On January 24, 1984, Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, but this wasn’t your typical shareholders meeting. On this day, Apple decided to reveal its next product that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs introduced as, “Insanely great.” And with that, the Macintosh was officially revealed.
Thanks to the Internet Archive, you can relive that moment. The video of that event is available for viewing as part of the Intern Archive’s Apple Computer Media and Video collection. Watch the Apple 1984 Shareholders Meeting on the Internet Archive site, or you can watch it in the embed below.
This is a shareholders meeting, so the Macintosh introduction is preceded by the typical shareholders agenda. Here’s a list of timecodes if you want to skip around instead of watching the entire 85-minute video.
- 00:00: 30-second montage of the Macintosh.
- 00:40: CEO John Scully introduces the video, which was made available after the meeting.
- 01:37: Steve Jobs opens the meeting.
- 03:30: meeting is called to order and formal shareholders business is discussed.
- 37:00: Steve Jobs walks through Apple’s history.
- 39:30: Jobs sets up and introduces the “1984” Macintosh commercial.
- 41:38: Jobs introduces the Macintosh.
- 44:35: Macintosh is revealed.
- 58:23: Macintosh team talk about the computer’s specifications and software development.
- 1:04:49: Microsoft CEO Bill Gates talks about making Mac-compatible software.
- 1:08:45: New Lisa models are introduced.
- 1:12:00: shareholder voting tallies are announced.
- 1:17:37: shareholder Q&A.
The Computer History Museum is hosting an event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Macintosh launch. You can watch the CHM event live on YouTube at 7 p.m. Pacific on Wednesday, January 24. Learn more about the CHM event.
The CHM is also hosting an exhibit called “Apple Mac at 40.” Featuring artifacts and memorabilia from the launch of the Mac, the exhibit runs from December 15 to February 25. Learn more about the Apple Mac at 40 exhibit.
At the Apple annual shareholders meeting where the Mac was introduced to the public, copies of the first issue of Macworld were distributed. So January 24 is also the 40th anniversary of Macworld. The first issue features a cover with Steve Jobs and three 128K Macs and you can check out the story behind that cover.
