1984 was the year for Apple, even though it didn't seem like it at the
time. January 24, 1984 at Flint Center with all of the Apple employees,
shareholders, and fans, Steve Jobs introduced Macintosh, the $2,495 128K
computer. Using digitized speech, one of the many things that made it
different, it pronounced across the room and the world...
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"Hello, I am Macintosh. It sure is great to get out of that bag.
Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking, I'd like to share with you a thought
that occurred to me the first time I met an IBM mainframe. Never trust a
computer bigger than you can lift. Right now I'd like to introduce a man who
has been like a father to me, Steve Jobs."
-- The 128K Mac
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The "Computer That Smiled" (MacUser 82) was introduced to "the rest of us"
(Apple slogan) during the 1984 SuperBowl, and in 20-page ads in major
magazines. Apple bought every advertising page in a special issue of
Newsweek. They used the last fold-out ad to introduce the "Test Drive A
Macintosh" promotion. Over 200,000 people took home a Macintosh for a
free 24-hour trial.
Afraid no one would develop software for the Macintosh, and that they
wouldn't do it the way Apple wanted, they released three key programs which set
the standard in the Mac industry: MacDraw,
MacPaint(8), and
MacWrite(9). Even
though obsolete, are still used today. The Microsoft Corporation also shipped
software by year-end; Lotus and Software Publishing followed soon after.