business to run spreadsheet and word processing software, at first ported from Apple II versions; later, whole new application software dynasties would be founded on the PC. The popularity of these PCs and their clones then transformed business again with LAN applications such as e-mail and later Internet applications such as Usenet and the world wide web.

Personal computers is not the only technology Apple has in the electronic