Gather ’round, children. And let me tell you of a time before the consumer Internet. Before the iPod. And, if you can believe it, even before the iPhone. Yes, I speak of 1984. When the original Mac was the state of the art, and my favorite TV show was Sesame Street (not that this has changed).
I recently managed to acquire the very first issue of MacWorld magazine, published in February 1984. Though it sells on eBay for up to $100 a copy, I’ll be bringing you hilarious content from Mac fandom past for free. It features many wonders, including an art gallery of MacPaint creations, an interview with Bill Gates where he calls the Mac a classic, and even a feature on the incredible WYSIWIG technology that will allow print-outs on the Apple ImageWriter to look just like the screen output (you must see that one to believe it).
But before I start to dive too far into the issue (which will show up over the course of several days and posts), I will start with the most horrifying ad in MacIntosh history. Click through — if you dare!
Technorati Tags: ad, humor, macworld
You are feasting your eyes on a reproduction of the first inside back cover of MacWorld #1, purchased by Davong Systems and advertising the first external hard drive for the Mac. If you haven’t heard of Davong, don’t worry about it. So far as I know, they’re way out of business, but they’re an old-school storage provider, specializing in tape drives, which they also made.
But that’s the boring stuff. The gold here is the illustration, by the wisely anonymous artist “THON.” At right, we have a personification of the Macintosh, playing up the unfortunate Scottish associations and the Apple associations. Yes, when I think about my Macs, the first thing I visualize is a nightmarish mutated Apple warrior from an incredibly unfortunate Highlander spin-off, “There Can Be Only One Friendly Apple-Man!”
Still more baffling is the fellow on the left, who, near as I can tell is the personification of…a hard drive. In coat and tails. Because when I think personality, grace, humor and charm? Totally thinking about an 8″ platter inside a huge beige box. The artist was clever to incorporate the actual design element of the black line on the front into a smile, but why not make the Mac design into a person, too? I mean, the Mac has a face! But no, we get Mr. Personality the Hard Drive (‘Cause he’s so ugly!) and Apple-Man McGee. Business partners for life.
Only, you know, without Davong so much.
Pete Mortensen is a design strategist for consulting firm Jump Associates and the co-author of Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy, a book and blog that are significantly more interesting than you might initially think. Pete’s particular Apple avocations are both around design–interface and industrial. Follow him on Twitter!
