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January 24, 1984 – The big day had finally arrived. We had looked forward to the date for so long that it didn’t seem real—actually experiencing the long-awaited public unveiling of the Macintosh at Apple’s 1984 annual shareholders’ meeting. We were excited, of course, but also nervous about our hastily contrived demo software, and still exhausted from the final push to finish the system software (see Real Artists Ship).
I attended one of the rehearsals held over the weekend to help set up the demo, and it was fraught with problems. Apple rented a powerful video projector called a LightValve, which projected the Macintosh display larger and brighter than I thought possible. But the Mac had to be connected to the projector through a special board that Burrell cooked up to compensate for the Mac’s unique video timings, and the LightValve seemed to be quite temperamental, taking eons to warm up and then sometimes shutting down inexplicably. Plus, Steve wasn’t into rehearsing very much and could barely force himself to do a single, complete run-through.
Most of the software team usually didn’t come to work until after 10 a.m., but this morning we gathered in our fishbowl office in Bandley 3 at 7:30 a.m., so we could walk over together to the big auditorium at Flint Center, which was a half-mile away. We got to the cavernous room (which seated up to 2,500) early, but it was already filling up, and soon it was packed tight, with standing room only. The software team sat up close in the second row, in a section reserved for Macintosh division employees.
Finally, the lights dimmed, and Steve Jobs appeared at a podium on the left side of the stage. He was resplendent in a finely tailored black suit, complete with a prominent bow tie, looking more like a Las Vegas impresario than a computer industry executive. You could tell he was nervous as he quieted the rousing applause and began to speak.
“Welcome to Apple’s 1984 Annual Shareholders Meeting. I’d like to begin by reading part of an old poem by Dylan—that’s Bob Dylan,” Steve flashed a big smile as he started to recite the second verse of The Times They Are A-Changin’, stretching an occasional vowel in a Dylanesque fashion:
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide,
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’.
He thanked Apple’s board of directors individually by name for their support in a turbulent year, then turned the meeting over to Apple’s chief counsel, Al Eisenstadt, to run the formal part of the shareholders’ meeting. Al ran through some procedural stuff, then introduced Apple’s CEO, John Sculley, who had been hired just nine months ago, for a report on the business.
John reported on Apple’s latest quarter, which saw disappointing Lisa sales more than balanced by a fantastic Christmas for the Apple IIe, whose sales had more than doubled from the previous year. But the crowd seemed distracted, impatiently waiting for the main event that was now imminent. John seemed to sense that and hurried through the bulk of his presentation. Finally, he concluded by thanking Mike Markkula and the executive staff for supporting him during his first few months at Apple, singling out one individual in particular.
“The most important thing that has happened to me in the last nine months at Apple has been the chance to develop a friendship with Steve Jobs. Steve is a co-founder of Apple and a product visionary for this industry, and it’s my pleasure now to reintroduce Steve Jobs.”
Steve reappeared on the left side of the stage as the lights dimmed again. “It is 1958,” he began, speaking slowly and dramatically. “IBM passes up a chance to buy a young, fledgling company that has invented a new technology called xerography. Two years later, Xerox was born, and IBM has been kicking themselves ever since.” The crowd laughed, as Steve paused.
Steve had cooked up this spiel for the sales meeting in Hawaii last fall to introduce the 1984 commercial. I had seen him do it a few times by now, but never with as much passion, intensity, and emotion dripping from his voice.
“It is ten years later, the late sixties,” he continued, speaking faster now. “Digital Equipment Corporation and others invent the mini-computer. IBM dismisses the mini-computer as too small to do serious computing and therefore unimportant to their business. DEC grows to be a multi-hundred-million-dollar company before IBM enters the mini-computer market.” Steve paused again.
“It is now ten years later, the late seventies. In 1977, Apple Computer, a young fledgling company on the West Coast, introduces the Apple II, the first personal computer as we know it today. IBM dismisses the personal computer as too small to do serious computing and therefore unimportant to their business,” Steve intoned sarcastically, as the crowd applauded.
“The early 1980s. 1981 – Apple II has become the world’s most popular computer, and Apple has grown to a $300 million corporation, becoming the fastest-growing company in American business history. With over fifty companies vying for a share, IBM enters the personal computer market in November 1981 with the IBM PC.” Steve was speaking very quickly now, picking up momentum.
“1983. Apple and IBM emerge as the industry’s strongest competitors, with each selling approximately one billion dollars’ worth of personal computers in 1983. The shakeout is in full swing. The first major personal computer firm goes bankrupt, with others teetering on the brink. Total industry losses for 1983 overshadow even the combined profits of Apple and IBM.”
He slowed down, speaking emphatically. “It is now 1984. It appears that IBM wants it all. Apple is perceived to be the only hope to offer IBM a run for its money. Dealers, after initially welcoming IBM with open arms, now fear an IBM-dominated and controlled future and are turning back to Apple as the only force that can ensure their future freedom.”
Steve paused even longer as the crowd’s cheering swelled. He had them on the edge of their seats. “IBM wants it all and is aiming its guns at its last obstacle to industry control: Apple. Will Big Blue dominate the entire computer industry? The entire information age? Was George Orwell right?”
The crowd was in a frenzy now as the already famous 1984 commercial (see 1984), shown for the first and only time during the Super Bowl two days ago, filled the screen—featuring a beautiful young woman athlete storming into a meeting of futuristic skinheads, throwing a sledgehammer at Big Brother, imploding the screen in a burst of apocalyptic light. By the time the commercial finished, everyone in the auditorium was standing and cheering.
Steve described the Macintosh as the third industry milestone product, after the Apple II and the IBM PC. “Some of us have been working on Macintosh for more than two years now, and it has turned out insanely great!”
All this time, a lone Macintosh had been sitting in its canvas carrying case near the center of the stage. Steve walked over to the bag, opened it, and unveiled the Mac to the world for the very first time. He pulled it out, plugged it in, inserted a floppy, and the demo began to run flawlessly (see It Sure Is Great To Get Out Of That Bag!). The Macintosh became the first computer to introduce itself, speaking in a tremulous voice:
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 maxim I thought of the first time I met an IBM mainframe: Never trust a computer you can’t lift!
Obviously, I can talk, but right now I’d like to sit back and listen. So, it is with considerable pride that I introduce a man who has been like a father to me… Steve Jobs!
Pandemonium reigned as the demo completed. Steve had the biggest smile I’d ever seen on his face, obviously holding back tears as he was overwhelmed by the moment. The ovation continued for at least five minutes before he quieted the crowd down.
The rest of the meeting was an anti-climactic blur, as Steve ran through some marketing material and introduced new versions of the Lisa. He showed a slide-show tribute to the Mac team, with voice-overs from the most important contributors. Finally, he turned the meeting back to Al Eisenstadt to announce the shareholder tallies and complete the formal portion of the shareholders’ meeting.
Every member of the audience was given a copy of the first issue of MacWorld magazine, with Steve on the cover, as they departed. Most of the Mac team hung around near the stage, congratulating each other, waiting for the crowd to disperse.
A little bit later, after we returned to Bandley 3, we were surprised by a large Apple truck that pulled up in the parking lot near the back of the building. It contained 100 brand-new Macintoshes, one for each member of the team, personalized with a small plaque on the back. Steve presented one at a time to each team member with a handshake and a smile as the rest of us stood around cheering.
We were so keyed up that it was impossible to get back to work that afternoon, but most of us didn’t want to go home, either. The Macs were supposed to go on sale that very day, immediately following the introduction. I thought it would make it more real to me if I could actually go out and buy one, so five or six of us walked to the nearest Apple dealer to see if that was possible. The first, closest dealer didn’t have any units in stock and said they weren’t for sale yet, but we didn’t give up. The next dealer was willing to sell me one, even though he didn’t have any units in yet either.
Key fixes:
- Corrected spelling (e.g., "tempermental" → "temperamental", "super bowl" → "Super Bowl", "sledge-hammer" → "sledgehammer")
- Fixed punctuation (commas, periods, hyphens, quotation marks)
- Adjusted grammar (e.g., "its my pleasure" → "it’s my pleasure", "was just hired" → "had been hired")
- Standardized formatting (dates, numbers, capitalization of titles/products)
- Improved flow and clarity with minor rephrasing where needed (e.g., "walked to the nearest Apple dealer, to see" → "walked to the nearest Apple dealer to see")