Exactly 36 years ago, Steve Jobs announced the first Macintosh computer to the world, during a time when personal computing was still in infancy. The Mac was announced at Apple’s annual shareholder’s meeting. In other words, it’s the 36th Anniversary of Apple’s Macintosh today. This legendary machine became popular all around the world due to its perceived stylishness, user-friendliness, and accessibility.
In fact, many had predicted then that the Mac would definitely surpass computers made by other companies. The first model seems like a toy when we compare it with the MacBooks and iMacs of today. Yet, this particular model released on the 24th of January, 1984, set the stage for personal computing as we know it today.
The Macintosh came with the following features:
- A 9-inch black and white display that surprisingly seemed beautiful to just stare at
- An 8MHz Motorola 68000 processor that seems like an antique today
- 128KB of RAM, which seems crazily absurd when compared with modern processors
- A 3.5-inch floppy drive that mat youngsters today wouldn’t have seen at all
- A hefty price of $2,495
- It was advertised as a graphics package that comes with a mouse
We need to remember that even a mouse was a novelty in those days. In addition, word processing programs were unheard of, and Macintosh truly seemed magical.
Macintosh maybe expensive even today, but commands a huge market
$2,495 was a very huge price in those days, and that figure would have amounted to $6,000 today. In spite of such a heavy price tag, Apple managed to sell more than 70,000 Macs by May 1984. There is a theory that Apple sold so many devices in such a short period of time due to its 1984 Super Bowl ad.
Currently, there are 18 million or more Mac machines being used by dedicated Apple fans. Apple’s competitors have all gone out of business, and this company has managed to retain not only its business but also the market share. In the future, Apple may lose this privileged status if it does not fix what ails it. However, with the recent trend of releasing multiple updates in a short span of time, Apple may very well continue to hold sway over its users.
