On January 24, 2014, the creators of the original Macintosh gathered at Cupertino’s Flint Center — the same 2,400-seat venue in which Steve Jobs first introduced the iconic computer in 1984 — to celebrate the Mac’s 30th Anniversary. It was organized by Steve’s long-time friend Daniel Kottke, and filmmaker Gabreal Franklin, an early Mac software developer who is making a  documentary about the era.

The meeting closed with a reading of a letter. A heartfelt note, from 130 parents to their child.

Dear Mac:

Today you are celebrating your 30th birthday. Here are some things we wanted you to know as you enter your fourth decade:

Your early family really loved you… they had a lot of fun being pirates and worked very hard together before you were born.

You were a cute, chubby little baby but have grown up to be as slender as a #2 pencil with the power of a NFL middle linebacker.

You were writing and drawing sketches at a very early age. Who would have guessed that you would now be making movies all by yourself and sharing them with people around the world.

Your list of accomplishments is truly astounding! We are very, very proud of all the tasks you have mastered… many more than we had ever imagined.

Never forget that your parents wanted you to always be respectful of the individuality of your users… and we hope that you will continue to help them communicate their uniqueness to each other.

Do not let vanity and compliments about your beauty stop you from always remembering your core purpose of fostering innovation and creativity in others.

Finally, don’t forget to keep your sense of humor! True artists not only ship… they laugh! Don’t forget about that little Mac Man that used to run across the Desktop every once-in- a-while!

So have an insanely great Happy Birthday! We all wish you continued success in your next 30 years helping pilot The Mother Ship.

Sincerely yours,
Jerry Manock, for the 1984 Macintosh Development Team