sorry that I jabbered on so much, I'm bored
I just joined a few days ago. I don't actually have a Mac yet, but I've got plans to order one within a month or so.
I'm one of those folks who has been using PCs for years, but would like to try something different. Also, there are all those typical reasons... like being tired of viruses and crashing. I believe I purchased my first computer around 1991. It was a Tandy that ran an interface called Deskmate. I believe it was a TRS-80, Model 200. Although 1991 doesn't sound that long ago I really felt like I was on the
cutting edge just because I owned a laptop!
Even though Bill Gates was already the third most wealthy man in America, and the Altair PC first hit the market over 15 years prior.... there was no widespread public access to the internet, and a 24KB RAM computer with a monochrome display would cost you over a thousand bucks. So maybe I was part of the
first wave(?). I think the best thing about having the Tandy was that I had to learn a number of DOS commands and other tactile operations. It didn't make me a computer genius, but I had a leg up on alot of other folks who started with more user friendly GUIs. It was sort of like learning to drive a car by starting with a manual transmission. Alot of casual computer users just sort of see them as magical boxes. I can at least find my way around in Windows Explorer and do some mild troubleshooting.
I've owned a series of desktops and laptops since the Tandy. My family now has a boat load of them. None are very special; just your typical "off the rack" stuff.
Laptops:
Compaq Presario V5000 (mine)
HP Pavilion dv8000 (wife's)
HP Pavilion tx1000z (wife's #2)
three Dell Inspiron 1521 (the kids')
HP Pavilion zd7000 (a beater that the kids sometimes use as a soccer ball)
Compaq Presario v2000 (an old beast)
Family Desktop:
HP Pavilion m7690y
Printer:
HP Officejet 7410 (connected to the family wireless network)
So you can see that my home is sort of an old folks home for computers. I do sort of like my wife's tx1000z. Every now and then, I consider getting a tx2000z instead of a MacBook.
I guess what it boils down to is that we have one heck of alot of
stuff!
Our only real foray into the world of Apple has been with iPods. The kids all have 4GB Nanos, the wife has a Shuffle, and I roll with a 60GB unit. I've been happy with my iPod, although I have not figured out how to transfer music
backwards (from my iPod, back onto iTunes). I've screwed up at least twice, and managed to erase everything each time (it's probably a full weekend of work to burn all my CDs into iTunes). I tried to do this with a shareware program called Music Rescue, but obviously I screwed something up. It would be nice if Apple would
dummy-proof iTunes. Maybe they have.
Considering all this, it may be hard to believe that I haven't really been into computers or technology. I have always spent alot of time on the internet, and e-mail is like crack to me... but I have only recently started to become interested in the computers themselves. I'm even considering looking into taking Computer Science classes (maybe I could pursue a BS, to go along with the Liberal Arts BA I got over 20 years ago).
Pretty crazy that I typed all this. This is what happens when the snow traps me inside... and I didn't even talk about my 12 years as an Army officer, or my second career in the motorcycle industry. i'll have to save those for another snowy day.
computer soon hopefully next month for my bday. I like music a lot (its funny cause I share a birthday with the iPod) and of course I love Macs. This is the greatest Apple rumors site on the web because of the community that has grown around it. I hope to be on these forums for a long time cause it is fun to talk with other Mac people.
