APPLES MACINTOSH TURNS 25

The Macintosh - the first Apple computer to bear the name - turns 25 on 24 January.

The machine debuted in 1984 and kicked off a product line that were Apple's flagship computers for many years. The Macintosh helped popularise the combination of graphical interface and mouse that is ubiquitous today. The machine was unveiled using a hugely expensive TV advert, directed by film maker Ridley Scott and shown during the US Superbowl on 22 January 1984

The project to create the Macintosh was started by legendary computer maker Jef Raskin and the original machine had a 9in screen in an upright beige case, 128k of RAM, internal floppy drive, and came with keyboard and single-button mouse.

Apple had previously produced computers using a graphical user interface (GUI), such as the Apple Lisa. But those machines cost far more than the original Macintosh.

Although Microsoft had launched its operating system - MS DOS - in 1981 it was not until 1985, a year after the Macintosh made its debut, that it introduced its own GUI, Microsoft Windows. However, this did not enjoy significant popularity until the advent of Windows 3.x in 1990.

The "Macintosh" moniker was reportedly taken from the name of Mr Raskin's favourite Apple - the McIntosh. However, this form of the name had to be altered to avoid legal wrangles with another company already trading under that name.

Once successors to the first Macintosh were introduced by Apple, the original machine was re-badged as the 128k version.

Apple has retained the Macintosh name for many of its products - in particular the shortened form re-emerged in 1998 with the launch of the iMac. The Macintosh name re-appeared with the iMac in 1998

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