Later that year I bought the only computer I could afford, a Commodore 64. At first I couldn't even afford the external hard drive that was optional for it so I had to purchase and run cassette tape software on the much less expensive cassette drive.
I saw the ad probably during a replay of it on the news after its original air time since it originally ran as a Super Bowl ad and I'm pretty sure I hadn't tuned into the Super Bowl. I was blown away by the simplicity of the commercial and the implication that there was finally a computer, as touted, for the rest of us. I thought the design was exactly what I envisioned as the future, monitor and CPU in one case. Come to find out though, as I checked it out at my local computer store, not really priced for the rest of us.
Wouldn't be long though, just about five or so years later, I'd be using the newer Macintosh Plus for work and even borrowed it a few times to bring it home to play SimCity.
Here's the iconic commercial and a video of Steve Jobs introducing the Macintosh.
Happy Birthday Macintosh, just look at what you (and your "dad") helped to create:
Apple Inc.
Founded April 1, 1976; 47 years ago in Los Altos, California, U.S.
Headquarters 1 Apple Park Way, Cupertino, California, U.S.
Revenue $383.29 billion
Operating income $114.30 billion
Net income $97.00 billion
Total assets $352.58 billion
Total equity $62.15 billion
Rank on the 2024 Fortune 500 list: 4
Rank of IBM on the same list: 65