Low End Mac
Search LEM 
Donate · Amazon.com · MacResQ · Advertise
Other Cobweb sites: Low End Living · Reformed.net
Quicklinks: · Power Macs · 'Books · Early Macs · Week's Best Deals · Best Buys · OS Downloads

My First Mac

Working Less with My Mac than with My PC

Ronald Bodinger - February 2002

Low End Mac Reader Specials

Memory To Go Special: New 2008 iMac 2GB $42 / iMac Intel Core2 DUO & MacBook Pro 2GB $36 - 1GB $20. MacPro 8 Core Memory 8GB kit $286 / 4GB kit $143 / 2GB kit $93 -- Free shipping available. LIfetime warranty.

Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com

LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.

Other World Computing has the Upgrades, Enhancements, and Accessories for getting the most from your Mac. Quality Products, Competitive Prices, Expert Support Staff - www.macsales.com

Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.

I was 12 when I bought my first PC. It was a Schneider Euro PC 8086 - 9 MHz and a 3.5" 720k floppy drive. I never used anything different until some fine day around the summer of 1997 when I bought an old Apple LC II with 4 MB RAM and an 80 MB hard drive.

I never used something so simple until then. The first time I booted it up and a nice happy Mac smiled at me, I fell in love! After that I bought several machines: Quadra 900 (a tank), Quadra 800, 840av, 700, a Classic II, a Mac Plus - and then came my first Power Mac, an 8200/120.

I was amazed at the speed of this machine (OS 8.1 installed). It had 32 MB RAM, which I upgraded to 96 MB, and rounded it out with two 2 GB IBM hard drives, a Teac CD burner, and a 1 MB Level 2 Cache.

But I could not play any of the really cool games that I used to play on the PC, so I decided to buy a new Mac in 1998. the B&W G3 running at 300 MHz (which I later speed bumped to 400 MHz without a glitch). It was so fast, I couldn't believe it.

But as time went by, the PeeCee got faster and faster. I made a very wrong decision last year in November - I bought a new Pentium 4, 1.6 GHz, loads of RAM (512 MB), SCSI, TV cards, and lots of other crap.

But it wasn't the same, not even when Windows XP arrived. I couldn't get used to Windows anymore.

Come on, look in the System Folder of Windows - mine was about 4,000 files large. Yes, 4,000!

I'd never seen that on a Mac. Compared to Windows, the Mac OS has more ease of use. Even my 10-year-old brother used it and got more feel for the mouse than on the PC.

But I was a Mac head, so after long night with Windows XP and many faulty drivers, I sold the P4 and bought Dual 800 MHz Quicksilver with a 22" Cinema Display.

And guess what? I work with it less than I did with my PC!

Why? Because I do the work I always do - but without all the problems.

Share the story of your first Mac experience by emailing with "My First Mac" as your subject.

Recent My First Mac articles

Links for the Day

  • Mac of the Day: Power Mac 8200, Apr. 1996 - The minitower version of 7200 was never sold in America.
  • List of the Day: G4 List is for those using Power Mac G4s or G4 upgrades.
  • October 7 in LEM history: 98: Love that PowerBook G3 - 99: Troubleshooting 101 - Love at first sight - 02: Hot rodding a Power Mac for OS X - Beefing up Windows networking - 05: Choose FireWire 800 over USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 - Faster Mac minis shipping - Speedy 100 GB 7200 rpm notebook drives

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Go to the My First Mac index.


Have a question?
Ask an expert!

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Best Used Macs
Video Cards
Email Lists
InfoMac's Low
End Mac Forum

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum

DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ

Abandonware
   Petition

Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
MacMall
TechRestore
MacResQ
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

Open Link