Steve Jobs concord dragons

Dragon #1: The Macintosh.
When Jobs returned, Apple was in such bad shape that he wasn’t even sure it was salvageable - and industry analysts shared his skepticism. The company’s finances were in the toilet, the product roadmap was a mess, and the Apple brand itself had lost most of its former luster. Something dramatic was needed to save Apple from being bought out in a fire sale or simply fading into oblivion.

Jobs launched a two-part strategy to reinvigorate Apple. He started with the Think Different ad campaign, which associated the Apple brand with creative thinkers and revolutionaries. It was a huge hit, winning awards, drawing consumer interest, and generating tons of media buzz. But, above all, it set the stage for the rebirth of the Macintosh.

While the Think Different ads were making people feel cooler about the fruity computer maker, Jobs also refocused Apple’s product and engineering teams on developing the company’s next great product.

By the late 1990s computer sales were spiking due to the new killer app: the Internet. Lots of people were buying their first computers just to “get online.” Apple latched on to this trend with a computer that was designed to make connecting to the Internet as easy as taking the computer out of the box and plugging in two cords. Jobs and Co. even named it after the Internet - the iMac.

The iMac was a throwback to the original Mac in that it was an integrated all-in-one system, but it also included a unique new design with a translucent blue and white plastic case that allowed you to see the electronics and circuit boards inside. In the world of beige computers at the time, the iMac was extremely stylish. The launch of the iMac in 1998 (combined with the similarly-styled iBook and Power Mac G4 in 1999) drove a huge spike in Mac sales - at one point the iMac was even the single best-selling computer model in the world.
The Mac was back.