Apple is a leader in the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of computers for consumers, businesses, educational institutions and government institutions. The company's financial success can be attributed to its innovative products and marketing techniques that emphasize the importance of computers "just working." Over the past thirty-two years, Apple has seen its share of ups and downs. This essay will focus on major events in the company's history, current events and its most significant products. ←Thesis goes here →HistoryThe company started on April 1, 1976 with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Charismatic Jobs persuaded Wozniak to build computers for resale, which Wozniak had originally designed as a hobby for personal use. To purchase the first computer components, Jobs sold his VW minibus and Wozniak had to part with his “beloved” HP calculator. (TAM) Apple I was resold by a local store called “Byte Shop” for $666.66. Apple was incorporated on January 3, 1977. In December 1979, in exchange for stock in the company, XEROX invited Jobs and several Apple employees to see the "Alto Computer" with a graphical user interface (GUI) . The graphical interface allows a user to navigate their computer using a mouse and click on objects instead of pressing a designated key. Jobs quotes saying that he was "instantly convinced" that all future computers would have a graphical interface and that he set about creating an "insanely awesome" computer. In September 1980, Apple launched its IPO, within a year the stock value increased by 1,700%. (SOURCE) The success was overwhelming and Jobs was an amateur who was not running the company effectively. Jobs recruited Sculley, the CEO of Pepsi, with a famous quote: "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugar water, or do you want a chance to change the world?" » (The Apple Museum) Sculley didn't understand computers and disagreed with Jobs. Sculley then stripped Jobs of his management duties when he discovered Jobs was trying to take over the company. Shortly after, Jobs resigned and took several employees with him to start a company called NeXT. Sculley was responsible for radically changing the computer industry by allowing Microsoft to use the GUI as long as it continued to create software for Apple computers. This created a predominant competitor for Apple and allowed Microsoft to become the most widely used operating system and office application in the world. Product Lines The above factors hurt Apple's results through August 16., 1998.