Today I am a Man

On this day, January 24 or the Year of our Lord, 1984 the Macintosh was released, and personal computing was changed in ways we barely even understand, even today.

Don't believe me? Once I figure out that the Ctrl key in WindoZ is the same as the Command key on the Mac, and the Mac Option key is pretty much the Alt key in Redmond's copy-cat world, I could transport from 1984 directly to today and wouldn't need a manual.

Mr. Bill countered with WindoZ 1.x and 2.x, complete jokes. Version 3 finally got something of a following, but it was still pitiful when compared to what Apple was doing, even with Jobs forced aside by the sugar-water salesman. He also tried ganging up with IBM on OS/2( good UI, but he just can't play nice.)

The first REALLY good UI out of Redmond was 98, and, surprise, surprise! It was the one that mimicked the Mac. (Court cases can sometimes be wonderful things...)

I guess it should not be surprising how long it took, Redmond didn't use their normal method of buying a solution.

There is a nice site that Chronicles the Mac's creation.

Andy Hertzfeild, one of the original designers, has written a book on his recolections of the process.

Read some of the stories and history, if you are not familiar. In a world where the PC is barely beyond a beige-box mentality, it seems strange. Treating a technolgy device as a work of art. Applying as much the aesthetic as the innovative in an elegant total design. This has always been the forte at Apple.

I have been asked by more than one musician why I didn't persue a musical career full-time.
In the early days, those of us who saw the future of technology could see the revolution.

As Andy's title indicates, the Mac embodied that revolution.

Apple has stumbled, but not quite fallen.

It has managed a nice recovery from the brink.

Many of my friends in the Ameteur Radio community were dumb-founded with my Mac-using habits. I never saw Apples demise as a good thing, even when a new job took me away from daily usage of their product. Who else would be the burr under Mr. Bill's saddle? Whatever it's faults, and they are legion, Apple has prodded the rest of the industry in so many ways, and continues to do so.

To that end, my oldest friend recently asked my thoughts on the new Mac Mini.

While that will be the subject of another post in detail, I will say this:



It is, by far, the smallest system, bar none. WindoZ or Mac.



And don't it just look COOL?