Happy 20th Birthday to the Macintosh!

It's becoming apparent to me that I'm a geek about several things....

I went to MacWorld 2004 today here in San Francisco.
This month is the 20th Birthday of the Macintosh. It's actual unveiling (to the general public, anyway) was on Superbowl Sunday, 1984. Everyone remember that? It's likely that you don't, but let me tell you, I DO!

I was 13 years old. I had already been introduced to Apple IIE (and maybe IICs) at school. I remember hearing about "The Macintosh" - how amazing it was supposed to be. So begins the life of a geek.

To be honest, it's hard for me to say if I was old enough to understand it - especially the "1984" reference. But I do know that it left an impression on me.

I also remember trying to talk my parents into buying one for our family. These things weren't cheap, and it's wasn't obvious that every family needed a home computer yet. At one point, I remember my father was considering an Apple IIC instead - I think it was because the IICs used the (then) standard 5 1/4" floppy disks, versus the 3.5" disks for the Macintosh. Anyhow, I remember trying to convince him that the Macintosh would be the wiser purchase.

So, what sold them in the end? My Uncle Robert works for NASA Ames. He brought home a Macintosh, and taught his (then) 4 year old son, Kenneth how to use it. We went to their house one night, and Kenneth showed my parents how to turn it on, how to launch MacPaint (and maybe MacWrite, too) and how to use the mouse! That did it! They were convinced that it was easy to use.

I think we got our first Mac in the Fall of 1984. I LOVED it. I remember spending countless hours drawing with pixels in MacPaint. It was the first time I was introduced to the thought out "digital art". (no, I didn't know what it was then, I just knew I LOVED it)

Here's another good geeky story. We loved the Mac so much, that my Mom pulled my sister and I out of school for a day (she was a senior, I was a sophomore) so we could attend the first MacWorld!!! I have the coolest Mom EVER!

I think we attended a couple more MacWorlds the next few years, then I went on hiatus when I moved to the mid-west, and lost touch with all things technologically advanced. I started going again 5 years ago - once I had moved to San Francisco, and started to get "hip" to technology again.

So, here's to the Apple Macintosh! Happy 20th Birthday!
Couldn't have done it without you! ;)

Oh - I found some fun goodies at MacWorld today!

This is over-the-top geeky, but I had to have it:
I bought a cute little girls t-shirt with small embroidered letters reading:
Mac Chick
so cute.
I obviously needed this.

I also got a great deal on Disk Warrior! Remember that from last month's post? I got a great price on it - Show Special. Saved $20-$40 bucks!

I also got this groovy little "Sportfolio" for my PowerBook. It's super cool. It's very slim, very comfortable, and very durable. My PowerBook fits nice and snug inside, and feels well protected! I was looking for something that I could use when I travel with my laptop locally. I have a terrific computer backpack by Kipling, but it's rather large, and can be cumbersome on short trips. (Though it's GREAT for traveling with). This was a perfect solution. Plus, now that I'm looking on the web site, I see I got a great deal! Got it for $27.00! :)

That's about all I bought today. Yes, I was a good girl.

However, that doesn't mean that I wasn't looking into something that I may buy later this week!

Back story: Santa (Dick) was very good to me this year. I got a 40 GB iPod!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love it. It is F A B U L O U S.

As you may recall, (kidding of course) I'm getting a new car soon, and was planning on buying and installing an audio input kit so that I could plug my iPod into my car speakers. Wouldn't that be cool?

Okay, it gets better: Check this out: iceLink. This is soooo Cool! You install it by connecting it to the wires used for a CD Changer (which I don't have, so this is perfect) When the CD Changer mode is selected on your stereo, it'll turn on your iPod. This is the best part: you can control your iPod through your car stereo!!!!!!!!! Even cooler: My new car has a cool Multi-function steering wheel, which has buttons on it that control your stereo. Meaning, I can control my iPod without ever taking my hands off my steering wheel. How cool is that?

I've looked on the MINI Forum that I belong to (of course you do, you're saying) and it looks like a good product. People have already installed them, and are very pleased.

Speaking of iPods: Did you see the new ones that Apple announced today? They're awfully cute, I have to admit, but I'm a bit confused. I get that they're smaller in size, and that they're cute and colorful, but either than that, I'm wondering why someone would buy one of these instead of buying a regular sized, larger capacity iPod. The iPod mini only has a 4GB capacity - 1,000 songs for $249. The smallest size iPod has a 15 GB capacity, and holds up to 3,700 songs. If you're willing to pay $249, why wouldn't you pay the additional $50 for 12 GB? Hmmmmmmm. Even if you don't have that many songs to store, you can use it as an external disk drive (which I'm doing) for backups. Why, why, why? I seem to be missing something. I think it'll be interesting to see how these do. When I first read about the new, smaller iPod (about 2 weeks ago) it was speculated that they would be priced at around $100.00 or so, hoping to attract a whole different market. I'm guessing these cost a reasonable amount to produce, so they have to make the price higher? Who knows. They're cute, but I have to say, I'm LOVE my iPod!