1984 Again

On the cutting edge of 1984

Exactly 26 years ago this week, Apple released the MacIntosh computer.

January 25, 1984 to be exact.

The Mac was a radical step forward in the world of computing.

It was built on the Motorola 68000 microprocessor with 128K of RAM. A 512 version was due out later.

It weighed only 22 lbs and cost $3100 in 1984 dollars.

Yet it was a revolution.

It also introduced the mouse and ‘icons’ which replaced complicated onscreen instructions.

Yesterday, (in case you were in a coma), Steve Jobs introduced the iPad.

Which weighs considerably less than 22 lbs, costs considerably less than $3100 1984 dollars, and has a bit more computing power than 128K RAM.

Computers and computing and the web have made a lot of progress in the past 26 years, but what about other sectors of the economy and technology?

Here, for example, is the Space Shuttle, circa 1984

and now, here is the Space Shuttle in 2010

Notice anything strange about these two photos?

Yes, in 26 years, NASA and the space program seem to have made very little progress when compared to computing and the web.

OK. So NASA is a government agency, but Apple responds to consumer demand.

Let’s take another example.

Here is a Ford Mustang in 1984:

And here is a Ford Mustang, ca. 2010

Well, the 2010 version is more…. rounded?

If the computer industry moved at the same pace as the automobile industry (or the Space Shuttle industry, if there is such a thing), we would still be sitting with 22 lb laptops on our laps, and struggling with 128K processing speeds.

Why is it that computers and the web (Google and Apple, for example) move with such rapidity and industries like automobiles move at a glacial pace (even in this era of global warming – all glaciers do is retreat)?

There is a reason that GM and Chrysler went bankrupt (and that Ford survived by the skin of their teeth), while Apple stock doubles.

Does technology plateau at some point? Is there a kind of terminal velocity beyond which innovation is simply impossible?

I think of video cameras and still cameras and the breathtaking speed with which they change and improve – better and cheaper (except in the case of my Leica M9 – better, yes).

At the same time, when I go to London, I am still getting on a Boeing 747 that was probably built before 1984. Not much has changed there.

Will personal computers one day plateau out the way cars and planes have? Or is there something inherently wrong with our auto industry and NASA?

I have no idea.

I will note however, that the iPad was released 26 years after the very first Mac, almost to the day, and that was an event that certainly changed the world forever – much more than the 1984 Mustang.

Michael Rosenblum

For more than 35 years, Michael Rosenblum has been on the cutting edge of the digital video journalism revolution. During this time, he has lead a drive for video literacy, and the complete rethinking of how television is made and controlled. His work has included: The complete transitioning of The BBC's national network (UK) to a VJ-driven model, starting in 2002. The complete conversion of The Voice of America, the United State's Government's broadcasting agency, (and the largest broadcaster in the world), from short wave radio to television broadcasting and webcasting using the VJ paradigm (1998-present). The construction of NYT Television, a New York Times Company, and the largest producer of non-fiction television in the US. Rosenblum was both the founder and President of NYT TV, (all based on this paradigm (1996-1998). The President and Founder of Video News International, a global VJ-driven newsgathering company, with more than 100 journalists around the world. (1993-1996). Other clients include Spectrum News, Verizon and CBS News.

6 Comments
  • Paul January 28, 2010

    Only in the ‘developed’ world would grown men clap, whoop and rave at the sight of the latest creation from a computer company. The real tragedy is that 25 years on from the first Mac there are still millions living – and dying – in the most terrible poverty.

    And we wet our pants over the latest computer. Absurd isn’t it.

  • Vanessa January 28, 2010

    The answer is THE GOVERNMENT! SLOOOOOOOOOW! Let the creative juices flow, work hard, follow your dream AND KEEP THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF YOUR BUSINESS and you will see progress. Maybe not as fast as Apple – those guys are what Wile E. Coyote would call “SUPER GENIUS!”

  • steve January 28, 2010

    although i think apple priced this thing right for the masses, i think they could have charged twice as much and folks would have thought it twice as good. it’s f’in apple!

    i don’t think i need to convince michael about the wisdom of knowing what you are worth and charging for it.

    i bought a tiny bottle of chanel as a gift for a good friend the other day. while it was a bit more than i recall it went for in 1984, i happen to think it’s worth every scent.

  • fosca January 28, 2010

    i personally don´t get the hype that is made about this new apple-thing even so i was, as of today, never in a coma (hahaha, good one). i have no desire to get into one for that matter.
    it seems, reading some reviews that obviously hold no shares in the releasing company, sexy but crap altogether. multitasking seems to be an issue and i do not get why someone should restrict my viewing habits by making flash as one example unavailable.
    but i don´t really care either. mea culpa.

    nevertheless, happy birthday 1984, we almost made it come true.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYQKDqjCEBQ