Key Points

• Macintosh was first introduced on January 24, 1984, by Steve Jobs.
• Macintosh was the idea of Apple employee Jef Raskin in the 1970s. He wanted an easy-to-use, affordable personal computer for the average person. He named it after his favorite apple.
• The Macintosh 128k was announced to the press in October 1983 and was introduced in January 1984. It came bundled with two applications designed to show off its interface: MacWrite and MacPaint

The Macintosh, or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers manufactured by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced on January 24, 1984, by Steve Jobs, and it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature two known but still unpopular features—the mouse and the graphical user interface, rather than the command-line interface of its predecessors.

Production of the Mac is based on a vertical integration model in that Apple facilitates all aspects of its hardware and creates its own operating system (called System Software, later renamed to Mac OS, see the lower image) that is pre-installed on all Mac computers. This contrasts with most IBM PC compatibles, where multiple sellers create hardware intended to run another company’s operating software. Apple exclusively produces Mac hardware, choosing internal systems, designs, and prices. Apple also develops the operating system for the Mac. The modern Mac, like other personal computers, is capable of running alternative operating systems such as Linux, FreeBSD, and, in the case of Intel-based Macs, Microsoft Windows. However, Apple does not license Mac OS X for use on non-Apple computers.

The Beginning of Macintosh Computers

The Macintosh project started in the late 1970s with Jef Raskin (1943–2005) (see the nearby image), an Apple employee who envisioned an easy-to-use, low-cost computer for the average consumer. He wanted to name the computer after his favorite type of apple, the McIntosh, but the name had to be changed for legal reasons. In September 1979, Raskin was authorized by the management to start hiring for the project, and he began to look for an engineer who could put together a prototype. Bill Atkinson, a member of Apple’s Lisa team (which was developing a similar but higher-end computer), introduced him to Burrell Smith, a service technician who had been hired earlier that year. Over the years, Raskin assembled a large development team that designed and built the original Macintosh hardware and software; besides Raskin, Atkinson, and Smith, the team included Chris Espinosa, Joanna Ho