On January 24, 1984, the Macintosh personal computer was introduced. Over 35 years later, we celebrate this release with Macintosh Computer Day. Today, we’ll look at a brief history of the personal computer, including Macintosh’s release.
The History of the Personal Computer
A notch in the belt of computer history, the first personal computer was introduced in 1971 with the release of the Kenbak-1 by Kenbak Corporation. With no monitor or microprocessor, approximately 40 units sold at $750 before the company folded. Later, the Altair 8800 was introduced in 1975.
Despite the fact that these early iterations of the personal computer were released, the first personal computers are long considered to be introduced in 1977. Generally, computers were behemoths, sometimes requiring up to 1,800 square feet. Technology juggernaut IBM had quickly dismissed the personal computer believing it to be too small to offer any real computing power.
Recognizing the impracticality of traditional computers, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniack, co-founders of Apple, believed the personal computer was the future of technology. 1977 birthed what is considered to be the trinity of personal computers. With tech firms racing to develop a truly successful personal computer, three were released: the Apple II, PET, and the TRS-80. Only one of those machines bore the fruits of its labor—the Apple II.
The Apple II went on to become the world’s most popular computer by 1981. In turn, Apple became the fastest growing company in American business history. With millions sold from 1977 to 1993, it is one of the longest-running lines of personal computers to date. Apple also donated thousands of Apple II computers to schools, placing technology in the classroom most likely for the first time.
Realizing their misstep in quickly dismissing personal computers, IBM responded with the IBM Model 5150, aka the IBM PC, in 1981. It revolutionized computing in business, as it was the first model to be widely adopted by the industry.
In 1984, Apple introduced the Macintosh personal computer in a big, splashy way—a Super Bowl commercial. Playing on the themes from the dystopian novel 1984 by George Orwell, the ad featured the destruction of “Big Brother,” aka IBM. The commercial ended with Apple Macintosh’s release date: January 24, 1984, which has paved the way for Macintosh Computer Day.
Take a Bite out of Macintosh
Proclaimed as “insanely great” by Jobs and carrying $2,495-price tag, the Macintosh personal computer made home and personal computing a reality. Powered by a Motorola 68000 microprocessor using Lisa technology, it was truly the first successful mouse-driven computer with a graphical interface. Not to mention a third of the weight of the IBM personal computer.
Other specs and features:
- Pull down menus, point, click, cut, and paste
- 68000 microprocessor running at 8 MHz
- 32-bit CPU
- 192KB of memory – 64KB ROM/128KB RAM
- ROM contained the entire operating system, graphics and user interface
- 5” floppy disk drive
- MacPaint and MacWrite software
To put these specs in perspective, the average computer runs at 3 GHz—375 times fast than the Macintosh. The latest 13” Macbook has 8GB of combined memory with 8-core CPU (64-bit).
Apple Today
When you think of Apple today, what comes to mind? Trailblazer, tech titan, unparalleled quality—the list goes on.
But Apple’s road to success was not always paved with gold. The rivalry between Apple and IBM is one of the biggest and most bitter in tech history with plenty of salty jabs like this 1981 ad. While Apple may have won the initial battle with the personal computer, many would consider IBM to have won the war with their near domination of computer industry through the late 1980s and 1990s.
Of course, that all changed when Apple released the iMac, MacBook, and iPhone, forever changing the landscape of the mobile device technology yet again. With those releases, Apple easily established themselves as the absolute standard when it comes to technology.
Let us not forget that two tech giants announced a global partnership in 2014.
Despite this, there’s a reason why Macintosh Computer Day is celebrated. Its model paved the way for Apple’s standard of quality, innovation, success. Happy Macintosh Computer Day!
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