Steve Jobs Introduces the Macintosh

Apple Macintosh premiere with Steve Jobs and the Mac team, Boston Computer Society General Meeting, January 30, 1984. Steve Jobs introduces the Macintosh, followed by a panel including Steve Capps, Andy Hertzfeld, Randy Wigginton, Bill Atkinson, Bruce Horn, Burrell Smith, Owen Densmore, and Rony Sebok.

Recorded: January 30, 1984

Catalog Number: 102739983

[nickadams]

the applause for the eraser at 30:44 almost brought a tear to my eye. the shit we take for granted today.

[GrayCatbird]

Jobs is so eloquent he can make me excited about a 30 year old computer. It feels like this is a fresh, new, exciting machine.

[MarkFlieger]

I actually attended this Boston Computer Society meeting when Jobs and his team introduced the Mac to the East coast. The atmosphere was electric because we all could tell we were witnessing history. It changed my life and pointed me in a career direction that I could not be happier about. Steve Jobs had a profound impact on a lot of people's lives. 🙂

[mooreel]

I just love how they instantly nailed the paint program in example. That was basically the standard for a decade

[harshitaseeja]

Who's here after reading Steve jobs by Walter Isaacson. How this event was described in the book, I thought Damn I had to see it

[NDakota]

How incredibly proud he is. Like a father seeing his child doing his first steps.

[PatrickLipo]

30:14 Somehow this makes me happy. These people were witnessing history, ABSOLUTELY GOBSMACKED over features we take for granted like an eraser tool, zooming in, and region cut and paste. Listen to them gasp! It was a stunning thing to experience for the first time as a consumer raised on text interfaces.

[synclavier]

Genius move to have the soft-spoken software engineer who designed the paint program actually demonstrate it. The audience is completely smitten, and now all the digital artists are fantasizing about how they will use these new features.

[Attila-]

The elegance and charisma of this guy is flawless

[ForViewingOnly]

What an incredible time this was: To see the first demonstrations of features that we have taken for granted for years. And to see such a slick presentation by a team that were totally switched on. Fantastic piece of history here.

[StayPositive-me]

This man was very charismatic, handsome, presentable, and intelligent. One of the rare gems of our world, regardless of how flawed he was.

[albertomartinez]

Interesting to pair this with his iPhone presentation 23 years later. Even though the technologies are universes apart, Jobs manages to convey how revolutionary and exciting each was.

[zunwang]

You don't need a full series of lessons to teach you how to be a good presenter, just watch a few Steve Jobs Video

[ravenger]

This mans microphone in 1984 was better than most small YouTubers' microphones today.

[michaelchalkley]

I had the privilege of meeting Steve twice in my lifetime: once in 1980 at the Monterey Tech Fest where he and Steve Wozniak pushed their Apple 1. Then in 1994, I was working for Quadrus in Menlo Park, California, on Sand Hill Dr, where our clients included Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield, and Beyers, SDG, Pilkington Vision, Sierra Ventures, Kolberg Kravis Roberts, Informix, and NeXT. We set up for a Steve Jobs luncheon and he comes out to see what we're doing, invites us to stay and watch their meeting. He was truly a personality to reckon with. But super friendly.

[cheese-g]

55:27
Random Audience Member: "Animation!"
(the Macintosh didn't have animation features)
Steve jobs: "Animation, that's a great word."
Steve jobs is the master of presenting

[Luis-xeog]

Watching this for the first time ever in 2024. I can't believe that this was 40 years ago. Steve Jobs influenced my life to pursue a career in the IT industry. Looking backwards it was the best desicion I made in my life

[curtcarlson]

This is terrific. It is modeled after what Doug Engelbart at SRI did in 1967 when he demonstrated in San Francisco most of the key features Jobs and his team put together for the Mac. Engelbart's presentation is called the "Mother of All Demos." It is on YouTube and it is still astounding after all these years.

[StereoBucket]

1:05:55
OMG, He hinted at the easter egg they left in the ROM chip, the picture of the team that built the macintosh.
This feels so special.

[PetsoKamagaya]

Why am being mesmerized by the original Macintosh presentation NOW? I never knew about this presentation. What a find!