Happy Birthday, Macintosh

Twenty-five years ago, Apple's Steve Jobs introduced the Macintosh computer. It arrived with an allure of magic in a world where computers were "business machines" that responded only to typing odd text combinations of forward and back slashes, colons, letters and numbers. Before Mac, if someone said they had a mouse on their desk, you'd tell them to call an exterminator. It was the Macintosh that brought the power of point-and-click control out from experimental labs and onto people's desktops. The high resolution images and the text it could display in different fonts were inspiring. Even its all-in-one design -- computer and screen united in one body -- was a marvel.

Here's a link to the Google News roundup of stories about the Mac's 25th anniversary.

Click the image below to reach a Wikipedia account of the Mac's early development.

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iPhone & Leopard

Click image to check out the iPhone tour page.

Later this week, Apple debuts its much anticipated iPhone. An interesting guided tour of how it works is now online...



... and so is this funny satire on YouTube.


As neat as the iPhone is, I'm not sure I'm up for changing carriers just yet. I'm also not sure about spending money that could go towards buying a new desktop computer soon. I'm trying to get more mileage out of the aging hard drive in my iMac, until the next Mac OS X--Leopard--is released this fall.

Click image to see Mac OS X Leopard features.

Leopard itself is promising some great new features and flashy graphics. The one thing I'm not sure I like is the new set of folder icons for music, movies, and other items in Leopard's Home Folder. I've only spotted a glimpse of them, but they strike me as subdued when compared with the eye candy of the new Dock, Cover Flow, and Quick Look.

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"I’m a Pasocon." "I’m a Makku."

PC & Mac,
Japanese-Style

You know the 'Get a Mac' TV ads featuring John Hodgeman as a PC and Justin Long as a Mac computer.

It turns out they've been redoing the ads in Japan: different actors, same personalities. I love this video.






I'm an avid Mac user, and I enjoy tracking Apple's innovations the way some people follow sports teams. This could be an interesting week, by the way. Apple's CEO Steve Jobs gives the keynote at the MacWorld Expo on Tuesday. There's talk he may unveil a much-talked about "iTV" which will break new ground in linking your TV to the internet. Other rumors include a new kind of video iPod or even an Apple "iPhone".

This image on Apple's home page doesn't do much to lower expectations, does it?

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