Well...damn
My very first computer was an Apple IIe. I got it in high school and it was The Shit. I could play games on it, and write my homework papers on it. And I could shove a big ol' giant five-inch floppy disk in the drive and save my stuff forever.
Because so many computers can read a five-inch floppy these days.
In college, once I transitioned from the pc-engineering life into the j-school, I went back to Apple. Macs, to be specific. The World's Finest School of Journalism offered its students the "Mac Lab." Countless hours spent there doing homework I couldn't finish on my good ol' 486 pc.
Then I entered The Working World, where everyone but designers and photographers used a pc. I got used to the Blue Screen of Death. I got used to freezes and computers that wouldn't turn off until you unplugged the damn things. I got used to big, bulky, black or cream-colored behemoths that looked like some old and crusty computer crank put it together.
A decade later, I was back into photography, and I had gone to the Dark Side (digital). Which meant I needed a computer. After years and years of growing comfortable with pc, with learning the systems inside and out, with knowing how to trouble-shoot and problem-solve on my own, I demanded a return to Mac.
My trusty Mac G5 tower served me faithfully. Sometimes I'd overload it with a giant image file or it'd hit a webpage it didn't like and the little color wheel would spin round, but it happened so rarely that I didn't think anything of it. I loved my Mac.
I loved it so much that I filled it up. Plum ran out of memory. We went to look at inserting more memory, learned just how "vintage" it was, and I upgraded to a gorgeous huge iMac. On which I type now. Next to me sits my iPhone4, which is such an integral part of everyday life that I have sworn that I will never, ever not have an iPhone if I can help it. In my backpack is stowed a Macbook that my work purchased for me upon request (because my company is that cool). Basically, I have an Apple product at my side nearly every moment of every day.
I think that what Apple has done, besides all the innovation (did you know Apple invented the first mouse?) and cool gadgetry, is taught us that technology can be beautiful. That form is just as important as, and maybe even contributes to, function. If you have to be surrounded by, and use, something every single day, isn't it better when it's elegant? And just freakin' works?
Apple said today, "The world is immeasurably better because of Steve."
Amen.
Because so many computers can read a five-inch floppy these days.
In college, once I transitioned from the pc-engineering life into the j-school, I went back to Apple. Macs, to be specific. The World's Finest School of Journalism offered its students the "Mac Lab." Countless hours spent there doing homework I couldn't finish on my good ol' 486 pc.
Then I entered The Working World, where everyone but designers and photographers used a pc. I got used to the Blue Screen of Death. I got used to freezes and computers that wouldn't turn off until you unplugged the damn things. I got used to big, bulky, black or cream-colored behemoths that looked like some old and crusty computer crank put it together.
A decade later, I was back into photography, and I had gone to the Dark Side (digital). Which meant I needed a computer. After years and years of growing comfortable with pc, with learning the systems inside and out, with knowing how to trouble-shoot and problem-solve on my own, I demanded a return to Mac.
My trusty Mac G5 tower served me faithfully. Sometimes I'd overload it with a giant image file or it'd hit a webpage it didn't like and the little color wheel would spin round, but it happened so rarely that I didn't think anything of it. I loved my Mac.
I loved it so much that I filled it up. Plum ran out of memory. We went to look at inserting more memory, learned just how "vintage" it was, and I upgraded to a gorgeous huge iMac. On which I type now. Next to me sits my iPhone4, which is such an integral part of everyday life that I have sworn that I will never, ever not have an iPhone if I can help it. In my backpack is stowed a Macbook that my work purchased for me upon request (because my company is that cool). Basically, I have an Apple product at my side nearly every moment of every day.
I think that what Apple has done, besides all the innovation (did you know Apple invented the first mouse?) and cool gadgetry, is taught us that technology can be beautiful. That form is just as important as, and maybe even contributes to, function. If you have to be surrounded by, and use, something every single day, isn't it better when it's elegant? And just freakin' works?
Apple said today, "The world is immeasurably better because of Steve."
Amen.
Labels: apple, steve jobs, tribute
posted by Amy at 8:24 PM
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