My Apple Switch Story

Every Mac user either grew up with the Mac or switched. I was a bit of the former but mostly the latter. Switching to the Mac has undoubtedly not only given me the joy of using great hardware with great software but also many other benefits (blogging for Apple Matters being one of them).

The first computer I ever laid a hand on was an old Hewlett Packard running Windows 95 and is actually as old as me. The PC was mainly used by mom to do cover sheets, flyers, and business letters for my dad’s liquidation business (which is how we acquired the Hewlett Packard). I knew nothing about computers at the time, which is expected for someone in kindergarten. As my fascination with software grew, I became a bit more knowledgeable, spending hours on end playing games. I remember my mom installing every piece of software, on one occasion taking four hours. My growing fun with games would eventually be the end of that PC. While playing Sim City I attempted to shut down the computer while still in the game. I learned the hard way that shutting down a computer while still in a game would kill it, especially if the Operating System is Windows 95.

The death of that HP was massive at the time, and meant no more Pinball or Sim City. Even though the loss was great, I will blog no more about it because this is an Apple focused blog. About a year later three great things happened to me. My dad acquired another computer, but this time it was a fully functional Compaq running Windows 98. The second was the introduction of the internet, which I wasted on Lego’s website about their new line called Bionicles (the original was great and even came with comics but then went on with endless flashbacks; to this day they are still stuck in a flashback of a flashback of a flashback and I kid you not).

The last great thing deserves its own paragraph: here was my introduction to the Mac. But hold your horses here, I was not a switcher just yet (that came about 6 years later). Oh no, I was still a PC dude, err, tot, but if you remember way back to a post about my old iMac then you’ll know exactly what happened.

It was during second grade that I started attending private school (it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be) so technically I was in a better school, if by better you mean aesthetically pleasing. As part of the curriculum we were required to have a computer class which was mostly free time on the Internet. Half the class had old and aging PowerMacs and then brand new blueberry slot loading iMac G3s. This was the first Mac i ever used and I later acquired one through my dad’s liquidation business with the same specs but I upgraded most of it. All the Macs ran OS 9 and to be honest I never really cared that it was a Mac; just as long as I could get on the internet and fantasize about Legos and play games (how addicting you were, KidPix Studio) I was fine. Since these were iMac G3s they naturally came with those very hard-to-use hockey puck mice. They were good for some of us due to the small size of our hands but were still uncomfortable. Later all iMacs got Apple Pro keyboards and mice.

I stayed in private school until 6th grade, but as the second half of our school was finished two computer labs were included. One was filled with PCs running the almost brand new Windows XP and the other lab, including every computer in the whole school, had either an eMac or iMac. Much to my dismay the PC lab was for 4th grade and up and the Mac lab was for the younger students. I think the reasoning for having the younger students use the eMacs was due to their durability, because they would occasionally get wacked around with keyboards and books. But every morning before school started I would venture down and play one of my favorite games, Deimos Rising. The game was included with Mac OS X 10.2 (or was it 10.1) but for the life of me I could not beat it. Also, another game that was included in demo form was Think Tanks, which like Deimos Rising was a great game and both get a 5 out of 5 (not only do you get my ramblings of becoming a full fledged Mac user but you get the briefest review you may ever read!)

Shortly after I finished elementary school and at the end of 7th grade my mom decided to move and sell most of the furniture and our belongings to start anew. This included our old eMachine (the Compaq barely lasted a year). Now I want to stress this to you: I was the biggest idiot about computers, I couldn’t even set up a printer. Exactly one week after Steve Jobs announced Macs would be Intel based starting next year, my mom walked out of the Apple store at 8PM with a brand new 15-inch PowerBook G4, iPod Mini, Airport Extreme, Apple Bluetooth Mouse, and .Mac. The odd thing was that my mom decided to go Mac, and I just wanted a Dell.

After the PowerBook came a new Mac Mini, iPod Shuffles, iPod Video, and then a larger iPod Video, an iPod Nano, and many other Apple products. Me switching (thanks mom) was the greatest thing in the world for one reason: I learned so much about computers just by teaching myself the ins and out of using a Mac.

Once you go Mac, you never go back.