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1983 posts

Filed under: Humor, Odds and ends, Found Footage

Found Footage: The Macintosh Software Dating Game (1983)

In 1983, Apple was trying to get software developers excited about the new Mac platform and a new way of working with computers. The YouTube video below shows highlights of an Apple event in which Steve Jobs plays the part of The Dating Game host Jim Lange, asking questions about software development to three bachelors software magnates -- Fred Gibbons of Software Publishing Company, Mitch Kapor of Lotus Development, and some guy named Bill Gates from Microsoft.

Of those three software giants, only Microsoft has really survived into the 21st Century. Software Publishing Company left the PC scene in 1994 and Lotus was assimilated into the corporate body of IBM.

The video has edited out most of the bits with Gibbons and Kapor, so you get to hear Bill Gates gush about how wonderful the Mac platform is and how Microsoft in 1983 honestly expected Macintosh software to account for one-half of their revenue.

It's a weird little video, and very indicative of the type of PR stunts that were popular in the early days of the digital revolution. Enjoy!

Tipped by a tweet from Dennis

1983 Apple T-Shirts

The Mothership!, a Mac site "dedicated to the preservation of Apple computer history," has come across a catalog picture of a quirky piece of Apple schwag hailing from 1983. Surely, even back then it is apparent that Apple covered all the bases, offering colors, styles and sizes for the entire Apple-obsessed family.

While I'm glad Apple's branding and marketing have come quite a ways since 1983, I still wish they'd offer some kind of catalog to score schwag like this. Aside from the schwag that Laurie picked up for me when TUAW made the trip to this year's Macworld, how else am I supposed to get my fix?

[via digg]

Tip of the Day

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