The Macintosh changed computers forever

Apple’s legendary computer has two legacies: there’s the computer itself, and there’s the commercial. Which commercial. Just two days before Steve Jobs released the computer that would help cement his legacy and contribute to his unceremonious exile from Apple, the company. He dropped a Super Bowl ad This remains one of the most iconic commercials of all time. This greatly raised the hype and risks of the Macintosh.

The Macintosh wasn’t a great computer, at least at first. He didn’t have enough memory. There were not enough programs to support it; It was not customizable in the ways PC users needed at the time. It took a few generations to fix these problems. But in every way that mattered, the Macintosh was right. Right about how we will use computers in the future. True to the idea that computers should be less complex. It’s true that deep attention to hardware and software design can make a difference. Although Apple didn’t sell many original Macintoshes, there’s no doubt that it changed computers forever.

In this episode of Version History, we tell the story of the original Macintosh. David Pearce, Nilay Patel, and Daring fireball‘John Gruber explains the strange corporate infighting that led to the project in the first place, the ways in which the Macintosh has changed over time, and how Jobs and his team drove such massive hype for the device that some people didn’t even want to ship it. They then discuss the true legacy of the device, and whether the computer or the commercial is the real icon.

This is the fourth episode of the third season of the series Release date. Here’s how to get every episode and all the other fun stuff as soon as it drops:

If you want to learn more about the story and legacy of the Macintosh, here are some links to get you started: