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01 / 05
Macintosh Computer Prices at the Age of 40

Blog Post | Cost of Technology

Macintosh Computer Prices at the Age of 40

Get over six new iMacs for the time price of one Macintosh in 1984.

Gale Pooley —

This article was published at Gale Winds on 1/26/2024.

Image displays a Macintosh computer from 1984 and several iMac's from 2024

Steve Jobs introduced the Macintosh personal computer in 1984 at a retail price of $2,495. At the time, unskilled workers were earning around $5.00 per hour, putting the time price at 498 hours. Today, a new iMac can be bought for $1,299, and unskilled workers earn closer to $16.51 per hour, indicating a time price of 78.7 hours. The time price has decreased by 84.2 percent. A new iMac costs almost 420 hours less than a 1984 Mac. For the time it took to buy the new Mac in 1984, you can buy 6.33 iMacs today. Macintosh computer abundance has increased by 533 percent. This suggests a 4.85 percent compound annual rate, doubling in abundance every 14.4 years.

The 2024 iMac and the 1984 Mac are as different as a Ferrari and a bicycle in terms of speed and features. Ignoring the collector value, how many 1984 Macs would someone have to give you for a 2024 iMac? Most people would not trade at all. This would suggest the new iMac is infinitely better than the 1984 Mac.

Ridley Scott did the first Macintosh ad for the 1984 Super Bowl.

People like Steve Jobs have transformed our world with their creativity, vision, and entrepreneurship. We honor his life and work to lift humanity. Here is Jobs doing his first demo:

Here is another memorable ad that reflected his vision for creative work:

How many Steve Jobs were born today?

Reuters | Science & Technology

Microsoft Readies New AI Model to Compete with Google, OpenAI

“Microsoft is training a new, in-house AI language model large enough to compete with those from Alphabet’s Google and OpenAI, the Information reported on Monday.

The new model, internally referred to as MAI-1, is being overseen by recently hired Mustafa Suleyman, the Google DeepMind co-founder and former CEO of AI startup Inflection, the report said, citing two Microsoft employees with knowledge of the effort…

MAI-1 will have roughly 500 billion parameters, the report said, while OpenAI’s GPT-4 is reported to have one trillion parameters and Phi-3 mini measures 3.8 billion parameters.”

From Reuters.

Phys.org | Computing

First Experimental Proof for Brain-like Computer with Water and Salt

“Theoretical physicists at Utrecht University, together with experimental physicists at Sogang University in South Korea, have succeeded in building an artificial synapse. This synapse works with water and salt and provides the first evidence that a system using the same medium as our brains can process complex information.”

From Phys.org.

Live Science | Computing

Intel Unveils Largest-Ever AI “Neuromorphic Computer”

“Scientists at Intel have built the world’s largest neuromorphic computer, or one designed and structured to mimic the human brain. The company hopes it will support future artificial intelligence (AI) research.

The machine, dubbed ‘Hala Point’ can perform AI workloads 50 times faster and use 100 times less energy than conventional computing systems that use central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs), Intel representatives said in a statement. These figures are based on findings uploaded March 18 to the preprint server IEEE Explore, which have not been peer-reviewed.”

From Live Science.