Personal Computer

The personal computer debuted in the 1970s, but the 1984 introduction of the Macintosh set the standard for how they would operate from then on. A Mac-like computer had debuted a year earlier -- the Lisa -- but at nearly $10,000, it was a flop. At $2,495, the Macintosh wasn't exactly cheap by 1984 standards, but it revolutionized the way people interacted with their computers, establishing the interface and metaphor that every current OS uses.