In 1989, Apple buried about 2,700 unsold Lisa computers in a Utah landfill after its $10,000 machine failed; 37 years later, it remains one of the strangest product failures in the company’s history
Before the Macintosh became one of Apple’s defining products, the company had another computer that failed in the market. In September 1989, Apple took an unusual step with thousands of unsold Lisa computers. About 2,700 machines were buried at a landfill in Logan, Utah, bringing an end to the story of one of the company’s most ambitious but unsuccessful computers.The Lisa had been launched in 1983 as Apple’s first attempt at a modern computer built around a graphical interface. According to The Verge, it had a mouse, windows, icons and menus, features that later became standard on desktop computers. The Lisa had them a year before the Macintosh was released.But the computer struggled in the market. It carried a price tag of about $10,000 and had hardware problems. It was also overshadowed by the cheaper Macintosh that Apple was preparing to introduce. Even after being discounted, upgraded and renamed the Macintosh XL, the Lisa lasted only about two years before Apple dropped it in 1985. After being discontinued, thousands of Lisa machines were still left over.A computer salesman named Bob Cook saw an opportunity in the unwanted stock. He had been selling older computers at discounted prices and had previously taken about 3,500 Apple III computers from Apple in 1985. A year later, he took on the last 7,000 Lisas.
A Lisa, dumped and destroyed (Picture: Hackaday)
Attempt to save Lisa failed
Cook was an Apple reseller who believed older computers could still find buyers. “Computers were supposed to be leading edge, so nobody was thinking about selling the trailing edge of high technology,” Cook told The Verge.Rather than simply selling Lisa, Cook worked on improving the machines so they could compete with newer Mac models. He estimated that he spent $200,000 on research and development, upgrading the hardware and operating system.Cook gave the upgraded computer a new name. “It was something different. So we called it the ‘Lisa Professional,’” he said. But the effort eventually came to an end, and the remaining Lisas faced a very different fate.Soonafter, Apple buried about 2,700 unsold Lisa computers at the Logan landfill in September 1989. Landfill workers drove bulldozers over the computers before they were buried.
Brochure showing Lisa 1 screen and Twiggy floppy drives (Picture source: Medium.com)
Lisa failed, but changed computing
The Lisa’s failure was closely linked to its price and its timing. At around $10,000, it was far too expensive for many potential buyers. Its hardware problems also worked against it, while the Macintosh offered a cheaper alternative.Yet the Lisa had introduced ideas that would become central to personal computing. Veteran technology journalist Steven Levy described its ease of use in an interview with The Verge.“The Lisa was the first computer out there that you didn’t have to struggle with a big computer manual or even hire a consultant to use,” Levy said. “You could understand it out of the box and start using it.”The Lisa therefore occupied an unusual place in Apple’s history. It failed to become a successful mass-market product, but its graphical approach helped shape the kind of computers consumers would later expect.The Computer History Museum says Lisa had 1MB RAM, a 12-inch black-and-white display, two 5.25-inch floppy drives and a 5MB hard drive. An archived 1983 technical article says the project representedmore than 200 person-years of work and $50 million in development.Lisa project started in 1978, several years before its launch. Steve Jobs initially led the project but was removed from it in 1982. After that, he moved his attention to the Macintosh project.
