1980 - 1989: An Industrial Milestone

1980: Apple goes public. Within a year, the stocks' value increases by 1700%!
The Apple /// is released. It is sold for $4,340 to $7,800 depending on the configuration.
Jobs tries to take control of the Lisa project. He is turned down by Michael Scott, president of Apple, who knew that Jobs was lacking the technical expertise. Jobs' last project, the Apple /// had major technical flaws because Jobs dictated the case design and demanded that the Apple /// wouldn't have a fan, ignoring the concerns of the electrical engineers of the development team.¹

1981: While the rest of Apple is focusing on the Lisa project, Jobs is looking for a method to outdo the Lisa. When he sees the progress Raskin was making with the Macintosh project, he takes over the project. In order not to upset Jobs more, Scott agrees.

February 1981: Steve Wozniak is injured when his plane crashes. He takes some time off Apple and the Macintosh project (he did not return to the Mac project). He marries and decides to finally get his degree in electrical engineering and computer science. He returns to University of Carlifornia at Berkley with a pseudonym.

July 17th, 1981: Michael Scott resigns as president of Apple. He is succeeded by Mike Markkula. Steve Jobs becomes new chairman of Apple.

August 1981: IBM's first personal computer, the IBM-PC is introduced. The IBM-PC becomes a great success even though it is slower than the Apple ][ and already outdated at its introduction.

November 1981: Apple Computer, Inc. and Apple Corps, the recording company of the Beatles enter a secret agreement, allowing Apple Computerto use the name Apple for computer-related products.

Septmeber 1st, 1982: The Lisa's development is officially finished.

Late 1982: The Macintosh TV spot ('1984') is written by Apple's advertising agency Chiat/Day originally for the Apple ][.

1983: The Lisa and the Apple //e are released selling for $9,998 and $1,395.
Apple becomes the fastest growing company in history.

Spring 1983: The '1984'-ad is rewritten for the Macintosh.

April 1983: John Sculley, former president of PepsiCo, becomes president and Chief Executive Officer of Apple Computer, Inc.

June 1983: Steve Wozniak returns to Apple.

December 1983: The Apple ///+ is released selling for $2,995.
IBM sells its 1,000,000th IBM-PC.
The '1984'-ad is presented to Apple's board of directors - with a devastating reaction. Everyone thought it was "the worst commercial they had ever seen", as Sculley later recalled.²

January 22nd, 1984: The '1984'-spot is aired at the Super Bowl XVIII.

January 24th, 1984: The Macintosh is released. It is an easy to use, all-in-one desktop computer with graphical user interface (Macintosh system software), retailing for $2,495, making it an industry milestone.
The Lisa 2 is released parallely.

Mid 1984: The shipping of the Macintosh to communist states is prohibited by the Pentagon. The technology of the Motorola CPU used in the Macintosh is not yet available in the Sovjet Union at that time.

Early 1985: The MacXL and the Apple // enhanced are introduced.
Steve Wozniak decides to leave Apple Computer, Inc.
Tension between Jobs and Sculley arise. The loss of huge amounts of money on the Apple /// and the Lisa couldn't be compensated by the other products anymore. Jobs thinks that Sculley knows nothing about computers and therefore lacks a vision of Apple's future. Sculley thinks that Jobs is out of control and dangerous for the company.
Sculley asks the executives to choose sides between Jobs and himself. Although the board backs Sculley, he doesn't remove Jobs immediatly.

May 23rd, 1985: Jobs tries to force Sculley out by forming a coup. He wants to take over the control of Apple while Sculley is at a meeting in China. His plans are revealed to Sculley at the last moment and Sculley cancels his trip.

May 31st, 1985: Sculley stripps Jobs off all operational responsibilities. Jobs remains chairman of Apple but has no influence on decisions any more.

Summer 1985: Apple lays off 1,200 employees.

September 17th, 1985: Jobs officially resigns from Apple. He reveals his plans to found a new company to the Apple executives. He also informs them that five Apple employees are going to follow him to the new company.

September 23rd, 1985: Apple sues Steve Jobs.

October 24th, 1985: John Sculley signs a contract with Microsoft that would eventually change the computer industry forever and make Microsoft the greatest competition for Apple. The contract grants Microsoft permission to use some Mac GUI (Graphical User Interface) technologies if Microsoft continues producing software for the Mac (Word, Excel). In return, Microsoft agreed to contiune developing Word and Excel for Macintosh.
Based on this contract, Apple looses all lawsuits over copyright infringements against Microsoft in the following years.

Late 1985: Apple tries to make the Mac more attractive to small businesses by releasing the "Macintosh Office" featuring the LaserWriter and the AppleTalk networking technology.

January 1986: Apple drops the suit against Jobs. Jobs agrees not to hire Apple employees for six months and not to build competitive computers to Apple's computers.
NeXT, Inc. is founded by Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs buys the Pixar computer animation studios from George Lucas for less than $10 million.

June 1986: Jobs hires Paul Rand to design the NeXT logo. Rand is being payed $100,000 in advance.

September 1986: The Apple //gs is released selling for $999

February 1987: Ross Perot invests $20 million in NeXT.

1987: Apple's 10th Anniversary.
The Mac SE and the Mac II are introduced.

January 1988: Microsoft releases Windows 2.0.3

March 17th, 1988: Apple sues Microsoft and Hewlett Packard accusing them of violating copyrights of Apple on the Macintosh System Software. Windows 2.0.3 features Mac-like icons.

October 12th, 1988: The NeXT computer is released retailing for $6,500 (25 MHz, 8 MB RAM, 250 MB HD, FPU, Faxmodem, 17" monitor).

February 1989: Apple Corps sues Apple Computer accusing it of violating the terms of the agreement of 1981 by building computers with the capability of producing synthesized music.

Early 1989: IBM acquires a nonexclusive licence of NEXTSTEP 1.0 for $60 million.

June 1989: Canon invests $100 million in NeXT.

September 1989: The NEXTSTEP 1.0 is introduced.
 

¹ and ² Linzmayer, Owen (2004): Apple Confidential 2.0, No Starch Press, San Francisco

Products: Apple I   People: Steve Jobs Stephen Wozniak   Weblinks: Atari Hewlett Packard WOZ.org

Old Apple logo: Apple Computer, Inc.

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