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    Innovation Village | Technology, Product Reviews, Business
    You are at:Home»Apple»In honour of the Mac’s 40th anniversary, a tribute to Mr. Macintosh

    In honour of the Mac’s 40th anniversary, a tribute to Mr. Macintosh

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    By Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi on January 24, 2024 Apple, Business, News, Products, Report, Technology

    Today marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the Apple Macintosh, first launched on January 24, 1984. In celebration of the Mac’s birthday, the Folon Foundation shared an intriguing story. Steve Jobs had once enlisted Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon to design an illustrated character.

    This character, known as Mr. Macintosh or Mac Man, was intended to “live” within each machine and occasionally surprise the owner.

    View this post on Instagram

    A post shared by 🇧🇪 Fondation Folon 🇧🇪 (@fondationfolon)

    Andy Hertzfeld, a designer for the Mac, reminisced about hearing Steve Jobs introduce the concept in 1982, stating:

    Mr. Macintosh is a mysterious little man who lives inside each Macintosh. He pops up every once in a while, when you least expect it, and then winks at you and disappears again. It will be so quick that you won’t be sure if you saw him or not. We’ll plant references in the manuals to the legend of Mr. Macintosh, and no one will know if he’s real or not.

    It would be another few months before Folon entered the picture, Hertzfeld wrote.

    “The software team was swamped with more essential work, so we deferred implementing Mr. Macintosh for a while.” But after meeting Folon, “whose work was imbued with a humorous, playfully profound sensibility that [Steve Jobs] thought would be perfect for Mr. Macintosh,” Apple’s co-founder invited the artist to “visit the Mac team in Cupertino for a demo and a potential commission.”

    The project ultimately did not proceed, but as Hertzfeld noted, this was not due to a lack of synergy between Folon and Apple.

    “Folon seemed fascinated by the embryonic Macintosh” he saw in 1982, and visited Cupertino again in the spring of 1983 to show his sketches to the team. But Apple eventually had to abandon its ambitions for Mr. Macintosh “due to the scarcity of ROM, disk space and development time.”

    However, it is still a great tidbit of Mac history that also makes for highly desirable collectibles, such as the buttons that Apple made out of some of Folon’s drawings and gave away at trade shows, a Mac poster of his, or this once-auctioned letter showing that he and Jobs remained friendly.

    Mister Macintosh pin - Folon

    As expected, these items are quite rare, but you might find some solace in exploring the links and images provided.

    Related

    Apple Apple Macintosh Business Folon Foundation Jean-Michel Folon Mac Man Mr. Macintosh Steve Jobs Technology
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    Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi
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    Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi has been covering blockchain technology, intelligent technologies, cryptocurrency, cybersecurity, telecommunications technology, sustainability, autonomous vehicles, and other topics for Innovation Village since 2017. In the years since, he has published over 4,000 articles — a mix of breaking news, reviews, helpful how-tos, industry analysis, and more. | Open DM on Twitter @TapiwaMutisi

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