Gather 'round children... It's story time!
I have been using and obsessed with computer and technology my entire life. It all started back in 2000, when I was only a few months old at the time. My parents had introduced me to the world of computing by using a game called Sesame Street: Baby & Me. To the best of my memory, it was just a simple game that taught babies how to use computers by having them click on stuff and type on the keyboard. By the time I was 18 months old, I was able to crawl upstairs, get to the computer, turn it on, and start playing. This computer was a Dell Dimension XPS T500 with a Pentium 3, 64 or 128MB RAM, Diamond Graphics Viper V550 (nVidia Riva TNT), and a 13GB HDD with Windows 98 SE, basically your standard 1998 PC. Anyway, that was the main computer for our family until 2004, when we got a Dell Inspiron 1150 (Pentium 4 laptop, don't remember much else about it other than it was crap) and a Dell Dimension 4700 (Pentium 4, GMA 900, 256MB RAM, 40GB HDD). When we got these, the XPS T500 was moved to my room and became my computer up until 2011 when it died. The other 2 Dells were, like most Dells at the time, were horrendously slow. We used the laptop up until it died in 2008, and the desktop was used until 2011 when we just gave up dealing with its awful speeds. After the laptop died, we got an even worse HP Mini NetBook to replace it. It seemed like a cheap decent computer at the time, but in the long run, it was even worse than the 2 Dells since we were trying to use it for daily tasks besides light web browsing. This was about the time I decided I wanted a new computer.
My entire family was fed up with the crappy experience of Windows XP after so many years. So I began to look into Macs since they were different. I asked my Aunt who owned an iMac G5 about her Mac and she said she loved how simplistic they were. I tried to beg my parents to get an iMac to replace the aging Dell desktop, but they liked having Windows machines since it was familiar to them. They also both had bad experiences with using very early Macs while at college, so that left a bad taste in their mouths. I gave up trying to get a family Mac and decided I wanted one for myself. I originally wanted a 2010 white MacBook, but when I went back to look in mid-2011, they we're no longer for sale. So I decided I wanted a MacBook Pro instead. I soon went to Best Buy to see which size I liked, and wound up choosing the 13in. So that very Christmas, I finally got my first Mac, a Late-2011 13in MacBook Pro. I was overjoyed when I opened it and turned it on for the first time. Skipping forward to 2014, I was able to successfully fix my XPS T500 by replacing the Pentium 3 with a Pentium 2 I found in a computer at school. I also stole the Dimension T500 and cleaned out all the dust and crapware, significantly speeding it up. I used it along side my MBP until I got a new Windows desktop, a HP Pavilion 500-c60 (AMD A8 APU, 1TB, 8GB RAM, Windows 8.1) as a graduation gift, a decision I'd later regret since the machine could not be upgraded AT ALL. In October of 2014, I was beginning to settle into the new High School experience. I had joined the computer club, and the guy in charge happened to also be the IT guy at the school. He had asked at one of the meetings if anyone wanted an old Mac, to which I immediately said yes as fast as possible. A few days later, I was hauling home a PowerMac G5 (Dual 2.3GHz, Early 05, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD), a machine which I'm typing this up on right now, and many of you who have been here awhile will remember (I'm looking at you
@Altemose,
@bunnspecial,
@PowerMac G4 MDD,
@Intell,
@eyoungren,
@128keaton, and
@gavinstubbs09 
) as I asked for A LOT of help on my first thread "Getting FREE Apple Products". After I learned a bit, I installed Leopard on it and optimized it a bit for the modern world. This one G5 started a downfall that added
"several" more Macs into my life.
When I went into the room to grab the G5, a few other machines caught my eye. I saw 2 Power Macintosh 6100/66s and an eMac. I asked the IT guy if I could have the better of the two 6100/66s and the eMac, and he let me have them, since they belonged to a retired teacher. I took both home and realized I couldnt use the 6100/66 because I didnt have the right keyboard and mouse, nor the proper video adapter. The eMac was a 700MHz model running Tiger. At the time, I didn't know about Leopard Assist, so I left it on Tiger. I didn't really use it much (and I still dont) since it was loud, slow, and heavy, but then I moved it to my basement and used it as a jukebox since it has awesome speakers. I also got the video adapter and proper keyboard and mouse for the 6100/66 and was able to use it. Once it was turned on, I got my first taste of classic Mac OS with 8.6. There wasn't much I could do on it other than look around and play a few of my childhood games that happened to have Mac versions. It was also around this time that I began talking to a few members outside of MR. We originally just had a groupchat for the Minecraft PowerPC server, but it became more than that as time went on.
@Altemose told me about the Low End Mac Swaplist and that someone was selling iBook G4s, something I wanted to use instead of my iPad at school. I ended up getting one, a 1.33GHz 12in. I used it for several months in school. I also did a bit of Craigslist browsing and came across a Macintosh 512ke and a SE. I 100% wanted one after failing to get one on eBay back in 2011, so I ended up choosing the 512ke since it was as close to the original as I could get, another decision I'm happy I made in the long run. I ended up getting the 512ke with 2MB RAM and SCSI upgrades in pristine condition, the official Apple carrying bag, the keyboard and mouse (also in pristine condition), lots of software, MacinFrost Fan, a rare Microsoft MacEnhancer, an IBM Printer (supposedly I could use it with the 512ke with the right software), and the original documentation. I was beyond excited to finally own the original Macintosh.
Back in school, I continued using the iBook until I realized it was getting really slow. I didn't know about
@eyoungren's TenFourFox tweaks at the time, so I decided I wanted another laptop. I got myself a Dell Latitude E6410 that was essentially a 2010 MacBook Pro, except for using the awful Intel HD 1000 graphics. I used that for the remainder of the year. Also at this time, I sent a thank-you eMail to the teacher who owned all the Macs I got from school. He responded and said that he had a bunch more that he was willing to give to me. I graciously accepted his offer and over the next few weeks after that I brought home a box full of keyboards, mice, components, Mac guide books, and a G4/700 upgrade; a Power Macintosh 7300 with a G3 upgrade; a Power Macintosh 8500 with another G3 upgrade (sadly the PSU died a few months later); a PowerBook G3 PDQ; a boxed Performa 6360 with the rare G3 L2 cache upgrade; a dual 1.25GHz FW800 MDD with maxed out RAM; and a 1.25GHz eMac. Shortly after, summer came around and I couldn't get any more Macs from school, but that didn't stop me from getting more
. Over that summer, I got 12 (1.5GHz) and 15in (1.25GHz) PowerBook G4s from
@gavinstubbs09; a Mac Mini G4 1.33GHz (didnt use it much, but I'm glad I bought it looking back); a parts 17in PowerBook from
@eyoungren; a Dell Optiplex 360 and 380 (C2D), as well a Dimension 4100 (Pentium 3); and a 08 MacBook that I spend many weeks converting to an early 09 (several wrong parts were bought/sent by mistake, causing many delays in finishing the project).
School started back up, and so did the flow of machines. I traded my Mini to another user in exchange for a 1GHz TiBook; completed all the PowerBook size variations with a 17in PowerBook (1.33GHz); got another Optiplex 360 (C2D); killed my 15in by accident; rescued a 07 MacBook and an Inspiron 1520 from being recycled; got a dead late 06 15in MBP and a glittered Pismo that I sent over to
@bunnspecial; a 17in iMac Core Duo that I upgraded to a Core 2 Duo; built a custom PC using parts from my cousin's previous build; got T42, T43 and T61 ThinkPads; another Power Macintosh 8500 with a 400MHz G4; iBook G3 Snow (600MHz); a beige Power Macintosh G3 desktop (266MHz); a dead Core Duo Mac Mini; a HP G60-535DX laptop (Core 2-era Pentium); OpenEye X-Series HDDR DVR system (3GHz Pentium D); and most importantly, a 15in DLSD and 450MHz G4 Cube. I also maxed out the RAM on several machines and put 5GB into my G5 after I received a box of RAM from a fellow user.
Since school has stopped and funds are a bit low at the moment, so has the flow of Macs and other machines. I have a 24in iMac C2D from 06 on they way at the end of July from a friend. The machines I'd like to get in the future include an iMac G4, a G3 clamshell, a 17in DLSD (completing my collection of all the most powerful Apple-made PowerBook G4s), a 1.42 or any 14in iBook G4, another C(2)D Mac Mini to replace the dead Core Duo Mini, any pre-Gx era PowerPC PowerBooks, any 68k PowerBook, possibly any Newton and eMate, and a Mac Pro, something I likely wont be getting any time soon. Beyond that, I'll always take whatever I come across/offered, but in terms of looking for stuff, the above is all I'm looking for at this moment.
Over these past (almost) 3 years, I've made myself pretty well established in this tightly-knit community, and became good friends with several of the members here through talking outside of MR. So that, my friends and colleagues, is my entire PowerPC story, going all the way back to my PC roots when I was only a few months old to having 44 machines, with 28 of them being Macs, and I don't think I'm stopping any time soon!
[doublepost=1468436029][/doublepost]I'll be dammed it anyone reads that whole thing...
