From Macintosh to iPhone: 50 years of Apple gadgets celebrated in new museum

Category: (Self-Study) Technology/Innovations

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The innovations of Apple Inc. are on show at the new Apple Museum in the Netherlands. It traces 50 years of the iconic brand’s innovations, from its first experimental models to the world-changing iPhone.

Located in Utrecht, the museum features a wide collection of Apple products, including early machines from the 1970s, the original Macintosh, and later devices that helped shape personal computing.

“The museum is set up in a way that when you enter, you start in the garage, which is where it all began, and it’s not so that it was their headquarters, but it tells a lot about the two people that founded Apple, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, and what the basis is of their vision behind the products,” says Ed Bindels, museum founder.

“So, step-by-step, we’ll tell them things about how the logo developed, about the design language they use. So, I hope when people leave this museum, they know more about Apple, and if they use an Apple product, they look different to that product. That’s what we hope.”

The journey through the museum starts in a garage—or at least a reconstruction of one. This was where Steve Jobs worked away on the prototypes, exploring what could be created with electronic components.

One of the most eye-catching items in the museum is the Apple 1, as it represents the very beginning of Apple’s story. It marked the first product sold by Apple, which was co-founded by Wozniak and Steve Jobs.

Apple Museum board member Antonie de Kok says, “These are unique. They are very valuable. One has just been sold for more than one million (dollars) because there are only a few left, and it’s the start of Apple as we all know it now. This was the first thing they ever developed.”

Museum officials say it is Europe’s largest Apple Museum, with over 5,000 items from computers to posters, iPads, iPhones, and other items produced by Apple.

This article and video were provided by The Associated Press.

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[Museum doors opening to reveal a Macintosh computer on display in the Apple Museum]

[Apple Macintosh computer on display]

[Apple logo]

[Museum staff explaining the Apple Macintosh Computer on display]

Ed Bindels (interview): “The museum is set up in a way that when you enter, you start in the garage, which is where it all began, and it’s not so that it was their headquarters, but it tells a lot about the two people that founded Apple, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, and what the basis is of their vision behind the products. So, step-by-step we’ll tell them things about how the logo developed, about the design language they use. So, I hope when people leave this museum, they know more about Apple and if they use an Apple product they look different to that product, that’s what we hope.”

[Sign reading (English) “Steve Jobs Family Garage”]

[Visitor inside the garage model]

[Desk and chair covered in electronic components]

[Computer keyboard buttons]

Ed Bindels (interview): “People are interested in the past. Vinyl is becoming more popular because people don’t want to have an mp3 or even a stream. They want to have a physical record nowadays. So, I think we show more than just Apple computers, that’s why I think this Apple Museum is different from any other Apple Museum in the world.”

[Apple 1 motherboard replica launched in 1976]

[Apple 1 computer on display]

Antonie de Kok (interview): “It was the first of its kind, so it was really new, and a very interesting fact, this was the way it was sold. So, normally a computer would have a keyboard and everything, but they just sold the motherboard, and you had to add your own keyboard and there were interfaces to connect them. So, these are unique. They are very valuable. One has just been sold for more than one million (dollars), because there are only a few left. It’s the start of Apple as we all know it now, this was the first thing they ever developed.”

[Apple Museum]

[Room with Apple //e Enhanced launch in 1985]

[Apple //e Enhanced computers]

[Museum staff inside museum]

Antonie de Kok (interview): “We are showing less than 10% of what we have in total, because we have a big collection. But we want the products to support the story, and we don’t want to have the products as the main star. So, they are here to tell the story, and that’s why we select only a few items.”

[Room inside the museum designed with Apple products and decorated in the style of year 1984]

[Apple products on a table with newspapers and items]

Antonie de Kok (interview): “It’s difficult to say because it’s like predicting the future. What I can say is as being somebody who has a big Apple heart, I do hope they will continue to be successful and to surprise us with new products.”

[Room with iPhone and other mobile phones]

[Mobile phones and iPhone]

[iPhone]

This script was provided by The Associated Press.