The Lost 1984 Video: young Steve Jobs introduces the Macintosh

12.6M views · 17 years ago · talk · historical

Rediscovered 1984 footage of a young Steve Jobs introducing the original Macintosh. In it the computer itself speaks, a moment that stands out in the presentation.

HN people share it as a favorite piece of Macintosh history, remembered for the moment the computer first spoke with a personality of its own.

“The video of Steve Jobs introducing the Macintosh in 1984 never fails to put a smile on my face.”

27 comments from Hacker News

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@andy_ng2025 · in “Young Steve Jobs introduces the Macintosh (1984) [video]”
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@Austin_Conlon2023 · in “Q&A with the Macintosh team (1984) [video]”
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@baja_blast2022 · in “The Lost 1984 Video: Young Steve Jobs Introduces the Macintosh”
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@willmeyers2021 · in “Steve Jobs introduces the Macintosh (1984)”
The post-show is my favorite part[0]. It's just so personal. Almost feels like a meetup! [0] 1:06:38 (▶ this video)
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@twoodfin2021 · in “Steve Jobs introduces the Macintosh (1984)”
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@sendilkumarn2020 · in “Macintosh Turns 36 Today”
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@bjoko2019 · in “Young Steve Jobs Introduces the Macintosh (1984)”
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@mickel2019 · in “Show HN: tayl.app – Turn Websites into Podcasts”
The video of Steve Jobs introducing the Macintosh in 1984 never fails to put a smile on my face. It was a groundbreaking feat of engineering in many ways, but what impress me the most is how the computer for the first time ever had a personality of its own. It spoke. ▶ this video Computers, software and humans have come a long way since 1984. By standing on the shoulders of giants I managed to build a little something that comes bundled with several different personalities… It lets you select from 50+ voices in 17 languages. It detects the language of text automatically. It SOUNDS FANTASTIC - in fact, up to 54% more human than existing solutions. It makes web pages readable (a.k.a. un-suck) by removing slow & ugly junk. It is super fast, ultra reliable, and works 24/7! For the past 3 months I’ve spent early mornings, late evenings & weekends doing nothing but working on this project. It’s a good feeling to finally be able to exit my chamber, and have something to show for it. I hope you will check it out!
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@Philipp__2016 · in “Steve Jobs Introduces the Macintosh (1984; Computer History)”
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@phillipchaffee2016 · in “The Lost 1984 Video: Young Steve Jobs Introduces the Macintosh”
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@pepy2016 · in “1984- Young Steve Jobs Introduces the Macintosh”
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@jamesbritt2012 · in “Young Steve Jobs introduces the Macintosh (1984)”
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