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The Mac Turns 40: Read Apple's Announcement From 1984

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I still fire up the old all original, non-upgraded '84 from time to time to play some Oregon Trail. This was the first computer I ever saw in my life (I was 3 years old at launch and my neighbor got one). What a ride it has been!
 
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I should dig out my copy of Inside Macintosh (the huge paperback tome known as the phone book edition) for the anniversary. It's in a box somewhere. If I can find it I'll post a picture or two.
 
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jo-1 said:
psst … don’t wake up the naysayers - they will find dozens of reasons why the offering of the AVP is inferior :cool:
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People complaining about AVP's price make me laugh, saying how "nobody" will buy it.

My Mac Plus in 2024 dollars would be $6,700 today.
 
citysnaps said:
People complaining about AVP's price make me laugh, saying how "nobody" will buy it.

My Mac Plus in 2024 dollars would be $7,400 today.
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Assuming I don't wanna vomit 3 seconds after wearing it, I'm buying it soon as they ship one under $2000.

$3500 to me is like "honey, the kids don't really need to go to summer camp!"
 
macman312 said:
I hope Apple acknowledges this. A special product would be cool. Maybe a little plaque saying “40 years” or a free leather sleeve with each MacBook. I know that won’t happen but it’s something that would be cool
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Well they did come out with a 20th anniversary Mac that flopped because of price. A leather sleeve is only important to MacBook owners, not iMac, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro owners.
 
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That first Macintosh was supplanted by a newer, more capable, second-generation model very quickly.

Sound familiar?
 
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dmr727 said:
Very nice! One day I should get my Dad's old machine (it had since been upgraded to 512K) from him. Dark Castle was my go-to game in those days. :)
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Thanks! Yeah, this one is all original. I have the mouse and whatnot as well. I don't let anyone else touch it haha.
 
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Seems like neat tech, but what’s the killer app on this “Macintosh”? Seems like an expensive toy that is a glorified machine for games.
 
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My Mac history is strange. My uncle got one in 84. No one was really impressed. I think he had Compuserve then, and that was cool. In 86 my family got a IIGS Woz Edition. Even with a slower processor, it felt so much better than the Mac. My aunt ran a printshop for a long time. When it finally closed, she sold me her "favorite mac" for $200. That Mac was a IIci with 12mb of RAM! Yes, $200. In 1994... I was a Mac and Linux guy until MS release WSL2 in Win10. Now I'm conflicted on which OS I like the best. I think I like my Air M2 pro better than my "Pro M3pro", which is a problem.
 
citysnaps said:
As a student, I also used my company's LaserWriter. No way I could justify that with my own $.
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I did buy like the 2nd generation after that one to have in my home. At the time, I was also taking a class to learn how to operate a linotype machine. All code-based to spit out simple business cards, etc. It was such a time of transition.
 
After owning an Apple II+, an Apple IIe, and an Apple IIGS, my first Mac was the high end Power Macintosh 8100, not to be confused with the “Butthead Astronomer” model 7100. :cool:

Anyone remember the PM 7100 whose internal code name was Carl Sagan? After Sagan wrote a nastygram demanding his name be removed, it was renamed internally as the Butthead Astronomer. Then Sagan actually sued Apple for libel but the lawsuit was tossed out almost immediately. He sued again over his original complaint about his name. Apple settled with him out of court and finally renamed the PM 7100 as LAW (Lawyers Are Wimps).
 
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Timo_Existencia said:
I'm sure my "DOS" friends said that word-for-word back then :)
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I remember the smirks and putdowns Dos-folk would utter. Something of the form (paraphrased), "Oh, that Macintosh is soooo cute! Maybe someday it'll grow up to be big and strong, where it can then do some real work!"
 
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MacRumors said:
Pricing for the original Macintosh started at $2,495, equivalent to over $7,000 today.
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It's worth pointing out that, at the time, an IBM PC or other "serious" 16 bit computer with floppy drive(s) and display at that time would have set you back a comparable chunk of cash. (This link details a cut from $3,270 to $2,520 for the 256K, single drive, monochrome PC XT later in 1984)

So, yes, "$2459" plus 40 years of retail price inflation may be "$7000" today relative to the standard "basket of domestic goods" - but the whole electronic appliance market has deflated massively over that time, with prices for anything from a "half decent computer" to a "half-decent TV" staying about the same numerically, while the definition of "half-decent" has extended by several orders of magnitude.

I.e. "modern money" comparisons are good for highlighting how much the role of computers & electronics in life has changed in general, but not for comparing Apple with the rest of the market.
 
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