Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

MMacintoshSince its inception in 1984, Apple’s Macintosh line of personalcomputers has offered a distinctive, innovative alternativeto the more mainstream IBM-compatible PCs. When theMacintosh came out, it was billed as the computer “for therest of us.” Unlike the text-based, command-driven DOSbasedIBM PC and its “clones,” the “Mac” offered an interfacethat consisted of menus, folders, and icons that couldbe manipulated by clicking and dragging (see user interfaceand mouse). The system came out of the box with apaint/draw program and a word processor that could showdocuments using the actual font sizes and styles that wouldappear in printed text. This “WYSIWYG” (What You See IsWhat You Get) feature quickly made the Mac the machineof choice for desktop publishers and graphic artists. TheMac also met with some success in the educational market,where the way had been paved by the earlier Apple II.However, there were factors would limit the Macto a minority market share. The first models ran slowly.Although its Motorola 68000 processor was comparable tothe Intel 80286 used by the IBM XT and AT series, the needto draw extensive graphics placed a heavier burden on theMac’s CPU.Marketing decisions also proved to be problematic. TheIBM PC had an “open architecture.” Clone makers were ableto legally produce machines that were functionally equivalent,and Microsoft was able to license to clone manufacturersessentially the same DOS operating system that IBMused. This created a robust market as manufacturers competedwith added features or lower prices.Apple, on the other hand, jealously guarded the Apple’shardware and the ROM (read only memory) that held thekey operating system code. Apple made only a brief andhalf-hearted attempt to license the Mac OS to third partiesin 1995, and by then it was probably too late. Apple CEOSteve Jobs (see Jobs, Steve) kept prices relatively high, bettingthat the Mac’s unique operating system and interfacewould entice people to buy the more expensive machine.But something of a vicious circle set in. Since the Macused a unique operating system, developing new applications(or porting existing ones) to the Mac was expensive.And since the Mac market represented only a small fractionof the PC-compatible market, developers were reluctant tocreate such software. Some flagship products such as AldusPageMaker and Adobe Photoshop did cater to the Mac’sgraphic strengths. In general, however, the PC-compatibleowner had a far wider range of software to choose from,and businesses were traditionally more comfortable withIBM equipment, even if IBM didn’t make it.Microsoft helped develop some successful Mac software,including versions of its Word and Office programs. ButMicrosoft CEO Bill Gates responded to the Mac’s interfaceadvantages over MS-DOS by developing a new operatingenvironment, Windows. Apple sued, claiming that Microsofthad gone beyond the license it had negotiated withApple for use of elements of the Mac interface. By the early1990s, however, Apple had lost the lawsuit. While the earlyversions of Windows were clumsy and met with little success,version 3.0 and, later, Windows 95 succeeded in providinga user experience that was increasingly close to thatachieved by the Mac.287