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I have been a Wintel user ever since I started using
computers.
I good hooked on Macs when my homeroom teacher gave me a
PowerBook 165 that had been given
to somebody else to replace my really, really, really old Wintel
laptop. It came with WordPerfect 3.5 for Macintosh and a few other
applications - and System 7.5.1 (which I upgraded to System 7.5.3
later on). I got my hands of a copy of Microsoft Word 5.1a for
Macintosh, too. I love this computer, because I had the ability to
share files between my Wintel desktop and the Macintosh laptop.
But the real problem was printing. To print I had to copy the
document to a floppy disk and take it over to one of the PCs that
had a printer and then load the document in Microsoft Word for
Windows and finally print the document from there. After several
months of watching me printing and working with my documents this
way, my homeroom teacher brought in the desktop Macintosh that he
had been using for many years in his previous jobs.
I was really grateful for this, because now I could print more
directly (meaning no conversion of the documents were needed) and
not have to get out my laptop just to get my work done. But the
weird thing is that I am planning on getting a brand new
laptop.
The only thing is that this new unit has to be a Wintel machine
for compatibility reasons, and going back to the Microsoft Windows
is not going to be as pleasant as converting to the Macintosh was.
I am going to miss having direct access to
some of the great applications that are on the Macintosh, such as
MacDraw Pro and WordPerfect, but since I am keeping the PowerBook
165, this should not be a problem. But I am happy with what I am
doing, and getting this laptop when I really needed it was a
lifesaver.
I have some advice for new computer users out there (I mean
people who have never touched a computer before in their lives). If
you are just looking for a good and reliable computer for word
processing and graphics, a Macintosh computer might be the computer
you are looking for. And if you end up getting a new Macintosh
computer, make sure that you buy a USB (Universal Serial Bus)
floppy disk drive for compatibility with older computers that offer
or only have floppy disk drives.
Share the story of your first Mac experience by emailing with "My First Mac" as your subject.
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I am going to miss having direct access to
some of the great applications that are on the Macintosh, such as
MacDraw Pro and WordPerfect, but since I am keeping the PowerBook
165, this should not be a problem. But I am happy with what I am
doing, and getting this laptop when I really needed it was a
lifesaver.
