Macpaint 3D (lost paint program; 1990s)

This article has been tagged as Needing work due to its lack of references clarity.

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The original Apple tablet running "Macpaint 3D" nearly 20 years before the invention of the iPad.

Status: Lost

The Apple Computer Company needs no introduction. They were a pioneering business in the 1970s and 1980s, and are still a big competitor today. They were responsible for bringing computing to the masses with the Apple II, Lisa, and arguably most famously, the Macintosh, which was legendarily unveiled through a famous Super Bowl commercial in 1984. In 1985, Steve Jobs was fired after a conflict with Apple's Board of Directors, and founded another company called NeXT Computer. This caused Apple to lose direction, leading to poor sales and eventually putting the company under the constant threat of bankruptcy.

During this 13 year period, Apple created all sorts of different prototypes that were never produced, most being mobile or home devices. One such device was an ultra thin, professional grade drawing tablet, running a unique drawing program known as MacPaint 3D. The program was a version of the MacPaint application with 3D CAD and restrictive touch screen capabilities.

Although the project showed potential, in 1997 Jobs returned to Apple when they bought NeXT for a reported $400 million, and soon this project was cancelled along with many others in an effort by Jobs to make Apple profitable again.