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36 Years Ago Today, Steve Jobs Unveiled the First Macintosh
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There's (some) truth in your comment, I though prefer a computer, has a trackpad, a full size keyboard, has a wired connection, ports, multiple display options, amongst lots of other reasons.
The point had nothing to do with inflation; denominating in today’s dollars cancels that out.
The point is that when comparing entry level models, the cheapest Mac in 1984 cost more than the most expensive Mac today.
It is cheaper, more affordable, more market shares and makes the ecosystem sustainable. And why is x86 tied to Unix when the OS has nothing to do with the CPU ISA. And the sentence sort of implies Mac has a larger ( or even respectable to say the least ) market shares in researchers and scientist market. Which is so far from the truth.
Or they could switch to AMD for something better.
Sorry, I prefer not to have to replace all my software. Not all those new versions will be free, wiping out the "cost" argument.
Well, you raise some good points, but wired connections are going away anyway, and you can use a keyboard and a mouse on the newest iPad.
Also, you can connect the iPad to a second screen, I think the issue is being linked to the "old way of doing things."
I went Ipad only a couple of years ago, and if you adapt to the way of thinking and the new workflow you are set, if you stick to the old fashioned way of working, then you complain.
I ended up going back to a computer, not because I did not like the mindset, but my needs grew and had to use a computer.
If I was only a consumer, I would iPAD all the way
That is of coz under the assumption that translation / emulation would work perfectly. Which I am not entirely too sure either. We will know soon enough from Microsoft Windows on ARM experiment.
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Our's still works (at least as of 2 years ago), but it doesn't come out of the bag...lol
Back in '84, my uncle had a choice of buying a Mac or an IBM PC Jr.
I begged him to buy the Mac.
He bought the IBM.
We haven't talked much ever since.
I begged him to buy the Mac.
He bought the IBM.
We haven't talked much ever since.
An amazing fact is that SJ was only 28 when he introduced the Mac.
I had one of those original Macs for a bit more than a day, then I returned it. I had no use for the applications that were available and what I did with computers: programming just wasn't what that machine seemed ot be made for in my opinion at the time. I continued on my TRS-80 for a few more years.
It took till OS X and a colleague insisting -he almost dragged me into the store- I'd try it out at an Apple store (In a mall: Tyson's Corner near DC) for me to use a mac again.
But the unix underlying OS X hooked me right then and there.
The machine was a perfect combo of a FreeBSD derived unix, a X Window server, and a native GUI that allowed commericial applications I needed by now like Word and Excel.
I don't need the X11 anymore, but for the rest: it's still by far the best marriage of unix and commercial applications like Adobe CC, Miscrosoft Office etc. Nothing else comes even close.
What amazed me at first was the store: they let us use the machines, I didn't expect that. They let us open a terminal window, and play with the unix underneath - I was expecting to get kicked out any minute, but nope: they left us play with by then two machines side-by-side without ever bothering us at all. By then the OS of the machine had done the selling. I ordered my first mac not that much later.
It took till OS X and a colleague insisting -he almost dragged me into the store- I'd try it out at an Apple store (In a mall: Tyson's Corner near DC) for me to use a mac again.
But the unix underlying OS X hooked me right then and there.
The machine was a perfect combo of a FreeBSD derived unix, a X Window server, and a native GUI that allowed commericial applications I needed by now like Word and Excel.
I don't need the X11 anymore, but for the rest: it's still by far the best marriage of unix and commercial applications like Adobe CC, Miscrosoft Office etc. Nothing else comes even close.
What amazed me at first was the store: they let us use the machines, I didn't expect that. They let us open a terminal window, and play with the unix underneath - I was expecting to get kicked out any minute, but nope: they left us play with by then two machines side-by-side without ever bothering us at all. By then the OS of the machine had done the selling. I ordered my first mac not that much later.
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On January 24, 1984, former Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the first Macintosh at Apple's annual shareholder's meeting in Cupertino, California, debuting the new computer equipped with a 9-inch black and white display, an 8MHz Motorola 68000 processor, 128KB of RAM, a 3.5-inch floppy drive, and a price tag of $2,495.
Article Link: 36 Years Ago Today, Steve Jobs Unveiled the First Macintosh
About twelve months later, my Christmas Present became my first computer ever (other than playing with the ones at school - which included moderate BASIC programming on Apple ][ 's etc.).
For just a moment (and perhaps my birthday earlier this week), that makes me feel old. :\
But watching and contributing to technology growth since then keeps my heart and mind young!
The ARM based Surface Pro X:
- Drivers for hardware, games and apps will only work if they're designed for a Windows 10 ARM-based PC. For more info, check with the hardware manufacturer or the organization that developed the driver. Drivers are software programs that communicate with hardware devices—they're commonly used for antivirus and antimalware software, printing or PDF software, assistive technologies, CD and DVD utilities, and virtualization software. If a driver doesn’t work, the app or hardware that relies on it won’t work either (at least not fully). Peripherals and devices only work if the drivers they depend on are built into Windows 10, or if the hardware developer has released ARM64 drivers for the device.
- 64-bit (x64) apps won’t work. You'll need 64-bit (ARM64) apps, 32-bit (ARM32) apps, or 32-bit (x86) apps. You can usually find 32-bit (x86) versions of apps, but some app developers only offer 64-bit (x64) apps.
A macOS for ARM will have the same challenges. With certainty, it will have the same driver issues.
Since Apple has abandoned 32bit support in the current macOS, as opposed to Windows 10's excellent support for both 32bit and 64bit, they will have to support 64bit x64 emulation in order to make a transition to ARM successful. Doing so successfully will likely push the minimum RAM configuration to at least 16Gb and may require more in the 32Gb range to get decent performance out of an x64 app that likes to use more than 8Gb (e.g. Ps, ...)
Apple's been through a processor change like this before when they (finally) gave up on the PowerPC and moved to Intel. They also dealt with a similar emulation issue when they switched from the MacOS to a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing version of the NextOS, though for marketing reasons it was named "MacOS X". I don't know it Apple has the chops to do something similar today.
I have one of those. Paid $2495 for the Mac. And a year later $4,200 for brand new Nissan pickup.
Mine has been upgraded from 128K to the "Fat Mac" configuration of 512K of memory. I also have a 10 MB hard drive. It is a little thicker than the floppy drive in the picture. But, is the same width and depth as the base of the Mac.
I also have the "programmer switch" installed. It is a little plastic button with an arm that pushed the reset switch inside the machine. That lets you crash and then reboot the system when your program freezes the machine. Which happened often.
That set up and the really cool printer Apple sold that printed text in MULTIPLE FONTS and GRAPHS got my wife an A in her MBA classes. She had reports that were so stunning that people were amazed by them, and believed the numbers, even if some of the numbers on the graphs were wrong!
Mine has been upgraded from 128K to the "Fat Mac" configuration of 512K of memory. I also have a 10 MB hard drive. It is a little thicker than the floppy drive in the picture. But, is the same width and depth as the base of the Mac.
I also have the "programmer switch" installed. It is a little plastic button with an arm that pushed the reset switch inside the machine. That lets you crash and then reboot the system when your program freezes the machine. Which happened often.
That set up and the really cool printer Apple sold that printed text in MULTIPLE FONTS and GRAPHS got my wife an A in her MBA classes. She had reports that were so stunning that people were amazed by them, and believed the numbers, even if some of the numbers on the graphs were wrong!
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This was like the invention of the wheel in computer terms. It was nice to live in those days and see mankind experience these dinosaurs of tech after having to do everything manually before that time.
When the crowd clapped and hooted at Jobs pulling a 3.5" floppy out of his jacket that really tells you everything about the state of tech at the time.
Haha. I was pretty shocked when I first saw the Apple IIe being used along with a 5 1/4 floppy. Story goes it's been running nonstop since it was purchased and hooked up in 1987. To be fair it is hooked to a modern monitor...
We got our first Apple computer in 1979. An Apple ][+ as I recall. Then an Apple //e. Then an Apple //gs. Then a Mac... My wife had just graduated from college and was embarking on her Special Education teaching career and got a letter from Apple offering a fair discount on the machines. Neither one of us knew much about them but we had a little extra money. My house has not been without an Apple computer since. I also have PC's but my Apples have always been my go-to. Just got a new 16" MBP a couple of weeks ago...
whoa what an astonishing privilege. For anyone in this forum who doesn’t recognize that name, you should really look up the mother of all demos. The mouse, hyperlinks, video conferencing, it was all there in the 60s.
In 1983 I went to Apple level 2 tech certification repair training in Chicago to learn how to fix and repair Apple II, Apple III Apple Lisa's and Apple Imagewriters. During our training that said if we signed a nondisclosure agreement they would show us what Apple was working on. It was the Mac 128k. I have fond memories of the class and seeing the Mac when it was still being designed and in development. Fixing all the old computer was so much fun and magical, finding the problem replacing chips, building printer cables by hand. Here is a picture of me in 1983 right after I got back from Apple training selling computers at are old store, we were at Western Michigan University at student orientation day. Showing them the magic of a personal computer.
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Eventually this fascination Apple has with the Mac will run it’s course and they’ll get back to the kind of computers that MADE them what they are today.
I haven’t had a software update for my AppleII in years!
/s
The folks buying a new ARMac will find a Mac App Store filled with software for them to download, but most won’t. They’ll use Safari to get to Facebook, post about their new Mac, then look at some pictures while listening to music.
I haven’t had a software update for my AppleII in years!
/s
Not necessarily. Two things they didn’t have back then is a ton of other products making money for the company (so they really needed each and every Mac sale) and all developers using the same IDE... that they control. Any developer currently making money on the Mac that wants to continue will take the pain and recompile. Any developer no longer coding their app for the Mac, likely already got left behind with the cutoff of 32-bit apps, so their customers ALREADY know not to upgrade if they want. That means a lot of folks that won’t upgrade, but, just a blip to the bottom line. Most Macs today are sold to people that have never owned a Mac before, and someone that hasn’t bought a Mac in 5-6 years (price/features not to their liking) will continue to not find price/features to their liking.
The folks buying a new ARMac will find a Mac App Store filled with software for them to download, but most won’t. They’ll use Safari to get to Facebook, post about their new Mac, then look at some pictures while listening to music.