30 Years

spinaltap

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2004
Messages
5,342
Reaction score
11,981
Points
3,321
Location
England
This month, 30 years ago, I became a Mac user - and ardent Apple advocate. Then, I worked in local government leisure services. It was my job at the time to manage and promote shows and events. Considerable time and money was occupied with employing external graphic artists and print companies - plus the local authority’s own print unit.

I experienced being the ‘enemy’ by the internal print unit - and the Council’s own I.T unit. That is, the print unit falsely believed I would be taking all their work away from them. The I.T department feared the arrival of Macintosh because they rightly acknowledged that I would not need their expensive support.

I endured no end of internal meetings plus committee meetings trying to convince everyone who would listen that this was a really good idea. Thankfully, I won the argument. Mega expensive, then - I spent £10k on a Macintosh II, LaserWriter, AppleScanner, plus an assortment of desktop publishing software. I further secured funding for that rarity of talent at that time: someone who could make it all seamlessly perform as desired.

It all turned out to be a major success. No-one’s job was threatened. Their fears were completely unfounded.

In due course, Mac prices fell to more reasonable levels - but it took educational pricing to buy my first Macintosh LC, Apple 13” Colour Monitor - plus assorted software. A relative worked for HP Corporate. He used his employee discount to get me a B&W HP LaserJet.

Macintosh actively enabled my completion of undergraduate, plus two postgraduate degrees. Macintosh enabled my then 6 year-old daughter to play KidPix - plus ReaderRabbit software in developing her literacy and numeracy skills throughout her Primary education. Later, the MacBook Pro that I purchased for her enabled completion of her own undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

Thank you, Apple.
 
Last edited:
I think you can genuinely and not disingenuously be called an Apple Fan Boy! Congratulations on the anniversary.

I too have used Apple products over the past 30 years, but working in live production and events, there have been many times when PCs offered in some cases the only and quite often the best value solution. There's no doubt that Apply stole the march when to came to DTP, photo and video editing, but they seem to have lost their way in recent years, with style over substance leading to some parts of the sector falling into PC territory. This seems to be particularly around high end (broadcast and feature film) editing - where the HP Z series workstation now seems to reign supreme and in the area of AV control - where most sound, light and video console assist software is increasingly PC only. In this aspect, I am being told that Apple are making it harder for low volume release software to be licensed, but the restrictions for PC versions are much easier to work with. As this control software is often given away as a freebie by the console manufacturers, they are reluctant to spend a lot of money getting it licensed.

The cost model has always been an interesting one. Do you pay significantly more for the hardware in the first place, knowing that the OS will be updated for the life of the machine, or do you pay less of a premium and accept that you may need to update the OS at your own cost at some point in the future? Microsoft then broke the system by giving away free updates from Windows 7 to Windows 10, but that's another story!

It will be interesting to see where things go in the next 20 - 30 years. Will we all be running quantum computers rendering complex CG landscapes in the blink of an eye or will the internet be sufficiently fast and well connected that we will be able to borrow spare processing power from our neighbours?

Congratulations again on your continued support!
 
I switched to Macs as a home user perhaps 20+ years ago, my wife joining me soon after. Never looked back. My first Mac Mini lasted well over 7 years when I sold it, and subsequent Mac hardware has lasted just as long. I wouldn't switch back to Windows for all the tea in China, but if I had to forgo my Mac, then I'd have to go for something that I could install Linux on. Windows has come along way since I first switched, but it still seems like so much hard work compared to all of my Apple kit, which has just worked without issue.

Clem
 
I’m in and committed but only 9 years time served ,and frankly not leaving anytime soon.
 
My first experience of a Macintosh was a friend’s dad’s, some time in the mid to late-1980s, I think. I remember a pinball game but that was it.

It wasn’t until over a decade later, at university, that I regularly started using Macs –the Power Mac G4 and the iMac G3. They were great. I always looked back at them fondly and in the following years spent hours customising Windows XP and then Vista with dock programs and the like to try to replicate the experience. It was never the same, obviously.

But it wasn’t until over a decade later that I finally got my own, a refurb 2012 Mac mini that’s still going strong.

One of the things that was a bit weird was having no idea how anything worked behind the scenes, which wasn’t the case with windows. And I still have no real idea. I became fine with it when it dawned on me that I hadn’t had to learn about any of that because I hadn’t needed to, because nothing was misbehaving or going wrong.

I still use Windows at work. It’s fine. But I wouldn’t use it out of choice.
 
Yes, 20+ years now...Started with frustration over a windows laptop which constantly crashed as it boots while I constantly moved my finger across the trackpad. What an engineering failure - enough for me to still remember!!

Moved quickly to a PowerBook G3 (Bronze) and boy, what a showpiece it was demonstrating how to put a laptop to sleep and wake it back up and swapping out a battery pack for a DVD drive - in front of tens of my ex-colleagues in a engineering company to watch (for a few minutes) The Matrix.

Then came the PowerMac Cube, emphasising that a computer is part of the home decor with the HK Soundsticks and the "unbroken" uniform look of clear acrylic. Temporarily felt cheated with the release of the Intel MacMini (not rich enough for the MacPro) but quickly realised it is UNIX (or similar) underneath - way to go for managing family accounts!

These days, I exploit the MacOS capabilities and compatibilities with X11 to login into the company's Linux servers - what a breeze with four monitors on a cMP. I swear my colleagues are still struggling with dual monitor setups and the decrepit VNC "access".
 
And starting from MacOS X, here's my list of how the OS made computing fun.
1. spring-loaded folders (technically a 8? feature but MacOS X makes it more lively)
2. animated Dock
3. "pooofff" here goes the icon from the Menu when dragged away
4. drag-n-drop into folders, applications - and now even with ScreenSharing with a remote Mac
5. Fast User Switching
6. moving across virtual screens with a window drag
7. -more-
 
Last edited:
Been with them since my first iMac Snow - what a cool machine, at the time :)
Microsoft all the way during the day, but Mac stuff at home :thumbsup: (Although I do use my iPad Pro on the go at work, to present kitchen designs past and present.
My current 24" aluminium iMac is now ready to be replaced with a 27" one that will hopefully last another 10 + years.
Just waiting for the new models....
 
98 I think for me? iMac G3. Knew about them but had an Amiga 1200 at the time till the writing was on the wall for the Amiga. Easy to cross over to.

You used to be able to hold the shift key and double click the open window top and it would very slowly compress to the side bar (slow close animation?). Miss that one for no particular reason.
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom