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  =Macintosh Computers = == =First Developments= Macintosh(commonly abbreviated Mac) is a brand of personal computers. Macintosh has created many important ideas such as the cut and paste command and the dock (the application launcher at the bottom of the screen). It all started in the late 1970's when Jef Raskin, an Apple employee, wanted to make a easy to use, low-cost computer for the average person. Back then, most computers were text prompt computers instead of user interface, meaning only professionals used them. In 1979, Raskin got permission to start hiring for the project. After he gathered up all of his crew, they started working on a prototype. Apple had another team (the Lisa team) was working on a similar but higher end version. The first Macintosh computer was made up of a Motorola mircoprocessor and was in black and white. Steve Jobs, who was a member of the Lisa team, caught eye of the project. He switched projects and started working on the Macintosh. Later, Jobs struggled with the new CEO and eventually quit in 1984. He didn't return until 1997. =Improvements and New Models= In 1986, a new computer came out from Macintosh. The MacPlus. It was a big improvement from the original Mac computer. It also had RAM(random access memory) which is much faster to read than the hard disk, floppy disk, and CD-ROM. In 1991, they introduced the Macintosh Quadra 700 and 900. Also in that year, they introduced the Powerbook Range of computers. The new set of products was extremely successful. Apple had competition, though. Intel and Microsoft had built many successful computers also. But Steve Jobs came back as CEO of Apple in 1997 because his his company, neXT, got bought out by Apple. Soon, Apple took the lead with the new iMac and their first laptop computer, the iBook. The improvements didn't stop there. In 2000, they came out with Mac OS X, which was based on the Unix operating system. The Mac Mini came out in 2005, coming out as the least expensive Mac. =Commercials= Commercials are very important to Macintosh. Commercials have helped them oversell Windows and other computer companies. Some of there most famous ones are the Mac vs. PC commercials, shown below. Those commercials explain how Macs are different than PCs. They suggest that PCs are older than Macs, as depicted by the "PC" in a suit and the "Mac" in jeans. Some people think that these ads are useless and that they are "attack ads", while others disagree. = = =Mac VS Windows=

Macintosh and Windows are two very different interfaces. Windows has a start menu. Mac has a dock. Windows has their close tabs on the right. Mac's tabs are on the left. The differences go on and on and I will be explaining some of those in this portion of the article. Windows has lower-end products. The average Windows computer costs around $600. Windows main operating systems are Windows Vista and Windows XP. Macintosh has higher end products. The average Macintosh computer costs $1,300. The supporters for Mac and Windows are evenly split up. People like Windows because it is cheaper. People like Mac because it is more sophisticated.



= = =Mac OS X= Mac OS X is the most recent Mac operating system. The different versions of OS X are named after large cats. There is OS X Panther, OS X Leopard, OS X Tiger, OS X Jaguar, and OS X Cheetah/Puma. The interface consisted of an 'Aqua' theme. It brought more color and texture to the Mac operating system. OS X includes software like iMovie, iTunes, iPhoto, Finder, Comic Life, AppleWorks, and others. OS X hardware is either laptop or desktop.

I hope this article has helped you learn more about the Mac operating system, history, and more.

Sources: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/history-of-macintosh-computers.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/macintosh http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_a_Mac http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Vista http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop-mac/family/macbook_pro/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X [] http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid40_gci214255,00.html

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