Apple Case Study - Weatherford PDF

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Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Apple Case Study • Consumer technology company • Done more than any other company to move computing into mainstream culture." • 40-second video of Apple history" • April 1, 1976: Microsoft was in 1975. Macintosh computer had the first screen pop up to say “hello.” Apple created. Silicon Valley: locus of Berkeley/Stanford — research — and hippies (swirling together) >> leads to Apple. Meshing of two cultures. Began in the garage of Jobs’ childhood home in Los Altos where they tested (designed elsewhere) the first Apple I computers which they later introduced at the Homebrew Computer Club. The Byte Shop places 50 orders. The computer later sells for $666.66. Apple incorporates on January 3, 1977 (logo done by Wayne earlier before he left due to financial risk)."

• Founders of Apple: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and another person (Ron Wayne) who ended up leaving the company."

• Steve Jobs had weird ideas such as about fruit and showering. He had the idea of “blue-boxes” to make free telephone calls long distance on a payphone."

• Jobs was interested in large-scale software with a humanized sense to technology (Apple’s interest) >> a “personal computer.” "

• Made first price $666.66 to mess with people as part of the counterculture." • Apple II: very user-friendly and cute packaging; made Apple popular. Text-based and line-based. Huge success and carried the company for many years. Apple I in the garage got them started with the modified circuit boards and everything. First computer they made. Story: Computers are like the “bicycle for the mind.” Apple saw technology as a tool to amplify the mind and the possibilities of mind — past and current."

• 1978: development of unsuccessful Apple III." • Lisa: named after child Jobs wanted to deny parentage of but eventually came around. Proto-Mac with GUI (Graphic … Interface). It was very innovational but not successful because how expensive it was. Also slow performance and compatibility issues. Too expensive precursor to the Mac. Bridge between insights nicked from Xerox Parc and the Mac."

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• Macintosh: named after the kind of apple. Just like Lisa but smaller, more portable, and cutely packaged (more in line with inflation-checked prices today of high-end computers)."

• 1984: IBM was the big software company — is an “Orwellian big brother.” Iconic 1984 commercial. Introduced original Macintosh."

• “One Click”" • Use of the Happy Mac icon — now in finder and repurposed Face ID." • “Killer app;” with software (buy hardware to get access to software)." • Think different: very successful ad campaign." • Steve “Woz” Wozniak was the tech genius who came up with the designs and everything. Jobs brought the marketing and business side of it with publicity. In the beginning of the 80s, he was a multi-millionaire and running Apple at a whim. Good at sales pitches. In the mid-80s, Apple started having financial difficulties. Just Apple II was successful. Jobs approached the CEO of Pepsi, John Sculley, about working with Apple. Sculley wasn’t very good at it though. He soon let Jobs go because Jobs was at his worst."

• After Jobs was fired >> Jobs bought Pixar from George Lucas and became a billionaire. He is problematic but was a visionary for where tech could go and was successful at marketing. He made Pixar very successful and used the financial relations to access partnerships with Disney back at Apple later. Jobs also founded NeXT, which was also very expensive, but those computers were important for the World Wide Web. Sir Tim Berners Lee created the Web on a NeXT computer. Apple’s acquisition of NeXT in ’97 brought Jobs back to the company he founded, but the operating system of NeXT became the foundation for macOS >> became iOS which begat watchOS and tvOS."

• Apple was still working on Macintosh II and Apple. Microsoft became popular at this time, running on computers all over (Bill Gates was also a problematic man). First version of Windows in 1987. Windows 95 — a major competitor to Mac OS — 1995.Things weren’t great for Apple in the mid-90s and they hadn’t adequately invested in the Mac software system (one of them did happen with NeXT as an investment — acquiring operating system in ’96/’97; Apple still had good hardware). NeXT Step (software) became the foundation of Mac Software for a long time. Needed new CEO and serious cashflow problems; 90 days from going bankrupt. Jobs nearly didn’t come back but he did. Apple had a messy product 2

Wednesday, October 2, 2019 line but was changed to personal, professional, desktop, office, etc (4 main products). He focused on the iMac line. It was designed by British Sir John Ive. Focused on color and aesthetic; first successful all-in-one. Trend: push towards simplification; shifted without floppy disks and old technologies. iMac turned around Apple and its cashflow. Issues with Microsoft over litigation. Jobs turned Apple around."

• 1998: Apple announces the iMac — first consumer-facing product since Steve Jobs returned to the company as interim CEO. Used colors and translucence. Designed by Jony Ive. 2000: becomes permanent CEO."

• 2001: first two Apple retail stores; right after dot.com collapse. People thought the retail stores would be a mistake but now they’re the most profitable retail chain per square foot. Also iTunes media player, and OS X. iPod >> key role in Apple’s turnaround during the 2000s."

• 2003: iTunes Store." • 2004-5: iPods. Cultural significance and good for finances." • 2006: MacBooks and “Get a Mac/Hello, I’m a Mac” advertising campaign." • 2007: iPhone (three features in one). January 9, 2007: smart phones are the first universal, global computing platform. Most successful single product in human history from a financial perspective. Also name change to Apple Inc. (not just about computers anymore)."

• 2008: App Store" • 2010: iPad" • 2011: Apple passes ExxonMobil as the world’s most valuable publicly traded company."

• 2011: Jobs dies from pancreatic cancer. iPhone 4s and Siri announced." • 2012: Apple Maps on iOS 6." • 2014: Apple Watch — company’s first wearable device — announced; launched in April 2015. Also Apple Pay."

• 2015: Apple Music — subscription-based streaming music service." • Quicktime: Apple first to use video on personal computers."

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• Apple often criticized for being too much about design, but the market is concerned about aesthetics. “Competes on niceness.”"

• 99 cents: songs in iTunes; deals with credit companies to have micro-transactions, waving credit card transactions fees; why we have app store today."

• Apple started on April fools Day — rebel spirit an early part of Apple’s DNA. Apple is kind of the canonical example of a startup created in the founders’ garage."

• Wozniak is an interesting foil to Jobs." • The early computer industry was small and rough around the edges." • Fanless machines’ idea started in 1980 with Apple III >> came true with MacBook in 2015. Persistence."

• Apple’s relationship with Adobe" • Early to mid-90s was rough for Apple. Had some successes." • Apple is responsible for bringing a focus on design to consumer computing devices. “It’s how it works.”"

• Much of Apple’s strength comes from the fact that they make “the whole widget” —custom-built and custom-integrated hardware and software, and services now.

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