Happy Birthday Macintosh!

Wired reported that the Macintosh computer celebrates its 24th birthday today. It was first introduced on January 24, 1984 two days after the now-legendary commercial aired during Super Bowl XVII.

How many of you out there remember this cutting-edge technology?

How many of you actually bought it or used one at work?

I didn't buy one myself, and it would a few more years before I used one of its successors, the Macintosh Plus. I remember using one for many long hours at a local Kinko's copy store when I wrote my graduate thesis back in 1990.

"The Macintosh was the original Apple Macintosh personal computer. Introduced in January 1984 at the price of $2,495 US, it had a beige case containing a 9-inch monitor, and came with a keyboard and mouse. An indentation in the top of the case allowed the computer to be lifted and carried. After its successor was introduced, it was rebadged as the Macintosh 128K to differentiate it." - courtesy of Wikipedia.

If you're interested in seeing the evolution of the Mac, here's a list of Macintosh models by case type

Here's that 1984 commercial introducing the first Macintosh computer...



Whether you love it or hate it, the Mac has definitely come a long way.

Happy birthday Mac!

The Downfall of HD DVD: The Movie

My friend Juan sent me this one (soon to be a classic) courtesy of Rob Beschizza at Wired's Gadget Lab, "Perhaps the best remix of the infamous Downfall scene yet: "Cancel our CES Press Conference."



This mashup video was created by sacolton.

Apple unveils Macbook Air... and More!

I was stuck in traffic on my way to work this morning when Steve Jobs started his keynote at the Macworld Expo. I quickly logged onto MacRumorsLive.com and Techcrunch at 9:15 AM Pacific Time right before his announcement on the Airport Extreme wireless base station called Time Capsule.

MacRumorsLive had a great live update and Techcrunch had great live pictures so I toggled between the two (since Twitter and Crunchgear were down) and watched as Steve Jobs put all the rumors to rest one by one, such as a iPhone SDK, iPhone Software Update, iTunes 7.6 Movie Rentals, Apple TV Take 2, and last but not least, the Macbook Air.

You can read all about it and watch the full keynote on the Apple web site or view the short video below courtesy of Wired.com and also check out ZDNet and Engadget's coverage. 

Although their stock dipped during the keynote and Devin Coldewey thinks the Macbook Air is basically useless calling it "a sexy lemon" it certainly was a big day for Apple. 

Related:

• Steve pitches the MacBook Air at CNBC
  
• MacBook Air: Not the thinnest notebook ever
  
• Why Steve Jobs has pulled one over on the entire movie rental industry
  
• Macworld: The Stevenote By the Numbers

Move Over Rover, Let Apple Take Over

With only about 7 hours left before Steve Jobs takes the stage at the Macworld Expo... what will he announce?

Last year was the long anticipated and popular iPhone and now that Apple announces new products all year round, what is saving for his keynote?

What's the big news?

What's in the air?

Wired and MacRumors.com both seem to think it's going to be a new ultra-thin cable-free laptop called the Macbook Air.


Here's a few artist renderings created by the Gadget Lab at Wired.com

















The Wired post says, "An Apple insider told Wired today that the company's new ultraportable, expected to be seen in public for the first time tomorrow, has an extremely thin profile and is shaped like a teardrop when closed — thicker at the top behind the screen, tapering at the bottom behind the keyboard... Sadly, we don’t have details on pricing, specs or availability. Expect reality to disagree with our photoshops."








There's also been talk of a Mac tablet, a newer iPhone and iPod with Slingplayer, an iPhone SDK, Blu-Ray support in new Apple machines, and of course a big iTunes announcement. But we'll have to wait to hear it from the real Steve Jobs.