It All Started with a Mac Plus in the Classroom

- 2007.10.29

Low End Mac Reader Specials

Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $192 / 2GB kit $109. 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.

OtherWorld Computing: Better than new Batteries for iPods NewerTech NuPower, up to 20+ Hours! Complete with Tools from $19.99. Online videos. Professional installation available.

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.

Memory For New Intel Core2 DUO MacBooks, MacBook Pro, MacMini & iMacs" 4GB Kit $80, 3GB Kit $60, 2GB Kit $40, 1GB $20. Click to Maximize your Macs...

In 1993, I was 11 years old. My experience with Macs had amounted to whatever time I could get alone with the Mac Plus sitting in the back of the classroom. I didn't do much then. Mostly I would just play games like Shufflepuck Cafe or Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? I had no clue what to do with a Mac. I didn't understand the concept of what a computer was.

Before that, I'd only known the Apple IIs that were in every school I had attended. Time with those meant marathon sessions of Oregon Trail, Odell Lake, Lemonade Stand, or Number Munchers. All I knew was that I much preferred the full color and fun of the IIs vs. that black & white bore-box the teacher called a Mac. I'd look forward to computer day and the room full of Apple IIs we were brought to. They were for those awesome games.

Junior high brought with it a new school and a lab with a mix of compact Macs, PS-series IBMs, and whatever PC clones happened to be donated to that school. For the first time, we were introduced to formal computer classes and the necessity to learn about the history of computers and how they worked.

The computer teacher did a good job of introducing us to both platforms. I took to the DOS and Windows side first, telling myself that real computers were hard to use - that was just the way it was. The Apple machines were still somewhat relegated to game-playing status in my mind.

A Better Way

Over time, as I began to see how much simpler the Macs were to use vs. the DOS computers, I began to explore them more. I began to see the little nuances that made being a Mac user such a fulfilling experience back then. I delved deeper into the way the Mac OS worked and eventually found myself neglecting the DOS machines in favor of the Macs. Without knowing it, I'd become a trainee member of the Cult of Mac.

The summer of 1995 brought with it the first computer system my family brought home. It was a Packard Bell Pentium system we'd gotten at Best Buy in a special back-to-school sale.

I'd begged my parents to look into the Performas, but they insisted on having the same kind of computer they had at work. I was crushed, but I accepted what we had. I engrossed myself in the multimedia software bundled with the system but kept going back to the bundle that came with the Performas.

Every time we went to the store, I'd sneak away to the Apple section and play with the display units. It was my escape from the blandness of a Windows life.

Revelations

Performa 630 Then something happened that changed my life forever and thrust me full-bore into the fever that comes with seeing how good a part of your life can really be. Around this time, the infomercial Apple had made for the Performa line, The Martinelli's Bring Home a Computer, was playing every night on TV. I found myself staying up late to watch it again and again. I was entranced by the way the style of an infomercial showed how everyone in the family could find something to love about a computer.

I began to read every Apple ad I could find. I watched every commercial I saw on TV as if they were tenets from on high. I started learning about the history of Apple, the development of the Macintosh, and how it had evolved over the years from an electronic appliance to a device that every household needed.

My parents still saw computers as tools to get something done, not as a lifestyle addition. I begged relentlessly for them to upgrade to a Performa. Their response was that if I wanted a Mac that badly, I should go get my own. I resigned myself to their reluctance. I watched as they upgraded the family computer through subsequent generations of Pentiums running Windows, even graciously accepting the fact that they'd ignored my pleas and bought me my own personal Compaq when they saw my computing needs expand in high school.

Catharsis

Centris 650 It wouldn't be until college when I finally bought my first Mac. I found myself spending more time in the computer labs than in class. My quest to know anything and everything about the history of Apple had led me to Low End Mac. I devoured all the information on the site and, based on the "Best Buy" recommendation in its profile, I bought a used Centris 650 on eBay in 1999. It was already relatively obsolete by that time, but it was all mine.

I quickly made it my primary computer and used it for everything from writing reports and games, to (slow) Web usage. If I needed more power or wanted something a bit zippier on the Internet, I could go to the labs at school, where they had plenty of Power Macs waiting for me. Everything I did at home I could do at school. The transition between locations was seamless.

Eventually I began collecting other Macs to relive the experiences I'd missed along the way. I bought a few compact Macs and LCs, as well as the iBook G4 that has served me well for the past 2+ years. I even acquired the same laptop I'd used as editor of the high school paper, a PowerBook 1400.

I have been writing this on the old Centris using ClarisWorks 4. Even with the newer Macs I have available to me, it just seemed fitting to continue to use the first Mac I'd ever owned to tell the world how I was indoctrinated into the Cult of Mac.

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

Recent My First Mac articles

Hooked by a PowerBook Duo, 01.25. Receiving a PowerBook Duo 2300 with Mac OS 8 was enough to hook the author - and get almost his entire family using Macs.
My first Mac was older than me, 01.24. It all started with a Macintosh IIsi from 1990, which was great for ClarisWorks and playing games.
It all started with an Apple IIc, 12.19. The first computer was an Apple IIc, followed by some MS-DOS computers - and then discovery of the Macintosh.
More in the My First Mac index.

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Apple's eMate still a great tool in the classroom, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 05.09. How one teacher equipped his classroom with eMates with his own money - and plans to keep using them as long as possible.
$199 iPhone coming?, iPod not a Walkman, crosswalk danger, iPods taking over cars, and more, iNews Review, 05.09. Also the iPhone is a second-rate phone, iPhone 2.0 may introduce handwriting recognition, Kensington battery pack and chargers, new iPhone apps, and more.
Best Power Mac G4 deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.09. Used Cube, $479; 400 MHz PCI, $70; 450 AGP, $105; 733 DA, $150; 867 QS, $200; 1 GHz, $250; 450 dual, $295; 1 GHz dual, $400; 1.42, $600; more.
Best 15" MacBook Pro deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.09. Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $1,100; 2.16, $1,295; refurb, 2.2 Core2, $1,449; 2.4 Penryn, $1,699; 2.5, $2,149; new 2.2, $1,525 after rebate; 2.4, $1,685 a/r; more.
MacBook sales explode, MacBook Air reviews, several new hard drives, and more, The 'Book Review, 05.09. Also silver-zinc batteries may outlast lithium-ion, Bell Aliant bundling MacBook with Internet access, notebook drives benchmarked, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
Best iPod touch deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.09. Refurb 8 GB '08, $249; 16 GB '07, $329; '08, $349; new 8 GB '07. $269; '08, $280; 16 GB '07, $330; '08, $369; 32 GB, $475.
More G4 upgrade advice, secure disk wipes, 500 MHz iMacs with Tiger in action, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 05.09. The importance of securely clearing your hard drive before you pass on your Mac, Pismo and closed lid mode, G3 iMacs in the classroom, and more thoughts on upgrading G4 Power Macs.
Apple tops in tech support, Penryn iMacs and Psystar Open Computer reviewed, and more, Mac News Review, 05.09. Also the iMac philosophy, OpenOffice 3.0 going Mac, MozyHome backup comes to Macs, weather in the Dock, and more.
140 million copies of Vista sold (yawn), Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 05.09. It sounds like a lot, but over 85% of Windows users are staying away from Vista. 20% of Mac users have embraced Leopard in one-third the time.
Mac of the Day: Macintosh LC, Oct. 1990 - only 3" tall, the LC was the least expensive color Mac in 1990.
List of the Day: Jaguar List is for anyone using Mac OS X 10.2.x.
May 12 in LEM history: 99: Is Apple missing the boat? - 00: PowerBook history - Frankenstein Power Mac - 03: Beige Power Mac G3 - Is a 5400 worth buying? - Upgrades for the tray-loading iMac - Quiet computing - 04: Windows stability: Nothing changes - Broadband Internet access: Picking the right speed - 06: The future of PowerPC Macs in the Intel era - Setting up a 68040-based Mac media center - Mac mini Core Duo upgrades
Why one Mac user chose BlackBerry over iPhone, Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 05.08. The advantages of OS X, Safari, Mail, and iSync don't outweigh the familiarity of BlackBerry, its excellent software, easily replaceable batteries, and a camera-free option.
500 MHz iMac with Panther great for Internet, watching video, and more, Carl Nygren, My Turn, 05.08. At $65 with upgraded RAM and a bigger hard drive, it was too good to pass up, and it works very nicely with Mac OS X 10.3.
Boomerang: The Blue and White Power Mac G3 that kept coming back, Charles Webb, The Webb Chronicles, 05.08. Over its nine-year lifespan, this Power Mac had at least five owners before it finally gave up the ghost.
Best Intel iMac deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.08. Used 17" 1.83 GHz, $699; 20" 2.16 Core2, $885; refurb 20" 2.16, $949; 2.4, $1,099; 24" 2.16, $1,199; 2.4, $1,399; 2.8, $1,599; Penryn from $1,049 after rebate.
Best 17" PowerBook G4 deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.08. Used 17" 1 GHz, $790; 1.33 GHz, $850; 1.5 GHz, $859; 1.67 GHz, $889.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.08. Mac OS X 10.5.1 single user, $99; 5 users, $139; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $450; unlimited, $899.
More links in our archive.

Go to the My First Mac index.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2008 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, PowerBook, MacBook, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.