Many of you know that in my past life, I made my living as a computer operator, programmer, systems analyst, and that for the last dozen years of my computer career, I was an independent computer consultant�. Global Software Associates. (That�s where mmglobal comes from.)
My career started back when computer storage was stone tablets� actually magnetic tape. A 300 baud terminal was lightening fast. The new fangled hard disc devices were the size of a top loading washing machine and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for storage measured in K(ilobytes), not Mega�s, Giga�s or Terra�s. A computer was booted by manually inputting the loader program in machine code, via a bank of toggle switches. Then, the operating system could be loaded from mag tape.
In the early 80�s one of my bosses went to an event at Apple computer (a company that made odd machines for propeller-heads and schools.) He came back all excited about a machine called the Lisa, with a GUI (graphics user interface) that let us look at data in windows and pixels and resizing and working on multiple things at once�. All beyond belief.. all too good to be true. (Remember that at the time, we all had pictures on our office walls�. Moonscapes with astronauts� all printed by over-striking characters to make rows and columns seem like pixels. We taped multiple sections of line-printer paper and created masterpieces. (I still have a 9-track tape with these pictures on them. So, if the tape is readable and if anyone has a 9-track tape reader�. I�ll make you a deal.)
In the late 80�s some people I knew had Macintosh�s. These computers and it�s OS were obviously superior. While I was worrying about IRQ, device addresses, interrupt levels for advanced devices like the new 1200 baud (not kilobaud) modems (4 times faster than the dinosaur modems)� my Apple buddies simply plugged in new devices� the OS recognized them and started to use them. What a bunch of simpletons those Mac people were� they didn�t know squat about IRQ�s. Since I needed to make my living with computers and since Apple products and software were more expensive and since none of the companies I worked with really focused on Macs� I have been on IBM Compatible PC�s since my first 64K on the motherboard, original PC. (I had a really cool one with 2 floppy drives� both upgraded to 360k instead of 1 smaller drive� the upgrade cost for this massive amount of storage, almost � of a megabyte, was about $1000. The entire machine with printer cost $6,000 (in 1983 dollars) including the extra $59 for a box of 10 floppy discs.
My Mac friends faded away because they will not associate with people who use PC�s. That was OK� they were an odd bunch anyway. Moonie types are always a bit off� no matter what their passion is.
Well, I just got my first Mac. Actually, it�s an iMac G5. MAN OH MAN, IS IT AWESOME!!! All those years wasted in conformity, bowing to the Microsoft God. What an idiot I was. I hope that my old Mac buddies will forgive me. I�m on my way to the tattoo parlor now to get an apple plastered on my forehead. Farewell to all I know who use PC�s� if you become enlightened, perhaps we can talk again.
OK� I�ll stop now.
The guy who set me up warned me that it would be a serious disadvantage� starting on a Mac, but knowing and still using DOS 1.0 commands. The purpose of this post is to seek help from my new Mac friends.
> Any tips or tricks that you want to share
> Any whiz bang devices that I must buy?
> Where do I send my Mac tithe and is 10% enough to make up for all those years?
Thanks in advance for the help.
Sincerely,
Mark
PS � Can we set up an ADR Support forum only for Mac users?
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