Later on, Sculley confided to me and to my partner, Bart Rhoades, that the first Macworld Expo had saved Apple. He complained that Jobs and his team were so burned out from getting the Mac out the door that they had accomplished virtually nothing since. Users were clamoring for more memory, a hard drive, faster boot-up, a color monitor and other enhancements. Macintosh sales had started off with a bang, thanks to the 1984 Super Bowl commercial and to the Mac’s ease of use and graphic capabilities, but by 1985, sales had slowed considerably.
When they left, they had a renewed sense of urgency. I often wonder, had Jobs bothered to show up at the first Macworld Expo, if he, too, might have regained his focus.
Instead, Jobs got into a power struggle with Sculley. By the end of May, he was sacked as the leader of the Mac division.
It’s fairly common knowledge that the Macintosh was almost a one-hit wonder, but it’s interesting to see how the Macworld Expo was a part of the outcome of the infant platform.
[via Daring Fireball]