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 This Lisa has dual 5.25" FileWare floppy drives and a 5 MB ProFile hard disk. | |
| Also known as | Local Integrated Software Architecture |
|---|---|
| Developer | Apple Computer |
| Manufacturer | Apple Computer |
| Type | Personal computer |
| Release date | January 19, 1983 |
| Introductory price | US$9,995 (equivalent to $30,600 in 2023) |
| Discontinued | August 1, 1986 |
| Units sold | 10,000[1] |
| Operating system | Lisa OS, Xenix |
| CPU | Motorola 68000 @ 5 MHz |
| Memory | 1 MB RAM, 16 KB Boot ROM |
| Display | 12 in (30 cm) monochrome 720×364 |
| Input | Keyboard and mouse |
| Mass | 48 lb (22 kg) |
| Predecessor | Apple II Plus Apple III |
| Successor | Macintosh XL Macintosh |
Lisa is a desktop computer developed by Apple, produced from January 19, 1983 to August 1, 1986, and succeeded by Macintosh. It is generally considered the first mass-market personal computer operable through a graphical user interface (GUI). In 1983, a machine like the Lisa was still so expensive that it was primarily marketed to individual and small and medium-sized businesses as a groundbreaking new alternative to much bigger and more expensive mainframes or minicomputers such as from IBM, that either require additional, expensive consultancy from the supplier, hiring specially trained personnel, or at least, a much steeper learning curve to maintain and operate. Earlier GUI-controlled personal computers were not mass-marketed; for example, Xerox PARC manufactured its Alto workstation only for Xerox and select partners from the early to mid-1970s.
Development of project "LISA" began in 1978.[2] It underwent many changes and shipped at US$9,995 (equivalent to $30,600 in 2023) with a five-megabyte hard drive. It was affected by its high price, insufficient software, unreliable FileWare (codename Twiggy) floppy disks, and the imminent release of the cheaper and faster Macintosh.[3]: 79 Only 60,000 Lisa units were sold in two years.[3]: 77
Lisa was considered a commercial failure but with technical acclaim, introducing several advanced features that reappeared on the Macintosh and eventually IBM PC compatibles. These include an operating system with memory protection[4] and a document-oriented workflow. The hardware is more advanced overall than the following Macintosh, including hard disk drive support, up to 2 megabytes (MB) of random-access memory (RAM), expansion slots, and a larger, higher-resolution display.
Lisa's CPU and the storage system were strained by the complexity of the operating system and applications, especially its office suite, and by the ad hoc protected memory implementation, due to the lack of a Motorola memory management unit. Cost-cutting measures that target the consumer market, and the delayed availability of the 68000 processor and its impact on the design process, made the user experience sluggish. The workstation-tier high price and lack of a technical software application library made it a difficult sale for all markets. The IBM PC's popularity and Apple's decision to compete with itself through the lower-priced Macintosh also hindered Lisa's acceptance.
In 1982, after Steve Jobs was forced out of the Lisa project by Apple's board of directors,[5] he appropriated the Macintosh project from Jef Raskin, who had conceived it as a sub-$1,000 (equivalent to $4,200 in 2023) text-based appliance computer in 1979. Jobs immediately redefined Macintosh to be graphical, but as a less expensive and more focused alternative to Lisa.
Macintosh's launch in January 1984 quickly surpassed Lisa's underwhelming sales. Jobs began assimilating increasing numbers of Lisa staff, as he had done with the Apple II division upon taking Raskin's project. Newer Lisa models addressed its shortcomings but, even with a major price reduction, the platform failed to achieve sales volumes comparable to the much less expensive Mac. The Lisa 2/10 is the final model, then rebranded as the high-end Macintosh XL.[3]: 79
- ^ O'Grady, Jason D. (2009). Apple Inc. ABC-CLIO. p. 72. ISBN 9780313362446.
By most accounts, Lisa was a failure, selling only 10,000 units. It reportedly cost Apple more than $150 million to develop Lisa ($100 million in software, $50 million in hardware), and it only brought in $100 million in sales for a net $50-million loss.
- ^ Christoph Dernbach (October 12, 2007). "Apple Lisa". Mac History. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
- ^ a b c Linzmayer, Owen W. (2004). Apple confidential 2.0: the definitive history of the world's most colorful company (2nd ed.). San Francisco, California: No Starch Press. ISBN 978-1593270100. OCLC 1194892877. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
- ^ Lisa Operating System Reference Manual. p. 34.
- ^ Simon, Jeffrey S.; Young, William L. (April 14, 2006). iCon : Steve Jobs, the greatest second act in the history of business (Newly updated. ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey. ISBN 978-0471787846. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
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