The introduction of the Macintosh computer to Apple's board of directors in January of 1984 forever changed the world of computers. The evolution of the original Macintosh and it's successor the iMac like many other technological achievements was built upon the shoulders of prior discoveries and advancements, some failures, and a dose of intellectual property theft. The company founded by college drop-outs Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs had produced and developed the Apple II computer in 1977. It was based upon the Apple computer which Wozniak developed a year earlier. By 1980 when the Apple III hit the market the company was already employing several thousand people. It was 1979 when the folks at Steve Jobs and his developers at Apple and their competitors at Microsoft (including Bill Gates) initially became acquainted with what was known as GUI(graphical user interface) technology while visiting the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). It was there that they were introduced to the Alto, a GUI based computer. The GUI allows the user to operate the computer or program using a mouse or graphic icon. Prior to the introduction of GUI technology all computer commands were keyboard or text commands. This technology was to become a cornerstone of the Macintosh and its immediate predecessor the “Lisa” . The Lisa was the first computer to offer GUI technology. Lisa which technically stood for “local integrated software architecture “( was commonly believed to have been named after one of the developers daughters) was introduced in 1983 a year prior to the introduction of the original Macintosh. Unfortunately it's hefty price tag of nearly $9,995. made for poor sales.
The 1984 introduction of the Macintosh using GUI technology with it's drop- and-drag file mobility, windows, trash cans, and user friendly interface was eons ahead of what Apples competitors in the PC market were able to offer. It wasn't long before the features introduced by the Mac began to appear in other operating systems. As Microsoft and others began to cut into the Macintosh's market share the Mac was hampered by its ability to run apple software and only apple software, while Windows and other software applications could run on any operating system. Despite this loss the Mac remained profitable through the late 1980's. Later when Apple sued Microsoft alleging that it had stolen the GUI technology from Apple for use in it's Windows 1.0 Bill Gates was to have said: “ No, Steve, I think its more like we both have this rich neighbor named Xerox, and you broke in to steal the TV set, and you found out I had been there first, and you said “ Hey, that's no fair! I wanted to steal the TV set!”
This litigation in which both sides were shown to have “unclean hands” in terms of appropriating GUI