Get the latest tech news

Apple's Macintosh Turns 41 Today

Apple announced the Macintosh 41 years ago today, introducing the first widely successful personal computer with a graphical user interface. The...

Users tell Macintosh what to do simply by moving a "mouse" — a small pointing device — to select among functions listed in menus and represented by pictorial symbols on the screen. Apple claimed the Macintosh required "only a few hours to learn" and introduced features that are now fundamental, such as a desktop with icons, multitasking in windows, drop-down menus, and copy-and-paste functionality. It included software such as MacPaint, which allowed users to draw detailed black-and-white graphics with features like pattern fills and brushes that were revolutionary for the time, and MacWrite, a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) word processing application with real-time editing, proportional fonts, and drag-and-drop functionality.

Get the Android app