iOS is Apple's mobile operating system originally developed for the iPhone and later used in iPod Touch and iPad devices. It shares a Unix foundation with Mac OS X. iOS has four abstraction layers: Core OS, Core Services, Media, and Cocoa Touch. Apple designs and markets consumer electronics, software, and computers. Their major hardware products include Mac computers, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, and their software includes Mac OS X, iTunes, iLife, iWork, and Logic Studio.

1. iOS (Apple)<br />iOS is Apple's mobile operating system developed originally for the iPhone, and later deployed on the iPod Touch and iPad as well. It is derived from Mac OS X, with which it shares the Darwin foundation, and is therefore a Unix-like operating system by nature. In iOS, there are four abstraction layers: the Core OS layer, the Core Services layer, the Media layer, and the Cocoa Touch layer. The operating system uses roughly 500 megabytes of the device's storage.[1]<br />Apple Inc. (previously Apple Computer, Inc.) is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. Apple software includes the Mac OS X operating system; the iTunes media browser; the iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software; the iWork suite of productivity software; Aperture, a professional photography package; Final Cut Studio, a suite of professional audio and film-industry software products; and Logic Studio, a suite of music production tools. As of January 2010, the company operates 284 retail stores[2] in ten countries,[6] and an online store where hardware and software products are sold.<br />Established on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California, and incorporated January 3, 1977,[7] the company was previously named Apple Computer, Inc. for its first 30 years, but removed the word \"
Computer\"
on January 9, 2007,[8] to reflect the company's ongoing expansion into the consumer electronics market in addition to its traditional focus on personal computers.[9] As of September 26, 2009, Apple had 34,300 full time employees and 2,500 temporary full time employees worldwide[10] and had worldwide annual sales of $42.91 billion in its fiscal year ending September 26, 2009.[4]<br />1976–1980: The early years<br />Apple was established on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne,to sell the Apple I personal computer kit. They were hand-built by Wozniak[ and first shown to the public at the Homebrew Computer Club. The Apple I was sold as a motherboard (with CPU, RAM, and basic textual-video chips)—less than what is today considered a complete personal computer. The Apple I went on sale in July 1976 and was market-priced at $666.66 ($2.55 thousand in 2010 dollars, adjusted for inflation.)<br />Apple was incorporated January 3, 1977[7] without Wayne, who sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800. Multi-millionaire Mike Markkula provided essential business expertise and funding of $250,000 during the incorporation of Apple.<br />1981–1985: Lisa and Macintosh<br />The heroine from Apple's \"
1984\"
ad, set in a dystopian future modeled after the George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, set the tone for the introduction of the Macintosh.<br />Steve Jobs began working on the Apple Lisa in 1978 but in 1982 he was pushed from the Lisa team due to infighting, and took over Jef Raskin's low-cost-computer project, the Macintosh. A turf war broke out between Lisa's \"
corporate shirts\"
and Jobs' \"
pirates\"
over which product would ship first and save Apple. Lisa won the race in 1983 and became the first personal computer sold to the public with a GUI, but was a commercial failure due to its high price tag and limited software titles.<br />In 1984, Apple next launched the Macintosh. Its debut was announced by the now famous $1.5 million television commercial \"
1984\"
. It was directed by Ridley Scott, aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984,[36] and is now considered a <br />watershe1986–1993: Rise and fall<br />The Macintosh Portable was Apple's first \"
portable\"
Macintosh computer, released in 1989.<br />Having learned several painful lessons after introducing the bulky Macintosh Portable in 1989, Apple introduced the PowerBook in 1991, which established the modern form and ergonomic layout of the laptop computer.[44] The Macintosh Portable was designed to be just as powerful as a desktop Macintosh and turned out 17 pounds with a 12 hour battery life. Apple sold fewer than 100,000 units.[citation needed] The Powerbook was 7 pounds and had a 3 hour battery life, and sold a billion dollars worth within the first year.[citation needed] The same year, Apple introduced System 7, a major upgrade to the operating system, which added color to the interface and introduced new networking capabilities. It remained the architectural basis for Mac OS until 2001.<br />1994–1997: Attempts at reinvention<br />In 1994, Apple allied with IBM and Motorola in the AIM alliance. The goal was to create a new computing platform (the PowerPC Reference Platform), which would use IBM and Motorola hardware coupled with Apple's software.<br />In 1996, Michael Spindler was replaced by Gil Amelio as CEO. Gil Amelio made many changes at Apple, including massive layoffs.<br />At the 1997 Macworld Expo, Steve Jobs announced that Apple would join Microsoft to release new versions of Microsoft Office for the Macintosh, and that Microsoft made a $150 million investment in non-voting Apple stock<br />1998–2005: Return to profitability<br />On August 15, 1998, Apple introduced a new all-in-one computer reminiscent of the Macintosh 128K: the iMac. The iMac design team was led by Jonathan Ive, who would later design the iPod and the iPhone. It sold close to 800,000 units in its first five months<br />On May 19, 2001, Apple opened the first official Apple Retail Stores in Virginia and California. later on July 9 they bought Spruce Technologies, a DVD authoring company. The same year, Apple introduced the iPod portable digital audio player.<br />In 2003, Apple's iTunes Store was introduced, offering online music downloads for $0.99 a song and integration with the iPod. The service quickly became the market leader in online music services, with over 5 billion downloads by June 19, 2008.<br />2005–2007: The Intel transition<br />At the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address on June 6, 2005, Steve Jobs announced that Apple would begin producing Intel-based Mac computers in 2006. On January 10, 2006, the new MacBook Pro and iMac became the first Apple computers to use Intel's Core Duo CPU.<br />2007–present: Mobile Consumer Electronics Era<br />Delivering his keynote at the Macworld Expo on January 9, 2007, Jobs announced that Apple Computer, Inc. would from that point on be known as Apple Inc. because computers are just one part of the company now. This change reflects the company's focus to mobile electronic devices from personal computers. The event also saw the announcement of the iPhone and the Apple TV.[81] The following day, Apple shares hit $97.80, an all-time high at that point. In May, Apple's share price passed the $100 mark.<br />In July of the following year, Apple launched the App Store to sell third-party applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch.[85] Within a month, the store sold 60 million applications and brought in $1 million daily on average, with Jobs speculating that the App Store could become a billion-dollar business for Apple.[86] Three months later, it was announced that Apple had become the third-largest mobile handset supplier in the world due to the popularity of the iPhone.<br />Current products<br />Mac and accessories<br />The Mac mini.<br />Mac mini, consumer sub-desktop computer and server introduced in January 2005.<br />iMac, consumer all-in-one desktop computer that was first introduced by Apple in 1998. Its popularity helped revive the company's fortunes.[59]<br />Mac Pro, workstation-class desktop computer introduced in August 2006. It replaced the Power Macintosh.<br />MacBook, consumer notebook introduced in 2006. It replaced the iBook.<br />MacBook Air, ultra-thin, ultra-portable notebook, introduced in January 2008.<br />MacBook Pro, professional portable computer alternative to the MacBook, available in 13, 15, and 17-inch variants, introduced in January 2006. It replaced the PowerBook.<br />Xserve, rack mounted, dual or quad core, dual processor 1U server.<br />Apple sells a variety of computer accessories for Mac computers including the AirPort wireless networking products, Time Capsule, Cinema Display, Magic Mouse, the Apple Wireless Keyboard computer keyboard, and the Apple USB Modem.<br />iPad<br />Main article: iPad<br />On January 27, 2010, Apple introduced their much-anticipated media tablet, the iPad running a modified version of iOS. It offers multitouch interaction with multimedia formats including newspapers, magazines, ebooks, textbooks, photos, movies, TV shows videos, music, word processing documents, spreadsheets, video games, and all existing iPhone apps.[92] It also includes a mobile version of Safari for internet browsing, as well as access to the App Store, iTunes Library, iBooks store, contacts, and notepad. Content is downloadable via WIFI and optional 3G service or synced through the user's computer.[2] AT&T is currently the sole US provider of 3G wireless access for the iPad.[93]<br />iPhone<br />The iPhone features a 3.5-inch (89 mm) touch screen display, 4, 8, or 16 GB of memory, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi (both \"
b\"
and \"
g\"
).[96] The iPhone first became available on June 29, 2007 for $499 (4 GB) and $599 (8 GB) with an AT&T contrac.<br />iPhone 3GS, currently available in an 8 GB model.<br />iPhone 4, currently available in 16 and 32 GB models.<br />Apple TV<br />At the 2007 Macworld conference, Jobs demonstrated the Apple TV, (previously known as the iTV),[102] a set-top video device intended to bridge the sale of content from iTunes with high-definition televisions. In September 2009, Apple discontinued the original 40GB Apple TV and now continues to produce and sell the 160 GB Apple TV.<br />Software<br />Apple also independently develops computer software titles for its Mac OS X operating system. Much of the software Apple develops is bundled with its computers.<br />The original Apple logo featuring Isaac Newton under the fabled apple tree.<br />The rainbow \"
bitten\"
logo, used from late 1976 until replaced in 1998 by monochrome themes.<br />SWOT analysis of APPLE company<br />SWOT analysis companies March 1st, 2010<br />Strengths.<br />Apple is a very successful company. Sales of its iPod music player had increased its second quarter profits to $320 (June 2005). The favourable brand perception had also increased sales of Macintosh computers. So iPod gives the company access to a whole new series of segments that buy into other parts of the Apple brand. Sales of its notebooks products is also very strong, and represents a huge contribution to income for Apple.<br />Brand is all-important. Apple is one of the most established and healthy IT brands in the World, and has a very loyal set of enthusiastic customers that advocate the brand. Such a powerful loyalty means that Ample not only recruits new customers, it retains them i.e. they come back for more products and services from Apple, and the company also has the opportunity to extend new products to them, for example the iPod.<br />Weaknesses.<br />It is reported that the Apple iPod Nano may have a faulty screen. The company has commented that a batch of its product has screens that break under impact, and the company is replacing all faulty items. This is in addition to problems with early iPods that had faulty batteries, whereby the company offered customers free battery cases.<br />There is pressure on Apple to increase the price of its music download file, from the music industry itself. Many of these companies make more money from iTunes (i.e. downloadable music files) than from their original CD sales. Apple has sold about 22 million iPod digital music players and more than 500 million songs though its iTunes music store. It accounts for 82% of all legally downloaded music in the US. The company is resolute, but if it gives in to the music producers, it may be perceived as a commercial weakness.<br />Early in 2005 Apple announced that it was to end its long-standing relationship with IBM as a chip supplier, and that it was about to switch to Intel. Some industry specialists commented that the swap could confuse Apple’s consumers.<br />Opportunities.<br />Apple has the opportunity to develop its iTunes and music player technology into a mobile phone format. The Rokr mobile phone device was developed by Motorola. It has a colour screen, stereo speakers and a advance camera system. A version of Apple’s iTunes music store has been developed for the phone so users can manage the tracks they store on it. Downloads are available via a USB cable, ands software on the handset pauses music if a phone call comes in. New technologies and strategic alliances offer opportunities for Apple.<br />Podcasts are downloadable radio shows that can be downloaded from the Internet, and then played back on iPods and other MP3 devices at the convenience of the listener. The listener can subscribe to Podcasts for free, and ultimately revenue could be generated from paid for subscription or through revenue generated from sales of other downloads.<br />Threats.<br />The biggest threat to IT companies such as Apple is the very high level of competition in the technology markets. Being successful attracts competition, and Apple works very hard on research and development and marketing in order to retain its competitive position. The popularity of iPod and Apple Mac are subject to demand, and will be affected if economies begin to falter and demand falls for their products.<br />There is also a high product substitution effect in the innovative and fast moving IT consumables market. So iPod and MP3 rule today, but only yesterday it was CD, DAT, and Vinyl. Tomorrow’s technology might be completely different. Wireless technologies could replace the need for a physical music player.<br />In 2005 Apple won a legal case that forced Bloggers to name the sources of information that pre-empted the launch of new Apple products. It was suspect that Apple’s own employees had leaked confidential information about their new Asteroid product. The three individuals prosecuted, all owned Apple tribute sites, and were big fans of the company’s products. The blogs had appeared on their sites, and they were forced to reveal their source. The ruling saw commercial confidentiality as more important as the right to speech of individuals. Apple are vulnerable to leaks that could cost them profits.<br />MISSION STATEMENT<br />Our mission statement defines why we exist and whom we serve. It is our statement of purpose.<br />Recognizing the decisions we make today will forever affect the lives of those who<br />live here now and those who will follow us, our mission is, in simple words, to<br />maintain “A Better Way of Life.”<br />VISION STATEMENT<br />The Vision Statement for the Town of Apple Valley is meant to provide a clear image of where we<br />are heading. It captures the spirit of our community and reflects the hopes for our future. It is our<br />loftiest aspiration.<br />Our Vision is . . .<br />We see Apple Valley as an upscale community with a high-quality residential<br />character. Apple Valley has the reputation of being the premier residential<br />community in the High Desert. Our property values are stable and/or increasing.<br />We are developing appropriate and sufficient retail to meet our needs. There are<br />numerous opportunities to shop and play in Apple Valley. We have abundant<br />recreational and leisure activities for our citizens and visitors. We have a vital<br />and identifiable commercial base with good shopping, dining and recreational<br />activities.<br />VISION 2010<br />To achieve the aims and objectives included in our Vision Statement, the Town Council has<br />adopted the following priorities.<br />1. Transportation/Circulation: Develop and maintain a transportation system of roads,<br />bike paths and lanes, sidewalks and equestrian trails.<br />2. Economic Development: Promote and encourage commercial and industrial<br />development in North Apple Valley.<br />3. Local Career/Employment: Provide opportunities for local career and employment<br />advancement by attracting graduate, post-graduate and vocational training facilities.<br />4. Community Enhancement: Cultivate citizen pride by providing events and activities<br />that foster a sense of community among citizens, and by demonstrating a pride in<br />ownership through entry statements, sufficient infrastructure, and consistent application<br />of our development standards.<br />5. Recreation and Park Facilities and Programs: Enhance and expand diverse<br />recreational opportunities for youth and adults, and continue to improve park facilities.<br />6. Retail Development: Encourage and promote retail development Town-wide to meet<br />the consumer needs of our citizens.<br />7. Reclaimed Water: Implement the use of reclaimed water as a cost-effective and<br />environmentally sound method for irrigation of public landscaping.<br />CORE VALUES<br />The Town Council recognizes that how we go about the delivery of services and programs is<br />important to achieving our Vision. We therefore foster an organizational culture that is built on the<br />following Core Values.<br />• Zoning Integrity<br />o Apple Valley’s character is founded upon premier residential neighborhoods.<br />Protecting and enhancing our neighborhoods is a paramount concern in every<br />decision we make.<br />• Customer Service<br />o We believe in the timely delivery of services in a professional, courteous and<br />consistent manner, and in the efficient and objective handling of complaints.<br />• Public Safety<br />o We are committed to provide a safe, secure and healthy environment.<br />• Partnerships<br />o We value the culture of participation and the building of strong partnerships between<br />the Town government and other local, state and national interests, as well as our own<br />citizens, and will continue to broaden the range of our partners to benefit our<br />community.<br />• The Power of Team<br />o We believe our employees are one of our most important resources. Our success is<br />dependent on our ability to work cooperatively within all levels of our organization,<br />and to harness our energy, creativity and resources to achieve our common vision.<br />What will Apple look like by 2010?<br />by Chris Howard Apr 05, 2006 <br />Well, Apple is 30. Thirty years in the IT industry is 10 or so lifetimes. Who knows where Apple will be in 30 years, but an interesting hypothesis is where it will be in one more lifetime, in three and a bit years, at the end of 2009, the end of the first decade of the 21st century. <br />For your entertainment, I’m going to propose two scenarios - two extreme scenarios at that. These are fictitious, no crystal balls, no inside goss, just pure slightly educated fiction. Afterwards, you can suggest your own theory on Apple, 2010. It’s a little under four years away. That might not seem long, but consider that the iTunes Music Store is only just on three years old, and so much has changed since it’s introduction. <br />Apple, 2010: R.I.P. <br />The ink has barely dried on Sony’s buyout of Apple and already the once mighty iPod has now been made PlaysForSure compatible. It needed it though. Furthermore, Sony has taken the best of the Mac plus the failed OS XI and incorporated it in its own line of media center PCs. A sad end to the once glorious Macintosh personal computer <br />Availability The iPhone OS 4 beta software and SDK are available immediately for iPhone Developer Program members at developer.apple.com. iPhone OS 4 will be available as a software update to iPhone and iPod touch users this summer.* A version of iPhone OS 4 will be coming to iPad this Fall. <br />*Some features may not be available on all products. For example, Multitasking requires iPhone 3GS or third generation iPod touch (late 2009 models with 32GB or 64GB). <br />Apple ignited the personal computer revolution with the Apple II, then reinvented the personal computer with the Macintosh. Apple continues to lead the industry with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system, and iLife, iWork and professional applications. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store, has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devic<br />