Apple II, iPod ... Four cult products that have marked Apple's history

• Nicolas Sabatier, computer science teacher at the University of Montpellier, publishes 

  The History of Apple, 45 years of innovation

  , at Omake Books.

• "20 Minutes" recalled with the Montpellier author some of the firm's star products: the Apple II, the iMac, the iPod, and, of course, the iPhone.

On Monday, Apple unveiled a new, ultra-powerful Mac Book.

But before, there were many, many, other machines.

On the occasion of the release of

(at Omake Books),

remembers four cult products of the apple brand with its author, Nicolas Sabatier, computer teacher at the University of Montpellier (Hérault).

Apple II, the first real personal computer

Some probably remember with emotion their parts of

or

on the Apple II. Marketed in 1977, this machine has a special place in the history of computing: it is the first personal computer produced on a large scale. "Before the Apple II, it was practically impossible for an average person to have a computer for themselves," explains Nicolas Sabatier. Many computer scientists at the time did not believe in the concept of a computer for one person. They thought it was a professional machine, and nothing else. "

Only two people believed it: Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, and Steve Jobs, the legendary boss of Apple.

The genius idea will be, in particular, to sell a ready-to-use computer.

“No need to take out your soldering iron,” explains the computer teacher.

The success of this microcomputer will be dazzling, allowing the company to rake in millions of dollars.

“Overnight, Apple went from two hippies in a garage to a major international company,” continues the author.

The iMac, the first cute computer

At the end of the 1990s, Apple was in the red. The company needs a product that is iconic enough to put it back on its feet. It will be the iMac, in 1998. It is the entry into the university of the daughter of Steve Jobs which precipitated the project: by looking for a computer on the market for him, he finds that none of them is vaild. He will therefore create it.

"The principle, at the beginning, is to design a cheap computer, and turned towards the Internet", then in full swing, confides Nicolas Sabatier.

But also, with a nice face.

The iMac will be different from the beige boxes with angular shapes, which most manufacturers then offer.

"Apple wants to make the iMac a design object," continues the author.

That when we place it at home or in an office, we do not want to hide it, but, on the contrary, to show it.

This product, which will be a huge success around the world, will even be entitled to a legendary colorful range.

The iPod, the most popular MP3 player

Launched in 2001, the iPod is the digital MP3 player that will enter the pocket of a whole generation. While this new musical format is exploding, “the company's engineers are telling management that there is something called Napster, which allows music to be downloaded,” says Nicolas Sabatier. There were, at the time, MP3 players, manufactured by South Korean companies, but "they are of poor quality, and can only keep a few songs," he continues. Apple will enter this market, once again with enormous success. The popularity of this reader will be driven by a cult advertisement, in which silhouettes are agitated against colored backgrounds. "Any music broadcast in this advertisement immediately became a hit," notes Nicolas Sabatier. Culturally speaking, it was a landmark. "

The iPhone, the flagship

If the iPod brought Apple into the twenty-first century, technological progress was such, at the beginning of the 2000s, that their player ended up being dumped.

In particular by the arrival of the smartphone.

"Steve Jobs looks at what is being done then, in terms of smartphones, and he thinks they are all rotten," says Nicolas Sabatier.

He wants to redo the coup of the iPod: to offer a product that everyone loves.

"

Steve Jobs sums up his idea of ​​the smartphone in one sentence: “I want the user to fall in love” with his phone.

Visionary.

This small machine will experience exceptional success until today.

"There is a product like this, by generation," says the author.

For example, the best-selling video game consoles, the Playstation 2 or the Wii, have sold around 100 million copies in total.

The iPhone is almost 100 million… per year!

"A real problem for Apple, because" they cannot do anything else, notes Nicolas Sabatier.

And if they do anything else, it will never be of the same level.

"

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• Languedoc-Roussillon

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• Apple

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• Montpellier