Low End Mac Reader Specials
TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com
OWC: Mercury On-The-Go FW800+USB2 up to 1.0TB. Bus Powered, no external power supply needed. Macworld Editors Choice, CNET Very Good Starting from $99.97, 500GB $159.99. Click here
Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how
to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full
Tilt Poker Mac.
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.
Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.
Welcome to Macintosh
Discovering the Mac after Learning to Hate Windows
- 2006.08.23
Bong! . . . :-) . . . Welcome to Macintosh! More specifically, welcome to the first article of Welcome to Macintosh.
I thought the first article should tell the story of how I came to the Apple world.
Back to the Future
Stepping into the DeLorean to travel back to the year 1987. That was the year. The place was Lone Oak Elementary School - kindergarten to be exact.
I remember it like it was yesterday. Our school and class had won a contest put on by our local grocery store, Community Cash. Whoever won the contest would win a brand new Apple IIe computer. Our school and our class had won!
They wheeled it into our classroom on it's little cart. The teacher, as well as all of us, had no idea how it worked or what to do. I should mention that at the time I was barely reading at 5 years old.
For whatever reason, I remember asking the teacher if I could read the owner's manual. She said I could, and out of nowhere, I started reading to the class and to the teacher to tell them how to start the computer and how to load programs.
I had never touched a computer in my life, and the teacher was amazed (to hear my Mom tell about it years later).
In 10 minutes, I turned it on and loaded two or three programs. From that day forward, I was hooked on Apple and its simplicity! I would go on to use the Apple IIes that were in the library from 1987 until I left Lone Oak in 1993. Sadly, it would be many years before I would rejoin the Apple world.
The World of DOS and Windows
By 1993, I had graduated from Lone Oak Elementary and moved on to Fairforest Middle School. No Apples, only PCs running DOS/Windows 3.1 and a few Ataris.
That was also the same year that my parents bought our first home computer. Yep, you guessed it, it was not an Apple. My parents weren't convinced that Apple was suitable for the home due to limited software availability, so they bought a PC: an IBM PS/1 Advisor. I had a lot of fun times on the PC, and I have it to this day. But even then I missed the good ol' days of the Apple IIe.
I started out my days in the PC world in 1993 with DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1. I liked Windows in the beginning. It was when we upgraded to Windows 95 that I grew to hate Windows. Simply put, Windows 95 was a nightmare!
Windows 98 was a little better, but by then I had grown sick of Windows.
In 1997, I wanted an Apple, but my parents still said no.
In 1999, I met up with a guy who would go on to be my best friend, Sean. I had just moved to a new district and was going to a new high school. We met up in math class and struck up a conversation about Apple computers.
Discovering Macintosh
He mentioned he had a Apple IIgs and a Quadra 650. And he let me use them. He said the Quadra 650 was a Mac. This is something I'm embarrassed to mention to anyone, but until that point I never knew what a Mac was. All I knew was the Apple IIe.
When I booted up the Apple IIgs, I heard the cluck, cluck, cluck of the 5.25" floppy drive as I loaded all of my favorite programs one by one. All the memories of the late 80s and early 90s came flooding back! Word & Number Munchers, Oregon Trail, Odell Lake, and many other wonderful games I had played - I remembered them all!
Curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to plug in the Quadra 650 and see what the Mac was all about.
Once I plugged it in, I remembered Sean telling me how to turn it on by using the power key on the keyboard. Then I heard the bong sound!
Something told
me I was going to like the Mac. And then I was greeted with a happy
Mac. I knew I was going to like the Mac at that point.
This particular Mac was running System 7.5.3, and I was in heaven! It just worked! No crashes, easy to use. I fell in love all over again!
Later on, Sean gave me the IIgs and 650, but I wanted to experience more of the Mac.
Later
on, I found a Classic II for
50¢ at a thrift store with a keyboard and mouse. I
loved the whole design! The image kind of had the shakes
when it was accessing the hard drive, but it was wonderful! And I
would later go on to find a Centris
610 that was gutted in a trash can at a flea market.
But I knew I wanted a new
Mac. Finally, in December of 2000, I bought my first ever computer
of my own, an indigo iMac! Five
months later, the screen started turning pink. After three
unsuccessful repairs, Apple replaced it with a slightly upgraded
iMac. I've had it ever since, and it's been trouble free!
Sadly, due to space restraints and being in a weird frame of mind at the time, I donated the Apple IIgs, the Classic II, Quadra 650, and Centris 610 to the local thrift store. I especially regret getting rid of the IIgs and Classic II.
But don't despair - there's a happy
ending to this story. I now have the following Macs: Mac Plus (2 of them, one died early last
week), SE, Classic, Classic II (Sean gave me this
one after his cousin could no longer use it), Color Classic, and my iMac, of course.
It's been a great ride with Apple.
That's the story of how I came full circle, rejoined the Apple world, and learned about the Insanely Great Macintosh.
What was your first experience with Apple? Everyone's got a
story, and I'd like to hear yours! Email me your stories at
thomas (at) lowendmac (dot) com (or click on my name at the top of this
column). Some of your stories will be included in the next
Welcome to Macintosh. 
Recent Welcome to Macintosh articles
- IBM Model F: A Great Old Keyboard with an Outdated Layout, 11.19. Although it used a different technology than the revered IBM Model M keyboard, the Model F was a great keyboard in its own right.
- IBM Model M: The One True Keyboard, 05.12. Many consider the IBM Model M keyboard the finest computer keyboard ever made. Here's why.
- I Still Use My LC, 02.20. An interview with Scott Baret, who has been using the same Macintosh LC since 1991.
- Hooked on Classics (Classic Macs, That Is), 02.02. An interview with John Meshelany Jr, who has been hooked on Macs since kindergarten.
- More in the Welcome to Macintosh index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: iMac Core Duo, Jan. 2006 - The first Intel-based iMacs ran at 1.83-2.0 GHz, came with 17" and 20" displays.
- Group of the Day: Mac Pro List is for those using a Mac Pro.
- November 23 in LEM history: 99: Should I buy a USB card? - 01: Can a low-end Mac be an only Mac? - Palm Desktop without a PDA - CyberDog saves the day - 05: How Consumer Reports could compare Macs fairly - Speakers for your Mac - Living with the hi-res 15" PowerBook - Birth of the PowerBook - Daystar 1.9 GHz iMac G4 upgrade - 1.92 GHz PowerBook upgrade
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Apple's Tablet an End Run Beyond Netbooks, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 11.20. Whatever Apple has planned will leverage existing technologies while going beyond what its competitors can offer.
- i5 iMac Benchmarked, Mac mini 'Shouldn't Be Overlooked', Twitter Client for Classic Mac OS, and More, Mac News Review, 11.20. Also why Apple leaves the low end to others, 10.6.2 fixes video playback problem in 27" iMac, 3D Leopard and Snow Leopard performance, and more.
- Apple #4 in Reliability, Apple Tablet a Gadget for All?, HP's i7 Notebook Outdoes Mac Rivals, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.20. Also Flash 10.1 improves video on Hackintosh netbooks, thin-and-light notebooks impress, Windows XP finally on the way out, and more.
- NASA Chemical Sensor for iPhone, Smartphone Death Match, iPhone Earrings, and More, Ian R Campbell, 11.20. Also mobile phone dangers, new apps, GPS solution for iPod touch, new iPod and iPhone cases, and more.
- Replacing the Hard Drive in a Clamshell iBook, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 11.19. Yes, it is one of the most difficult Apple notebooks to disassemble and reassemble, but a 10 GB hard drive just will not do.
- Soft Touch Keyboards, Wireless Mouse Options, Loving SeaMonkey 2, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.18. Also the future of browsing with PowerPC Macs and the multiple mouse input bug introduced with OS X 10.5.8.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
- Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
- Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.17. Used 1.83 GHz, $750; 2.16, $800; 2.33, $900; refurb 2.4, $1,299; 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,899; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.17. Used 400 MHz, $50; 933 MHz, $80; 500 dual, $60; 867 dual, $90; 1 GHz dual, $150; 1.25 GHz dual, $225; 1.42 GHz, $499.
- Best Mac OS X 10.5 Deals, 11.17. "Leopard" upgrade, $80; single user license, $135; 5 users, $173; Mac Box Set, 5 users, $230; Server, 10 users, $340; unlimited, $850. Shipping included.
- Best Mac mini Deals, 11.16. Used 1.42 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.66 GHz Core Solo, $419; 2.0 Core 2, $450; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $769; Server, $990.
- Best iBook G4 Deals, 11.16. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $210; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz, $479; SuperDrive, $498.
- Best iPod shuffle Deals, 11.16. Used 1 GB, $35; 4 GB, $65; refurb 1 GB, $39; 2 GB, $59; new 2 GB, $55, 4 GB, $75. New and refurb prices include shipping.
- More deals in our archive.
