🎧 You Had To Be There: Steve Jobs Introduces the Macintosh in 1984
The Inside Story of the Computer That Changed EVERYTHING!!!
Hi friends,
This week, we’re celebrating 40 years of the computer that changed everything with You Had To Be There: Steve Jobs Introduces the Macintosh in 1984.
On January 24, 1984, Steve Jobs introduced the Macintosh—just 2 days after Apple aired their iconic, Sir Ridley Scott-directed '1984’ Super Bowl commercial that positioned the future of computing as a battle between Apple’s counter-culture, made for artists by artists computer against the “soulless” IBM’s Pocket Protecting establishment. And while the original Macintosh wasn’t a commercial success—even contributing to Steve Jobs’s initial ouster from the company in 1985, we’re still talking about the Mac today—not whatever IBM was making, right?
In this week’s episode, you’ll hear from Colette Askeland, the designer of the Mac’s logic board, who built it by hand (!!) and shares her experience working with Steve Jobs on the Mac team. Plus, Cult of Mac’s D. Griffin Jones explains what made the Mac such a game-changer computer. Lastly, Julia speaks with longtime technology author and WIRED journalist Steven Levy, who was covering Apple’s rise for Rolling Stone at the time. Levy shares some fascinating stories about his coverage of the Macintosh and his time with Steve Jobs. Without giving too much away, one of my favorite moments is when Steven recalls Jobs telling him:
“The liberal arts and computers were on a first date and Apple is the matchmaker for this romance.”
- Steve Jobs
I think you’re going to love this episode!
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Show Notes
Producer and film director Julia Thompson goes on a 48-hour journey to find and interview an eyewitness to Apple's introduction of the Macintosh computer by Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984.
This episode features interviews with:
Colette Askeland
Credits
'You Had To Be There' is a Hi Barr production.
‘Steve Jobs Introduces the Macintosh in 1984’ was written and hosted by Julia Thompson.
Produced by Julia Thompson and Web Barr.
Edited by Julia Thompson.
Edit, Sound Mix, and engineering by Vishal Nayak.
Original score by Teeny Lieberson.
Artwork created by Dylan Lathrop.
Special thanks to our parents, friends and chosen family. And most importantly, thank you to the artists who’ve inspired us because they had to do it.
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