Tomorrow marks the 25th Anniversary of the original Apple Macintosh - the 68k computer that kick-started the PC revolution.

Here, TechRadar presents a potted history of Apple's perennial machine - the first to offer a graphical user interface, replacing the command line hassle techies had previously been used to.

The Mac was launched with that US$1.5 million ad by Ridley Scott known as 1984, which is where we pick up the story...

1984

On January 25th, Apple CEO Steve Jobs reveals the first Mac to the world - an 8MHz 68k all-in-one with a 9-inch display, 3.5-inch floppy drive and 128k of RAM. Its biggest selling point is its graphic user interface (elements of which were 'borrowed' from Xerox Parc), that could be controlled with a mouse. It even packs in two then-revolutionary applications: MacPaint (a graphics program) and the MacWrite word processor.

1985

Microsoft delivers two exclusive apps to the Mac called Word and Excel. It also buys up PowerPoint from a company called Forefront. In addition, 1985 sees the arrival of the first Apple laser printer and the Aldus PageMaker desktop publishing program - two developments that kick-started the desktop publishing revolution. By the end of 1985, co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak had both left Apple, while Microsoft had unleashed Windows 1.0.

1986

The Mac gets a major upgrade in the form of the Macintosh Plus. It now sports 1MB of RAM and SCSI: a new peripheral connection standard that enables devices such as printers and external hard drives to be daisy-chained together. The Mac operating system reaches version 3.0, enabling folders to be nested inside one another.

1987

The Macintosh Plus makes way for two new Macs: The Macintosh SE offers a choice of two floppy drives or an internal hard disk, while the Macintosh II is aimed at business users. The Mac II has a 256-colour 13-inch display, a 16MHz processor and can hold up to 128MB of RAM. The Mac OS reaches version 5.1 and this enables background printing.

1988

Apple introduces the Macintosh IIx: one of the first personal computers to sport a CD-ROM drive. The Mac OS reaches System 6.0 and Steve Jobs reveals the first fruits of his new computer company, NeXT. It's an all-in-one box called the NeXT Cube that ships with a magneto-optical drive (instead of a floppy) and has 17-inch monitor as standard.

1989

Apple introduces three new Macs - the SE/30, Mac IIc and Mac IIci. Of these, the Mac IIci is the most interesting. It's a modular Mac with a separate colour monitor and a more compact desktop case, but ships with a 25MHz 68k processor - making it the fastest Mac made to date. Apple also introduces its first laptop - the 7.25kg Mac Portable. At NeXT, Steve Jobs reveals NeXTstep: a new Unix-based OS.

1990

Apple introduces its fastest computer yet - the 40MHz Macintosh IIfx. It also includes AMD RISC-based graphics card that's 5-30 times faster than its predecessors for certain tasks. The upgrade is important, because it combats the perception that PCs running DOS are much faster than their GUI-wielding Mac rivals. Microsoft Windows 3.0 makes its debut. Apple now has 20 per cent of the total computing market.

1991

Apple launches six new Macs, including two high-end Quadras - desktop tower PCs with new Motorola 68040 CPUs that are up to 2.5 times faster than their predecessors. Apple also introduces a new range of Mac portables called PowerBooks: the first laptops to have their keyboards at the back and the trackpad at the front. The Mac OS reaches System 7.0.

1992

The wheels start to come off the Apple happy bus. Firstly, it ships a range of underpowered consumer Macs called Performas. Then Microsoft teams up with Intel to deliver better-performing x486 PCs running Windows 3.1 - the first 'true' version of the PC operating system we know today. Things are going better at NeXT, with version 3.0 of the NeXTstep OS transitioning from Motorola 68K to Intel CPUs. It's released the following year.

1993

Apple introduces 19 new Macs split across six different ranges, encompassing the ColorClassic to the low-end LC, mid-range Centris and upmarket Quadra. In addition to Performas and PowerBooks, Apple announces that it's shipped its 10 millionth Mac, but competition's getting tougher and Microsoft says Windows is now being used by over 25 million people.

1994

Apple starts the first of three major transitions that it will make during the Mac's 25 year history. It begins with the arrival of the first three Power Macs - machines that run on PowerPC RISC architecture. The PowerPC chips are much, much faster than the CISC-based chips that Apple has been using up until now. 1994 also sees the arrival of System 7.5.