The Mac 512K and Microsoft Word Changed My Life
- 2008.05.22
Bookmark in del.icio.usLow End Mac Reader Specials
Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $154 / 2GB kit $94, New 2008 iMac 2GB $46. MacBook Pro / MacMini / iMac Intel Core2 DUO 2GB $44 / 1GB $23--Free shipping available.
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: LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, Apple Displays, MacBooks, iMac's, MacBook Pros, Laptop and iPod accessories and more. Apple A/C Adapters for laptops starting at $25.00 Call 1-800-941-7654 or 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.
New iMac 800Mhz Memory 4GB $98, 2GB $50. Click to Maximize your Macs...
I remember it well. It was January of 1990. My new husband was a young organic nerdy guy from Palo Alto - his mom translated engineer-speak at Apple into manuals, and his school was awash in Apples. I was older and rougher, a flannel-shirted tomboy from rural Oregon where schools were often awash, another depressed guitar player and hick Kesey-wannabe writer with a massive old manual Royal typewriter and a box of manuscripts.
The odd little beige box with the tiny black and white screen was just another indication that my beloved was a Genuine Smart Guy, my intellectual equal, and that was all I needed to know.
But one day in the grey slodgy throes of morning sickness and boredom, I idly asked for a demonstration of something on "that little computer".
"It's called an Apple Macintosh 512K," he said proudly. "One slot holds a disk with a program, the other is where you save your work."
The drives whirred and clicked. He explained how to drive the mouse, click on the "icons". On to the real magic, he showed me a program called simply "Word". Type a sentence. Erase. Start over, change the order, substitute something else . . . moving words around with a pointer instead of whiteout and rewrites. Simple. Fun. Economical. Easy.
Omigod.
The next week the manual typewriter went to Goodwill. I loved the chatter of the dot matrix printer spewing out grocery lists, short stories, letters to the editor, original song lyrics. The word nerd was in heaven. I learned to SuperPaint.
Every two years we got a new used Mac from relatives higher up the financial food chain. I got sucked into many hours of BBS. My band was one of the first in Eugene to have a website. The kids became Mac-literate before they were potty-trained.
Now, a dozen used Macs later, I'm a budding multimedia artist squeaking along with a Power Mac 8500 and a Pismo laptop, both maxed out on DIY upgrades. I'm looking to upgrade again, feeling the old anticipation idea of another new-to-me Mac, undoubtedly acquired through dealer links on Low End Mac (just like my last two laptops).
But nothing will ever be as quite as big as the complete paradigm
shift that occurred on encountering my first personal computer ever,
the Mac 512K. It literally changed my life.
Share the story of your first Mac experience by emailing with "My First Mac" as your subject.
Recent My First Mac articles
- Hooked on Macs, new and old, 07.15. Starting with an old Quadra in 2000, Royal left behind Windows and began acquiring his own stable of Macs.
- With a 600 MHz iBook running circles around a 2.8 GHz Celeron, it was time to switch, 06.05. The author now has a MacBook, along with a couple of older, cheaper Macs for use around the house.
- My first iMac, 05.19. There were a couple of Bondi blue iMacs in school that weren't even plugged in. Intriguing....
- More in the My First Mac index.
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Apple gave Psystar enough rope to hang itself, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 07.18. By not filing suit against Psystar immediately, Apple allowed the company to do enough to give Apple an air-tight case.
- Google's 'really good' iPhone App, 10 alternatives to the iPhone, Car Care app, and more, iNews Review, 07.18. Also iPhone 2.0 gives new life to original iPhone, free and low-cost apps, 3G 'tough to kill', inside the iPhone 3G, accessories for the iPhone 3G, and much more
- 4-core Core2 Extreme mobile CPU in August, 256 MB SSD coming to MacBook Air, and more, The 'Book Review, 07.18. Also Centrino 2 shipping, OS X running on tiny MSI Wind notebook, fuel cell notebooks one step closer, free laptop tracking service, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,649, and more.
- Best Power Mac G5 deals, Low End Mac Deals, 07.18. Used 1.8 GHz single SuperDrive, $600; dual, $799, 2.0, $979; 2.3, $899; 2.5, $1,100; 2.7, $1,249; 2.5 Quad, $1,500.
- Best 17" MacBook Pro deals, Low End Mac Deals, 07.18. Used 2.16 GHz Core Duo, $1,275; 2.33 Core2, $1,888; refurb, 2.4, $1,899; new, $1,949 a/r; 2.5, $2,558 a/r; 2.6 Santa Rosa, $2,449 a/r; more.
- Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' deals, Low End Mac Deals, 07.18. Mac OS X 10.5.1 single user, $99; 5 users, $158; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $450; unlimited, $900.
- Mac of the Day: Power Mac G4 Cube, July 2000 - compact, powerful, and attractive with limited expansion and a high initial price doomed the Cube.
- List of the Day: MichiMac is our list for Mac users in Michigan.
- July 19 in LEM history: 00: To partition or not to partition? - 01: What price rankings? - Owning the market - 02: Free mac.com email becomes fee mail - G4/500 WallStreet and Lombard upgrades - 04: Sometimes you feel like a dolt - 06: Mac OS X 10.5: Which Macs should make the cut? - Why run Linux on a low-end Mac? - Upgrade your Pismo with a dual-layer DVD burner - 07: Apple's first phone never made it to market
- PowerBook Duo and DuoDock problems, no TPM on most Intel Macs, iTunes for Linux, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 07.17. Also a Mac mini that displays some Web images in grayscale, vintage Mac desktop patterns, where to sell a used Mac, dithered images, and more.
- Best Mac Pro deals, Low End Mac Deals, 07.17. Refurb 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,888; 2.8 8-core, $2,399; new 4-core, $2,124 after rebate; 8-core, $2,589 a/r; 3.0 $3,399 a/r; 3.2, $4,169 a/r.
- Best titanium PowerBook G4 deals, Low End Mac Deals, 07.17. Used 400 MHz DVD, $500; 867 MHz Combo, $550; 1 GHz Combo, $678; SuperDrive, $899.
- Best iPod nano deals, Low End Mac Deals, 07.17. Used 2 GB iPod nano, $70; refurb 4 GB, $99; new, $139; refurb 8 GB, $149; new, $180.
- More links in our archive.
Go to the My First Mac index.
About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts
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
