As of today, the Apple Macintosh has been around for 40 years. Over the course of its lifespan, the Mac has garnered itself quite a bit of trivia. To celebrate Macintosh day, here are some fun facts about Cupertino’s most famous computer.
Apple is known for innovation. The key starting point was the successful launch of its first Macintosh computer, the 128K Macintosh. Thanks to its ease of operation, it paved the way for the computer becoming a mainstream device. To this day, forty years later, Macs are still considered to be one of the most superior laptops made available to us.
To celebrate the Mac’s 40th birthday, we are zooming in on some of the Macintosh fun facts that may have escaped your attention over the years.
1. The true origin of the name
Why is the Macintosh called Macintosh? It is named after a kind of Apple that grows in Canada, the McIntosh, which was the favourite Apple of one of the brains behind the computer. As there were some copyright issues with that term, the Apple team decided to settle on Macintosh. And the rest is history…
2. Every 128K Macintosh is autographed
Inside the beige plastic enclosure of the 128K Macintosh are engraved signatures from the entire Apple team – including Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
3. Ridley Scott directed the 1984 Macintosh commercial
You may have seen the Orwellian commercial introducing the Macintosh back in 1984 but what you may not know is that it was directed by award-winning director Ridley Scott at a budget of almost 1,5 million euro. The advertisement was first aired during the third quarter of the Super Bowl XVII.
4. Apple introduced the first-ever trackpad
Introduced in 1994, the Powerbook 500 was the first laptop ever made with a laptop trackpad. By the late 90s, almost the entire laptop market made the switch to trackpads.
5. The first portable Mac weighed over seven kilogram
Can you imagine trolling around with a computer as heavy as a bowling ball? From today’s perspective, it may sound ridiculous as most laptops weigh under a kilogram. Even though seven kilograms was considered lightweight back then, Apple’s first portable computer was a flop.
6. Macs couldn’t multitask until 1987
Today we can open a hundred tabs in our browser, tune into a meeting and answer emails all at the same time. Back in the 1980s, multitasking wasn’t possible on a Mac. You could only open one program at a time. System 5 was the first version of the Macintosh operating system that let you run several programs simultaneously.
7. The original Mac only had 128KB of RAM
Steve Jobs wanted the first Mac to have just 128KB of RAM. It kept the lines of the enclosure smaller, but ended up being a bit limitation, even in 1984. The next Mac, called Fat Mac, featured 512KB RAM.
8. Wireless didn’t appear until 1999
The iBook – the predecessor of the modern MacBook – was the first to connect to a wireless network and did so with an optional AirPort card. The notion of wireless internet was widespread in 2003 and made standard on all MacBook’s when launched in 2006.
9. OS X has a built-in therapist
When you have an Apple Mac running on OS X, there is no need to drive to a shrink office when you need a therapy session. OS X offers a built-in therapist that you can use at any time. To access this feature, you open the terminal app and type “emacs” and press “shift+escape” followed by “X”. Then type “doctor” and hit “enter”. Once having gone through these steps, a virtual therapist will enter the room, ready to answer all your questions.
10. Carl Sagan once sued Apple
The Power Mac 7100 – released in 1994 – was codenamed Carl Sagan due to its potential for billions and billions in profit. Carl Sagan didn’t like this idea and sued Apple when he found out. In response, Apple changed the codename to BHA, Butterhead Astronomer.
Did these fun facts about the Apple Macintosh inspire you to onboard Apple’s flagship computer? Reach out to info@mob.co to get up to speed on what Mac has in store for your enterprise!