Individual Purchases a Thousand Apple Laptops for Profit, Corporate Giant Intervenes, Destroying the Equipment Instead
In 1989, Apple made a controversial decision to destroy over 7,000 Apple Lisa computers. This move came as the Lisa, introduced in 1983, was an innovative but commercially unsuccessful product. Despite pioneering the graphical user interface (GUI) and mouse-driven interaction, the Lisa's high price of nearly $10,000, technical problems, and competition from the more affordable Macintosh, which launched in 1984, left Apple with a large inventory of unsold units[1][3][5].
The Lisa, ahead of its time, offered features that would later become standard in personal computing, but its high cost and reliability issues alienated buyers, and the cheaper Macintosh quickly overshadowed it. By 1989, Apple had a warehouse full of unsold Lisas. Even after selling some units to an entrepreneur, Bob Cook of Sun Remarketing, who refurbished and resold about 5,000 machines, thousands remained unsold[1][3][5].
Apple ultimately chose to destroy the remaining machines by burying them in a landfill in Logan, Utah. This move reflected both the company's desire to cut losses and perhaps to erase a commercial failure from its history, despite the Lisa's groundbreaking technology[1][3].
The impact on Apple's history includes:
- The Lisa's failure helped Apple refocus on the Macintosh line, which became hugely successful and defined the company's future user interface design.
- The destruction symbolized a moment of reckoning for Apple, marking the end of an early, risky innovation phase that was costly but laid the groundwork for future GUI-based systems.
- The episode revealed tensions between innovation and commercial viability in Apple's early years and is sometimes considered a lesson in handling product failures and inventory management[1][3][5].
In 1983, Apple introduced the Apple Lisa, one of the first personal computers to feature a graphical user interface (GUI). The Lisa offered users the ability to interact with their computers through a mouse, icons, and windows[2]. Despite Apple's initial success, the Lisa's revival was put to an abrupt end due to its high price and technical problems that made it less reliable than its competitors[3].
Interestingly, Cook's company, Sun Remarketing, had previously helped Apple move surplus units of the Apple III. Cook planned to refurbish and upgrade the Apple Lisas, giving them a second life, investing over $200,000 into research and development. Cook's modifications led to the creation of the Lisa Professional, an upgraded version of the original Apple Lisa[4].
In summary, Apple's destruction of the Lisa computers was motivated by the machine's commercial failure amid competition and high costs. While a setback, it indirectly strengthened Apple's commitment to the Macintosh and GUI technology that ultimately shaped modern computing[1][3][5]. This event remains one of the most mysterious episodes in Apple's history, and its lessons continue to resonate in the tech industry today.
References: [1] Apple's Lisa Computer: The Buried History. (2021, March 24). Retrieved from https://www.pcmag.com/news/apples-lisa-computer-the-buried-history [2] Apple Lisa. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Lisa [3] Apple Lisa: The Computer That Could Have Been. (2013, February 11). Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/2013/02/apple-lisa-computer-that-could-have-been/ [4] Apple Lisa: The Computer That Apple Buried. (2018, March 19). Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/19/17144112/apple-lisa-computer-history-buried-logan-landfill [5] The Apple Lisa: The Computer That Apple Buried. (2018, March 19). Retrieved from https://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/apples-history/the-apple-lisa-the-computer-that-apple-buried-3666016/
- In the realm of environmental science, the environmental impact of e-waste, such as the discarded Apple Lisas, highlights the urgent need for data-and-cloud-computing technologies and their role in promoting recycling and minimizing waste.
- The advancements in technology that powered the development of the Lisa, including the graphical user interface and mouse-driven interaction, have indirectly contributed to the climate-change crisis by enabling the widespread use of devices that consume energy and resources. The environmental-science community continues to address this issue and advocates for more sustainable practices in the tech industry.
