First Macintosh Unveiling

On 24 January 1984, at the Flint Center in Cupertino, Steve Jobs lifted a computer out of a bag and let it introduce itself. Two days earlier, during Super Bowl XVIII, Apple had aired the “1984” commercial. The Macintosh went on sale that day at $2,495.

It was the first mass-market personal computer built around a graphical interface and a mouse. Menus, windows, and icons replaced typed commands for people who had never sat down at a machine. The photograph shows that original Macintosh with the keyboard and mouse that belonged beside it.