In the late 1970s, an ambitious new computer company called Apple started to brainstorm its next steps as the age of home computers suddenly seemed a reality. The company had already made a mark with the desktop Apple II in 1977. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and others were trying to set the bar higher.What emerged was unlike anything on the consumer market: a user-friendly screen of folders and menus and a curious scroll-and-click device dubbed a mouse — first with the commercial-flop Lisa in 19...