The Eighties

I signed up to participate in Darren's “Blogger Idol,” but at first, I wasn't sure what to do with the first topical assignment. I'm not really much of a fan of the 1980's, you see, and that is what the topic is for this week. But, I figured out a very appropriate post, especially considering this is 2004 and the item of interest happened in 1984, just one week from today.

Best. Commercial. Ever.
Yeah, perhaps it takes a somewhat cheesy mind to decide to use this as an opportunity to talk about an advertisement, but what an advertisement! If you have not already figured out what commercial, let me give you a hint and see if you can guess it - leave in the comments whether you did (don't cheat and look below first).

“Our enemies shall talk themselves to death and we will bury them with their own confusion. We shall prevail!”

Still not sure what it is? Okay, I'll help some more. Here's the ending of the commercial - this should be a dead giveaway to most folks who either watch TV or are into computers: “On January 24, ____ ____ will introduce the _____. And you'll see why 1984 won't be like '1984.'”

Got it yet? Yes, it's the Apple Macintosh “1984” commercial. This is the commercial that introduced the world to the first real GUI operating system, not to mention the inspiration behind most other GUI's (including Windows). This commercial, generally considered one of the top two or three of all time, changed the computing world forever. It was the first stake in DOS's coffin. The Macintosh was here.

Two weeks ago, Steve Jobs revived the famed 1984 commercial at MacWorld, this time, using digital editing techniques, showing the runner in the commercial wearing an iPod. After it aired, the audience erupted with a standing ovation. It is known that Steve Job's famed “RDF” (Reality Distortion Field) has succeeded in causing mass excitement over little things, but this was clearly a show appreciation for both a spectacular commercial and the equally impressive era that was ushered in by the Macintosh.

It is interesting to note that as the “Evil Empire,” of Redmond, Washington, promotes the Trusted Computing (a.k.a. Palladium) initiative, a dangerous initiative that could eliminate choice in using different applications and operating systems, Apple has publicly come out against that system. Perhaps the Macintosh will really help avoid “1984.”

Happy Birthday, Mac. Let's hope Apple will still be on the cutting edge on the Mac's 40th birthday.