Steve Jobs Signed My Macintosh
January 9th, 2008 by Benj Edwards
Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, Inc., signed my Macintosh. And if you’re the owner of a Mac 128k, 512k, or Plus, he signed yours too. In fact, so did Woz.
In crafting the original Macintosh, Steve Jobs viewed himself and his team as artists. As such, it was only fitting for the renegade band of Apple developers to sign their work. At the urging of Jobs, the Mac design group held a small party on February 10th, 1982, during which they ate cake, drank champagne, and took turns signing their names onto a large piece of paper (see image, right). Soon afterward, Jobs had the signatures engraved into the Macintosh case mold, with an obvious result: Apple permanently impressed the team’s autographs into the plastic case of every Mac that rolled off the production line.
You might notice that some of the signatures present on the original signing sheet are missing on the Plus. But fear not; no one was slighted. All the names originally graced the interior of the first Macintosh release (128k), but according to Andy Hertzfeld, some names were lost over time due to revisions of the case design on subsequent models. For example, compare the Mac Plus interior with this picture of the original 1984 Macintosh case.
I recall seeing signatures in the cases of later Macs by the teams that designed them. But I can’t remember if the later compact Macs contain the original names seen here, or simply others that worked on those particular projects.
Channel Your Inner Jobs
To locate these hallowed names within your own Mac case, simply take your machine apart and peer inside the rear half of its chassis. They might be hard to see at first, but they’re there, hiding in the back. Keep in mind that the presence of signatures on your case doesn’t make your Mac any more or less valuable than it would be otherwise — every early Mac has them, without exception. But at least now you can impress your friends with a formidable piece of Mac trivia.
Shortly after the launch of the Macintosh in 1984, most of its original development team parted company. But in a poetic way, they will always be united inside your Macintosh. It’s a fitting, populist monument to an extraordinary chapter in computer history.
January 10th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
It’s funny, but the same thing happened at Commodore – the majority of the team that designed the C64 had left by the end of 1983…
January 10th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
I’m pretty sure there were signatures in the Apple II GS, too…..I didn’t own one, but some kids down the street did…..anyone able to verify?
Layne
January 10th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Yes, 50,000 of the first IIgs units had Woz’s signature on the front.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_IIGS#Limited_Edition_.28.22Woz.22_signed_case.29
I’ve got a ROM 03 motherboard (the most recent revision) placed in an early limited edition Woz case on the desk here. I love the IIgs. Woz was a genius.
see:
http://pix.blakespot.com/view/computers/apple_IIgs/IIgs_DOC.jpg.html
Cheers!
January 11th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Thanks Benj!! Now that I have Steve Jobs signate, it’s time to making some forged checks. $1,000,000,000 payable to me!! HA HA HA HA… 😉
January 11th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
I didn’t know that!! I will have to take a closer look next time I take apart an old Mac 🙂
January 13th, 2008 at 5:20 am
I’ve actually got that certificate for the Woz IIGS in a frame on my wall along with the Rom 0 motherboard that I pulled when I swapped it for a Rom 1 version.
January 15th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Good idea, Jim. Mind getting “Steven Jobs” to write me a check while he’s at it? 🙂
June 4th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
I love the idea. good work should recognize the people who put the work into it. I wouldn’t mind subtle signatures of the creators on the inside of my macbook pro or my ps3 – it’s classy.
btw, jobs signature by itself is useless – you’d need actual information on his accounts and such. now when THAT happens… 😉 … on second thought, he earned his money.
June 13th, 2009 at 10:41 am
The very first Amiga computer (later referred to as the Amiga 1000) also had the signatures of it’s creators inside it. It even had the pawprint of Mitchy, Jay Miners dog.
August 9th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Inside my case it only says: “Did you ever fart so hard you ended up in another zip code?
August 22nd, 2009 at 9:01 pm
I have a Macintosh Plus with the signatures, including Jobs & Woz. If you live in the Seattle area and are interested in purchasing, post your interest on this chat. Just collecting dust in my house.
June 8th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
I have one of these along with the original bag, some accesories, and some programs. Is anyone interested in purchasing this??? email me at kj10ten@yahoo.com
October 17th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
All I wanted to do was replace my floppy and now I want to see them thar signatures. How do I get there?
July 16th, 2015 at 11:24 pm
I have 2 with the same plastic imprint of the signatures.
November 22nd, 2019 at 11:07 pm
Hi,
I’m trying to source a book published about the original Mac that featured some follow up information on all the signatories on the computer case.
this covered a little of their work at Apple and what they had since done with their lives and careers.
Dammit, I can’t recall the name of the book, and have been unable to track it down through googling every possible lead that I can think of..
Can anyone out there help…….!
Come in please..
Gavin..
PS I think the book was published some time before 1990
October 4th, 2024 at 7:16 am
I have one MacPlus from 1986. Yes I’ve seen the signatures and I uprgraded to 4 whopping megs of RAM. I also have scsi drives and a Fanny Mac to cool it. It launched my computer career and launched my son’s multi-million dollar Macintosh Forensics company. It’s my pride and joy…