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January 24, 2005 1:02 PM PST

Mac hits young adulthood

by Ina Fried
Celebrating the 21st birthday of the Mac, a German Mac enthusiast site has posted video clips from Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs' introduction of the first Macintosh on Jan. 24, 1984.

Mac fans will definitely want to check this one out. And yes, it's OK to get a little choked up looking at the first images of MacPaint and MacWrite popping up as the motivational theme from "Chariots of Fire" plays in the background.

You can hear the Mac say its first words, albeit with a heavy digital accent. In its first speech, the Mac even pokes fun at IBM, saying, "Never trust a computer you can't lift," before handing things back to Jobs, who the Mac says has "been like a father."

The site hosting the video has been overloaded with traffic, but several other mirrors of the video exist, including this one. The video was taken on Betamax by Scott Knaster and recently digitized into QuickTime.

An interesting side note: Jobs is not wearing the jeans and black mock turtleneck that have become characteristic attire at his speeches in recent years. Instead, he is wearing a suit and bow tie.

During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina.
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