[catsank]

Facetious maybe, bitter I am not.

Did your parents or friends convert you, was it
just a good reason to spend a little bit more
on hardware and software, maybe an accident
or love of the gay pride colors...



Particularly interested in christian nerds and
other religious flakes reason's, sorry 'leaps' for
why they chose to line the pockets of a 'leader'
and head designer who are both freedom and
money loving atheists - rather than 'gates&windows'
who's the supreme christian and head dork ?

[waxcrash]

I started with the Apple II computers in grade school, then bought a 486 in high school because I couldn't afford a Mac. I wanted a Mac but had to settle with DOS and Win 3. I still have Pagemaker and Photoshop for Win 3 in my closet. After high school, I went to school for graphic design and used Macs full time. I still use a PC too for the occasional stuff I can't do on a Mac.

I prefer a Mac because I'm more effecient on them compared to PCs and I need the color management (ColorSync) built into the Mac when I do prepress work.

[mitchell_pgh]

I honestly don't know what you are smoking, but you should seek help.

When I joined up on the Mac bandwagon, Windows 3.1 was all the rage and DOS was still dominant. Designing on the PC was a nightmare, cut and paste was a hit or miss luxury... The mac was (and still is) a much more elegant total solution. Although the hardware was much more expensive, --> I <-- could connect printers, scanners, and networks.

I almost made the jump when Apple was in the pits (circa 1996) and M$ came out with Windows NT 4. Now with OS X and the Unix foundation... I'm never going away...

Macs are also known for reliability. In fact, my local paper JUST got rid of their Color Classic! I don't kid myself into thinking that the ONLY way is Mac, but i can't stand the inconsistencies with Windows based applications and even the OS itself.

[starman]

It was a natural progression from the failed Atari ST line.

Mike

[ligux]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by starman:
[B]It was a natural progression from the failed Atari ST line.

And do not forget Amiga, where a lot of Mac users come from.

[OB1]

Originally posted by starman:
It was a natural progression from the failed Atari ST line.

Mike

Me too, I was happy with my ST for music prodution, but when I decided it was time to get online, the ST wasn't going to cut it. It had to be a Mac. Pcs always seemed like glorified typewriters.

[typoon]

Dos and Windows 3.1 are what brought me to the Mac. I thank M$ everyday for that. Because if it wasn't for M$ I probably would either never have gone to the Mac or would be just now switching over.

[pjmurphy]

I ignored the mac until last fall, when I was trying desparately to get my T68 phone to sync with my PC via bluetooth. I spent a good month trying to get it to work.. never happened.

One of my Google searches for sync and bluetooth brought up iSync. It had just been released so I visited my local Apple store (Easton-Cols OH). I pulled out the T68 and it saw it immediately!!! i was sold on the iSync and the MacOS.. bought a 17iMac 09/02 - eBay'd that for a 15" powerbook 11/02 - eBay'd that for a 17"PB-1.33 10/03.

never looked back...

[OwlBoy]

That warm and fuzzy feeling inside when you unpack a new one.

-Owl

[Sherwin]

Originally posted by OB1:
Me too, I was happy with my ST for music prodution, but when I decided it was time to get online, the ST wasn't going to cut it. It had to be a Mac. Pcs always seemed like glorified typewriters.

Same here. I went PC for a while due to transferring to hardware based stuff for music. But soon got fed up with that (the PC, not the music hardware). Macs put the pleasure back into computing which Windows sucked out.

OS X... It's almost like NeoDesk and NeoDesk CLI on the ST.

[sanity assassin]

I chose a powerbook cause it was the only laptop in the shop that would fit in my bag when I went to steal one.

[Sven G]

For me, the first Mac was from the sequence

Commodore Amiga 1000 (AmigaOS 1.0)
---> IBM ThinkPad (Windows 3.1)
---> Apple iMac (Mac OS 8.5)

My first real contact with the Internet was with the Bondi Blue iMac, actually...

[Phanguye]

It came to me in a dream... a dream where i didnt have to use windows 98 anymore

[sanity assassin]

Originally posted by starman:
It was a natural progression from the failed Atari ST line.

Mike

Tsk, tsk, starman, indeed, the Amiga was the natural progression from the Atari.

[Link]

'cept amiga were funky little machines.

I went mac 2 years ago. got fed up with the hardware and software and having to reinstall everything every month or two.. the whole 'windows goes to hell in a month' dealie <-- unless you 'perfect' your machine which is about as much of a pain as dealing with windows falling apart due to neglegence.

I like macs, gotta love how my g4, aside from it's lemon-ness [it never stops having problems :sigh:] the OS is awesome. I never really have to worry about it OS wise... I turn it on.. it works. I turn it off.. it turns off. I plug things in.. they work <-- wired or wireless

[Sherwin]

Originally posted by sanity assassin:
Tsk, tsk, starman, indeed, the Amiga was the natural progression from the Atari.

Unless you were an audio, rather than visual, type peeps. In which case the Amiga was useless (and don't be telling me that Octomed was ever any good ).

Meh. Wish I hadn't sold my Stacy 4/40 now (only sold it a couple o' months back). I suddenly have an urge to play "Captive"!

[OB1]

Originally posted by Sherwin:
Unless you were an audio, rather than visual, type peeps. In which case the Amiga was useless (and don't be telling me that Octomed was ever any good ).

Meh. Wish I hadn't sold my Stacy 4/40 now (only sold it a couple o' months back). I suddenly have an urge to play "Captive"!

I've still got my Stacy Screen's broken tho...

[boots]

I got an Apple IIe from a friend of the family, so I learned on an Apple. Then, I bought a new computer in like '94. Most of the computers at my college were macs, so I knew all the software idiosyncrasies and bought a mac (I forget which..7200 series I think).

Then in grad school I was looking to buy a laptop to write my thesis. I looked carefully at windows based laptops and found (to my surprise) that it was cheaper to buy an iBook than a low-end windows machine. The base price of the PC's was lower, but thy didn't come with modems or ethernet cards, so that would have jacked the price up. I also didn't have to buy new software either...but it was cheaper even without considering software.

So I stayed with a Mac. Then OS X came out, and I know I'll never go windows now. The combination is just too good for me to even consider a switch at this point.

[InterfaceGuy]

The first computer with a GUI I ever used in school was a Mac. We had a LC 550 in the classroom and I think an LC III in the lab. I had no idea what Windows was but had seen DOS on a friends computer. At my previous school we had old Apple's. When my parents said we were getting a computer for Christmas I was thrilled. We went to Best Buy and I went to the computer I wanted, a Mac. But the salesman convinced my parents Apple was going out of business and PCs were better. So, my first computer was an Acer. I was happy to have a computer but I really wanted a Mac. A couple years later my uncle bought me a Performa 6220 and I was soooo happy. I now use a custom built PC as my main system since I use Visual Basic and was able to build a powerful gaming box cheap. I use my PowerBook for my graphic and mobile needs. Now all I need is the 20" Cinema to finish it out. Also since this new PowerBook has a Radeon 9600 it is gonna be a lan gaming machine.

[sanity assassin]

Originally posted by Sherwin:
Unless you were an audio, rather than visual, type peeps. In which case the Amiga was useless (and don't be telling me that Octomed was ever any good ).

Lol, yeah, but it's the cool factor, a nice amiga 3000 running videoscape.

Audio? amiga games had the best sounds around!

kidding

[typoon]

Originally posted by boots:
I got an Apple IIe from a friend of the family, so I learned on an Apple. Then, I bought a new computer in like '94. Most of the computers at my college were macs, so I knew all the software idiosyncrasies and bought a mac (I forget which..7200 series I think).

Then in grad school I was looking to buy a laptop to write my thesis. I looked carefully at windows based laptops and found (to my surprise) that it was cheaper to buy an iBook than a low-end windows machine. The base price of the PC's was lower, but thy didn't come with modems or ethernet cards, so that would have jacked the price up. I also didn't have to buy new software either...but it was cheaper even without considering software.

So I stayed with a Mac. Then OS X came out, and I know I'll never go windows now. The combination is just too good for me to even consider a switch at this point.

Yep I know about the Apple IIe I used to have one of those as well. It was my first taste of Apple. I remember that the whole system was like 5-6 thousand. My only exposure to PC's was in school in "computer class" Using DOS and Win 3.1. My First Mac was in college I got a Performa 600CD. Then I got a 7100, My brother got a 6100 for college, I went to a Duo 2300c And a 7500, aquired a 7200 along the way Got a Sawtooh G4 450. Got a Wall Street PB 233, Lombard 333 then Pismo 500, I finally got an iBook 600, Saving now for a PB 17".

[chris v]

Hmm... Windows... Mac... Windows... Mac... Windows... Mac... Windows... Mac...

Wow, that was hard.

CV

[Adam Betts]

Originally posted by OwlBoy:
That warm and fuzzy feeling inside when you unpack a new one.

[catsank]

I stayed out in the sun till '98 - everyone I knew used
tiny spec'd but expensive macs and when I asked if I
should buy a big cow of a 'gateway' machine
-peeps just laughed and said go mac - it's on the
up and will not die for a while, give you time to get
used working on computers - for artists it's the only choice.

One of the first to own a SCSI G3 300 beige princess -
remember wondering if I should go for the 9500 instead.
Also remember spending a thousand bucks on
a 'wee bite' of ram.

Was a power horse of a machine running Mac OS 8 ;)
( how great OS 8.5 was to use )

I had my tower at 800x600 for a week on that 20" ;)

Gave it away to a local school a couple of years ago.


I have the dubious honor of never using a PC.

[xylon]

Originally posted by catsank:
I have the dubious honor of never using a PC.

Same here. Started on the original mac and have been on them ever since. And, like someone said, now that I've got X and Unix, I'm probably never going to convert.

[toans]

Well ever since I saw screenshots of OS X and iTunes i was really hooked on the idea of getting a mac...0S 9 never really appealed to me. I wanted a change...I've got two high powered PCs at home (both are 2.8 ghz plus. I finally took the dive and sold one of them, saved up a little extra cash and bought a 12 inch Powerbook.

I still find myself using my PC...a lot less mind you, most of the time it's just cause I miss the big screen (17 inch LCD) and can't be bothered hooking my PB up to it (when I do, my sister usually comes along and needs the PC).

My next computer will most probably be a mac...I don't want another PC, unless MS magically make a good OS...as I still think PCs have it all over Mac in the speed department (although I haven't tried a G5...)

Oh I forgot something....the thing i find really really funny and stupid, is that Microsoft expect an individual to pay $600+ AUD for a copy of Office that can only be used on one computer.

Thing I'm loving most about Mac is the educational discounts

[malvolio]

I'm a comparative late-comer to computers.
I was using a DOS-based PC at work back in the mid-90's. My dad, who had retired from teaching college, took up desktop publishing as a retirement hobby (I kid you not!). On a visit home, I played around with his Mac and fell in love. First time I realized that using a computer could be enjoyable!

[beb]

~

[cenutrio]

Back in the 80s my first computer was a 286 Inves running Dos, I went though the whole x86 and early windows nightmare. Later, I went to college to get my biology degree. The computer labs where loaded with Macs. Although they worked perfectly, I never did get into the Mac spirit.

Finally, I came to the US to start my graduate studies and got into a Mac lab. I got a bondi iMac to write my M.S thesis and later a TiPB to write some manuscripts on the go.

So far so good

[sniffer]

It was all about OS X for me. That's why I switched. The early adopter days was very exciting, although I was stuck in OS 9 a long time (a half year or probably more maybe) until the final finally shipped.

[willed]

Just always had them - my Dad had a IIgs or something back int he 80s, then a Mac Classic, then a Performa 5200. My parents bought me this iBook for Uni a couple of years back - they tried to get me to go PC, but I stuck to it. Funny thing is, the HP laptops they got at the same time have been repaired more times than I've booted up my iBook. They're converted and going Mac for their next machine.

[kuzzy]

The first computer I ever purchased was a B&W G3 300 Mhz PowerMac in 1999. (My folks bought us a Coleco ADAM back in the day). I was in my residency practice and a couple of the faculty members were diehard Mac users and I was curious about their passion for the platform so I learned what Apple had to offer as I was looking to buy a computer. Incidently, a buddy of mine from med school had just purchased a Gateway system. I felt that with the upcoming G4 chip and later OS X, Apple had a lot going for it compared to the Wintel platform. Plus with the cross platform compatability of Microsoft Office for Mac and the platform independence of the internet and email, I realized I couldn't lose choosing Apple. I enjoyed my G3 (since upgraded with an XLR8 500 Mhz G4) and OS 8.6. Jumped on the OS X bandwagon with the Public Beta and currently love the stability and functionality of Jaguar (and looking forward to Panther). I bought my first PowerBook, the venerable TiBook 1 Ghz/SD in December '02 and absolutely love this machine. Overall the ease of use, bleeding edge industrial design, and none of that Windows virus crap make Apple a great platform. I don't try to push Apple onto people like it is the "be all end all" of computers, but I will advise people to look seriously at Apple before they make the "easy" choice of a Windows based computer. I am glad I did.

[willab]

I chose the Mac because of a small video project I was doing for some relatives. My PC kept freezing and the video would stutter. I borrowed a friends old iMac and was able to do the whole project in one weekend. I was officially switched at that point and bought my eMac a few months later.

I am a Christian, but that did not affect my decision, I did not know about Job's religious beliefs until this thread, and it does not bother me.

[omegahack]

I just jumped on, It does everything i need, I can run windows on it, It looks hella nicer than any crappy windows computer, and the GUI is hella tight.

[ASIMO]

For the Kool-Aid.

[DekuDekuplex]

Way back in about 1982 or so, at a computer exhibition at the Shinjuku Sumitomo Sankaku ["Triangle"] Building, in the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo, Japan, I fell in love with an Apple II j-plus (the Japanese version of the Apple II plus) with a piano-like keyboard hooked up running a color graphical music synthesizer.

(The place was crowded with many people looking at various domestic (Japanese) and imported (non-Japanese) computers, and I still remember a funny pair of lunar games running on a Sharp MZ-80B.)

On that Apple computer, every time I pressed a key on the music keyboard, a corresponding color bar would appear on a computer screen, and the note would sound. The longer I pressed the key, the longer the bar would grow, and the longer the note would play.

Several months later, I encountered a group of American users running an Apple II plus in a garage-looking mobile home parked in the middle of a parking lot at Yokota Air Force Base (my father used to work in the Air Force, so I used to have a military ID card) in Fussa City, Tokyo.

I remember how fun the Apple II plus was to use. I can't say exactly, but there was something quaint, warm, and fuzzy about programming in Applesoft BASIC, with its "]" prompt character, on a small brown keyboard on a light-beige Apple II plus. I still remember all the characters on the screen being bright capital letters with iridescent borders on a black background, and being able to write short computer programs in Applesoft BASIC on the Apple.

After that, in 1984 or so, I discovered one of the original black-and-white Macintoshes running a text-based role-playing adventure game in a nearby store in that base. I remember how crisp the screen appeared. Even though it was a black-and-white screen, something about the feel and overall experience of using the Mac gave it a warm, fuzzy feeling, as if I were sitting on a comfortable sofa on the carpet drinking a caf� latte and reading poetry, instead of sitting on a metal chair on concrete and typing away on a glorified typewriter.

When I entered college in 1989 back in the US, most of the users around me used Mac's, and only a few users used PC's. The Mac's of this period were mostly Macintosh SE's or Macintosh Classic's. My roommate owned a Macintosh SE/30. I tried out both Mac's and PC's, but found the PC's (which were then running Windows 3.1) to be very difficult to work with, and to have a rather crappy feel. They seemed the electronic counterpart of typewriters, and they all somehow seemed devoid of any personality or elegance whatsoever.

In contrast, the Mac OS GUI on the Mac's felt wonderful to use. I especially enjoyed the various beautiful screen backgrounds and the voice function on the Mac's; they kept me from going insane with frustration and boredom while writing my papers. The Mac's were my friends. I wound up writing all of my papers on Mac's throughout college. It was during this period that I became convinced that I eventually needed a Mac, and not a PC.

While I did use Sun Sparc I UNIX stations running Sun Sparc UNIX (the predecessor to Sun Solaris UNIX) for my computer science studies (I was a computer science major), I still preferred using Mac's for everything else.

After graduating from college, I then got a position as a Mac systems engineer for a project at Keio Academy in New York, a Japanese prep school. This was in April, 1996. This position lasted for several months, but eventually the project ended at the end of November.

I remember using a PowerMac 7100/66 during this period. About three months after I started using it, the school started putting PowerMac 7500/100's on my neighboring subordinates' desks. I became envious and asked for an exchange. My supervisor then asked the consultant from Telecomet to install a card to boost the speed of my Mac to 100 MHz, but, unfortunately, then my Mac wouldn't even start, so they had to remove the card. Alas .

My next job, unfortunately, was as a systems engineer with Hitachi, a PC-using company. In the course of securing this job in December, 1996, I discovered that I couldn't find any other company in the New York that used Mac's. Even though I really preferred Mac's, I decided to learn how to use PC's as well just in order to maintain job market viability.

I continued using PC's at that job and my next one, a ITD (Information Technology Department) Coordinator job at Berlitz, until shortly after the September 11, 2001 disaster, when I was laid off because of the economic fallout.

I had been studying for the Oracle 9i OCP (Oracle Certified Professional) DBA (DataBase Administrator) certification (currently divided into the Oracle9i Database Administrator Certified Associate and Oracle9i Database Administrator Certified Professional exams) in order to secure a better position until then. I then passed my first OCP Exam, Exam #1Z0-007 Introduction to Oracle9i: SQL, in June, 2002. However, I soon discovered that I would be unable to pass the next OCP exam, Exam #1Z0-031 Oracle 9i Database: Fundamentals I (Oracle 9i database architecture), without actual database experience.

Thereafter, I compared the Sony VAIO�, Apple Macintosh iBook, and Apple Macintosh PowerBook G4 laptop computers before finally settling on a 17-inch PowerBook [Rev. A]. It put me in serious credit card debt, but is incredibly addictive to use, and I am thrilled to have it beside me.

--DekuDekuplex

Originally posted by catsank:
Facetious maybe, bitter I am not.

Did your parents or friends convert you, was it
just a good reason to spend a little bit more
on hardware and software, maybe an accident
or love of the gay pride colors...



Particularly interested in christian nerds and
other religious flakes reason's, sorry 'leaps' for
why they chose to line the pockets of a 'leader'
and head designer who are both freedom and
money loving atheists - rather than 'gates&windows'
who's the supreme christian and head dork ?

[blackbird_1.0]

i grew up on an apple IIgs and later a powerbook 165, it wasn't til 5 years ago i got my imac, and two years ago i got my ibook, and i enjoy em as much as my older models,

surprisingly enough, i had an art teacher in high school who had an obsession with hating macs, she'd says that apple didn't dominate the market and that people didn't want to use macs, that why there was no software for them,

she made me real angry, and a couple times, i got sent to the office, she'd tell the kids not to use the clipart of fruit b/c that would make thheir precious gateway pcs explode

she made me sick, i was in art 4 when i walked out of class, and went to the office, and transferred to study hall


i won't name her name, but she's hard on a lot of her students, even some relatives of mine, not about macs but art in general,

i will tell you that she is employed by aiken county schools in south carolina

[Agent69]

I didn't know anything about computers until 1992, when I was stationed in Maryland while in the US Navy. Where I worked, we had PCs with Windows 3.1/DOS and a Macintosh IIfx. Thanks to this, I became interested in Macs, so I began to read Byte, MacWorld, and MacUser.

In September of 1992, I purchased my first Mac, a Powerbook 100 (2/20) for $700.00, which included the external floppy disk. The PB included System 7.0.1. I had a great time with that unit. I bought Prince of Persia, Lemmings, and SimAnt. I also used Hypercard to create databases for my ComicBook collection and Addresses, although that was later replaced with Filemaker Pro.

Since then, I have moved between PCs and Macs several times but I currently have an eMac and I really like it.