It wasn;t until 2010 that Apple put out a tablet pc that offered a tablet experience that people have longed for. Granted, Steve Jobs and company had laid the groundwork earlier by getting an entire generation of consumers to become accustomed to intuitive touchscreen typing, gestures and making use of applications with the wildly successful iPhone. It was slim, lightweight and had sufficient battery power for hours of consumption. By then, it’s iOS operating system was well-matured to where the iPad ran on essentially the same platform.

And like the iPhone, the iPad dominated the newly re-imagined tablet category early on. Predictably, a barrage of copycat tablets ensued, many of which ran on the competing Android operating system. Microsoft would later find its footing in the crowded market with touch-friendlier Windows tablets, many of which are able to convert to small and light laptops. That's currently where stand today, three operating systems to choose from and a tablet selection that comes in several shapes and sizes.

Vocabulary:

tablet computer – планшетный компьютер mainstream – основной, магистральный integration – интеграция, объединение tinkering with – возиться с, заниматься launch – запускать

benchmark – показатель

bulky – громоздкий, объемный wizardry – колдовство, магия

wed portable computing – портативные вычислительные машины incompatibility – несовместимость

stylus – специальная палочка с силиконовым или емкостным наконечником для управления сенсорным экраном

History of Apple Computers

Before it became one of the wealthiest companies in the world, Apple Inc. was a tiny start-up in Los Altos, California. Co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, both college dropouts, wanted to develop the world's first user-friendly personal computer. Their work ended up revolutionizing the computer industry and changing the face of consumer technology. Along with tech giants like Microsoft and IBM, Apple helped make computers part of everyday life, ushering in the Digital Revolution and the Information Age.

The Early Years

Apple Inc. originally known as Apple Computers began in 1976. Founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak worked out of Jobs' garage at his home in Los Altos, California. On April 1, 1976, they debuted the Apple 1, a desktop computer that came as a single motherboard, pre-assembled, unlike other personal computers of that era.

The Apple II was introduced about a year later. The upgraded machine included an integrated keyboard and case, along with expansion slots for attaching floppy disk drives and other components. The Apple III was released in 1980, one year before

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IBM released the IBM Personal Computer. Technical failures and other problems with the machine resulted in recalls and damage to Apple's reputation.

The first home computer with a GUI, or graphical user interface an interface that allows users to interact with visual icons was the Apple Lisa. The very first graphical interface was developed by the Xerox Corporation at its Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) in the 1970s. Steve Jobs visited PARC in 1979 (after buying Xerox stock) and was impressed and highly influenced by the Xerox Alto, the first computer to feature a GUI. This machine, though, was quite large. Jobs adapted the technology for the Apple Lisa, a computer small enough to fit on a desktop.

The Macintosh Computer

In 1984, Apple introduced its most successful product yet the Macintosh, a personal computer that came with a built-in screen and mouse. The machine featured a GUI, an operating system known as System 1 (the earliest version of Mac OS), and a number of software programs, including the word processor MacWrite and the graphics editor MacPaint. The New York Times said that the Macintosh was the beginning of a "revolution in personal computing."

In 1985, Jobs was forced out of the company over disagreements with Apple's CEO, John Scully. He went on to found NeXT Inc., a computer and software company that was later purchased by Apple in 1997.

Over the course of the 1980s, the Macintosh underwent many changes. In 1990, the company introduced three new models the Macintosh Classic, Macintosh LC, and Macintosh IIsi all of which were smaller and cheaper than the original computer. A year later Apple released the PowerBook, the earliest version of the company's laptop computer.

The iMac and the iPod

In 1997, Jobs returned to Apple as the interim CEO, and a year later the company introduced a new personal computer, the iMac. The machine became iconic for its semi-transparent plastic case, which was eventually produced in a variety of colors. The iMac was a strong seller, and Apple quickly went to work developing a suite of digital tools for its users, including the music player iTunes, the video editor iMovie, and the photo editor iPhoto. These were made available as a software bundle known as iLife.

In 2001, Apple released its first version of the iPod, a portable music player that allowed users to store "1000 songs in your pocket." Later versions included models such as the iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, and iPod Touch. By 2015, Apple had sold 390 million units.

The iPhone

In 2007, Apple extended its reach into the consumer electronics market with the release of the iPhone, a smartphone that sold over 6 million units. Later models of the iPhone have added a multitude of features, including GPS navigation, Touch ID, and facial recognition, along with the ability to shoot photos and video. In 2017, Apple sold 223 million iPhones, making the device the top-selling tech product of the year.

Under CEO Tim Cook, who took over Apple after Jobs' death in 2011, the company has expanded, releasing a new generation of iPhones, iPads, iMacs, and MacBooks,

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along with new products such as the Apple Watch and the HomePod. In 2018, the tech giant became the first U.S. company to be worth $1 trillion.

Vocabulary:

expansion slots – слот расширения floppy disk drives – флоппи-дисковод interact with – взаимодействовать с

History of Computer peripherals From the Floppy Disk to CDs

Computer peripherals are any of a number of devices that work with a computer. Here are some of the most well known components.

Compact Disk/CD

A compact disk or CD is a popular form of digital storage media used for computer files, pictures and music. The plastic platter is read and written to using a laser in a CD drive. It comes in several varieties including CD-ROM, CD-R and CD-RW.

James Russell invented the compact disk in 1965. Russell was granted a total of 22 patents for various elements of his compact disk system. However, the compact disk did not become popular until it was mass manufactured by Philips in 1980.

The Floppy Disk

In 1971, IBM introduced the first "memory disk” or the "floppy disk," as it is known today. The first floppy was an 8-inch flexible plastic disk coated with magnetic iron oxide. Computer data was written to and read from the disk's surface.

The nickname "floppy" came from the disk's flexibility. The floppy disk was considered a revolutionary device throughout the history of computers for its portability, which provided a new and easy means of transporting data from computer to computer.

The "floppy" was invented by IBM engineers led by Alan Shugart. The original disks were designed for loading microcodes into the controller of the Merlin (IBM 3330) disk pack file (a 100 MB storage device). So, in effect, the first floppies were used to fill another type of data storage device.

The Computer Keyboard

The invention of the modern computer keyboard began with the invention of the typewriter. Christopher Latham Sholes patented the typewriter that we commonly use today in 1868. The Remington Company mass marketed the first typewriters starting in 1877.

A few key technological developments allowed for the transition of the typewriter into the computer keyboard. The teletype machine, introduced in the 1930s, combined the technology of the typewriter (used as an input and a printing device) with the telegraph. Elsewhere, punched card systems were combined with typewriters to create what was called keypunches. Keypunches were the basis of early adding ma-

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chines and IBM was selling over one million dollars worth of adding machines in 1931.

Early computer keyboards were first adapted from the punch card and teletype technologies. In 1946, the Eniac computer used a punched card reader as its input and output device. In 1948, the Binac computer used an electromechanically controlled typewriter to both input data directly onto magnetic tape (for feeding the computer data) and to print results. The emerging electric typewriter further improved the technological marriage between the typewriter and the computer.

The Computer Mouse

Technology visionary Douglas Engelbart changed the way computers worked, turning them from specialized machinery that only a trained scientist could use to a userfriendly tool that almost anyone can work with. He invented or contributed to several interactive, user-friendly devices such as the computer mouse, windows, computer video teleconferencing, hypermedia, groupware, email, the Internet and more.

Engelbart conceived of the rudimentary mouse when he started thinking about how to improve interactive computing during a conference on computer graphics. In the early days of computing, users typed codes and commands to make things happen on monitors. Engelbart came up with the idea of linking the computer’s cursor to a device with two wheels—one horizontal and one vertical. Moving the device on a horizontal surface would allow the user to position the cursor on the screen.

Engelbart’s collaborator on the mouse project, Bill English, built a prototype a handheld device carved out of wood, with a button on the top. In 1967, Engelbart’s company SRI filed for the patent on the mouse, although the paperwork identified it as "x,y position indicator for a display system." The patent was awarded in 1970.

Like so much in computer technology, the mouse has evolved significantly. In 1972 English developed the “track ball mouse” that allowed users to control the cursor by rotating a ball from a fixed position. One interesting enhancement is that many devices are now wireless, a fact that makes this Engelbart’s early prototype almost quaint: “We turned it around so the tail came out the top. We started with it going the other direction, but the cord got tangled when you moved your arm.

The inventor, who grew up on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon, hoped his achievements would add to the collective intelligence of the world. "It would be wonderful,” he once said, “if I can inspire others, who are struggling to realize their dreams, to say 'if this country kid could do it, let me keep slogging away'."

Printers

In 1953, the first high-speed printer was developed by Remington-Rand for use on the Univac computer. In 1938, Chester Carlson invented a dry printing process called electrophotography that’s now commonly called a Xerox, the foundation technology for laser printers to come.

The original laser printer called EARS was developed at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center beginning in 1969 and completed in November 1971. Xerox Engineer, Gary Starkweather adapted Xerox copier technology adding a laser beam to it to come up with the laser printer. According to Xerox, "The Xerox 9700 Electronic Printing System, the first xerographic laser printer product, was released in 1977. The 9700, a direct descendent from the original PARC "EARS" printer which pioneered

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