Fifty years ago this week, ‘thinking different’ led to the creation of what is said to now be the world’s second-most valuable company, worth an eye-watering US$3.74 trillion (A$5.74 trillion).

That’s right, Apple began its life in a garage, on April 1, 1976.

Interestingly, Bill Gates autobiography ‘Source Code’ – which I’ve been reading – notes that his Microsoft enterprise wrote the version of the BASIC programming language that ran it.

That’s before thinking differently really set in, and before the classic ‘1984’ TV campaign many of us still remember; the Mac running Paul Brainerd’s PageMaker I first saw at a hotel in Brighton, UK (famous for the bomb the IRA set off); the Photoshop software I had to take to a Melbourne trade house with enough RAM to transform Uluru for an Ink cover.

But back to the present: Anniversary celebrations kicked off on March 13 with a performance by producer Alicia Keys at Apple Grand Central in New York City, with Tim Cook (pictured) among fans present.

The programme continued around the world with DJ Nia Archives and folk-rock band Mumford & Sons in London’s Battersea, and Chris Lee at Apple Taikoo Li Chengdu, China.

The New York gig – noting that Keys was among the first to release her catalogue in Apple Music’s Spatial Audio – was followed by another in Washington DC.

In Sydney, Australia the Opera House (top) was lit with digital artwork from 11 emerging artists and others, created using Procreate on iPad and Mac.

Celebrations also continued at the Apple Iconsiam in Bangkok, and Apple Myeongdong in Seoul.

A message from Cook sharing credit that “every invention we bring into the world is just the beginning of a story.

“In your hands, the tools we make have improved lives, and sometimes even saved them. And that is what inspires us – not what technology can do alone, but everything you can do with it.”

He adds the learning that, “it’s that the people crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do”.

Happy birthday, Apple, we’ve enjoyed travelling with you.

Peter Coleman