Steve Jobs introduced the Macintosh in January 1984 as a revolutionary tool designed to bring computing into everyday life. The salvation from a dark future in which IBM ( Big Blue ) would control everything, like “Big Brother” in George Orwell’s novel 1984. This is the idea that inspired the iconic advertisement directed by Ridley Scott for the commercial launch of the Mac: thanks to Apple, 1984 was not going to be like 1984 .

According to Jobs, the Macintosh was destined to be ” the computer for the rest of us ,” the third major milestone in personal computer history after the Apple II in 1977 and the IBM PC in 1981. However, initial sales of the Mac were modest, and it drew criticism for its lack of compatibility and high price.

The myth of its commercial success is one of the legends that surround this technological icon. Four decades after its launch and although its history has been widely documented, simplifications and incomplete accounts persist, often obscuring the role of certain visionaries without whose contribution the 1984 Macintosh would not have been what it was.

This anniversary is a unique opportunity to pay tribute to those who made it possible for computers, those complex tools operated by specialists in white coats, to become personal computers accessible to ordinary people.

A context of cumulative innovation

The Macintosh did not emerge out of nowhere, nor did it represent a departure from the notion of personal computing. Rather, it was the result of decades of technological advancements led by companies and developers with brilliant ideas. Beginning in the 1950s and 1960s, long before the birth of Apple Inc. , pioneers such as Ivan Sutherland , Douglas Engelbart , Alan Kay , and others were coming up with concepts that would transform the way humans interact with computers.

In 1963, Ivan Sutherland developed the Sketchpad , a system that allowed graphics to be manipulated directly on the screen using a stylus, which led to the development of computer-aided design applications.

Five years later, Engelbart presented the NLS ( oNLine System ) in the legendary “mother of all demos ” , introducing the mouse, overlay documents, hypertext and other technologies that would become the basis of modern interaction.

For his part, Alan Kay developed, also in the late 1960s and inspired by the Sketchpad and the oNLineSystem, the idea of ​​the Dynabook , a tablet-type device described as “a personal computer for children of all ages”.

Although the Dynabook was never produced, the ideas of Alan Kay, known as the “father of the personal computer”, were embodied in developments at Xerox PARC , Xerox’s research laboratory in Palo Alto, California. The Xerox Alto was born there in 1973, the first computer to fully implement the so-called “desktop metaphor”, with icons, windows and menus that reproduced objects from the physical world on the computer screen, such as filing cabinets, folders and the trash can. Users could interact with these virtual elements in a similar way to how they did in the office: to delete a file, drag it to the trash can.

Although not commercially viable, the Xerox Alto profoundly influenced the design of many later systems, including the Macintosh.

The myth of the Mac as a pioneer of the graphical user interface

One of the most persistent myths is that Apple invented the graphical user interface and debuted it on the Macintosh. However, this had already been implemented on the Xerox Alto and its successor, the Xerox Star . In fact, Apple incorporated many of these ideas into its products following a famous visit by Steve Jobs and his team to Xerox PARC in 1979.

During that visit, Jobs was fascinated by the potential of the developments they were working on in relation to the graphical interface, icons, windows and the direct manipulation of these elements through the mouse. This marked a turning point in the development not only of the Macintosh, but of its predecessor, the LISA , a project led by Steve Jobs that was a commercial failure and whose interface changed radically after that visit.

It would be unfair to say that Apple simply borrowed from Xerox. The Mac’s interface and software are inspired by Xerox developments that were further refined by Bill Atkinson (nicknamed “Mr. User Interface”) and the work of the entire Human Interface Group .

The Mouse: From Engelbart to the Mac Desktop

Another common myth is that Apple invented the mouse, an essential input device on desktop computers. Anyone who watched the presentation video for the first iPhone in 2007 will agree with this idea. In that presentation, Steve Jobs explains that they had previously introduced other revolutionary interfaces, saying verbatim that the first one was the mouse.

The truth is that it was Douglas Engelbart who invented it in 1961 (Apple Inc. was founded in 1976) and introduced it as part of the NLS in 1968. In the Xerox Alto, this device was refined for use with graphical interfaces. The Xerox mouse had three buttons, like most modern mice. The Apple mouse reduced the number of buttons to one.

Steve Jobs: The “Father of the Mac”?

Steve Jobs is the iconic figure we associate directly with the Macintosh, but attributing its invention to him is a mistake and an unfair simplification of the person who actually started the project.

In 1979, while Jobs was engaged in developing the LISA, Jef Raskin proposed starting a new project: a small, affordable, graphics-based computer with a user-centered design. Raskin named the project “Macintosh ,” after his favorite variety of apple, the McIntosh .

Tensions between Raskin and Jobs led to the latter assuming leadership of the project, displacing Raskin.

Beyond the myth: a celebration of collective legacy

The 40th anniversary of the Macintosh, now approaching its 41st birthday, is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of those who made it possible. Technological innovation is almost always a collective process, building on the achievements of those who came before and sometimes overshadowed by the glare of a media personality.

The true legacy of the 1984 Macintosh is that it became an icon of a concept shared by its predecessors and the entire team that contributed to its development: a world in which computers were accessible to everyone.

Author Bio: Rachel Avila Munoz is Associate Professor of 3D, Graphic Animation and Multimedia Design at UDIT – University of Design, Innovation and Technology