Ah, sweet memories…

It happened at Gallaudet one fine, sunny day in the spring of 1997. I’ll never forget how the sun shone on my face the day I found myself a changed person…

When I decided to major in graphic design (yes, at Gallaudet), we were required to get a PowerBook or iBook to do our work. I didn’t want to use a Mac, but since I had to…I gave in and got a blazing fast 333MHz PowerBook G3 Lombard with the bronze keyboards.

When I opened the PowerBook for the first time, I was struck by the elegance of the desktop, the icons, the operating system (OS 9.6), and the simplicity of it all. And the speed! Oh, the speed!! 333MHz – that’s Three Hundred and Thirty Three Megahertz! I couldn’t believe what I was holding in my hand!

Much to my dismay, however, it got old. Quickly. But it got me started in learning about Apple, its history, products, and the man named Steve Jobs. Year by year, it just seemed like they were coming out with better products, and when they shipped OSX, I knew without a doubt that I’ll be a Mac User for a long time. And when they shipped the Intel Macs, I just knew that my PC friends had lost every bit of their persuading powers to make me switch back to PCs.

Now I’m using a 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo iMac with 1GB RAM running 10.4.9.

And there you have it. The story of how Apple and its genius changed the life of a PC user…

Funnily enough, the first computer my parents bought was an Apple computer. Then after that, we switched over to the PC platform. That was back in either 1989 or 1990.

Fast-forward to 2002, after graduating from high school, I enrolled into the graphic design production program at a college. During that time, I’ve been thinking of getting a Mac desktop computer. I managed to make a purchase on a 1.25GHz Dual PowerMac model.

Today, I’m still using it and it’s still running like new. It has done so much for me. It has all of the software I need and it meets every need of mine. It’s quite a machine. People at Apple, Inc. are both artists and designers when it comes to their products.

Yes, there’s a difference between an artist and a designer. Once they combine, that’s where it truly shines.

There’s nothing like a Mac.

My first computer was a Mac but I was unhappy with the programming tools available on the Classic Mac OS, so I bought a Windows machine. As soon as Mac OS X 10.2, the first stable version, was released, I was back on the Mac just like that. I was already loyal to the Mac and was despondent that I had to use a Windows system to do what I needed to do.

So it was the improved availability of programming tools that switched me back to the Mac. I haven’t looked back since.

A lot of people still have the thinking that Macs are good for “graphics and film making”. That may have been true with the Classic Mac OS, however with OS X, the statement has been expanded to include almost all areas of computing.

I hope I’m not preaching to the choir. :)

Growing up with confined capabilities of intelligence with computers and such, I couldn’t fathom the Windows platform at all. Once I got my hands on a G5 in the past year with my craving addiction for photoshop, I told my parents that I wanted a mac for my graduation present.

I got a MacBook, and it was worth every cent. With the new Intel processors, it’s amazing how far Apple Computers have improved in the recent years. Mac OS X Tiger is an amazing piece of work, and Leopard will be an another miracle.

With the firm operating systems in Mac OS X, I can’t find any other software that exceeds the expectations which Mac computers established in our society today. My favorite feature of the MacBook is the built in iSight which provides an endless access to communication with my mac buddies.

“Pretty much, Apple and Dell are the only ones in this industry making money. They make it by being Wal-Mart. We make it by innovation.” – Steve Jobs

I never made the switch… I’ve always been an Apple/Mac user!

Well, my family started out with an IBM PC back in 1983 (1984?) I really loved that one text-based game – you had to put in code to tell the game where you wanted to go. Then, in 1985, my stepfather introduced us to the Apple computer. Since then, I’ve been using Apples/Macs at home and PCs at work and school. Now I have a MacBook with an iSight at home, and I love it!

I switch to Mac because it’s keep my life simple without have to fix too often. I need my time to have fun. The cool thing that I can make call with HOVRS service anywhere in major city follow by EVDO modem (under my treo 700p) with my iBook. It’s sw33t.

Umm.. What is the switch? Heh, Once I use MAC and always use the same kind of the brand I have since 1985 at the RIT campus where I was student..

Of course I have to admit that I do using the windows at home (for games that one of my sons wanted) and my work (Duh! Bill Gates already did brainwash anyone at work), but Most of the times I use MAC a lot.. even other my two other young sons use MAC too.. One time, my older son had some trouble with the windows (DELL) computer due to no reason or possible the virus? but I keep telling him “Use MAC for next time”.

I hope that many of the people who uses the Windows (even Vistas) a lot that may be realized that Macintosh system is the best system that they could use for their investment!

I am so glad that Steve Jobs was returning back to Apple Company after it was messed up by Scully, and back to the feet now like back in early 80′s.

PMRjr

Just as I left Gallaudet, I was hit with a serious case of envy when I saw the first Macintosh (Yes, the very first model out of Apple in 1984) But alas, life events conspired to keep Macs out of my hands until 2003. By then, Mac OS X was running on BSD, an Unix flavor which, to me, was like coming home. When you spend 20-odd years working in Unix environments from design, development and implementation, you can’t help but feel awkward every time Microsoft changes their OS.

At home, we had just one (1) Windows PC. One was enough just to keep running in a family of 5. When I got my TiBook (1Ghz Gigabit), it wasn’t long before everyone had their own Mac, with my 4-year-old TiBook setup in the living room.

Macs aren’t computers, but communicators! With them, we can and do communicate with everybody, in every which way imaginable; be it photos, music, movies or email.

Here’s to Steve Jobs, a stubborn and deaf man. I say deaf because he does not listen to the “popular” wisdom of running a computer hardware business.

I have a question to ask you about point to point for Imac? I am using imac here at work. I have used HOVRS which I am satisfied with which has made me consider buying imac laptop with built in cam. HOever, I would like tips on how to use point to point to contact friends who has Soresnson or DLink or whatever?

I hope you can answer the question. :-)

LAS

I am a mac newbie! I so love it! (i have imac) I was on the verge with buying HP media center desktop but with the Vista that caused doubts because people were saying “oh will have to wait 3 months later or it will crash etc. My friend got a Dell laptop with Vista, she was on phone with Dell techies everyday for hours! I dont want to deal with it! When I was at a store looking at computers, the employee said to me, hey if you spend that much money on this HP media center, buy this imac! He was telling me all good features etc, no virus, you know the works. I was thinking, why the heck not! So went ahead and got imac! I have been soo happy ever since! :-) It has been a great investment I ever made!

i got my first macputer on April 12, 2007. it is black macbook. it is macool! I macenjoy it very mach. macobviously i am a macnewbie. i have maclot to learn. i am still using a desktop pc. so i am a bi-bi puter user for time being. i am looking forward to getting more neat tips from you macusers. how did i lead to mac. Last month? I went to a workshop about HOVRS in Portland. Chad the macultist led the workshop on Mac. guess i got a macbug. I got macaved!

machoward

To: Laurel Sack

Have your friends sign up for HOVRS and get a free webcam from them. Once they have their webcam hooked up, you guys can easily converse through iChat/AIM. ;) The big PLUS about the Mac’s iChat is that you can chat with 3 people at the same time. How cool is that!?!

@Laurel Sack: You can use a Point-to-Point software (H.323 and SIP) called “XMeeting” (available for free download from VersionTracker.com). This is a software you can run off your Mac and call VP users. Hope that answers your question?

I never switched. I had my very first mac when I was a college student and it was LC II. It cost me 3k. (I had a color monitor too!) To this day, I still wonder how did I manage to save up to 3k for a mac computer as a college student.

I guess I’m a macjunkie. :)

Maureen-

And thanks to you beacuse you were the one who introducted me to a Mac world when you purchased your first Mac LC II :-) ( I still never forget the moment!).

I have been using mac ever since- Thank god I never wasted a penny on a worthless PC!

 rocks!

Ahhhhhh, the person who convinced me to switch from PC to Mac is da man, Chad W. Taylor himself. :-) To make it a long story short, I wanted a convenient way of loading/storing photos from my digi camera into computer. iPhoto was really simple to use and I liked the features so that was what sold me on getting a Mac. When Mac mini came out, I went out and got one almost immediately. No regrets since then. :-)

Hi Chad, Adam and Ramy,

Very impressed about this web site! May I ask what’s kind of software that Adam B. or whoever designed this page? (Dreamweaver MX? And Abode Photoshop CS too I’m sure.) Did you or someone else design this? Do you have the web’s template similar to yours that I can buy? I would love to know more then I can put it on the school’s web site where I work.

HOORAY TO DEAFMAC.ORG! I been considered to make a small one myself with PHP forums, but now it’s there finally! I’m glad that you guys are able to host it. Thanks to HOVRS too!

Catch you later. Ü. Welcome mac deaf users by the way!

Why did I switch? My husband. He is a Mac geek through and through. Me… I grew up with both a Mac and a PC. I bought a PC, because it was all I could afford at the time. I was okay with it, and then it came an opportunity for me to get a new computer. I went with the Mac, because it offers more options compared to a PC. I’m happier, and I absolutely love it.

I never “switched,” per se…

I grew up with Macs. :D

Never switched. I was smitten with Apple from the first summer my mom brought an Apple //e home on loan from work. I used it to play games, being only 6 and having had no exposure to computers of any kind before, but I loved it. It felt right. Didn’t really have much exposure to computers until high school, when the school had a computer lab full of IBMs running DOS. I hated them. My career center told me I got very high scores for computer-related stuff, and I thought that was ridiculous, considering how little I liked the school computers. At Gally I found myself working with both platforms, VAX computers, and dabbled a bit in UNIX. I became very good at all of them quickly, but the Mac felt right to me. It felt more intuitive and friendly. The very first computer I ever bought was right after graduation, and it was a Performa 637. Haven’t looked back since then – progressed from one Mac to another, growing to hate PCs more and more with each passing year, thanks to being forced to use one at work and realizing how counterintuitive it is. I’m typing this on a sage iMac at the moment.

Re: #1:
“…the operating system (OS 9.6)…”

That would be amazing to see since OS 9.x stopped at 9.2. :) I’m betting you meant 8.6.

I never switched. I do tolerate WinXP inside Parallels on iMac 24″ for web testing purposes, however. Windoze always looks nicer wrapped in Aqua.

I switched to a PC from a Mac! Oops, wrong forum!!

Jared,

You came to the right forum! Let’s get rid of your PC! How can we help you?

My partner is a Mac nut! He bought a new Mac laptop with Tiger operating system in December 2005. I use PCs since 1995. I also learned Linux operating systems … very secure and stable but very complex. I borrowed his Mac laptop and was fascinated by its hardware and Tiger operating system. Very smooth, stable and reliable. It made me a decision to purchase 20-inch iMac last September. I am still happy with it ever since. Thanks to my partner!

I switched? No, I just join the MAC world! I still have the PC because I still work heavily on PC!

I have iMAC at home. God, I wished that I switched to MAC years years ago! No more headaches on virus (so far!)

chad and laura

abt xmeeting, it works good, but if someone calls me from xmeeting to Sorenson-it would be a slight blur, i wouldnt say slight, but a severe one. perhaps its a good use for travelers like me-at the hotel, i use xmeeting to call EVERYONE ELSE only if they dont have ichat, :) its called better than nothing videophone!

My wife wanted to learn graphic design so we decided to get a mac for her. We first bought a Mac Powerbook Titanium in 2001. I charged to a credit card because we couldn’t resist the lure. The CC had skyrocketing rates! 33%! It was WORTH every penny I spent on the laptop. Of course, I managed to close that crazy credit card and learned it the hard way but it still didn’t sway me to the evil PC side. :) Recently, I bought a 15″ Macbook Pro 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and I paid in cash this time. Still worth every penny!

No more troubleshooting – fabulous
No more viruses – very nice!
No more paying for upgrades – whoohoo!

Unfortunately, at work, it’s all PCs so I have to live in both worlds. It’s nice switching over to my Mac after coming home from work for a refreshing change of pace!

The first time I saw a Mac was in 1986 with a friend who lived in Maryland. Saw the graphical user interface and the folders and so on. I was blown away! Then in 1990, I finally could afford to buy a Mac and bought a Mac Classic which was a 4 mb ram with a 40 mb hard drive. 17 years later, have a G5 Dual 2.5 ghz machine with 5.5. gigs of ram!

The major reason that non Mac computers are still used in business is because IT Departments would have to lay off most of their staff if they were to switch to Mac servers!

I conviced Maureen K, Chad Taylor, and too many. About how great Mac is.. Sorry if i am showing off.. LOL

Only thing that stuck me is Jared. He is damn hard head!

About XMeeting, anybody here know about configuring and getting it set up? I got a MacBook and a iMac G5. The set up instructions are vague to me. Also can use it to call other non-iSight users?

I was brain washed by PCs in High School and data entry jobs until I met my ex-husband who is apple lover in late 1990. Before I know it, I’m 100% into Macs. Never had any problems for more than 16 years. My children (age 12 and 9) and I all have our own macs. My children has been attending the free in-store apple camp to learn how to use iPods, iPhotos, etc. 

The computer lab at NTID had rows of Macintosh computers so I figured I’d save some money by doing homework in my dorm and use the printer in the computer lab.

The only time I own a working PC was when I found one in the trash bin. LOL Mac computer owner since 1988

ummm make that DIE HARD mac user!!!

HI MAC USERS,
I LOVE READING MANY GOOD STORIES ABOUT MANY ADVANTAGES OF APPLE SYSTEM. THE BEST THING I LIKE IS APPLE SYSTEM IS VERY SECURE. MY OLD HP LAPTOP IS NO GOOD BECAUSE OF MANY BAD EVILS IN THE LAPTOP. I DO NOT TRAVEL WITH MY NEW MACPRO LAPTOP EVERYWHERE. NO WAY!!! WHY??? I HATE THAT MANY PEOPLE STARE AT THE NEW APPLE LAPTOP. SO I PREFER TO TRAVEL WITH MY NEW HP LAPTOP SO I FEEL SAFE WITH THE HP LAPTOP. I DO NOT LIE AT ALL.
I DO NOT SWITCH TO APPLE BECAUSE I HAVE TO LIVE IN TWO WORLDS OF APPLE AND PC. I AM A COMPUTER OPERATOR WHO HAS TO USE PC/IBM 3890 CHECK SORTER MACHINE. NO APPLE SYSTEM IN THE MAINFRAME SYSTEM IS ALLOWED TO BE INSTALLED. THAT IS WHY PC IS CHEAPER THAN APPLE. THE REASON IS PC IS CHANGABLE BUT PC HAS MANY EVILS – BUGS. WHEN I START TO RUN NEW IMAGING SYSTEM ON IBM 3890 MACHINE, I HAVE TO DEAL WITH LOUSY BUGS IN FEW YEARS. PC PROGRAMMERS HAVE TO FIX THOSE BUGS. BY NOW THE PC SYSTEM IS RUNNING FASTER AND BETTER. IF APPLE SYSTEM IS INSTALLED INTO IBM 3890 SYSTEM, I WOULD RUN THE MACHINE FASTER AND SMOOTH. BUT THE BANK CAN NOT AFFORD APPLE SYSTEM. PC IS GOOD FOR CHEAP COMPANIES.

Hi Mac!

Since being fed up with all the band-aid patch up approach with MS Window and Server. I knew that it is right time for me to switch and bought PowerBook 15″ G4 1GHz with 1 GB memory last Dec 2002. And also ever since, I never had any problem with my Mac PowerBook and software OS X 10.2 to 10.4.9 present.

I’m still using my PowerBook with iSight for my VideoPhone (VP) and also did installed new upgrade hard drive 100 Gb 7200 rpm myself, last fall. It run just like a brand new PowerBook…

That is why I fell in love with Mac because of their elegant simplicity and mostly common sense!

Last Monday, Apple announced new MacBook Pro. I felt that it is right time for me to order new MacBook Pro 15″ 2.4 GHz with upgrade 4 GB memory and 160 GB 7200 rpm.

Looking forward getting a new MacBook Pro soon.

PS: #34 I still prefer to take my MacBook Pro anywhere in the world just like I did with my PowerBook G4 15″ 1GHz.

Think Different!
JB

Hi All, I never switch, I first started was Apple IIe since 1982 to Macintosh, I never had trouble with Apple. 7 years ago I purchase PC for my work where I was employed, and hated it with PC because always troubled and goes wrong, I gave it up after 6 months. I don’t know why people moans about Apple is expensive, Yes, remember expensive is better than cheap. Expensive is very good value for money because it is very reliable and long life, look my Apple IIe, I have, still very strong and very reliable for 25 years!
I now use Mac Pro and MacBook Pro for my media production work, I loves it!