Apple is a leader in the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of computers for consumers, businesses, educational institutions and governments. 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 had 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 was founded on April 1, 1976 with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Charismatic Jobs convinced Wozniak to build computers for resale that 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” which featured a graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI allows the user to navigate their computer using the mouse and click on objects instead of pressing a designated key. Jobs says he was "immediately convinced" that all computers of the future would have a GUI and set out to create an "incredibly great" computer. In September 1980 Apple launched its IPO and within a year the share price increased by 1700%. (SOURCE) The success was overwhelming and amateur Jobs did not run 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 didn't agree with Jobs. Sculley later stripped Jobs of managerial duties when he discovered that Jobs was trying to take over the company. Shortly after, Jobs quit and took several employees with him to start a company called NeXT. Sculley is responsible for dramatically changing the computing 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 facilitated Microsoft in becoming the most used operating system and office application in the world. Product Lines The above factors hurt Apple's profits through August 16th, 1998.