Apple Confidential: The Real Story of Apple Computer, Inc. [Anglais] [Broché]

Owen Linzmayer's Apple Confidential is subtitled The Real Story of Apple Computer, Inc., and while nobody will ever know the complete, "real" story about Apple, Linzmayer's is probably as close as they come. Having covered Apple news since 1980, he offers extensive insider details about Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, John Sculley, Gilbert Amelio, Bill Gates, and other major players whose lives were (and are) intertwined with Apple's history. And along the way, we also learn about lesser-known figures whose stories have remained hidden in the Apple myth: Ronald Gerald Wayne, for example, who was actually a partner with Wozniak and Jobs in the original incarnation of the company, but who sold his share when he realized he would be financially vulnerable if it should fail.

Linzmayer's tale does have a few drawbacks. Because he mixes a chronological narrative with chapters that focus on key points in the Apple story, he sometimes repeats himself. Case in point: the chapter "Big Bad Blunders" makes a great record of Apple's failures, but the story of the exploding Powerbook 5300s is duplicated at later points. Nonetheless, Apple Confidential is rife with gems that will appeal to Apple fanatics and followers of the computer industry. Especially enjoyable are the revelation of "Easter eggs" that are hidden in several versions of the Mac operating system; the many screen shots, timelines, and telling quotes from Jobs, Gates, Wozniak and others that populate the margins and concluding sections of each chapter; the "Code Names Uncovered" section that makes public the monikers of several secret Apple projects; and Bill Gates's 1985 letter to John Sculley and Jean Louis Gassee pleading for Apple to license Mac technology and develop a "standard personal computer." --Patrick O'Kelley

For your Mac community, you can't go wrong with these titles. Linzmayer's Apple Confidential is an unofficial history of Apple and a great read. Pogue's MacWorld Mac Secrets explains all the oddities about any Mac still in use, while his iMac guide follows the format of the "Dummies" series. Poole's MacWorld Mac OS 8.5 Bible completely explains Mac 8.5, the newest operating system upgrade.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The Apple story . . . in all its drama

"Linzmayer's entertaining and irreverent sense of humor makes it a real treat for anybody even remotely interested in the Mac." --Ce texte fait référence à lédition Broché .

"a frank and honest portrayal of the company and its cast of characters over the past 3 decades." --Ce texte fait référence à lédition Broché .

Great Reading! No one captures the essence of the Macintosh better than Linzmayer

Numerous books have been written about Apple, but Apple Confidential offers the most entertaining and complete picture . . . For Apple fanatics, not reading this book would be like a music major never listening to the Beatles. The same is true for anyone else remotely interested in the history of the PC and of Silicon Valley

'Apple has some tremendous assets, but I believe without some attention, the company could, could, could... I'm searching for the right word - could, could die.' Steve Jobs. At the present moment, Apple is on the rebound, but this quote seemed to define the situation for Apple not that long ago. In this timely book, author Owen Linzmayer looks very deeply into the history of the famously cantankerous corporate misfit which is Apple Computer. What one sees is remarkable, depressing and ultimately fascinating. Linzmayer, ignoring much of the company's official history, digs under the carefully crafted official picture to show the genius and wasted opportunity that has equally marked the rise, fall and rebound of one of the most important technology companies in America. Looming over this history are the doppelgangers of Steven Jobs and Bill Gates. Brilliant, ruthless, funny, inept and shrewd, the history of Apple is the chronicle of the minuet of these two fiercely original men. It is hard to escape the observation that Apple, creative and innovative to a fault, never can seem to capitalize on their superiority, while imitators, feeding on Apple's innovations have carved up large portions of the market for themselves at Apple's expense. It is also important to remember that the company that brought us the MacIntosh also brought us the Mac III, Lisa and the Mac portable; not exactly huge successes. Linzmayer makes this an interesting book, packing it with quotes, photos and anecdotes that humanize the history of the company that brought us the mouse-driven MacIntosh, the laser printer, the personal assistant and numerous other innovations. Definitely for anyone with an interest in the history of technology.

Written with humor, respect, and care, [Apple Confidential] absolutely is a must-read for every Apple fan

Computer industry watcher Owen Linzmayer here lays out the ups and downs of Apple Computer's tumultuous history, from its legendary founding in 1976, through a series of disastrous executive decisions, to its return to profitability. Backed by exhaustive research, he debunks many of the myths surrounding Apple, the Mac, and its culture.

Explores Apple's tumultuous history, from its legendary founding, through a series of disastrous executive decisions, to its recent return to profitability. Softcover. DLC: Apple Computer, Inc.--History.

In Apple Confidential, Journalist Owen Linzmayer explores Apple's tumultuous history, from its legendary founding, through a series of disastrous executive decisions, to its recent return to profitability. Backed by exhaustive research, the book debunks many of the myths and half-truths surrounding Apple, the Macintosh, and its creators. Linzmayer looks into secret archives, interviews key players, and tells the real stories behind the hype.

OWEN LINZMAYER is a San Francisco-based freelance writer who has been covering Apple Computer for industry magazines since 1980. He is the author of four Macintosh-related books, has contributed to every major Macintosh publication, and currently writes a monthly column for MacAddict magazine.

From Chapter 1, The Forgotten Founder: Thanks to a never-ending campaign by Apple's powerful public relations machine to protect the myths surrounding the company's origin, almost everyone believes that Apple was started in a garage by "the two Steves," Stephen Gary Wozniak, 25, and Steven Paul Jobs,21. Actually, the operation began in a bedroom at 11161 Crist Drive in Los Altos (the house number changed to 2066 when the land was annexed from the county to the city in late 1983), where Jobs-after having dropped out of Reed College in Portland, Oregon-was living with his adoptive parents, Paul R. (a machinist at Spectra Physics)and Clara (a payroll clerk at Varian). That mere semantic distinction can be forgiven. When the bedroom became too crowded, the operation did indeed move to the garage.

The bigger story here is that the two Steves weren't alone in forming Apple. Just as Soviet propagandists doctored photos to remove party members who had fallen out of favor, Apple suffers from a convenient case of institutional amnesia by routinely ignoring the fact that when Apple was originally founded as a partnership on April Fools' Day 1976, there were three founders: Woz, Jobs, and a fellow by the name of Ronald Gerald Wayne, 41.

Jobs was freelancing at Atari in the early 1970s when founder Nolan Kay Bushnell hired Wayne as chief draftsman (badge #395) for the video game maker. Despite the difference in their ages, Jobs and Wayne became casual friends and would often have philosophical discussions on the ethics of making money. Desiring a tie-breaker in any potential conflicts with Woz, Jobs enticed Wayne to become a partner in Apple by offering him 10 percent interest in the company.

"Either I was going to be bankrupt or the richest man in the cemetery," Wayne recalls thinking. Since Apple was far from a sure thing, Wayne retained his day job at Atari and worked nights on the original Apple logo and documentation for the Apple I. Meanwhile, Jobs was hustling up customers. At a Homebrew Computer Club meeting (the club met monthly at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center auditorium in Palo Alto), Jobs gave a demonstration of the Apple I to Paul Jay Terrell, who operated the Byte Shop-arguably the first retail computer store chain in the country, which opened its doors on December 8, 1975(Terrell's birthday). Terrell was intrigued and asked Jobs to keep in touch.

The next day, a barefooted Jobs dropped in on Terrell at his store in Mountain View and exclaimed, "I'm keeping in touch." To Jobs' utter amazement, Terrell agreed to buy 50 computers for $500 each, cash on delivery. There was only one catch to the $25,000 order: Terrell wanted fully assembled computers.

The trio had originally planned to produce bare circuit boards for $25each and sell them for $50 to hobbyists who would populate them with the necessary chips and other parts. They didn't have the money necessary to buy all of the parts required to build 50 complete computers, but Jobs was undaunted. On April 6, he obtained a three-month $5,000 loan from Elmer and Allen J. Baum (one of Woz's co-workers at Hewlett-Packard), then convinced suppliers to extend 30days' credit on $15,000 worth of parts.

The young, ambitious Jobs had no qualms about going into debt to fulfill the Byte Shop order, but the seasoned Wayne was anxious. He wasn't convinced Terrell would pay for the computers, and the partnership agreement meant that he had unlimited personal liability for any debts incurred by Apple. Just four years prior, Wayne underwent the emotionally painful experience of folding Siand, his own Las Vegas-based engineering firm. Wayne didn't want to risk another financial failure, so on April 12-less than two weeks after Apple's founding-he renounced his 10 percent interest for a one-time payment of $800. "I had already learned what gave me indigestion," explained Wayne years later. "If Apple had failed, I would have had bruises on top of bruises. Steve Jobs was an absolute whirlwind and I had lost the energy you need to ride whirlwinds." Freed from the financial liabilities of the partnership agreement, Wayne spent his free time consulting on projects such as designing an enclosure for the Apple I.

Meanwhile, Woz and Jobs got part-time assembly help from Bill Fernandez, who had originally introduced Jobs to Woz in 1968, as well as from Daniel G. Kottke, who had met Jobs at Reed College and had made a spiritual journey to India with him in 1974.

Everyone worked furiously to build the computers by hand. Terrell was a bit dismayed when Jobs showed up on the 29th day to deliver a batch of motherboards stuffed with components. When Terrell asked for "fully assembled" computers, he meant the whole works: a case, power supply, monitor, and keyboard. Nonetheless, Terrell kept his word and handed over the cash, allowing Apple to pay off its parts suppliers in the nick of time.