The Macintosh, or Mac, is one of the most iconic and influential products in the history of personal computing. It was introduced by Apple in 1984, and since then, it has gone through many changes and improvements, reflecting the evolution of technology and design. In this blog post, we will take a look at some of the milestones and innovations that have shaped the Mac over the past 40 years.
The original Macintosh
The first Macintosh was launched on January 24, 1984, with a famous Super Bowl commercial directed by Ridley Scott. It was a compact, all-in-one computer with a 9-inch black-and-white display, a built-in floppy disk drive, and a mouse. It had a 7.83 MHz Motorola 68000 processor, 128 KB of RAM, and 64 KB of ROM. It ran the Macintosh System Software, which featured a graphical user interface (GUI) that was intuitive and user-friendly. The Macintosh was designed to be easy to use, affordable, and accessible to the masses.
The Macintosh was a revolutionary product that challenged the dominance of IBM and Microsoft in the PC market. It introduced many features that are now standard in modern computers, such as windows, icons, menus, folders, drag-and-drop, and cut-and-paste. It also popularized the use of the mouse as an input device, which made navigation and interaction much easier than using a keyboard alone.
The Macintosh was not without its flaws, however. It had limited memory and storage capacity, which made it difficult to run multiple applications or handle complex tasks. It also lacked expansion slots and ports, which limited its compatibility with other devices and peripherals. It was also relatively expensive compared to its competitors, costing $2,495 at launch.
Despite these drawbacks, the Macintosh was a commercial success, selling over 70,000 units in its first four months. It also attracted a loyal fan base of creative professionals, educators, and enthusiasts who appreciated its innovative design and functionality.
The Macintosh II
The second generation of the Macintosh was introduced in 1987, with the Macintosh II model. It was a significant upgrade from the original Macintosh, featuring a modular design that allowed users to customize and expand their system with various components and cards. It also had a color display option for the first time, supporting up to 256 colors at a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. It had a 16 MHz Motorola 68020 processor, 1 MB of RAM (expandable to 68 MB), and 256 KB of ROM. It ran the Macintosh System Software 5.0, which added support for multitasking and virtual memory.
The Macintosh II was aimed at the high-end market, targeting professionals who needed more power and flexibility than the original Macintosh could offer. It was also compatible with more devices and software than its predecessor, thanks to its expansion slots and ports. It could connect to SCSI devices, Ethernet networks, AppleTalk networks, printers, scanners, modems, keyboards, mice, joysticks, speakers, microphones, and more.
The Macintosh II was also very expensive compared to its competitors, costing $3,898 for the base model without a monitor or keyboard. It was also bulky and heavy compared to the compact design of the original Macintosh.
The Macintosh II was followed by several variants and successors over the next few years
GrooveDigital recently introduced an all-in-one digital marketing software service to make the lives of online business owners easy. Which can be used to build, grow and manage any kind of online business anywhere.
The platform is simple and free for a lifetime, yes you can set up a free account without a credit card. It comes with a suite of online tools called GrooveFunnels.
GrooveFunnels includes a full website creator, online funnel builder and a sales and affiliate tool to sell any product. Sellers will be able to receive payments and manage customers for physical and digital products and services. It also comes with a full-featured affiliate system to help you recruit and manage commission-only salespeople and affiliate marketers.
We created the platform because business owners needed just too many tools, notes GrooveDigital. That also required them subscribing to dozens of tools on paid monthly plans. The solution was creating an all-in-one online platform that helps them get more traffic to their website, convert leads to sales, so they can generate increased revenue.
What is GrooveDigital? Find out how it can support your business in this video below.
Microsoft is announcing the Windows PC Affordability in Africa Initiative, together with its OEM partners. A bold move to reduce pirating of Microsoft software in emerging markets.
Microsoft announced the initiative at a press briefing held in its Bryanston office in Johannesburg. The initiative, Microsoft says aims to “reduce the prevalence of Microsoft software piracy in Africa“.
we aim to educate consumers on the risks of using pirated software
Through the Initiative, “we aim to educate consumers on the risks of using pirated software” shares Bradley Hopkinson, Vice President, Consumer & Device Sales, Microsoft. He continues that Microsoft will “work with our PC ecosystem partners includingAcer, Asus, Dell, Intel, Lenovo, Mustek and SMD to make Genuine Windows 10 PCs more affordable across Africa“.
Affordable devices under the Windows PC Affordability in Africa Initiative
Acer, Asus, Dell, Intel, Lenovo, SMD Technologies, Mustek are OEM partners working with Microsoft to build the affordable devices. This list can increase over the coming years. Windows 10 PCs under the initiative will range from about 150$ to 500$. Covering low to high end specifications. Acer Swift 3, Dell Latitude 3390, Connex Slim Book 2, HP 14 S are some of the early devices announced.
Microsoft’s Windows PC Affordability in Africa Initiative is currently focusing on genuine Windows 10 rollout at the moment. The company might include other products like Microsoft Office in the future.
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Our co-founder Christopher Bennett was invited to participate in a training program last year at the Microsoft office in Nairobi, Kenya. The training gave more insight of Microsoft’s Software Asset Management program to partners from across Africa.
https://youtu.be/zUV6UC_Z25g
What is Software Asset Management?
Software Asset Management (SAM) is a set of proven IT practices that unite people, processes, and technology to control and optimize the use of software across an organization. SAM can help you control costs as well as manage business and legal risks, optimize software license investments, and grow IT systems to accommodate your organization’s expanding needs.
Five reasons why you should implement SAM
(1) Improve financial security
(2) Volume discounts for better price points
(3) More liability control
(4) Smoother operations
(5) Increased long-term business value
Some more benefits of SAM
SAM eliminates waste, overlap, and duplicate purchases throughout your organization. By optimizing your software assets and streamlining your internal processes, SAM can help you save time and money, improve workflow, and increase your competitiveness as your company grows in size and maturity.
Reach out to us and let’s help your organization get the most from your software investments. By analyzing your infrastructure and making ensure you are correctly licensed. Teach your IT team how to properly manage your company’s software asset.
