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Could it be the biggest Apple launch since the original Macintosh 30 years ago?

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By Noel Young | Correspondent

August 29, 2014 | 3 min read

Apple is going back to where it all began for its big event on 9 September - the Flint Center for the Performing Arts in Cupertino, where Apple's original Macintosh computer was unveiled 30 years ago.

BIgger than a rock concert?

Typically, Apple did not disclose the purpose of the gathering in the terse invitation sent out on Thursday for the event.

New iPhones have been launched at September events the past two years. But the best bet is that Apple has something more dramatic, such as a wearable device, the iWatch.

The choice of venue says more than the invitation. "The historical significance suggests that Apple has another blockbuster product ready to be released," said one commentator.

Frank Mangini, a 73-year-old Cupertino resident, told the San Jose Mercury News he had noticed a large construction project going on around the centre for the past few weeks..

"It looked like a sound stage going up for a rock concert behind Flint Center," Mangini said - with lights on a grid above the stage being built in view of a nearby fountain and duck pond.

Mangini said the structure had become even more enormous by last Sunday with walls around the stage structure that he estimated at three stories high. Huge power cables run through pipes to a transformer at least a couple hundred yards away.

Mangini asked a worker about the project .

"We really can't say," the worker told him. "All I can say is this is one of the largest shows I've ever worked on, and I've worked on them for 30 years."

Mangini added, "It's a very professional job," he said Thursday. "It looks like Hollywood to me -- there's a lot of money going into this."

Blue and white signs posted next to the auditorium read: "CONFIDENTIAL (sic) event. No photos on property. No blogging. Thank You!"

The company has not unveiled a new product at Flint Center since the launch of the original Macintosh in 1984,.

Then Steve Jobs wowed the crowd by making the personal computer talk. And here he is doing just that:

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