22 January 1984 - Macintosh introduced

Digital Innovation Days

The introduction of Macintosh by Apple on the 22nd of January, 1984, revolutionised the computing industry by making computers easy to use for any and everyone, not just experts. The Macintosh, or Mac as it is now known, is a series of several lines of personal computers, developed by Apple. The original Macintosh was the first commercially successful personal computer that included two known yet unpopular features at the time - mouse and graphical user interface (GUI) instead of the command-line interfaces that were in common use. It was also the pioneer in print preview, the ability to see how a document would look once printed before printing it. However, while this computer was a visionary product, it did not offer very much to the users. In fact, when Macintosh was first launched, it was not a hit, was unaffordable, and was not completely workable. Today, there are more than 100 million Macs in use.

Macintosh or Mac has changed computing significantly, introducing innovative concepts and inspiring breakthroughs in technology. It introduced the idea of icons and turned them into art. It made networking easy since Macs could be connected to each other using AppleTalk. Furthermore, Microsoft Office was born on Mac and following its success, Microsoft released a Windows version. It made pointing portable before touchpads and enabled playing digital videos with QuickStart. Moreover, it brought forward the idea of a backlit keyboard and light sensors.

While the creation of Macintosh is undeniably a remarkable technological achievement, what’s even more inspiring is its relevance and significance even today, almost 4 decades later. Not only has it existed for this long but it also mattered all these years. A major reason for this enduring relevance is Apple and Mac’s commitment to staying fresh by getting rid of redundant and unnecessary features - truly incorporating the spirit of evolution.