Top 5 Myths About Apple
Like many other successful tech companies, Apple, Inc. is a myth magnet. There's a simple reason for this: The Cupertino, Calif.-based company is shrouded in secrecy. The press and Internet message boards are rife with rumors about Apple's next big product release -- a secret guarded more closely than the plot twists contained in the next Dan Brown novel.
The mystique surrounding the company is both justified and hard-earned. Apple was founded in 1976 and found success quickly with the invention of the Apple I personal computer (PC). However, it was the advent of the Macintosh in 1984 (and the classic television commercial that launched it) that would make Apple famous. It wouldn't last, though: Tensions between co-founder Steve Jobs and president and CEO John Sculley would lead to Jobs' departure the following year. Jobs wouldn't return to Apple until 1997 -- as the company was in the midst of a steep decline.
