March 3, 1985: LaserWriter Launched

by Chris Seibold Mar 03, 2008

If you ask the average Mac fan why the Mac is still around when so many others have fallen by the wayside, they'll likely spout off about the first commercial use of the graphical user interface or the first use of a mouse in a consumer oriented machine.

The truth might be a little more mundane. The Mac did have a nicer looking interface than its contemporaries but it also did something no other personal computer could do at the time. That something was the revolution known as “wysiwyg,” short for "what you see is what you get." The new technology turned everyone with the right equipment into a print shop capable of stunning layouts, multiple typefaces and scalable fonts. For a time, the "right equipment" meant a Mac and a LaserWriter.

The innovation that made wsyiwyg possible resided in both the Mac and a printer. The printer that took greatness from screen to paper was known as the LaserWriter and was introduced this week in 1985.

Share this article

Comments

  • You might want to mention that the MSRP was a mere $6,995.

    United States Scott_R had this to say on Mar 03, 2007 Posts: 17

  • Of course this entire thing makes no sense. No one is going to say “Apple is still around because they did some stuff back in the 80’s”, they’ll point to Apple’s consistant record of inovation.

    Canada simo66 had this to say on Mar 04, 2008 Posts: 78
  • Page 1 of 1 pages
You need log in, or register, in order to comment