Macintosh
hideMacintosh, or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The Macintosh was introduced on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a graphical user interface rather than a command-line interface.
Through the second half of the 1980s, the company built market share only to see it dissipate in the 1990s as the personal computer market shifted towards IBM PC compatible machines running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows. Apple consolidated multiple consumer-level desktop models into the 1998 iMac all-in-one, which was a sales success and saw the Macintosh brand revitalized. Current Mac systems are mainly targeted at the home, education, and creative professional markets. They are: the aforementioned (though upgraded) iMac and the entry-level Mac mini desktop models, the workstation-level Mac Pro tower, the MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops, and the Xserve server.
Production of the Mac is based on a vertical integration model in that Apple facilitates all aspects of its hardware and creates its own operating system that is pre-installed on all Mac computers. This is in contrast to most IBM PC compatibles, where multiple sellers create hardware intended to run another company's software. Apple exclusively produces Mac hardware, choosing internal systems, designs, and prices. Apple does use third party components, however. Current Mac CPUs use Intel's x86 architecture; previous models used the AIM alliance's PowerPC and early models used Motorola's 68k. Apple also develops the operating system for the Mac, currently Mac OS X version 10.5 "Leopard". The modern Mac, like other personal computers, is capable of running alternative operating systems such as Linux, FreeBSD, and Microsoft Windows, though other computers cannot normally run Mac OS X.
For more information about Macintosh, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with macintosh
Google releases Chrome browser for Macintosh computers
Dec 08, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (3) |
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Google on Tuesday released a version of its Chrome Web browser for Macintosh computers in a challenge to Safari software Apple offers users of its machines.
Should I buy a PC or Mac?
Nov 25, 2009 |
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Q. Our 6-year-old PC computer is dying a slow death and we are considering moving to a new iMac but have a few concerns. First, of all, we have several Word documents on our disk drive now that we want to keep and add to ...
Apple lets iPhone apps get down to business
Oct 17, 2009 |
2.6 / 5 (5) |
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Apple said Friday that it is allowing businesses to sell content or services through applications given away for free at the iPhone maker's online App Store.
E-reader sales soaring but Apple captures the buzz
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Oct 08, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (4) |
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Sales of electronic book readers are booming, companies are jostling for a share of the fledgling market and Amazon's going global with the Kindle.
Apple to unleash Snow Leopard on August 28
Aug 24, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (13) |
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Apple announced on Monday that its next-generation Snow Leopard operating system tailored for the California company's Macintosh computers will be unleashed on the market on Friday.
Apple to unveil tablet computer: reports
Jul 27, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (4) |
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What's next from Apple? According to various reports, the California-based company plans to come out later this year with a portable tablet-sized computer that can surf the Web and may also serve as an electronic book reader.
Apple's iLife takes home photo albums to a new level
Jul 09, 2009 |
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It's the amateur photographer's management tool for digital pictures. But Apple's iLife multimedia software suite has some A-list users as well.
Windows washer: Meet Microsoft's antidote to Vista
Apr 19, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Julie Larson-Green hopes you'll like Windows 7. If not, well, now you and a billion other people know whom to blame.
I'm a PC, and this time Microsoft's buying
Mar 26, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Apple's Macintosh computers may be cool, but Windows PCs are easier on the wallet.
Apple to unveil next-generation iPhone software
Mar 12, 2009 |
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Apple plans to give the world a peek next week at its next-generation operating system for iPhones.
Recognizing an unheralded pioneer in Mac-happy Silicon Valley
Feb 27, 2009 |
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Carl Clement doesn't want to whine and moan about it, he's just saying. He's just saying that before there was the Apple Macintosh and its recent and much-heralded 25th anniversary, there was the Xerox Alto. And he and his ...
Apple's Macintosh celebrates 25th birthday
Jan 28, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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The Apple Macintosh, born at the hands of renegade engineers in the early 1980s, changed the relationship between human and keyboard.
