p e n g u i n d e v i l

I’ve been thinking about computers lately, once again pondering occupational prospects, I was thinking about all the years I’ve spent with these things and it got me pondering the boxes I’ve had. Not the miscellaneous ones I’ve had around that didn’t work, but the ones that I actually used…

1) I was lucky enough to own a Sinclair ZX81 back in 81 or 82. Though it had 1k of memory (not really enough to fill the TV screen with data) and used a cassette recorder for storage, I was rather excited by it, though its only ability seemed to be programming in Basic. It was fine for me, though certainly lacked the power of the DEC Teletype I used at school and the fancy Apple II than my buddy Todd had (at home! In his room! spoiled…)..

Sinclair ZX81

The DECWriter II, my first love… With no annoying screen to hurt my eyes.

2) after that began my sad years of longing during which I had nothing. But then, I got a job and in 1988 I plunked down $1700 for an IBM PS/2 Model 25… And then I coughed up another $500 for a 20mb internal harddrive that never quite fit (it bowed the case below the screen). Why did I pick it? A color screen and two 3.5″ disc drives! I spent many hours playing Bard’s Tale and writing lame Sci-fi stories with that thing! My friends used Mac’s, but I loathed those silly things (for the old reason of “they enable people to use computers without knowing anything about them”). Also, those old IBM “clicky” keyboards as still the best ones ever made…

PS/2 model 25

3) In 1991 I bought a Gateway. I seem to recall that it was a 386sx. Though it cost the same as the IBM, it was a big step up, being much faster and more powerful, having a separate monitor, a built in harddrive, and both 3.5″ and 4.25″ disc drives! I liked it fine and played many, many, many hours of Civilization on it. I ended up installing Windows 3.1 and that was a turning point for me. Windows 3.1 was atrocious! After I messed with it a bit, I was at a party where I witnessed a Mac II in action… My god, I had to give the Mac side a whirl.

4) and so in 1993(?) I bought a cheap new LC II ($999!). It seemed quite a revolution to me. It was a slower, older computer than my Gateway, with less RAM. But it ran so much better, looked so much better, worked so much better and it was a whole new experience. At that point, I fled the Wintel land. I liked the Mac so much that I realized that I needed a better one.

5) In 1994 I bought was is still the most expensive computer I had ever bought (at $2050), a Powermac 7100. I loved that box and began to spend about my every waking hour at the computer, especially once I signed up for a short-lived stint with America Online. Their proprietary, non-internet, content bored me so I moved to Teleport (a local ISP, still the account that I use) and Netscape Navigator. Also, at this time, I lived with my brother-in-law (who had bought my IBM a number of years earlier) and he then bought a 6100 and we became a mac-obsessed household!

Powermac 7100

6) The 7100 did me good for a while, but I had really wanted: a tower, more speed, and a cd-rom, so in 1997 I bought a clone, a Powercomputing Powercenter Pro. This was, in it’s time, probably the best computer I’ve ever had. Great design, powerful, it had everything… Including great marketing! I also quit my job in 1997 and followed a computer hobby path for nine months: I bought one of the fabled Spartacus 20th Anniversary Mac’s, a Powerbook 520c, a Newton and an original iMac. I also started a web design company, got an A+ Technician certification, went to two PMUG MacCamps and two Macworld conferences, one on each coast.

Powercenter Pro

20th Anniversary Macintosh

7) After I got things back in order again, I sadly sold my Powercenter (well, and my Spartacus) and in 1999 bought a G4 “Yikes” (during the two or so months that they were available). This was a great computer, fast, good looking, incredible design! I also started working at Teleport Internet during this time, got DSL and set up my first home Network. But I liked the computer so much, that I used it for years… In fact, for four years!

G4 Yikes

8) In 2003, though my “Yikes” still performed at the level I needed (as games were the main reason for upgrading, but the level of advanced games that came out for the mac was so low that a new computer was rarely needed). But I still felt the need to upgrade, I had the money and liked the thought of a dvd player in the computer, so I bought a Mirrored-Door G4, the same computer that I use now. For years I have been drooling over the “Cheese Grater” G5’s (I guess they’re Intel now) but I just can’t do it, as I don’t have the money, and this old boat still floats just fine.

Mirrored Door G4

9) We also bought an iBook in 2006. I liked it just fine, but we sold it as we didn’t really ever use it.