The extraordinary creature/creation of Apple is 20 y old
They anticipated windows with their GUI made of windows and icons
1980: when Macintosh revoluzioned the computer
but it was a short succes. Today instead, the iPod triumphs
*ROMA - When G Orwell had to choose the point where to allocate his famous Big Brother story in the future, he chose 1984. If hte author would have been in any city 22 Jan 1984 in the USA, he could have imagined his story to have become true: closed offices, shops with the protective bars in front of them, noone on the streets: over 100 million americns in front of their screens. From the stadium of Tampa, FL, the most importand sports media event of the year was transmitted, SuperBowl (LA - DC)
What would have been Orwell's reaction if he saw during the Super Bowl advertising breaks there was an advertising that seemed to be taken from his novel: a big group of mute men dressed in gray, staring on the super sized screen .. he could have feared the worst, unless he saw the screen go in tilt and "Il 24 gennaio Apple Computer presenterà Macintosh. E vedrete perché il 1984 non sarà come '1984'". (24 gen Apple will announce Macintosh, and you will see why 1984 is not like 1984).
20 years have passed from that day when the world heard talk the first time about Macintosh. The spot, made by Ridley Scott specifically for that super bowl, (the same director of Blade Runner and Gladator) wasn't shown again. But Macintosh wasn't ignored. That plastic creation, made by the genius founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, would have revoluzioned the computer. To uderstand the motive, it was enough to swithc it on: Mac was the first economic computer (2495 $) that had a graphic user interface.
While the temporrary IBM bsed on MS-DOS functioned with the command linem Mac was used with a mouse with a screen that had icons and windows. Seen today, the first monitor of the Macintosh (9") seems small, and is in black and white, but familiar with the icons, directory icons, trash can.
Personal computer owners had never seen similar. "We are showing that high technology does need to intimidate the non-experts", was written in the ads. It was a huge success: in the first 100 days 50,000 macs were sold. In the of the financial year, Apple could announce a selling record; 1,5 mlrd $, 54 % more than the 12 previous months.
The 'dinosaurs of the computing' (according to Jobs definition, IBM and co.) had transformed. But they didn't wait for long; in 1985 Microsfot pubblished the first version of Windoes, an OS based on DOS, forming a GUI similar to Macintosh. Intel announced the processor 80356, destinated to be the heart of the pcs "IBM compatibles" that would have conquered the marked forcing Mac to a corner. In the fall, Jobs got away from Apple and found a new company, NeXT, for his exile of Apple for the next 11 years.
Only in 1996, when NeXT was bought by Apple, Jobs was given back his position as CEO. From there he has guided the return of the brand, making the appeal and the functionality be the things. But the 20 years ago is unimmaginable now for Macintosh that hardly can super its 5 % market share on personal computers.
Steve Jobs instead, is more in shape than ever. The hair and beard are grey, but the spirit is the same than when he was a youngster in 1976, when he with Woz founded Apple Computer that operated initially in theit garage. The satisfaction for him and Apple, are coming now from anotehr market: digital music. iPod, the mp3 player, has 31 % market share, and iTunes Music Store, has gone over 30 million of songs purchased.
In these days there is MacWorld in San Francisco. "It will and extraordinary 20th anniversary", said Jobs. Behind his back on the screen there was shown the SuperBowl Macintosh spot from 1984. But this time, to destroy the Big Brother, it wasn't Macintosh, but an iPod.
