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What is Mac? 

The Macintosh, or Mac, is a line of personal computers designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple. Named after the McIntosh variety of apple, the original Macintosh was released on January 24, 1984. It was one of the first commercially successful personal computers to use a graphical user interface (GUI) and mouse instead of the then-standard command line interface. The current range of Macintoshes varies from Apple’s entry level Mac mini desktop, to a mid-range server, the Xserve.Macintosh systems are mainly targeted at the home, education, and creative professional markets. Production of the Macintosh is based upon a vertical integration model in that Apple facilitates all aspects of its hardware and creates its own operating system that is pre-installed on all Macintoshes. This is in contrast to PCs pre-installed with Microsoft Windows, where one vendor provides the operating system and multiple vendors create the hardware. (In both cases, the hardware can run other operating systems; modern Macintoshes, like PC’s, are capable of running operating systems such as Linux, FreeBSD and Windows.) Original Macintosh computers used the Motorola 68k family of microprocessors, but later models switched to Motorola and IBM’s PowerPC range of CPUs in 1994. Apple began a transition from the PowerPC line to Intel’s x86 architecture in 2006, which for the first time allowed Macs to run native operating system binaries for the x86 architecture. Current Macintoshes use the Intel Core, Intel Core 2 and Intel Xeon 5100 series microprocessors. All current models of Macintosh come pre-installed with a native version of the latest Mac OS X, which is currently at version 10.4.9 and is commonly referred to by its code name of “Tiger”. Apple will be releasing Mac OS X v10.5, codenamed “Leopard”, in the spring of 2007. 

Hardware

The current Macintosh product family uses Intel x86 processors. All Macintosh models ship with at least 512 MiB RAM as standard. Current Macintosh computers use an ATI Radeon, nVidia GeForce or Intel GMA graphics processor and include either a Combo Drive, a DVD player and CD burner all-in-one; or the SuperDrive, a dual-function DVD and CD burner. Macintoshes include two standard data transfer ports: USB, standardized in 1998 with the iMac; and FireWire, a technology developed by Apple to support higher-performance devices; while USB is ubiquitous today, FireWire is mainly reserved for high-performance devices such as hard drives or video cameras. In-keeping with the philosophy of making computing as easy as possible, the majority of Macintosh computers shipped with a single-button mouse. This changed in August 2005,[6] when Apple released the four-button Mighty Mouse (a wireless version was made available on July 25, 2006) and began to ship it with new desktop Macs. Starting with a new iMac G5 released in October 2005,[7] Apple started to include built-in iSight cameras to appropriate models, and a media center interface called Front Row that can be operated by remote control for accessing media stored on the computer. In 2007 a new form-factor development, not supported by Apple, is a Macintosh turned into a tablet PC by aftermarketers. Axiotron is introducing the ModBook, a tablet PC running Mac OS X that is created by re-engineering a standard MacBook.  

Processor architecture

The original Macintosh used a Motorola 68000, a 16/32-bit (32-bit internal) CISC processor that ran at 8 MHz. The Macintosh Portable and PowerBook 100 both used a 16 MHz version. The Macintosh II featured a full 32-bit Motorola 68020 processor, but the Mac ROMs at the time contained software that only supported 24-bit memory addressing, therefore using only a fraction of the chip’s memory addressing capabilities unless a software patch was applied. Macs with this limitation were referred to as not being “32-bit clean.” The successor Macintosh IIx introduced the Motorola 68030 processor, which added a memory management unit. The 68030 did not have a built-in floating point unit (FPU); thus, ‘030-based Macintoshes incorporated a separate unit—either the 68881 or 68882. Lower-cost models did without, although they incorporated an FPU socket, should the user decide to add one as an option. The first “32-bit clean” Macintosh that could use 32-bit memory addressing without a software patch was the IIci. In 1991, Apple released the first computers containing the Motorola 68040 processor, which contained the floating point unit in the main processor. Again, lower-cost models did not have FPUs, being based on the cut-down Motorola 68LC040 instead. After 1994 Apple used the PowerPC line of processors, starting with the PowerPC 601, which were later upgraded to the 603 and 603e and 604, 604e, and 604ev. In 1997, Apple introduced its first computer based on the significantly upgraded PowerPC G3 processor; this was followed in 1999 with the PowerPC G4. The last generation of PowerPC processor to be introduced was the 64-bit PowerPC 970FX (“G5″), introduced in 2003. During the transition to the PowerPC, Apple’s “Cognac” team wrote a 68030-to-PowerPC emulator that booted very early in OS loading. Initially the emulation speed wasn’t stellar, but later versions used a dynamic recompilation emulator which boosted performance by caching frequently used sections of translated code. The first version of the OS to ship with the earliest PowerPC systems was estimated to run 95% emulated. Later versions of the operating system increased the percentage of PowerPC native code until OS X brought it to 100% native. The PowerPC 604 processor introduced symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) to the Macintosh platform, with dual PowerPC 604e-equipped Power Macintosh 9500 and 9600 models. The G3 processor was not SMP-capable, but the G4 and G5 were, and Apple introduced many dual-CPU G4 and G5 Power Macs. The top of the range Power Macintosh G5 uses up to two dual core processors, for a total of four cores. On June 6, 2005, Steve Jobs announced that the company would begin transitioning the Macintosh line from PowerPC to Intel microprocessors (transition completed as of August 7, 2006) and demonstrated a version of Mac OS X running on a computer powered by an Intel Pentium 4 CPU. Intel-powered Macs are able to run Macintosh software compiled for PowerPC processors using a dynamic translation system known as “Rosetta.” The reason for this switch is believed to be IBM’s apparent inability to deliver a CPU suited for Apple’s notebooks. The first Macs with Intel processors were the iMac and the 15-inch MacBook Pro, both announced at the Macworld Conference and Expo in January 2006. Throughout the year the Mac mini was transitioned to the Intel architecture, with users having choice of either Core Solo or Core Duo CPUs. The iBook product line was phased out by the MacBook (none pro) and on August 7, 2006, the Power Mac G5 was discontinued in favor of the Mac Pro, based on the new Intel Xeon “Woodcrest”. The Xserve was also transitioned to an Intel Xeon “Woodcrest”. In the second half of 2006 Apple launched new iMac and MacBook lines using the Core 2 Duo processor, claiming them to be up to 25% faster.  

Expandability and connectivity

 A typical Universal Serial Bus (“USB”) Type A cable; the USB has become standard on modern Macintosh computers.The earliest form of internal Macintosh expandability was the Processor Direct Slot (PDS), present from the SE onwards. It was basically a shortcut to the CPU socket, not a bus—which also meant that parts for the PDS slot were tied to a specific Macintosh model, with the notable exception of the LC PDS slot, which was standardized across the entire LC line. The PDS slot could be used for processor upgrades, Ethernet cards, the Apple IIe Card, or video cards. The last line of Macintoshes to have PDS slots was the first generation of the Power Macs. The first Macintosh to feature a bus for expansion was the Macintosh II, in the form of six NuBus (parallel 32-bit bus) slots. The NuBus was abandoned in favor of PCI in the second-generation Power Macs, and the G4 introduced 64-bit PCI slots as well as an AGP slot for video cards (which later became powered to support Apple’s ADC-based displays). The Power Mac G5 quickly introduced PCI-X slots, which were short-lived, as the final G5s and the Mac Pro use PCI Express for graphics and expansion. For memory, Apple has used standard SIMMs (30 and 72-pin), proprietary 168-pin DIMMs, and later industry-standard SDRAM and DDR DIMMs. The earliest Macintoshes used a special proprietary serial port (a DB-19 connector) for external floppy or hard drives, until SCSI was introduced with the Macintosh Plus. SCSI remained the Macintosh drive medium of choice until the mid 1990s, when less expensive ATA drives were introduced, first on budget models, then across the whole range. Current Macintoshes use Serial ATA for internal hard drives, ATA for internal optical drives, and FireWire or USB 2.0 for external drives. For peripherals, the Apple Desktop Bus was introduced with the Macintosh II and Macintosh SE. It was the standard input connector for keyboards and mice until USB was introduced with the iMac. The last Macintosh to have ADB was the Power Macintosh G3 (Blue & White), alongside USB. Other legacy Macintosh peripheral connectors include the serial GeoPort and the AAUI port for networking. For external video signals, Apple used a DB-15 connector on all models prior to the blue-and-white G3, which used a VGA connector. The original AGP-based G4 used VGA, complemented by DVI; almost all later G4s, however, used the Apple Display Connector in addition to a VGA or DVI port. On the most recent Macintoshes, Apple has used single- or dual-link DVI connectors, with the Power Mac G5 having two connectors allowing dual displays (early Power Mac G5s had one DVI and one ADC port).

   Software Operating system

Main article: Mac OS history The original 1984 Mac OS desktop featured a radically new graphical user interface. System 7 was the first major upgrade of the Macintosh operating system. Note that the display is in 8-bit color. The Mac OS X v10.4 “Tiger” desktop. Although the interface has undergone many changes, some aspects remain, such as the menu bar at the top of the screen.The Macintosh operating system was originally known as the System Software or more simply System. With the release of System 7.6, the official name became Mac OS. From 2001, the “classic” Mac OS was phased out in favor of the new BSD Unix-based Mac OS X. Apple had offered another UNIX system, A/UX, for its Macintosh servers earlier, but without much success. The Mac OS operating system is widely considered one of the main selling points of the Macintosh platform, and Apple heavily touts its releases with large release-day special events. Apple has generally chosen to stick with some loose user-interface elements in all of its releases, and many similarities can be seen between the legacy Mac OS 9 and the modern Mac OS X. Mac OS was the first widely used operating system with a graphical interface. No versions of the “classic” Mac OS featured a command line interface. It was originally a single-tasking OS with limited background execution ability, but optional co-operative multitasking was introduced in System Software 5. The next major upgrade was System 7 in 1991, which featured a new full-color design, built-in multitasking, AppleScript, and more user configuration options. Mac OS continued to evolve up to version 9.2.2, but its dated architecture—though retrofited a few times (for example, as part of the PowerPC port, a nanokernel was added and later in Mac OS 8.6 was modified to support Multiprocessing Services—made a replacement necessary. In March 2001, Apple introduced Mac OS X, a modern and more secure Unix-based successor, using Darwin, XNU, and Mach as foundations. Mac OS X is directly derived from NeXTSTEP, the operating system developed by Steve Jobs’ company NeXT before Apple bought it. Older Mac OS programs can still run under Mac OS X in a special virtual machine called Classic, but this is only possible using Apple software on Macintoshes using PowerPC processors; Macintoshes using Intel processors need third party software to run older code. A program similar to Classic called “Rosetta” will allow PowerPC programs to run on Intel machines. Mac OS X remains the most common UNIX-based desktop operating system, and even though Mac OS X was never originally certified as a UNIX implementation by The Open Group, Apple is currently working on full UNIX compliance and certification for its next server release[8]. Mac OS X is currently at version 10.4 (released on April 29, 2005), code-named Tiger. The next version, Mac OS X v10.5, code-named Leopard, is scheduled to be released in the spring of 2007. Non-Apple operating systems for today’s Macintoshes include Linux, NetBSD, and OpenBSD. With the release of Intel-based Macintosh computers, the potential to natively run Windows-based operating systems on Apple hardware without the need for emulation software such as Virtual PC was introduced. In March of 2006, a group of hackers announced that they were able to run Windows XP on an Intel based Mac. The group has released their software as open source and has posted it for download on their website.[9] On April 5, 2006 Apple announced the public beta availability of their own Boot Camp software which will allow owners of Intel-based Macs to install Windows XP on their machines. Boot Camp will be a standard feature in Leopard.

  Software history

Since its introduction, the Mac has been criticized for the lesser range of software titles available for its operating system in comparison to DOS and Windows-based PCs. In 1984 it was apparent that a wider range of software was available for the IBM PC, because it used the most popular operating system of the time, MS-DOS. Apple struggled to encourage software developers to port software titles to the Macintosh; however, Bill Gates at Microsoft realized that the GUI would become an industry standard, and that his software would sell in large quantity if it were available for the Macintosh. In 1984 Microsoft Word and Microsoft MultiPlan were available, and were a large selling point for the Mac. However, it lacked other business software and games. In 1985, Lotus Software introduced Lotus Jazz after the success of Lotus 1-2-3 for the IBM PC, although it was largely a flop.[10] In 1987, Apple spun off its software business as Claris. It was given the code and rights to several programs that had been written within Apple, notably MacWrite, MacPaint, and MacProject. In the late 1980s, Claris released a number of revamped software titles; the result was the “Pro” series, including MacPaint Pro, MacDraw Pro, MacWrite Pro, and FileMaker Pro. To provide a complete office suite, Claris purchased the rights to the Informix Wingz spreadsheet on the Mac, renaming it Claris Resolve, and added the new presentation program Claris Impact. By the early 1990s, Claris programs were shipping with the majority of consumer-level Macintoshes and were extremely popular. In 1991, Claris released ClarisWorks, which soon became their second best-selling program. When Claris was later folded back into Apple, ClarisWorks was renamed AppleWorks beginning with version 5.0 (hence the “.cwk” extension at the end of names of AppleWorks documents to this day). All new Macs now come with a suite of consumer-level applications, sometimes known as the “iApps”. In 1999, a digital video editing application, iMovie, was released for use on the iMac DV. Next came iTunes, a digital jukebox designed to work with Apple’s iPod digital music player, and on January 7, 2002, Apple released iPhoto, an easy-to-use digital photo organizer. In 2004, Apple began to market these applications, along with iDVD and GarageBand, as a US$49 suite called iLife which also comes packaged with every new Apple computer. It is intended to make the Mac versatile out of the box by providing several high-value consumer media applications. The most popular tool in the suite, iTunes, now has a Windows version, and has spawned the most popular online music store, the iTunes Store. iLife ‘05 was notable for the addition of support for High Definition video and the RAW image format, and for its price increase to US$79.[11] In January 2006, iLife ‘06 was released; iWeb, a new website creation application, was added to the suite. To complement the Macintosh, Apple has built up a portfolio of digital media applications, as well as three applications that are geared towards productivity (the iWork suite and FileMaker Pro). 

 Advertising

 Page 1 of the 1984 “Macintosh Introduction” brochure published in Newsweek magazine.Ever since the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984 with the 1984 Super Bowl commercial, Apple has been recognized for its efforts towards effective advertising and marketing for the Macintosh. A “Macintosh Introduction” 18-page brochure was included with various magazines in December 1983, often remembered for the presence of Bill Gates on page 11.[12] For a special post-election edition of Newsweek in November 1984, Apple spent more than US $2.5 million to buy all of the advertising pages in the issue (a total of 39).[13] Apple also ran a “Test Drive a Macintosh” promotion that year, in which potential buyers with a credit card could trial a Macintosh for 24 hours and return it to a dealer afterwards. It began to look like a success with 200,000 participants, and Advertising Age magazine named this one of the 10 best promotions of 1984. However, dealers disliked the promotion and supply of computers was insufficient for demand, and many computers were returned in such a bad shape that they could no longer be sold. In 1985 the “Lemmings” commercial aired at the Super Bowl; Apple went as far as to create a newspaper advertisement stating “If you go to the bathroom during the fourth quarter, you’ll be sorry.” It was a large failure and did not capture nearly as much attention as the 1984 commercial did. Many more brochures for new models like the Macintosh Plus and the Performa followed. In the 1990s Apple started the “What’s on your PowerBook?” campaign, with print ads and television commercials featuring celebrities describing how the PowerBook helps them in their businesses and everyday lives. In 1995, Apple responded to the introduction of Windows 95 with both several print ads and a television commercial demonstrating its disadvantages and lack of innovation. In 1997 the Think Different campaign introduced Apple’s new slogan, and in 2002 the Switch campaign followed. The most recent advertising strategy by Apple is the Get a Mac campaign, with North American, UK and Japanese variants.[14][15] Today, Apple focuses much of its advertising efforts around “special events,” and keynotes at conferences like the MacWorld Expo and the Apple Expo. The events typically draw a large gathering of media representatives and spectators. In the past, special events have been used to unveil its desktop and notebook computers such as the iMac and MacBook, and other consumer electronic devices like the iPod, Apple tv, and iPhone.  

Effects on the technology industry

Apple has introduced a number of innovations in direct relation to the Macintosh 128K that were later adopted by the rest of industry as a standard for the design of computers. Possibly Apple’s number-one achievement was the first large-scale use of a graphical user interface in operating system software. Developed first by Xerox, the Macintosh introduced new innovations to the graphical user interface, such as the use of the “double click” and “drag and drop”, which are still in use in many operating systems. The Macintosh 128K also introduced software which allowed WYSIWYG (“what you see is what you get,” pronounced “whizzy-wig”) text and graphics editing alongside significant technical improvements such as: long file names permitting whitespace, not requiring a file extension, 3.5″ floppy disk drives, 8-bit mono audio, built-in speakers, and an output jack as standard features. The Macintosh platform has introduced many innovations and ideas which have had significant effects on the computer industry, especially in the area of communications standards. One of the first was the Macintosh Plus, which successfully introduced the SCSI interface in 1986. The Macintosh IIsi and the Macintosh LC introduced standard audio in and out ports in 1990—today these ports are standard on the large majority of computers. Beginning with the iMac in 1998, Apple made the Universal Serial Bus standard and introduced FireWire, a high-speed data transfer bus now popular in media-editing computers and almost all digital video cameras. Apple also innovated in the area of networking, with heavy marketing and early implementation of the existing wireless networking standard IEEE 802.11b (AirPort) in the Macintosh portable lines in 1999. The Power Macintosh G4 with its SuperDrive introduced the first relatively affordable DVD-R drive in 2001 [16]. The iMac, debuting in 1998, was one of the earlier computers to have no floppy disk drive; today, almost no new computers come with one. Other notable contributions: first personal computer to have virtual memory (first in 1989 by using ‘Virtual’ a Connectix product, then two years later implemented into System 7 by Apple); being able to support multiple monitors as far back as 1988 – a full ten years before Windows 98 supported dual monitors. When Apple developed the iMac with dual monitors, it heavily influenced Bobby H. Green’s development of the “DSDS” (Dual screen duo system) Apple has also contributed heavily to the field of mobile computing, and many features of its mobile computers have become the norm. The PowerBook 100, 140, and 170 set the ergonomic standard for the placement of the keyboard in 1991 by moving the keyboard behind a palm rest, rather than right at the bottom of the laptop. In 1991, the PowerBook 100 series featured the first built-in pointing device on a laptop: a trackball. The PowerBook Duo also introduced the idea of a dock/port replicator in 1992. One of the most important features ever added to the Macintosh PowerBook lineup was the first true touchpad as a pointing device on the PowerBook 500 in 1994; today, most laptops rely on it as their pointing device. More recently, the PowerBook G4 became the first full-size laptop computer to feature a widescreen display, in 2003 it became the first laptop computer with a 17-inch display, and in 2004 it became the first laptop computer to provide dual-link DVI. Apple was first to deliver Wi-Fi internet access using the Wi-Fi Alliance’s 802.11x standard in their AirPort product line. 

 Market share and demographics

Ever since the introduction of the Macintosh, Apple has struggled to gain a significant share of the personal computer market. At first, the Macintosh 128K suffered from a dearth of available software compared to IBM’s PC, resulting in disappointing sales in 1984 and 1985. Only 500,000 Macs had been sold by September 1985. Jobs had originally predicted that five million units would be sold within two years; sales eventually crossed the one million mark in March 1987 and the two million mark in 1988, and three years later, the installed base finally reached five million. Mac computers are most widely used in the creative professional market, including in journalism and desktop publishing, video editing and audio editing, but have also made inroads into the educative and scientific research sectors [1]. By 1997, there were more than 20 million Mac users, compared to an installed base of around 340 million Windows PCs.[17][18] Statistics from late 2003 indicate that Apple had 2.06% of the desktop share in the United States, which had increased to 2.88% by Q4 2004.[19] As of October, 2006, research firms IDC and Gartner reported that Apple’s market share in the U.S. had increased to about 6%.[20] The latest figures, from December 2006, showing a market share around 6% (IDC) and 6.1% (Gartner) are based on a >30% increase in unit sale from 2005 to 2006. The actual installed base of Macintosh computers is extremely hard to determine, with numbers ranging from a conservative 3%[21] to an optimistic 16%.[22] Whether the size of the Mac’s market share and installed base is actually relevant, and to whom, is a hotly debated issue. Industry pundits have often called attention to the Mac’s relatively small market share to predict Apple’s impending doom, particularly in the late 1990s when the company’s future seemed bleakest. Others argue that market share is the wrong way to judge the Mac’s success, citing the following reasons: Apple has positioned the Mac as a higher-end personal computer, and so it is misleading to compare a Mac with a low-budget (and perhaps low-quality) PC.[23] Only within the computer industry does market share seem to be such a major concern. Rarely is the topic raised in the automobile or television industries, for example.[24] Too much emphasis is placed on the Mac’s worldwide market share at the expense of its United States market share, which as of 2006 stands at almost twice the corresponding worldwide figure.[25] Because the overall market for personal computers has grown so much and so rapidly, the Mac’s increasing sales numbers are effectively swallowed by the industry’s numbers as a whole. Apple’s small market share, then, gives the false impression that fewer people are using Macs than did (for example) ten years ago.[26] Market share numbers ignore the total installed base of a particular platform, a statistic which is difficult to accurately determine. For example, if one platform is replaced less often than others, the number in use at any given moment would be higher than indicated by sales alone. Regardless of the Mac’s market share, Apple Computer has remained profitable ever since Steve Jobs’ return and the company’s subsequent reorganization.[27] Market research indicates that Apple draws its customer base from a higher-income demographic than the mainstream PC market. Higher income correlates with greater artistic, creative, and well-educated social behaviors, which may explain the platform’s visibility within certain youthful, avant-garde subcultures.[28] Steve Jobs speculates that “maybe a little less” than half of Apple’s customers are Republicans, “maybe more Dell than ours.”[29] This perception may or may not be accurate—-several prominent conservatives, including George W. Bush and Rush Limbaugh, are Mac users—-but it can only be reinforced by the company’s pattern of political donations,[30] by Al Gore’s membership on its board,[31] and surely not least by Jobs’ own personal history.[32] 

 Advantages, disadvantages and criticisms

The Macintosh differs in several ways from other x86 personal computers, especially those that run the Windows operating system. Apple controls and supplies its own operating system and directly sub-contracts hardware production to Asian OEM laptop manufacturers such as Asus, maintaining a high degree of control over the end product. In contrast, Microsoft supplies its software to original equipment manufacturers, including Dell, HP/Compaq, and Lenovo, who make the hardware using a wider range of components. This less-common operating system means that a much smaller range of third-party software is available, although suitable applications, such as Microsoft Office, are available in most areas.  However, following the release of intel-based Macintosh, third-party virtualization software such as Parallels Desktop and Crossover Mac began to emerge, allowing users to run any previously Windows-only software on a Mac.  Apple also released a public beta version of Boot Camp, which allows users to run Microsoft Windows natively on any intel-based Macs. The design of the Macintosh operating system [33] [34] [35] has contributed to the near-absence of the types of malware and spyware that plague Microsoft Windows users. This is also due to the small user base, which deters the attention of malware designers. However, a virus as well as a potential vulnerability was noted in February 2006, which led some industry analysts and anti-virus companies to issue warnings that Apple’s Mac OS X is not immune to viruses. [36] [37] Apple has a history of innovation and making bold changes that is met by a strong uptake of software upgrades. The Classic application allowed users to run “old” (Mac OS 9) applications on Mac OS X computers, though without the advantages of a native Mac OS X application. The Apple Intel transition started in 2006 does not support Classic on new Intel Macs, and purchasers of these computers who are still using Classic applications have to either replace, upgrade this software, or run it in a PowerPC emulator such as SheepShaver. The transition involved the recompilation of most Mac OS X software to maximize performance; in the interim, unmodified Mac OS X applications can run on the Intel chip under the emulation software Rosetta.” Applications do not run as fast under Rosetta as a normal application. Many analysts have stated that certain high-profile programs, such as those from Adobe Systems, should not be used under Rosetta until native versions are released. [verification needed] This has not stopped other analysts from fully recommending Apple computers, as can be seen in reviews for the recent MacBook.[38][39][40][41] Early in its history, up until the PCI-based Power Macs, Macintosh hardware was notoriously closed. Connectors were often proprietary, requiring specialized peripherals or adapter cables. However, since the introduction of the original iMac in 1997, Apple computers have used standard USB and FireWire connections, which allow users a greatly expanded choice of peripherals. Originally, the hardware architecture was so closely tied to the Mac OS that it was impossible to boot an alternative operating system; the most common workaround, used even by Apple for its A/UX Unix implementation, was to boot into Mac OS and then to hand over control to a program that took over the system and acted as a boot loader. This technique is not necessary on Open Firmware-based PCI Macs, though it was formerly used for convenience on many Old World ROM systems due to bugs in the firmware implementation. Modern Mac hardware boots directly from Open Firmware or EFI, and is not limited to the Mac OS. In 2006 Apple introduced Boot Camp, which allows owners of Intel-based Macs to install and boot Windows, without the use of emulation software. Newer Mac computers integrate many peripherals into one unit, making it more costly and difficult to replace just one component compared to Intel-based computers. All repairs also can only be done by recognized Apple service centers, which are not always available in certain areas.

  Litigation 

The user interface of the GEM 1.1 desktop was an almost direct copy of the Macintosh’s; Apple sued on charges of “look and feel,” and eventually won.Main article: Notable litigation of Apple ComputerThere have been many lawsuits centered around the Macintosh. These generally involve copyright infringement of the computer’s look and feel. After the Macintosh was released, several companies began to imitate it. Apple had some success in early lawsuits, making Digital Research alter basic components in its Graphical Environment Manager (pictured), the user interface of which was almost a direct copy of the Macintosh’s. The most notable case of this sort, however, was Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp.. In 1988, Apple sued Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard on the grounds that they infringed Apple’s copyrighted GUI, citing (among other things) the use of rectangular, overlapping, and resizable windows. After four years, Apple lost — the decision was under appeal for several years and litigation did not end until Microsoft bought a 10% stock share in Apple in the late ’90s — in part because of a vaguely worded contract they had signed with Microsoft when Bill Gates threatened to stop development of Microsoft Office for the Mac. Apple’s actions were criticized by some in the software community, including the Free Software Foundation (FSF), makers of the open source GNU tools. The FSF characterized the lawsuits as an attempt by Apple Computer to prevent anyone from making a user interface similar to the Macintosh, and called for a boycott of GNU software for the Macintosh platform.[42] (The FSF ended its boycott in 1995[43], and current versions of the Macintosh ship with some GNU tools installed, and the GNU compiler gcc is an integral part of Apple’s XCode development platform.) In 1999, Apple successfully sued eMachines, whose eOne resembled the then-new iMac very closely.