on 8/14/00 11:01 AM, Chris Browder at Chris.Browder@Lroom.org wrote:
> I didn't expect to get this kind of backup ;)
More backup for ya!
:-)
I'm using a Mac that came out in the summer of 1996 -- the Performa 6400/200
tower, which ran on a 603e processor (equivalent I suppose to a first
generation Pentium, for those PeeCee users out there, although at the time,
this was Apple's LOW-END processor). It came with a built-in 100 mb Zip
drive, which was certainly some lucky foresight on Apple's part to install
that drive at the time, since I and everyone else in the world are still
using them.
Only this Mac doesn't run so shabbily now....after installing a G3 350/1mb
processor upgrade card, that is. :-) And, btw, to figure out how fast that
is in Pentium terms, basically double the Megahertz.
Its original 28.8 modem, I've replaced with a 56k/V.90 Global Village
modem....I've also installed a 10/100 Base-T Ethernet card. It's running
the latest Mac OS - 9.04, beautifully, btw. Yet it still runs all the
original software that came with the machine. Some of those software
programs have been updated with patches, of course...but they still run,
nonetheless.
What's more, my mom, who has an even older Performa 6200 and OS 8.0, can run
most software that I port to her computer, with the exception of course
being software that is graphics/processor-intense.
This 6400/200 Performa was my first Mac, which I bought in the spring of
1997. I had been using mostly Windows 95 before that time, although I got
my computer start years ago with an Apple IIe. Now, in 3 years time, there
is very little about the Mac OS that I don't know. There has never been ANY
need to call anyone for troubleshooting. I do my own. There has never been
ANY need for anyone else to install anything in the system. I do my own.
Anytime something goes wrong (which is rare, but does happen) I KNOW where
to begin troubleshooting -- I know the possible culprits -- and I can 10/10
times seek, and eliminate or fix that culprit...plain and simple.
Windows, on the other hand -- which, recall, I have more experience using --
blows my mind. Any time something goes wrong....9/10 times, I have NO CLUE
what is causing the problem, or WHY. And 7/10 times, calling someone from
tech support doesn't do any good, either. Most of the time, they, too, are
left scratching their heads. More times than not, their troubleshooting
solution is to re-configure ______, or re-install the OS, or replace the
hardware. Never as simple as narrowing down what extension might be causing
the problem.
Oh...and try perusing through the Windows system folders one day, just for
kicks. Have any CLUE what all those files are? Me neither. And what's
more...some of those system files are residing at the most reachable
branches of your hard drive, like right there at the top of the C-Drive, or
in the Windows folder, or the Programs folder. If I were a novice user, I'd
want to delete all that crap...and many probably do, which results in system
crashes and instability. Actually, I'm NOT a novice user, and I STILL want
to delete all that crap...or at least put it AWAY from sight, and away from
all my important files!
Perusing the Mac OS, however, is a pleasure. There is nothing related to
the system that is visible outside the System folder. And there is nothing
in the System folder that I don't recognize, or know where it belongs, or to
what program it belongs. If I'm not sure where a file is supposed to go
inside the System folder, no problem. Simply dropping the file on the
system folder icon will bring up a little dialogue box which tells me where
it's supposed to go, and asks me if I want to put it there.
Well, enough rants & raves. You Mac users know that I could go on and on.
Some of you have done so already. Anyway, I know one simple thing, and that
is that my experiences with Windows boxes are always frustrating, and I end
up cussing the computer, & hurling insults at Bill Gates and his entire
family tree. My experiences with the Mac, however (and NEWTON as well - I
have a kick-ass eMate and LOVE it!) are different. They make computing
enjoyable to the point of addiction.
There's no "mistry" to what platforms I support. I would never defend my
toaster so passionately. Neither would I defend my refrigerator, my oven,
my hot plate, my telephone, my television, or my PC box (if I had one).
There are boxes with windows. And then, there is the Macintosh.
CM
-- The box said "Windows 95 or better" so I bought a Macintosh.*************************************** NewtonTalk brought to you by:
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