What better way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Macintosh than by sharing your Mac memories in the Steve Jobs Archive? The Archive asks Mac users to answer one question: What has the Mac made possible for you?
The archive also published a new entry entitled “40 Years of the Macintosh” It all starts with photographer Norman Siff, working on assignment for Rolling Stone magazine. Here's an excerpt:
When photographer Norman Seiff arrived at Apple's offices in January 1984, he didn't know what to expect. A Rolling Stone editor told him only that it was a “weird company” full of hippies making computers. Now Siff, along with reporter Steven Levy, was covering these “wunderkinds” as they prepared to launch their latest product, a new machine called the Macintosh.
The atmosphere in the office was a far cry from the suits and perms typical of corporate America in the 1980s. There was an expensive Bɧsendorfer grand piano in the lobby; employees often played it during breaks. Nearby sat a first-generation Sony CD player connected to a giant pair of speakers. There were scooters. Pets. Babies. Everyone wore jeans; some even had bare feet.
“It was like a commune,” Siff says. “It was so alive.”
The recording takes you back to 1984 and tells the story of two photographs that now serve as snapshots of history in the making. More from the article:
Shortly after these photos were taken, the Macintosh was announced to the world. The road ahead will not be easy – not for the product, not for the group that created it, and not for Steve himself. But one realization was clear even in January 1984: something new was now possible.
“I remember the week before we released the Mac,” Steve recalled in 2007. “We all got together and said, 'Every computer is going to work this way. You can't argue about it anymore. You can argue about how long it will take, but you can't argue about it anymore.”
You can sign up for the Steve Jobs Archive newsletter here and submit your memory information Macintosh via Archive by sending an email to macintosh@stevejobsarchive.com.
Related
- Meet the new official Steve Jobs Archive
- The Steve Jobs Archive shares a special photo of the late Apple co-founder with a Mac in 1984.
- New e-book “The Steve Jobs Archive” is now available available for free download.
- Hands-on: Steve Jobs hardcover book Do Something Wonderful Book gifted to Apple and Disney employees
Image courtesy of Museums Victoria via Unsplash
