I first got my hands on a Macintosh when I went to work at U.C. Santa Barbara in 1990. Before that, I'd had a little experience doing word processing and simple graphics on an Apple II, and using a very inadequate text editor on an H.P. mainframe. The Macs we had in the Campus Activities Center were SE30's, but to me they were nothing short of modern miracles. I made a pest of myself asking a million questions of our resident Mac geek as I learned how to use them. I began reading computer magazines and lurking in the computer department of the campus bookstore. And then Apple released the first PowerBooks...and I was consumed with an overwhelming lust. I couldn't rest until I had one. When I finally had my PB140 in my hot little hands, I was in heaven. A geek was born.
When I moved to Seattle my first job at South Seattle Community College was part-time. I needed another job to finish paying the bills. After a very unpleasant three months doing telephone marketing research, I found a job as a sales advisor for the Mac Zone. There, I went through what I came to see was a pretty predictable pattern:. Stage 1 (going into training) "I know a lot about Macs"; Stage 2 (first week on the phones) "Oh my god, I don't know anything about Macs!" Stage 3 (after a few months) "Wow, I know a lot about Macs!" I learned an incredible amount about Mac models, software, upgrades, and peripherals. I got good at basic trouble-shooting and problem-solving and recommending solutions. I learned where to go for answers if I didn't know them, and I developed a pretty good Mac resource library. And I acquired a lot of software at employee prices! I worked there, off and on, for about two years.
I'm now on my fifth PowerBook, this one a 1.5 GHz G4 with 1 GB of RAM. I've gotten to be fairly proficient with Word, Excel, FileMaker Pro, PageMaker, and Dreamweaver, and I'm beginning to get pretty good at FreeHand, Photoshop, and InDesign. And I've gone from being the person always pestering the office Alpha Geek to being the office Alpha Geek.
I've used Windoze machines occasionally when I had no choice (the job I have now is the first one where I'm stuck using one regularly), but I don't have much use for them. I have a theory about why some people prefer them, but I don't see any reason to put myself through all that. I can do everything I want to do with a Mac, with far less pain and angst. Besides, Macs are more fun...that's reason enough right there!
So here are some handy Mac links...and some related to that other OS...
Apple Computer, Inc. official sites:
More Mac sites:
The ULTIMATE Macintosh TONS of insanely great Mac links. "Still the BIGGEST, UGLIEST, and MOST USEFUL Macintosh Page on the Web..."
MacCompanion "Your guide to all things Macintosh"
MacOnlySource"Your only source for everything Mac"
MacMegasite "the latest Macintosh news & information from a Mac software developer's point of view"
LowEndMac a site for collectors, nostalgia addicts, cheapskates, and anyone else who loves vintage Macs (or who just has an old clunker they're trying to keep alive)
Macworld Product Reviews An index of their reviews of hardware and software
Version Tracker lists the latest available versions of over 1,000 Macintosh software titles, both commercial and shareware, and lets you download updates.
Classic Apple TV ads--including the 1984 ad that introduced the Mac
The Mothership ads and brochures for early Macs and other Apple computers, plus trivia, a timeline of Mac history, and links to more sites on vintage Macs
Moof! in Mind is the home page of the world famous dogcow. What, you don't know what a dogcow is??? Well, this site will tell you all you'll ever need to know!
The Apple Collection desktop pictures, Mac links, books and collectibles
The Missing Bite vintage and more recent Apple logo items and paraphernalia
Red Light Runner Apple collectibles--shirts, posters, watches, stickers, and more
The Original MacQuarium Andy Ihnatko's plans for turning a classic Mac into a fish tank.
Macintosh publications
Macintosh Evangelism
The Cult clip art, comics, games, quotes, lists of famous Mac users, and other fun stuff
The OS Battle This page used to be called "Macs Suck" but then one day, on the road to Damascus... Well, they always say, converts make the best evangelists!
MacMarines The few, the proud..."We're fighting back for the Mac!"
MacPower.org "Resistance is not futile..."
The Mac Code "We're out there. We have better computers than everyone else. Isn't it about time we showed the world that we're better?" Mine, in case you were wondering, is at the time of this update, Mac Code vers:2.1 system:mac/10.3.7 CPU:1/PPCG4/1.5GHz RAM:1GB mac:-) since:1990 use:| rsrc:( BeOS:( win:( dos:-( unix:? apple:) M$:-( code:)
That Other O.S.
Windows Joke Wallpaper Lots of great graphics (including some poking fun at Mac, too...and some of those are actually funny--but not as funny as the anti-Windows stuff, of course)
...and if you're trying to eradicate Microsoft products from your life altogether, you'll appreciate the Stop IE campaign (and if you haven't already, consider switching to Firefox--I did, and I've never been sorry!)
And for some of my favorite moments in the life of Bill Gates...
Bill gets it in the face with a cream pie
