1997


 * January 7: Apple Computer CEO Gil Amelio gives his last keynote address at Macworld Expo in San Francisco, where Steve Jobs appears on behalf of Apple for the first time in years. The Apple Club subscription service is announced. Mac OS 7.6 and QuickTime VR 2.0 are released.
 * January 24: The QuickTime MPEG Extension is released for QuickTime 2.5 and later.
 * February 1: The Macintosh Performa 5260CD, 5400CD, PowerBook Duo 2300c, Duo Dock Plus, and Duo Floppy Adapter are discontinued.
 * February 3: The "Yellow Box" and "Blue Box" teams at Apple Computer are merged under a newly-returned Steve Jobs to focus on the development of "Rhapsody", which would become Mac OS X.
 * February 7: Apple Computer completes its acquisition of NeXT.
 * February 17: The QuickTake 200 digital camera is announced. The Power Macintosh 4400, 7300, 7600/200, 8600, and 9600 are released, and the Power Macintosh 7200, 8500, and 9500 are discontinued.
 * March 1: The QuickTake 200 is released.
 * March 7: The eMate 300 begins shipping.
 * March 8: Apple Computer announces that Mac OS 7.7, while still in development, will be renumbered to Mac OS 8.
 * March 10: The PowerBook 1400 ATA Flash Extension is released.
 * March 12: PowerBook VM Tuner 1.0 is released.
 * March 24: The Newton MessagePad 2000 is begins shipping to strong sales.
 * April 1: The Newton MessagePad 130 is discontinued.
 * April 7: Mac OS 7.6.1 is released.
 * May 13-16: The 1997 Worldwide Developers Conference is held at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in California, with a newly-returned Steve Jobs.
 * June 16: The Color StyleWriter 4100, 4500, and StyleWriter EtherTalk Adapter II are announced. The Color StyleWriter 6500 begins shipping, while the Color StyleWriter 1500 and 2500 are discontinued..
 * June 26: Apple Computer's market valuation reaches a 12-year low after a $1.6 billion quarterly loss and an anonymous shareholder dumps 1.5 million shares of stock.
 * July 1: Apple Computer spins off its Newton Systems Group into Newton, Inc. The Color StyleWriter 4100 and 4500 begin shipping.
 * July 6: The Apple Board of Directors votes to remove Gil Amelio as CEO. Board member Steve Jobs threatens to fire everyone in the room if the news leaks.
 * July 8: Gil Amelio resigns from Apple Computer; CFO Fred Anderson becomes acting CEO.
 * July 26: Mac OS 8 is released with technologies salvaged from the failed Copland project.
 * August 6: Steve Jobs announces at Macworld Expo in Boston that Apple Computer has reached a deal with Microsoft, and announces new members of the Apple Board of Directors.
 * September 16: Steve Jobs officially becomes interim CEO (iCEO) of Apple Computer.
 * October 20: The MessagePad 2100 is announced.
 * November 7: The MessagePad 2100 begins shipping.