Ahhh, the Macintosh. Everyone knew the name ‘Mac’ before iPods were even conceived.

Yes indeedy, on the eve of it’s birthday I shall list some of the useless yet undeniably interesting facts about the Macintosh.

The first Apple computer to bear the name – turns 25 on 24 January. As most of you know, the machine debuted in 1984 and kicked off a product line that were Apple’s flagship computers for many years. The Mac helped to increase the popularity of the “interface and mouse” combo that is omnipresent today. When it first came out, the Mac was marketed using a hugely expensive TV advert, directed by film maker Ridley Scott and shown during the US Superbowl on 22 January 1984.

The idea to create the Mac was started by now legendary computer maker Jef Raskin. The original machine had a 9in screen in an upright beige case, 128k of RAM, internal floppy drive, and came with keyboard and single-button mouse. Previously, Apple had produced computers using a graphical user interface (GUI), such as the Apple Lisa; those machines cost far more than the original Macintosh.

Of course, it wouldn’t me pay to list facts about Apple without mentioning Microsoft.  Microsoft had launched its own operating system which they called MS DOS in 1981. It was not until 1985, a year after the Macintosh made its debut, that Microsoft introduced its own GUI the now common name “Microsoft Windows”. This may surprise those who don’t know, but Windows did not enjoy significant popularity until the release of Windows 3.x in 1990.

But returning to Apple, you will all know Macintosh as a name even now that it’s 25. This is partially to do with the fact that Apple still use the moniker for their new products such as the the iMac. What with that and the popularity of the iPod and iPhone, they’ve really made a name for themselves. But it all started with the Macintosh 25 years ago.

Happy Birthday.

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