That video is underwhelming to say the least, I expected to be able to click through and navigate each product and learn about data like number of units sold, what the impact was etc…
Sort of a love/hate relationship, though. Anyone who is a seasoned Apple dev, has been incandescent with rage at Apple, at more than a few points in the relationship.
But the thing I can't forget, is the absolute torrent of derision and abuse from Apple-haters, telling me what a loser I was, for sticking with them.
Funnily enough, I've not felt like hating anyone back. Never worked for me.
15 years ago I was thinking about switching my career to a different industry altogether, just didn't know what it would be. One thing I knew was that I was so tired of building web sites and backends. Boring, repetitive, uninspiring.
Then a friend asked me to write a simple iPhone app. I had no idea what development for Apple platforms would be like...
Fast forward to 2026, I'm 57 now, still in tech, building apps for Apple platforms, still enjoying it very much.
The durability of their products still surprises me. I still own and use iPhone 11 (still it is my first iPhone when I switched from Android). Still getting latest iOS updates and functioning very well and may last for 2 more years. What other phone could do this?
I’ve had the exact opposite journey. Native apps, disillusioned and frustrated with the backwards tooling, moved on to more open platforms (web apps and backends)
I'd be interested in hearing from the Apple aficionados today what they think of Apple as it was in its beginnings (i.e. the Apple I and Apple ][) compared to how it is now.
I'm not an Apple person, but I can only wish that they would release their Apple silicon for non-Apple chassis (kinda like the original Apple I?). If I could jury-rig an Apple board into a 2010s Thinkpad I'd drop $1000 in a heartbeat. Instead they don't encourage tinkering with their hardware anymore. (The fact that they could lock it down even more is noted, but shouldn't really be praiseworthy.)
I’m a greybeard, I played Oregon trail on the II and remember the first Mac.
IMO Apple (well, Jobs) was always trying to create a sealed, perfect appliance for regular people, even in the very early days. Apple worked very hard to hide all implementation details. Hackers, on the contrary, want to see and tweak all those hidden details. The complaints today were the same in the 80s.
To his credit, Jobs finally got there. My mother is in her 70s and the iPad is the only computer she’s ever used.
Amusingly, 15 min ago, the animation did not work on my MacOS Safari (Sequoia), but it was visible on Chrome. Now (1600 UTC-4), it is animated on Safari.
All the roads around the Apple Spaceship were closed yesterday, and I was surprised I didn't see any news about announcements. Apparently they just closed the roads for their 50th birthday party?
It's a nice animation, but for such a significant anniversary - and from a company like Apple - I expected a lot more hoopla and content. This could indicate that there wasn't a lot of planning involved, that it wasn't a high-priority item, or that Apple had enough people with time to focus on it.
It's almost as if someone near the end of a meeting said "Oh crud, we've got to do something to acknowledge our 50th anniversary - can someone put something together, and quick?"
Seems to me that they are simple saying its not important:
"At 50 years, it’s only natural to look back. But Apple has always looked forward, building tools and delivering experiences that enrich people’s lives. As we celebrate how far we’ve come, we’re inspired by where we’ll go — together."
And, no, I don't think they left it to chance.
Also there's an art video to go with the art animation.
The Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh came to be regarded as such a mistake and quintessential example of how misguided Apple was during the wilderness era that I'm not surprised they went in the opposite direction. Institutional memory etc etc
It's not hard for me to imagine that performing as one of the world's most beloved rock stars, doing what you've loved for many decades, is an enjoyable way to spend your time, regardless of the paycheck.
And in general expected more too
https://www.apple.com/105/media/us/home/2026/84ec8a66-d69d-4...
Sort of a love/hate relationship, though. Anyone who is a seasoned Apple dev, has been incandescent with rage at Apple, at more than a few points in the relationship.
But the thing I can't forget, is the absolute torrent of derision and abuse from Apple-haters, telling me what a loser I was, for sticking with them.
Funnily enough, I've not felt like hating anyone back. Never worked for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_tDj1BvEfw
15 years ago I was thinking about switching my career to a different industry altogether, just didn't know what it would be. One thing I knew was that I was so tired of building web sites and backends. Boring, repetitive, uninspiring.
Then a friend asked me to write a simple iPhone app. I had no idea what development for Apple platforms would be like...
Fast forward to 2026, I'm 57 now, still in tech, building apps for Apple platforms, still enjoying it very much.
I'm not an Apple person, but I can only wish that they would release their Apple silicon for non-Apple chassis (kinda like the original Apple I?). If I could jury-rig an Apple board into a 2010s Thinkpad I'd drop $1000 in a heartbeat. Instead they don't encourage tinkering with their hardware anymore. (The fact that they could lock it down even more is noted, but shouldn't really be praiseworthy.)
IMO Apple (well, Jobs) was always trying to create a sealed, perfect appliance for regular people, even in the very early days. Apple worked very hard to hide all implementation details. Hackers, on the contrary, want to see and tweak all those hidden details. The complaints today were the same in the 80s.
To his credit, Jobs finally got there. My mother is in her 70s and the iPad is the only computer she’s ever used.
(Firefox on Mac OS. Also Safari on Mac OS)
(I did try on my iPhone and the REW button is present)
On my iPhone I see a 'REW' button which plays another video, but it doesn't show on my Mac.
Panel included David Pogue, Chris Espinsoa, John Sculley, Avie Tevanian.
https://computerhistory.org/blog/celebrating-apple-at-50/
It's almost as if someone near the end of a meeting said "Oh crud, we've got to do something to acknowledge our 50th anniversary - can someone put something together, and quick?"
"At 50 years, it’s only natural to look back. But Apple has always looked forward, building tools and delivering experiences that enrich people’s lives. As we celebrate how far we’ve come, we’re inspired by where we’ll go — together."
And, no, I don't think they left it to chance.
Also there's an art video to go with the art animation.
[0] https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/apple-to-celebrate-50...
I guess it's like their phones. Got too old, slow 'er down.