We had only good things to say about the Apple II after acquiring one just after its debut. Writer William J. Hawkins noted that unlike his previous home computers, the Apple II took longer to remove from the box than it took to start working.

The specs were certainly impressive at the time. For just under $1300, you would get 4 kB of Ram, a 1 MHz microprocessor, BASIC programming language capability, and an audio cassette interface for data storage.

In spite of its success, Apple has had its share of flops. One was the much-lauded Apple II followup, the Apple III. The basic Apple III system came with 0.096 megabytes worth of memory (twice that of the Apple II - for just $4340!), while the word processor version could store 60 pages of text on a 5 1/2-inch floppy disk. Other improvements were 16 colours, a 16-tone grey scale, and a built-in clock and calendar. Unfortunately, there were too many flaws, and the line was discontinued in September 1985.

In the late 1970s, a visit to Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center inspired Steve Jobs to build a computer with a mousedriven graphic interface. The results were stunning. Despite high price and subsequent quick demise, LISA set a new standard for user friendliness. For the first time, users could store files by clicking small icons called folders. They could shrink the page size, stack the pages on top of each other, and lay one document aside (with a simple click and drag) to work on another. It made all the difference in 1983.

As the company's first effort at building a portable computer, the Apple IIc was designed as an upscale alternative to IBM's PCjr, which become a commercial failure. The Apple IIc, which sold for US$1295, came with 128 KB of memory and a 1.023 MHz microprocessor. It improved on its predecessor by using a text display that could support characters resembling the icons found on machines with a graphical interface. Best of all, the machine was suited to beginners and could be used right out of the box.

The new 1984 Mac featured the revolutionary "mouse," also featured on the previous, but unsuccessful Apple Lisa. The idea of a dragging a cursor around a screen using a physical object would change computing forever.

After being removed from the Lisa project, Steve Jobs focused his efforts on the Macintosh, which became the first commercially successful personal computer to use a mouse and GUI.  In 1984, Jobs demonstrated the machine in his first Apple keynote. A commercial directed by Ridley Scott aired during the Super Bowl. Apple bought all 39 advertising pages in Newsweek in November 1984. A year later, Apple gave desktop publishing a push by outfitting Macintoshes with Apple's LaserWriter printer, MacPublisher, and Aldus PageMaker.

After leaving Apple in 1985, Steve Jobs founded NeXT Computer, which focused on UNIX based workstations equipped with their own operating system. While many, were unsure of the new venture, it turned out they had nothing to worry about, as NeXt ended up making a huge impact on the market. Not only did Apple acquire NeXT (and thus, Jobs) in 1996, but their operating system became the foundation for Apple's OS X. In 1991, Tim Berners-Lee used a NeXT machine to build the first web browser and web server.

Our retrospective of the birth of the Macintosh computer in February 1994 focused heavily on Jobs. The Mac guru had a knack for innovation, especially in fields he was not formally trained in, such as ergonomics, engineering, and design. Jobs' management style was just as idiosyncratic, passionate, motivating, and at times, overly critical.

Our 10-year retrospective on Macintosh computers was published during Apple's Dark Ages. Despite Jobs' absence during this period, it's clear that Apple's machines came a long way in just a decade. In 1984, there was only one type of Macintosh. By 1994, Apple fans could choose from the Quadra and Performa series, the Powerbook portables, and the compact Macs. Sure, most of these products were commercial failures, but it's interesting to compare Apple's growth between 1984 - 1994 to its growth between 1994 - 2004.

Jobs graced our pages again in January 1997, with other historical greats we've covered over the years. He looks right at home, even cocky, flanked by Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison and Stephen Hawking.

Speaking of growth, compare the 1994 Quadra pictured on the previous slide to the iMac, which arrived just four years later. Jobs gave his products a makeover after returning to Apple in 1996, which made Apple's computers more recognisable while establishing his status as Silicon Valley's greatest artisan. The gumdrop design didn't last long, but those of us who were around in 1998 will remember the iMac's debut forever. Remember when Jobs encouraged us to collect them all, as if they were Pokemon? (I desperately coveted the blue one.)

Not to be confused with the app, iBooks were a line of portable computers sold by Apple between 1999 and 2006. The first line, also known as the "Clamshell," was clearly modeled on the blueberry iMac. The iBook G3 came in five colors: Tangerine (pictured on the left), Blueberry, Key Lime, Indigo, and Graphite. The first basic models were equipped with 32 MB of memory and a 300 MHz processor. As you might recall from the keynote announcing this product, the Clamshell iBook also came with a handle.

Finally, who can forget Apple's foray into music? While the iPod wasn't the first MP3 player around, its cool factor gave people a reason to abandon their good old CDs for digital storage.

By then, Apple had a solid reputation as a purveyor of beautiful hardware. The first generation iPod didn't just serve a purpose -- it made a statement.