"Tried and True Apple User" - A Personal Thank You to Steve Jobs
I haven't always been a Mac user, but I have always been an Apple user.
The first microcomputer (which is nowadays known as simply a "desktop system") I ever used was an Apple II clone. You read that right: a clone, manufactured by Bell & Howell. In 1982, it was the only computer in the entirety of Truro Central School. I learned BASIC programming on that machine. I did my first non-console gaming on that machine. The days "the computer" came into our 5th Grade classroom were days the entire class looked forward to, because it was fun.
In 1986, when my family decided to get our first computer, there was no contest. Since the schools in our area all had Apples (even when I was at Trinity, they had 2 Apples in our little junior high building), we were getting an Apple. My dad wanted the best one. We got the Apple IIgs, right when they came out. The computer in the living room was almost just as much a gaming center in our house as the NES in my room, except the computer also was the business center for the Cottages as well. ...and it was fun.
When the ol' IIgs finally started to get long in the tooth when 1994 started, I had already been extensively using the Macs at college, drawn to them simply by the fact that they were Apple products, so I suggested a Mac, which would still be able to read all those old IIgs disks. Again, my dad wanted the top of the line. We got the Quadra 840av. This was during what I like to call the "Pepsi Years" of Apple, but the basic idea of the Mac itself hadn't changed too much since 1984. I started doing my first graphic design on that machine, making materials for the Cottages, cases for my MST3K tapes. It was the first machine I ever *dialed* into the Internet on (my first Internet experiences were on VAX stations)... and it was fun.
I got my own first Mac later that same year, a Performa 636CD, got an NTSC video card for it, and that machine actually replaced my TV in my dorm room for my final Ithaca College semester in late 1994. I played my CDs on that machine, I watched all my TV on that machine, and every Friday, we'd hold a huge gaming/music party in my little single room, the Mac being the centerpiece of the party. ...and it was fun.
In the intervening years, I've had 5 other Macs (Performa 6360, G4 Cube, G4 dual 533 tower, Mac Mini 2007, Mac Mini 2010, 6 Macs if you count the laptop I use for work, which is technically Joppru Group's), and they've all been the centerpieces for all I do. Even though a Win box casts and records my Radio shows, it's the Mac that runs my Skypeline. The Mac codes my shows for the Mad Music Archive posting. The Mac helps lay down the backing tracks for my original songs (via GarageBand). I play WoW (and very occasionally Second Life) on Macs. The 2010 Mac Mini is my main machine, it's where I come to every morning to read my morning blogs the way most would read the paper. It's how I search for the latest and greatest comedy music. I own an iPod, an iPhone, and an iTunes account.
And... it's fun!
So thank you, Steve Jobs, for making computing fun since 1976! This is a representation of your legacy as it has personally affected me, and that legacy carries on in everyone whose life is more FUN for having an Apple product.. or 2... or 3... or 10.
The first microcomputer (which is nowadays known as simply a "desktop system") I ever used was an Apple II clone. You read that right: a clone, manufactured by Bell & Howell. In 1982, it was the only computer in the entirety of Truro Central School. I learned BASIC programming on that machine. I did my first non-console gaming on that machine. The days "the computer" came into our 5th Grade classroom were days the entire class looked forward to, because it was fun.
In 1986, when my family decided to get our first computer, there was no contest. Since the schools in our area all had Apples (even when I was at Trinity, they had 2 Apples in our little junior high building), we were getting an Apple. My dad wanted the best one. We got the Apple IIgs, right when they came out. The computer in the living room was almost just as much a gaming center in our house as the NES in my room, except the computer also was the business center for the Cottages as well. ...and it was fun.
When the ol' IIgs finally started to get long in the tooth when 1994 started, I had already been extensively using the Macs at college, drawn to them simply by the fact that they were Apple products, so I suggested a Mac, which would still be able to read all those old IIgs disks. Again, my dad wanted the top of the line. We got the Quadra 840av. This was during what I like to call the "Pepsi Years" of Apple, but the basic idea of the Mac itself hadn't changed too much since 1984. I started doing my first graphic design on that machine, making materials for the Cottages, cases for my MST3K tapes. It was the first machine I ever *dialed* into the Internet on (my first Internet experiences were on VAX stations)... and it was fun.
I got my own first Mac later that same year, a Performa 636CD, got an NTSC video card for it, and that machine actually replaced my TV in my dorm room for my final Ithaca College semester in late 1994. I played my CDs on that machine, I watched all my TV on that machine, and every Friday, we'd hold a huge gaming/music party in my little single room, the Mac being the centerpiece of the party. ...and it was fun.
In the intervening years, I've had 5 other Macs (Performa 6360, G4 Cube, G4 dual 533 tower, Mac Mini 2007, Mac Mini 2010, 6 Macs if you count the laptop I use for work, which is technically Joppru Group's), and they've all been the centerpieces for all I do. Even though a Win box casts and records my Radio shows, it's the Mac that runs my Skypeline. The Mac codes my shows for the Mad Music Archive posting. The Mac helps lay down the backing tracks for my original songs (via GarageBand). I play WoW (and very occasionally Second Life) on Macs. The 2010 Mac Mini is my main machine, it's where I come to every morning to read my morning blogs the way most would read the paper. It's how I search for the latest and greatest comedy music. I own an iPod, an iPhone, and an iTunes account.
And... it's fun!
So thank you, Steve Jobs, for making computing fun since 1976! This is a representation of your legacy as it has personally affected me, and that legacy carries on in everyone whose life is more FUN for having an Apple product.. or 2... or 3... or 10.