The new content begins with a paean to my first technological love: the Mac. 26 years ago this week, Apple introduced the Macintosh. It was on such a machine (well, a Mac SE) that I first got my geek on as a graphic designer and in-house “system expert” (we had two Macs and a laser printer) at a Kinko’s. It was the dawning of desktop publishing and I loved everything about Macs. I had learned BASIC programming on clunky old school-furnished IBMs, but the Mac was everything that people say it was: cool, sleek, smart, etc. And for a time, they just got better and better.

I left Macs behind in the mid-90’s when Apple decided it wanted to suck and Microsoft made us all believe that Windows was just as good. I also didn’t have access to company-provided hardware and couldn’t afford a Mac. Looking at Wikipedia articles for this post I was reminded about how expensive Macs were (and still are). In one of the Wiki articles it says original (or maybe it was the second generation “Fat Mac”) was something like $5000 in today’s money. That seems outrageous to me now, but that was the price you had to pay for a mouse and GUI back then. (Kind of funny considering I now have to throw mice away from time to time to remove the clutter.)

So what’s the point, you ask? All the hype over the introduction of the Apple Tablet, and the subsequent announcements that other manufacturers are (again) looking to release tablet computers, has me wondering if tablets are really what the world is clamoring for. In other words, is this a Mac or a Newton? I’ll have more to say as I cogitate over the question and talk to smarter people (and non-lapsed Apple adherenets). For now, however, I’m still not convinced that a tablet computer is really all that great an idea, and if it is a great idea, that Apple really has the secret formula (design, operating system, dependability, etc.) to make one a success. (

Don’t get me wrong: I’m still excited to get a look at them, and it almost goes without saying that Apple’s designs are brilliant, but for now I’m not so sure I’m all that sold.

More to come, obviously. For now, expect additional posts on this topic, as well as links to be added later today. I’m typing as fast as I can!

Thanks for stopping by.