Happy 30th Birthday, Apple Macintosh.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Tue Jan 24, 2017, 01:21 PM - Edit history (4)

Could I not have linked to this video?

v=Z8ji0B98IMo (old video, now gone)

http://www.apple.com/

Explore 30 years of innovation on the Mac

The Mac's 30th: What's your story?
http://www.zdnet.com/the-macs-30th-whats-your-story-7000025531/

Summary: I got my first Mac in 1984, but paid $4,400 for the privilege. What was your first Mac?

By Jason D. O'Grady for The Apple Core | January 24, 2014 -- 14:53 GMT (06:53 PST)

Tomorrow (Saturday, January 25, 2014) marks the 30th Anniversary of the introduction of the Macintosh, Apple's all-in-one beige toaster that revolutionized the computer industry.

My first Mac was a 512Ke. I found an original 128K in a trash pile several years back, so I have an original one too. I had to throw out a bunch of Macs six years ago when I lost my place for storing them. There was nothing valuable there.

What you should have been buying back then was the stock.

Apple’s 16,210% Rally as Mac Turns 30

By Steven Russolillo

The Macintosh has been quite a boon for Apple Inc. shareholders.

With the Mac celebrating its 30th anniversary on Friday, MoneyBeat took a look back at where Apple’s stock price traded 30 years ago. On a split-adjusted basis (remember Apple had two-for-one stock splits in 1987, 2000 and 2005), Apple closed at $3.41 on Jan. 24, 1984.

Fast forward 30 years later, and Apple closed Thursday at $556.18, meaning shares have risen 16,210% throughout the Mac’s lifetime.

Not a bad rate of return, especially considering the S&P 500 has rallied 1,001% over the same time frame.

[liberal N proud]

1. The same year I started working form my current employer

[NV Whino]

2. 512KE was my original Mac, with an external floppy drive. Used.

My current computer is a Mac Mini 2012. Well, I have a Mac Mini 2009 and a G4 Tower, too. And an iPad3. I really have to get rid of the tower. How do these things keep stacking up?

[northoftheborder]

3. I bought my first computer in 1984: The Mac above

I still have the computer, but unfortunately, probably got rid of the mouse and keyboard, and probably my program discs.

I had been agonizing for several years before that, knowing I needed a computer, trying to decide what to get, reading up on various brands, a total know-nothing about anything tech. When the Mac came out with it's mouse to manage the screen, applications, and documents, etc., with no needing to memorize keyboard commands, that was it. There was even a drawing application, nothing any other computer had at the time.

Looking back, having to load the "System" on with a disc, then load your application, then your document seems so ridiculous! But I wrote my Master's thesis on that thing without an extra hard-drive!

It's been a Mac of some type on my desk ever since with one Dell bypass era (because of cost) at the time. Also IPhone, IPad organize my world.

[RoccoR5955]

4. I got a Mac only about 4 years ago.

Well, I have been a PC tech for about 20 years then, in a Microsoft shop. I had always wanted a Mac, but they were always so expensive, and I also liked building my own computer.
About the time that Windows 7 came out, we were looking at it for our clients. This was right after Microsoft's big flop of Vista. (what a piece of crapware that was.) So, me being the diligent tech that I am, open a command prompt, to find that the version that they call "Windows 7" is actually Windows version 6.1. This got me very angry. Who did Microsoft think they were, trying to dupe people into thinking that this was a whole new operating system, when all they did was create a new shell. It was merely window dressing for the crappy product, the kernel of the operating system, which was merely Vista warmed over with some bug fixes and such.

I found a place that was discounting a MacBook, so I bought it. The hard drive was rather small, and there wasn't much memory, but it seemed to keep up with Windows machines that had much greater resources. The tinkerer in me decided to upgrade, and I went to the computer shop, and purchased more memory, and a larger hard drive. I had a screamer on my hands. Then a year after, the same small chain of computer stores that I purchased my first Mac at was opening a new store, and had a $300 discount on a MacBook Pro. I sold the white MacBook to a friend, and bought the Pro. Again, I had to upgrade the hard drive and RAM, but it was a breeze. I got a program called VMWare Fusion which allows you to run other operating systems on the machine, while having OSX running. I could run Windows on the Mac, and support my users with a very cool package. I still do. One slow day at work, I installed every OS that we had. Windows 3.1 with DOS 5, NT, 95, 98, Millenium, XP, and 7 were now on my PC, and I could support ANYTHING we ever had. (I play around with different distros of Linux too, so I put a couple of them in VMs as well).

This machine is my baby. For the past 3 (?) years it has gone back and forth to work with me, and still performs like a champ. The battery life isn't too shabby either, for something its age. (I may have to replace them in another 3 years, but that shouldn't be a problem for me.) Mackey, as I like to call him, may have some dents, and battle scars, but he still helps me every day support the 2000+ users that I am responsible for, all of them running Windows of some sort or another.

Last year I spent my tax return for a bigger MacBook Pro that I use to edit photos, and do a little desktop publishing, along with everything else that most people do on their computers. And if I thought my work machine was a screamer, the home machine is even faster!

Since I went with Apple at home, I don't think that I will ever go back to Microsoft. The more I learn about how the Mac works, as opposed to how Windows works, the more I am impressed with Apple. It makes me believe that folks at Cupertino who developed the software actually thought about the end user, and didn't just get orders from on high to write some code that can be shoveled to the users.

That's my silly story, not that anyone is interested, but perhaps someone may find it interesting.

[Auggie]

5. That 1984 commercial blew the minds of creative people working in advertising ...

I was one of them. The day after it ran meetings were called to discuss it. We had copies airmailed to the agency from the production house -- we all wanted to emulate it. It changed advertising forever.

I wouldn't touch a Mac until 1989. My first was a CX II, cost about $3000.00. Dumbest, most wasteful purchase I ever I made.

[question everything]

6. We got our Mac SE in 1987 and used it until 1996

Was amused to see how our PC friends were switching every other year, or so, with 286 to 386 to 486 etc. (I think).

I think that we paid about $2500 and then we purchased an Apple laser printer for about $4K!

Since then we've had three more desktops and three laptop/MacBooks.

These are the only Apple products we use. Sadly, it appears that Apple has been shifting its attention and support to the newer products: iTune, iPhone, Smartphone, iPad etc.