Filed under: Hardware, Cult of Mac, Apple
Happy birthday to the Macintosh
Apple Matters reminds us that today in 1984
Steve Jobs showed us why 1984 wouldn't be like 1984. That's right friends and neighbors, today the Macintosh were
introduced to large theater of people in a rather dramatic fashion (some things don't change).Low End Mac, the place to find information about older Macs, lists the original Macintosh's stats so you don't have to. $2495 got you System 1.0 running on a blazing 8 MHz CPU.
The computer that got us to where we are today, I say you hoist a beverage of your choice and toast the Macintosh.
Thanks, Patch.
Update: I got my Mac release dates all wrong (well I got one of the two right). The Lisa was released January of 1983, not 1984 as I mistakenly said. I'm right that it was ill fated though, of that I am certain. Thanks to everyone who pointed this out.

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Stridey said 6:07PM on 1-24-2006
And here's a link to the original Stevenote announcement, complete with a commercial showing how to use a mouse!
http://www.esm.psu.edu/Faculty/Gray/graphics/movies/1984complete.mov
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Jeff Weitzman said 6:12PM on 1-24-2006
Actually, it shipped with System 1, or more accurately I believe the final shipping version was 1.1g. I actually still have a copy of System 1.0 that was on a beta of Microsoft Basic.
The original Mac was my first Mac, but not nearly my last!
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Jon said 6:34PM on 1-24-2006
Sorry Scott -- your facts are wrong. The Lisa was introduced around a year before the Mac.
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Hadley Stern said 6:38PM on 1-24-2006
The Lisa was introduced a year before, almost to the day....you find find the story
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Wheels said 6:44PM on 1-24-2006
Actually it was narco who reminded me.
Fishes narco!
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Scott McNulty said 6:47PM on 1-24-2006
Thanks, Jon! I was all giddy from the Pixar news and I created a fantasy Stevenote where he transcended time and space to introduce the Lisa and the Macintosh at the same time.
I have corrected the post.
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Xenedar said 12:42AM on 1-25-2006
If things had worked out differently, we might all be using iLisas, PowerLisas and Lisa minis.
There but for the grace of Gurnenthar...
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Jeff Weitzman said 2:39AM on 1-25-2006
Prior to the Mac's release (and for some time thereafter), you had to use a Lisa to write programs for the Mac. Just another useless factoid to use at Mac geek cocktail parties. :-)
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