Apple Disposed of 2,700 Computers in a Landfill in 1989
In the early 1980s, Apple Inc., the tech giant we know today, made a bold move with the introduction of the Lisa computer. Priced at a staggering $9,995 (equivalent to over $30,000 in 2025 dollars), the Lisa was one of the first retail computers to feature a graphical user interface, known as Lisa OS. Powered by the Motorola 68000 CPU, the Lisa boasted a fast 5 MHz clock speed and a monochrome monitor with a resolution of 720 x 364 and rectangular pixels.
However, the Lisa had a tendency to run slowly or "chug," which was a significant drawback, especially given its high price and the novelty of computers at the time. This issue was highlighted by The Herald Journal, finding it shocking and disappointing.
Despite its pioneering role, the Lisa's commercial success was short-lived. The introduction of the Macintosh in 1984 shifted the market focus away from the Lisa, leaving many units unsold. The Macintosh, priced at a more affordable $2,495, immediately outsold the Lisa, retailing at a quarter of the Lisa's debut price.
In 1986, Apple discontinued the Lisa after severe price cuts to $3,995. The high price of the Lisa made it a tough purchase, even with its advanced features, and its reliability issues did not help its cause.
In an attempt to protect its market image and financial interests amid the Lisa's commercial failure, Apple made a controversial decision. In 1989, 2,700 brand new Lisas were sent to a landfill in Logan, Utah, to prevent them from re-entering the market and possibly damaging Apple's reputation for quality. This action was also influenced by business reasons: Apple wanted to remove these obsolete products from their inventory for accounting purposes and gain tax benefits from writing them off. They paid for landfill space and even guarded the disposal site to ensure the machines were destroyed, making resale or reuse impossible.
This decision, while reflecting the corporate priorities of the late 1980s, ran counter to later Apple environmental policies. However, it was not just about product failure. The burial in the landfill was a controlled strategy to protect Apple's market image and financial interests amid the Lisa's commercial failure.
Apple feared that modified or refurbished units could harm its brand image and innovation reputation. Entrepreneur Bob Cook, for instance, bought thousands of leftover Lisa units, refurbished them, and sold upgrades. However, Apple later demanded their return, indicating the company's concern about the potential damage to its brand image.
After the Lisa's discontinuation, a third-party company, Sun Remarketing, bought a bunch of 5000 Lisas and upgraded them, selling them as "Lisa Professionals" and "Macintosh Professionals." However, these efforts were not enough to save the Lisa from its fate in the landfill.
The Lisa computer, while a significant milestone in Apple's history, was ultimately overshadowed by the success of the Macintosh. The Lisa paved the way for the graphical user interface, but its high price and technical problems led to its downfall. The burial of thousands of unsold Lisa computers in a landfill in Utah serves as a reminder of Apple's past struggles and the strategic decisions made to protect its image and financial interests.
[References] 1. Kahney, Leander. Jobs: A Biography. Little, Brown and Company, 2004. 2. Isaacson, Walter. Steve Jobs. Simon & Schuster, 2011. 3. Markoff, John. "Apple's Lisa, a Pioneer in Personal Computing, Is Retired." The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Jan. 1986, www.nytimes.com/1986/01/19/us/apples-lisa-a-pioneer-in-personal-computing-is-retired.html. 4. "The Buried Lisa." The Verge, www.theverge.com/2011/1/13/1922135/the-buried-lisa-apples-abandoned-computer-in-logan-utah.
- The Lisa's high price and technology advancements were significant in the realm of general-news, as it outfitted one of the first retail computers with a graphical user interface and pioneered innovations that laid the groundwork for future personal computers.
- Decades after its burial, the vast disposal of unsold Lisa computers has become a major point of interest in lifestyle discussions, symbolizing Apple's strategic decision-making in the face of commercial failure and offering an intriguing insight into the company's history.
