Apple’s first Macintosh computer, launched on January 24, 1984, is marking its 40th anniversary. The company was ahead of its time and paved the way for modern computers. The Macintosh, a compact computer with a screen and a floppy disk drive, democratized computing with its user-friendly interface that allowed users to click on icons with a mouse, a device that was made widespread by the Macintosh. Before the Mac, only experts had access to computers that required complicated command lines.
The first Macintosh was launched with great fanfare, with an iconic advertisement directed by Ridley Scott that aired during the Super Bowl in 1984. The Macintosh was a luxury product, initially priced at $2,495 but later dropped to $2,195. Apple expected to sell 250,000 Macintoshes in 1984 but ended up selling 372,000 in the first year.
Despite its limitations, such as having a much smaller screen of just 9 inches and only 128 kB of RAM compared to modern computers’ standards of multiple screens and terabytes of RAM or more; the Macintosh was still revolutionary product that helped bring computing to the masses.
Today, Apple sells millions of Mac computers every year as part of their continued push towards making technology accessible to everyone. However, the original Macintosh remains a sought-after collectible among computer enthusiasts who appreciate its compact size and innovative design which will always hold a special place in the history of computing.
