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Thirty Years of Mac [video]

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Re: Thirty Years of Mac [video]

#91

Post by eludwig »

WoodenChair wrote: post #67

I'm surprised by all of the hate on this thread. This is clearly a tribute for the faithful... not the uninitiated. Sure, there's some level of marketing to it - but I think it was meant more as a piece of appreciation for current longtime users than it was meant as a switcher style campaign. A "keeper" campaign as opposed to a "switcher" campaign.

I agree completely. I also think its a subtle(?) affirmation of Apple's commitment to the Mac and the Mac OS as a separate entity - separate from iOS, that is.

It is also really, really hard for those of you too young to have been there for the Mac's introduction/launch to understand just how amazing this piece of tech was in comparison with the popular alternatives at the time.

It was so unbelievably alien and so intimately familiar at the same time. I am a long time gadget/tech lover and there has been no single event that I remember with such vivid clarity.

Also, there is no single piece of tech that I have ever wanted to own so badly. I actually switched careers (design/illustration > programming) so that I could afford to buy one!

I think it's okay to have a moment like this for the faithful. Yes, it's a bit indulgent, but it will be over in a day or two.

Re: Thirty Years of Mac [video]

#92

Post by 4ad »

huxley wrote: post #88
kabdib wrote: post #85

It's interesting (based on the poll "tell us about your first mac") that the Programming category essentially disappears in the early 90s. This roughly corresponds to the decline and near extinction of the Mac. Having programmers leave your platform is a very, very bad thing.

Or you could read it as programmers being only subset of all people and computers were finally becoming mainstream enough that the ratio began to reflect that?

No, because the parent poster is right. Look into the history of Apple in the '90s, how Jobs came back, NeXT etc.

Re: Thirty Years of Mac [video]

#93

Post by kabdib »

4ad wrote: post #92
huxley wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you could read it as programmers being only subset of all people and computers were finally becoming mainstream enough that the ratio began to reflect that?

No, because the parent poster is right. Look into the history of Apple in the '90s, how Jobs came back, NeXT etc.

Thanks. I should have included that part; after The Return, the number of programmers on the Mac do indeed become visible again.

Re: Thirty Years of Mac [video]

#94

Post by aroman »

josefresco wrote: post #80

More 30 like years of personal computing...just dub "Mac" for "PC" and it's wouldn't be inaccurate except for the smiley faces. Just because these artists and engineers are talking about a Mac does not make their functions exclusive to the platform. Also, going back 30 years you have to endure some turd-Macs along the way (some brilliant ones too). Many jokes were had at the expense of our Mac brothers in the late mi…

I think you missed the point. 30 years from today (January 24th, 1984) is celebrating the release of the original Macintosh, which was the first modern personal computer. Of course there have been "bad Apples" along the way — the Apple computer line sucked during much of the 90's, as you pointed out.

But the simple fact is that Apple's original Macintosh was the definitive introduction of modern personal computing to the general public. It's not an arbitrary "30 years of personal computing"... it's commemorating a watershed moment.

Re: Thirty Years of Mac [video]

#95

Post by josefresco »

aroman wrote: post #94
josefresco wrote: post #80

More 30 like years of personal computing...just dub "Mac" for "PC" and it's wouldn't be inaccurate except for the smiley faces. Just because these artists and engineers are talking about a Mac does not make their functions exclusive to the platform. Also, going back 30 years you have to endure some turd-Macs along the way (some brilliant ones too). Many jokes were had at the expense of our Mac brothers in the late mi…

I think you missed the point. 30 years from today (January 24th, 1984) is celebrating the release of the original Macintosh, which was the first modern personal computer. Of course there have been "bad Apples" along the way — the Apple computer line sucked during much of the 90's, as you pointed out. But the simple fact is that Apple's original Macintosh was the definitive introduction of modern personal computing to…

It certainly comes off better if you frame it in that way. It's probably my bias which lead me to read too far into some of the quotes used about the Mac bringing new capabilities that didn't exist for the consumer previously. The 1984 machine is/was an amazing thing, but the 90's and even the early 00's Macs were anything but.

Re: Thirty Years of Mac [video]

#96

Post by jryle80 »

josefresco wrote: post #80

More 30 like years of personal computing...just dub "Mac" for "PC" and it's wouldn't be inaccurate except for the smiley faces. Just because these artists and engineers are talking about a Mac does not make their functions exclusive to the platform. Also, going back 30 years you have to endure some turd-Macs along the way (some brilliant ones too). Many jokes were had at the expense of our Mac brothers in the late mi…

Why do you need to be an ass? We celebrate computers every single day. Is it unreasonable to acknowledge a brand that many many professionals feel emotionally attached? Did you complain when we were celebrating VAX, Atari, Commodore, Walkman, PlayStation 2?

Mac brought to the mass many things we take for granted today -- graphical interface, mouse, all-in-one form factor, SSD, etc.

Once popular brands -- IBM, Compag, Gateway, DEC, Sun -- are gone. Mac is still here and going strong. Not remarkable at all?

Re: Thirty Years of Mac [video]

#97

Post by brudgers »

coldtea wrote: post #62
vacri wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I burst out laughing at "truly worldwide democratisation of creativity". Yes, that expensive personal computer, intentionally aimed for most of its career at media and education in western markets. That was a bad bit of copy. And, more the fault of my mind than the copy, but "a tool for exploring new fields [that I otherwise couldn't]" - the same could be said of a machete. :)

> I burst out laughing at "truly worldwide democratisation of creativity". Yes, that expensive personal computer, intentionally aimed for most of its career at media and education in western markets. Expensive compared to what? Because to do the things you can do with a $1000 PC, you needed $100,000 or more before depending on the field. Your personal typesetting engine? 128-channel audio recording? With effects? Vid…

CAD?

The Macintosh is largely irrelevant as a platform for CAD. It pretty much always has been.

In the early days this was because it lacked a reasonable facility for floating point hardware. In the middle years it was a combination of small market share, price performance ratios, and limited hardware options leading to many vendors ignoring or abandoning (in the case of AutoDesk) the platform. Things got so bad that even Mac specific software companies such as Diehl Graphisoft and ArchiCad suffered the pain of going dual platform for the sake of survival. Bentley Systems simply dropped Mac.

Today, the Mac version of AutoCAD is gimped, Dessault's big boy toy Catia wants real Unix and their low end Draftsite is still in beta. Here's the Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_CAD_software

Reality doesn't really match the images created via product placement.

Re: Thirty Years of Mac [video]

#99

Post by huxley »

4ad wrote: post #92
huxley wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you could read it as programmers being only subset of all people and computers were finally becoming mainstream enough that the ratio began to reflect that?

No, because the parent poster is right. Look into the history of Apple in the '90s, how Jobs came back, NeXT etc.

I wrote extensively for a number of sites and magazines about NeXT technologies in the mid to late 1990s, I can give you chapter and verse on the history.

The number of developers increased in absolute terms just as they did when the iPhone came out, but the ratio of developers to regular users didn't, because the technologies mainstreamed and the sales to regular users were very high.

Back in the pre-acquisition NeXT days, the ratio of developers to users was incredibly high because overall sales weren't that great.

Re: Thirty Years of Mac [video]

#100

Post by coldtea »

coldtea wrote: post #62
vacri wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I burst out laughing at "truly worldwide democratisation of creativity". Yes, that expensive personal computer, intentionally aimed for most of its career at media and education in western markets. That was a bad bit of copy. And, more the fault of my mind than the copy, but "a tool for exploring new fields [that I otherwise couldn't]" - the same could be said of a machete. :)

> I burst out laughing at "truly worldwide democratisation of creativity". Yes, that expensive personal computer, intentionally aimed for most of its career at media and education in western markets. Expensive compared to what? Because to do the things you can do with a $1000 PC, you needed $100,000 or more before depending on the field. Your personal typesetting engine? 128-channel audio recording? With effects? Vid…

>it will take years for Windows to catch up

Actually I meant to write: it took years for Windows to catch up.

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