First Mac experience . . .

[Ben Kei]

For me it was 1992 or 1993..

I'd been fiddling around in peoples music studios for a while, mostly using old Atari ST's and then one day I went into a studio which had a Mac.
Not too long afterwards I got my first Mac actually, it was 1994, an old black and white screen powerbook 145 or 145b, can't remember! I still have it somewhere too (second hand! couldn't afford the price new...) and quickly put it to work as a MIDI processing powerhouse.

In reality, all I could do was sketch down ideas as general MIDI files and then bring them into a studio later but I was 15 and it worked a treat at the time filling the gap between studio time.

I've had a few different Macs since.. I only use 2 now, an old 400mhz Graphite G4 for SCSI to a sampler and editor software for a Nord Modular synth (both in OS 9) and then an iBook 1.33ghz for all the faster studio bits.
Scary how well the Graphite G4 still works! It's been used almost every day for about 7 years now and it's still solid as a rock! Wish I could say the same about the iBook...

 

[BilltheCat]

had a pc since they first came out with IBM on them. PC 1. something mhz. dos 1.x crap. then 2.0 dos. then 3.11 windoze.

after that I needed faster pc's just to run the cludgy software. win95 jeez. win2000 pro, then a faster pc yet again.

pentium class and xp. Dell liked to quit a lot so I decided never again. Apple dot com and it was a 20" iMac for me with a new Core 2 Duo chip.

Yeehaw! osx tiger and am now finding out what a computer should be!

 

[acearchie]

I've had a few different Macs since.. I only use 2 now, an old 400mhz Graphite G4 for SCSI to a sampler and editor software for a Nord Modular synth (both in OS 9) and then an iBook 1.33ghz for all the faster studio bits.
Scary how well the Graphite G4 still works! It's been used almost every day for about 7 years now and it's still solid as a rock! Wish I could say the same about the iBook...

Arent those computers a bit slow for your music hobby/business or do you find its ample processing power! What os are you running on the iBook? 1.3?

I found 10.4 to be to slow on mine!

 

[Mac Rules]

Alas, I still don't own my first Mac, however, I first used OS8 back in school around 10 years ago, wasn't very impressed, then was taught that Macs were bad, and that Windows was better.... However, once I got to college, on eof my teachers was majorly into Macs, and convinced us all in the class that they were better, and so been on and off using OSX ever since.
On top of that, I've been running Vista's RC1 for ges now, and can't wait to get my grubby mits on OSX, Vista is nothing special...

Cheers

 

[Ben Kei]

Arent those computers a bit slow for your music hobby/business or do you find its ample processing power! What os are you running on the iBook? 1.3?

I found 10.4 to be to slow on mine!

Hello.

The G4 400mhz machine only runs OS 9 for my Nord Modular editor and to run SCSI to and from my Emu sampler.
So pretty much I run Peak and Recycle on it and the Nord editor.. not much!
It has ample power for what it's doing.

The iBook is underpowered for what it does! But I'm also too skint to buy something larger just yet.
It's used for live stuff more than anything.


I run Logic 7.2.2, Max/MSP and Reason 3 on it.
It's more than enough for Reason which is awesomely efficient but I use Logic a whole lot more for sequencing and general music creation. Reason is used live because it's rock solid stable and you can link as many MIDI controllers as you like and it just laps it up.
Max/MSP sits on top of it all and acts as an interface to make Reason do things it can't do natively (live sampling/FFT processes/Tempo automation etc...)

:EDIT: It's running 10.4 :/EDIT:

I am currently owed almost £3000! in back rent from my brother though.. I know I should really clear my credit card but the temptation to buy a new Mac is HUGE!

Clear debt... new Mac... Clear debt... new Mac... and so it continues

 

[acearchie]

I am currently owed almost £3000! in back rent from my brother though.. I know I should really clear my credit card but the temptation to buy a new Mac is HUGE!

Clear debt... new Mac... Clear debt... new Mac... and so it continues

New mac, my next door neighbour and his wife are muscisians and have a sweet setup in their garage! They love it a whole lot and it fantastic quality recording software and sitting whap bang in the middle is an iMac!!!!! New mac... clear deb = New mac no doubt!

 

[j26]

I am currently owed almost £3000! in back rent from my brother though.. I know I should really clear my credit card but the temptation to buy a new Mac is HUGE!

Clear debt... new Mac... Clear debt... new Mac... and so it continues

Clear your card and then use your newly cleared card to buy a new mac. You can get to do both

 

[Ben Kei]

Clear your card and then use your newly cleared card to buy a new mac. You can get to do both

This is where I'm headed.. I can feel it! Like a magnet I'm being drawn to this exact conclusion.

 

[acearchie]

This is where I'm headed.. I can feel it! Like a magnet I'm being drawn to this exact conclusion.

you know if you find any extra cash you could put send some money to me to help me buy one! Lol

Off topic
I think its so funny that people put auctions on sites like ebay and in the item description is says:

The kind donation well help fund for me to buy a macbook for me and my family!

So cheeky! and people actually bid on them! There are people who are just too nice!

 

[gelatin]

first used a mac in college 4/5 years ago,then when i started uni i bought this i book that i currently have

 

[shu82]

My first experience with apple as a whole was playing oregon trail on an apple II at school. The next was at my dad's company picnic. I come from a big tech town and it was 89 my dad bought my brother and I 2 macs from the auction at the picnic. I got a Lisa with a 3.5 floppy, and my brother got the orignal mac. He got a 5mb tape drive with his. His screen never worked properly. The lisa and mac are in the storage room right now, and the lisa still booted last time I checked in 99 or 2000.

The first real functional mac that I actually found usable was the quadra 650 my grandmother bought in 93 or so. She lived with us and back then all the government used was macs. So that is what we used. I remember myst scared the hell out of me (really spooky). I loved playing simcity. I had southpark sounds play when it would boot up. That really shows how old southpark is now. I used that computer all the way until I was 16 in 98 when we went to windows world with a P2 IBM. I was able to get out of that finally 2 years ago. I won't go back any time soon.

 

[Zmmyt]

Got in touch with Apple the first time, when i bought an iPod 3G and found iTunes to be great. Winamp and Windows Mediaplayer didn't cut it for me.

After I had enough of Windows I went out and bought a 12'' PB and dumped my Dell.

Before the switch I read a lot about OS X on Apple sites like MR and wasn't disappointed at all when I got my PB.


The very first time i got in touch with a Mac was somewhere around 1994 or so. A friend had a Mac and we used to play Marathon, but I had Duke Nukem 3D so I couldn't be bothered with a Mac those days.

 

[Zwhaler]

Man, you need the option for "Being at the Apple Store because of iPod troubles, and checking out the Macs" Thats mine.

 

[rijiMacDij]

2001:

Long term injury forces career/job change so I enrol in 2 year multimedia course. (had never previously used a computer) Classroom set-up comprised 10 G4 Towers with 17" Apple CRT displays and 10 Generic Beige Tower PCs with mediocre 17" displays.

All the PCs were occupied but there were about 6 vacant Macs.

I asked an open question as to which kind I should use and why. I got an overwhelming and vehement response from the PC side of the room not to use one of those "wanker" (Mac) machines! So, I have been an instant Mac enthuisiast.

Besides the Apple hardware looking vastly more accomplished than the PCs, I could see what was happening in the interface (OS 9) as opposed to the bland grey flatness of the Windows offering.

I became so enthused that when 10.1 arrived I elbowed my way onto the admin's Duellie with the 17" flat panel display. Now I was hooked, totally.

I then bought 3 580 CDs (for multitasking ) then a Pentium III, soon to be thrown out of my second floor window, a 500 G3 iBook, a 800 G4 iMac, a G4 1 GHz iBook 14, a G5 Dual PowerMac (sold last night), a G4 1.42 iBook and finally a 1.5GHz 17" PowerBook.

So 9 Macs in all and only 1 lemon, the PowerBook, which can't find the OS and needs a reinstall every couple of days!

 

[acearchie]

It suprises me how many people have got macs through playing games on them!!!!!

 

[Markleshark]

I'm surprised there aint many 'Second Hand/Cheap' chosen. I paid £275 (Including £45 shipping) for a 800Mhz G4 eMac just after they released the PowerMac G5, at the time I thought that was very cheap, that was my first Mac.

 

[smokeyrabbit]

First Apple experience was the family's Apple ][+ in about 1981. First Mac experience was 1985 with a friends' Mac 512K. First Mac owned was a Mac IIvx in 1992. Then an iMac DV ~1999, Quicksilver G4 2001(?), then an iLamp, then an iBook USB, then iBook G4, PM G5, iMac G5 17", MacBook. Still have the first and last iMacs in use and the MacBook.

 

[iSaint]

A friend and I talked ourselves into it. We drooled the Apple store and lurked MR for about six months before I bought an iBook and he bought a Powerbook.

 

[SMM]

My company wanted me to learn enough about video production that I could manage consultants to complete training, marketing, estimating videos. So, I was learning with a very cheap Panasonic Mini DV, a PC and Pinnacle. One day I was cruising through the Apple display at Fry's and saw the brand new PM dual 2.0, cover off and hooked the the 23" ACD. I was in love. I fretted for a week trying to formulate a plausible reason to buy it. Finally I just went into her office and explained how much this would help me. She did not even blink. She just shrugged and asked, "How much do you have in your training account?" I had forgot about that. I told her, "Around 8 or 9 thousand". Her response, "Well, it is your money. Spend it anyway that make sense to you".

 

[djellison]

First used Macs at University in the late '90s. Hated them. They were everything that now outdated spoof ad said they were (the one with "so you can use it as a BOAT ANCHOR"). OS9 I presume. The entire experience was horrific. Refused to ever touch a Mac for >6 years.

Now, since OSX has matured, the shift to the Intel platform - I want one, and indeed in June, when I can get Leopard, iLife and iWork 07, and hopefully a santa-rosa platform- I'm dumping this Dell laptop ( XP has slowly turned into everything I hated about OS9 ) and getting an MBP. I can't wait.

Doug

 

[rhesusv]

1st used my bro's ibook 1 year back, not really impressed except for the design. But when my PC starts giving me prob , i started to look for some alternatives & eventually it led me back to apple. then got my MB & i m a happy convert ever since.

 

[grafikat]

I started programming on an Apple II, and a few years later used a classic, way back in the day....

 

[acearchie]

1st used my bro's ibook 1 year back, not really impressed except for the design. But when my PC starts giving me prob , i started to look for some alternatives & eventually it led me back to apple. then got my MB & i m a happy convert ever since.

not impressed! I know what you mean! there needs to be an app or something that can show off the mac to the PC users around you!!!! hmm . . .