Lets look at great moments in Mac history, with Video!

symphonix

Scratch & Sniff Committee
I thought it'd be a cool idea to spend some time digging through YouTube and Google Video to try and find some neat stuff that would appeal to us Mac fanatics. Feel free to add any of your own.

1983 - 1983 Apple shareholder keynote (6:40 worth every second) - Steve gives a recap of the history of the personal computer so far. His speech is phenomenally dramatic and idealistic, with quotes like "They are increasingly and desperately turning back to Apple, as the only force that can insure their future freedom" and "IBM wants it all, and is aiming its guns on its last obstacle to industry control, Apple.".
The infamous 1984 Commercial is played for the crowd for the first time. (more info)

1984 - Introduction of the first Macintosh computer. (4:48) - Its kind of funny now to hear the crowd going wild over this demo, but those were different times, and the Mac really broke a lot of new ground.

1996 - Steve Jobs talks about Microsoft (0:54) - Some very interesting comments here: "The only problem with Microsoft is that they just have no taste. They have absolutely no taste... They don't think of original ideas and they don't bring much culture into their product... I am saddened, not by Microsoft's success, I have no problem with their success, they've earned their success. For the most part. I have a problem with the fact that they just make really third-rate products." :) oooh, burn!

1997 - Full 1997 Macworld Keynote (38:31) - Steve Jobs' triumphant return to Apple, and quite possibly the strangest and most emotional Macworld yet. This keynote also features the infamous partnership with Microsoft (12:04) and the appearance of Bill Gates to the booing and jeering of the crowd. Larry Ellison of Oracle also gets a "booo!" from the crowd. It really shows the strength of Steve Jobs as a public speaker, though.

1999 - Noah Wyle, star of "Pirates of Silicon Valley", imitating Steve Jobs. (3:09).
1999 - The first iBook is introduced (9:42) - Okay, so looking back it was a little bit too colourful for my taste, and weighing in at 3kg and with an 800x600 screen it would hardly still be as cool today. But at the time, it was a smart design decision. A tough, kid friendly laptop with a built-in carry handle that every school would soon be ordering by the truckload, and every young person would secretly desire.

2000 - Steve introduces the G4 Cube (7:28) - I still think this was a high point for Apple design, even if it was a little unsucessful on the market. It has all the best things Apple had ever done to that point in a stylish, fan-free design. I *still* want a Cube, even now. :)

2002 - The iMac G4 (15:11, poor video quality) is introduced. Frankly, I loved this design, and I remember how much it knocked my socks off the first time I saw it. The fact that something could be that stylish and functional and friendly was really something. The iMac G4 belongs in Industrial Design textbooks, with the caption: "This is how its meant to be done".
Here is the iMac G4 TV commercial which caused resellers to put up signs next to their display stock saying "The iMac G4 does not move by itself".

2003 - Safari - "Buckle up" as Steve unveils the Safari web browser.

2005 - The introduction of the iPod shuffle (9:26)
2005 - The introduction of the Mac mini (4:59) - Such a mindblowingly tiny computer. Even now, well over a year later, mini-ITX PCs still haven't caught up.
2005 - The iPod Nano (8:40) is introduced. Another of the best moments in Macworld announcements. I always remember the comment that "The iPod mini is the best selling music player in the world. So we figured it was time to replace it.". The moment when he pulls the iPod Mini out of his jeans pocket, and then takes the Nano out of the change pocket in his jeans, is awesome.

2006 - MacBook Pro introduction (9:27) and the complete Macworld 2006 Keynote (24:09) with plenty of iLife goodness. :)

Some assorted Macworld blooper moments (4:40) - Embaressing, yes, but we've seen worse at Microsoft's conferences. ;-)
 
Thank you. This is a great compilation that I'm sure many of us will enjoy.

Oh, and I don't know if a lot of you are aware of it, but this site is great.
 
But none of all the Apple-video-sampling-sites I've visited has the "Momentum Mac" video which was on Apple's "Multimedia CD" that came with the original external Apple CD-ROM drive as well as some Macs at the time, I guess... So _again_ my cry out to the world: Does *ANYONE* have the Momentum Mac promotional video?
 
If the one from "1996" actually from 1996? It almost likes like it should have been from 1986.
 
symphonix said:
The two Vista spoofs were quite good, too (1 and 2) - it took me a moment to realise that the audio was actually from the demonstration of Vista.

Oh, wow, didn't catch that!
 
eric2006
Thanks for the video. Depressing but funny. Seeing how I'm still using Mac OS 9.2..
I know. I'm probably the Last of the Mohicans. All the best.
 
Back
Top