In November, 1990 I used a Mac for the first time. I had to type in some articles I had written for a newsletter. As I recall, I didn’t even know how to eject the floppy disk when I was finished. It was on a Mac Plus. The keyboard was different from any other kind that I had worked with before. It seemed a little awkward but it was okay.
Then in December of that year, I was hired as an entry-level technician. I was responsible for doing the basic setups for customers when they purchased Macs from our company. You know, things like RAM upgrades and installing software, stuff like that. They even let me use the Granddaddy of the PowerBooks, a Mac Portable! I thought it was great. System 6.0.5, crashing all the time. Who cares? I had a Mac of my own to work with. I felt like I had arrived. Well, being like every other human being in the world, I soon grew weary of the problems that I encountered daily with my Mac and I set my sights on higher ground. I’ve just got to have a better machine than what I’m being forced to use. (So I thought at the time) I don’t care if the screen is backlit! I wanted the latest and the greatest. Yes, I wanted a Mac Classic! The company said I could have one at my workstation. I was ecstatic! Running System 6.0.7, QuickMail and FileMaker, man, you know I was livin’ it up. I was even allowed to bring an SE home to use for my newsletter that I was still writing for. Life could not have been better. Oh, I had problems with the 40 MB hard drive, but nothing that a swift kick couldn’t handle, right? Just a little love tap. ;^D
On to bigger and better things… System 7.0. It took me about 6 months to jump in and install 7.0 on my Classic. I was scared of it but when I took the plunge, I realized that there was nothing to be afraid of. Silly me!
Then I broke new ground. I was living pretty far from work and had a van to service my local area. No more entry-level stuff for me. Now I was certified and on my own. The company wanted me to check in remotely so they gave me the latest and greatest, a PowerBook 100… Wow! Well, not really “Wow!” More like “Whatever.” You know what I mean.
As I look back down memory lane, I realize just how far I’ve come with Apple. Not just me but everyone, including Apple. I mean, you look at what I’ve written about today and you might laugh a little and think that this man is behind the times. But what I’m talking about just a few years ago cutting edge stuff. You know I’m right. You probably have a few stories of your own about your early experiences with Macs or even Apple II’s (gag).
My point is this: It ain’t over for Apple Computer! Apple’s still the leader in “cutting edge,” and just think, that Power Mac 8600/200 you just bought will be like a Mac Plus in status in just 3 weeks from now. We’re all growing and moving up and that’s a good thing.
The Macintosh has always been innovative and different, something that captured the imagination. Well, that’s what Bill Gates said. It has to keep growing and I want to go along for the ride. Even if it gets a little bumpy, I still want to see this through. They say that there are over 60 million Mac loyalists out here. Well, I’m one of them and proud to be called one. How ’bout you?!
Catcha L8r, Eddie Ed Tobey (edtobey@mymac.com)
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