Apple Inc., formerly Apple Computer, Inc., is a multinational corporation that creates consumer electronics, personal computers, and software, and is a digital distributor of media content. Apple's core product lines are the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet computer, and Macintosh computer line. Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne created Apple Computer Co. on April 1, 1976, to market Wozniak's Apple I desktop computer, and Jobs and Wozniak incorporated the company on January 3, 1977, in Cupertino, California. For more than three decades, Apple Computer was predominantly a manufacturer of personal computers, including the Apple II, Macintosh, and Power Mac lines, but it faced rocky sales and low market share during the 1990s. Jobs, who had been ousted from the company in 1985, returned to Apple in 1997 after his company NeXT was bought by Apple. With the introduction of the successful iPod music player in 2001 and iTunes Music Store in 2003, Apple established itself as a leader in the consumer electronics and media sales industries, leading it to drop "Computer" from the company's name in 2007. The company is also known for its iOS range of smart phone, media player, and tablet computer products that began with the iPhone, followed by the iPod Touch and then iPad. Apple's worldwide annual revenue in 2010 totaled US$65 billion, growing to US$127.8 billion in 2011 and $156 billion in 2012. Chapter 1: 1976–1985: The Founding of Apple Computer Company Company Formation; Apple I; Apple II; Apple IPO; Apple Lisa; Macintosh The-funding-of-apple-computer-company.pdf Chapter 2: 1985-1997 Jobs was Forced out of Apple, and Returned to Apple Again Jobs left Apple By early 1985, the Macintosh's failure to defeat the IBM PC triggered a power struggle between Jobs and CEO John Sculley, who had been hired two years earlier by Jobs using the famous line, "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or come with me and change the world? Jobs found NeXT Inc Jobs resigned in September 1985, taking a number of Apple employees with him to found NeXT Inc. Near-bankruptcy While never actually filing for bankruptcy, Apple (AAPL) was on the verge of going bust in 1997. At the last minute, arch-rival Microsoft (MSFT) swooped in with a $150 million investment and saved the company. Acquisition of NeXT On December 20, 1996, Apple announced it would purchase NeXT, and its NeXTstep operating system , for $429 million and 1.5 million shares of Apple stock. Return of Steve Jobs In August 1997, Jobs stepped in as the interim CEO to begin a critical restructuring of the company's product line. He eventually became CEO and served in that position from Janua Chapter 3: 1997-2007 Mac OS X, iPods, iTunes Store iPod In October 2001, Apple introduced its first iPod portable digital audio player. Then iPod started as a 5 gigabyte player capable of storing around 1000 songs. iTunes Store The iTunes Music Store was launched in April 2003, with 2 million downloads in the first 16 days. In October 2003, support for Windows was added. In June 2004 Apple opened its iTunes Music Store in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. History of iPod Chapter 4: 2007-2022 iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch The release of iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. History of the iPhone History of the iPad History of the Apple Watch