Correcting the record on one of the nation's most dynamic and misunderstood corporations, the author explains why thirty million Mac users refuse to switch to the PC despite the roller coaster fortunes of the company, founded in 1976 at the dawn of the information age. Original. Tour. IP. Owen Linzmayer's Apple Confidential is subtitled The Real Story of Apple Computer, Inc. , and while nobody will ever know the complete, "real" story about Apple, Linzmayer's is probably as close as they come. Having covered Apple news since 1980, he offers extensive insider details about Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, John Sculley, Gilbert Amelio, Bill Gates, and other major players whose lives were (and are) intertwined with Apple's history. And along the way, we also learn about lesser-known figures whose stories have remained hidden in the Apple myth: Ronald Gerald Wayne, for example, who was actually a partner with Wozniak and Jobs in the original incarnation of the company, but who sold his share when he realized he would be financially vulnerable if it should fail. Linzmayer's tale does have a few drawbacks. Because he mixes a chronological narrative with chapters that focus on key points in the Apple story, he sometimes repeats himself. Case in point: the chapter "Big Bad Blunders" makes a great record of Apple's failures, but the story of the exploding Powerbook 5300s is duplicated at later points. Nonetheless, Apple Confidential is rife with gems that will appeal to Apple fanatics and followers of the computer industry. Especially enjoyable are the revelation of "Easter eggs" that are hidden in several versions of the Mac operating system; the many screen shots, timelines, and telling quotes from Jobs, Gates, Wozniak and others that populate the margins and concluding sections of each chapter; the "Code Names Uncovered" section that makes public the monikers of several secret Apple projects; and Bill Gates's 1985 letter to John Sculley and Jean Louis Gassee pleading for Apple to license Mac technology and develop a "standard personal computer." --Patrick O'Kelley For your Mac community, you can't go wrong with these titles. Linzmayer's Apple Confidential is an unofficial history of Apple and a great read. Pogue's MacWorld Mac Secrets explains all the oddities about any Mac still in use, while his iMac guide follows the format of the "Dummies" series. Poole's MacWorld Mac OS 8.5 Bible completely explains Mac 8.5, the newest operating system upgrade. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. 'Apple has some tremendous assets, but I believe without some attention, the company could, could, could... I'm searching for the right word - could, could die.' Steve Jobs. At the present moment, Apple is on the rebound, but this quote seemed to define the situation for Apple not that long ago. In this timely book, author Owen Linzmayer looks very deeply into the history of the famously cantankerous corporate misfit which is Apple Computer. What one sees is remarkable, depressing and ultimately fascinating. Linzmayer, ignoring much of the company's official history, digs under the carefully crafted official picture to show the genius and wasted opportunity that has equally marked the rise, fall and rebound of one of the most important technology companies in America. Looming over this history are the doppelgangers of Steven Jobs and Bill Gates. Brilliant, ruthless, funny, inept and shrewd, the history of Apple is the chronicle of the minuet of these two fiercely original men. It is hard to escape the observation that Apple, creative and innovative to a fault, never can seem to capitalize on their superiority, while imitators, feeding on Apple's innovations have carved up large portions of the market for themselves at Apple's expense. It is also important to remember that the company that brought us the MacIntosh also brought us the Mac III, Lisa and the Mac portable; not exactly huge successes. Linzmayer makes this an interesting book, packing it with quotes, photos and anecdotes that humanize the history of the company that brought us the mouse-driven MacIntosh, the laser printer, the personal assistant and numerous other innovations. Definitely for anyone with an interest in the history of technology. -- ForeWord, March 1999 For the Apple aficionado, there's no better book to learn about the company -- Guy Kawasaki, former Macintosh evangelist and Apple Fellow Great Reading! No one captures the essence of the Macintosh better than Linzmayer -- Cheryl England, MacAddict publisher Numerous books have been written about Apple, but Apple Confidential offers the most entertaining and complete picture . . . For Apple fanatics, not reading this book would be like a music major never listening to the Beatles. The same is true for anyone else remotely interested in the history of the PC and of Silicon Valley -- TechWeek, April 1999 The Apple story . . . in all its drama -- The New York Times Book Review, April 4