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Technology | Vintage Computers | Nostalgia | Workplace
Remembering the Original Apple Macintosh
A personal account of discovering and using the classic Mac in the 1980s
This is an updated version of an article I wrote a few years ago for a now-defunct blog.
Early Days
The original Apple Macintosh was released in 1984, but I wasn’t really aware of it until I started work in 1986.
It just so happened that my first employer used Apple computers.
They had quite a few machines from the Apple II series, and around five of the original ‘all in one’ Macs. I think there was an upgraded 128K machine, a Mac Plus, and some 512K models.
When I look back now, I feel lucky to have stumbled upon such an unusual place for my first job.
(There’s a whole series about my boss, John, and my weird workplace.)
Hardware
The Mac had a 68000 processor, which was clocked at nearly 8 MHz. It was quite a big change, to switch from using an 8-bit Commodore 64 at home, to using a 16-bit Mac at work.
Despite the built-in monochrome monitor being quite small, it did not seem like a major limitation…
