You know how sometimes families will develop a reputation with other families in their community? Not even necessarily in a bad way, just in a “that family’s really outdoorsy” or “Oh, that’s just the family that practices cannibalism,” kind of way.
Well, for better or worse, my family and I have been branded as computer nerds. (I suspect that when we’re not around we’re also known as the ‘boring’ family, but that’s a whole different story.) Whether this is deserved or not I will leave for you to determine, but the fact is that our friends and acquaintances regularly come to us looking for technical advice/salvation, because it is an accepted fact that we Julians are “computer people.” This is partially because for much of my life we have had at least one computer per person in our household; but also because at any given moment the odds of finding us all sitting at our computers are… high. 
It seems that my family’s affinity for computers began before either my brother or I were even conceived, because as my parents like to tell us, they spent long nights when they were newly married playing those new-fangled TEXT-BASED ADVENTURE GAMES! (Emphasis added to demonstrate their excitement.) I believe they were also some of the first people they knew to actually get a computer (An Apple, of course), but I wasn’t around so I may not have the details completely straight.
One thing I know for sure is that computers have been a gigantic part of my life for as long as I can remember. My earliest memory of computer-excitement is from that fateful night when my parents came home from shopping at Costco. Dad walked in the door with a big cardboard box in his arms, set it down on the table, carefully opened it up, and pulled out… a brand new computer! It was a Macintosh Performa 578, but in my six-year-old excitement, all I noticed was that it was COLOR! Our first color computer! I loved this computer, because it had Kid Pix (which rocked my world like you would not believe) and Mario Teaches Typing and Wacky Jacks.
This little computer served us faithfully for years, but pretty soon my family started switching to bigger, faster, (at that time) better PCs, and they gave me the Performa to keep in my room. So it became the first computer I was responsible for, as well as the machine I used for school reports and on which I designed my first website (The story of my introduction to the internet is worthy of its own post. Let’s just say my tagline is right: I grew up with the internet. 
).
Finally, one of my family members upgraded their PC and gave me their old one. So my days as a Mac user were over, and I happily accepted my newer, faster (although still hopelessly outdated) PC. Since then I have upgraded to new PCs several times, but this post is growing unwieldy so I will spare you the details.
Except to mention that three years ago I bought a computer for the first time, which is the PC I still have, and let me tell you: I love it to death. It’s slightly outdated now, but has aged surprisingly well, and with my new monitor it is a thing of beauty. (I told you I’d post pictures of it someday!) So take that, Mac users, PC people can get attached to their computers too.
But anyway, back to how my family is made up of computer geeks… these are the computers that currently make up our household:
- Mine (see above)
- Mom’s (newest computer we have)
- Dad’s (newer than mine, older than Mom’s)
- An old Dell laptop that is rapidly growing decrepit
- The afore-mentioned Performa (Yes, we still have it! It probably hasn’t been turned on in a year, though.)
- An older-than-dirt “laptop” (affectionately known as the “luggable”) that probably doesn’t work anymore.
This is not including my brother’s TWO computers (soon to be three, including his Fiance’s laptop) since he doesn’t live here anymore; but he’s definitely still part of the family, and demonstrates the family computer geekiness.
Now, in a surprising development, this history of family computing may be about to come full circle! For the past six months or so, I have been researching Apple computers. It started because I wanted to upgrade my beloved PC, and the more I looked around the more attractive Macs were looking. I’ve gone back and forth so many times, talked with countless people through countless arguments about why one platform or the other is better. And, slowly but surely, my desire to own a Macintosh has been increasing. I have surreptitiously been reading The Unofficial Apple Weblog, and keeping up on Apple’s latest releases.
It is entirely possible that I will purchase a MacBook Pro later this year. This would be new territory for me in many ways: My first OSX Mac, my first laptop (…my first computer that costs almost as much as my car did =-o…). I want to wait till later this year to purchase one for a number of reasons: First and foremost, I need to save some more money. Secondly, I want to wait until some of the issues that I’ve read about have been worked out. (Computer whine, screen issues, etc.) I’m also kind of hoping that Apple will do a similar deal this year as the one they did last year, where they gave away an iPod with Powerbook purchases. But most of all… I’m just not sure yet. Is it really worth the expense and the hassle of incompatable software? Of not having Photoshop?? I don’t know. But it’s darn attractive. And it would seem particularly fitting, in view of my family’s reputation, to be a bi-platform computer user.
My parents probably never guessed, back when they were staunch Macintosh users, that they would one day be trying to convince their daughter that switching from Windows to a Mac would be too much of a pain. What silly problems and decisions computers have created in our lives… things that we never thought we’d have to think about. But here we are. And, for better or worse…. I am a computer geek. And proud.
Update: My brother tells me that the Performa was actually our third color computer. Oops. I guess that just goes to emphasize the technological-forwardness of my family; but as far as I’m concerned, it was our first one because it’s the first one I remember.
April 1st, 2006 at 9:08 pm
Great post, I can completely relate. My dad was really into computers (he was a teacher who went back to college to get a masters in computer science because he was so into it). The first computer I remember was an Apple ][ (here I am using it) and progressed through various Apple iterations. But I did finally make the break for PCs when I started college and have been building them ever since. A must admit some of the new Intel MacPros look pretty nice (but also cost a pretty penny), but aside from some REALLY good bible software and some multimedia stuff, PC still reign in software and accessories… but they are still nice and pretty.
PS. I totally remember KidPix!
April 2nd, 2006 at 12:52 am
Thanks for your kind comments!
There’s no question that PCs have a broader range of software available for them, but aside from Photoshop I can’t think of anything I’d miss that much by moving to a Mac. (And Photoshop is certainly available for the Mac, I would just have to purchase it AGAIN which I am rather reluctant to do.) Perhaps I would miss Microsoft Word, since that’s what my whole family uses for documents. I don’t know. I’m not really thinking of switching to a Mac exactly… more of having both a Mac laptop and a PC desktop. Is such a co-existance possible? I don’t know… we’ll have to see.
P.S. KidPix was the BOMB.
April 2nd, 2006 at 12:17 pm
I think you are probably correct in saying that there is probably nothing you would really miss switching over. You can get Office for the Mac too, so you would still be able to use all your old files. Buying Photoshop would definitely suck. I know people who have used multiple platforms and since highspeed internet makes it easy to send files through the air, sharing files between the two is actually pretty easy. Just thought I would throw that out there.
On the other hand you can get a kickin’ PC laptop for much less. 
April 2nd, 2006 at 11:53 pm
You may also want to wait on the MacBook until later so speed issues with non-native OS X software is resolved. I’ve heard that for things like Photoshop that have not yet been reprogrammed to accomodate the new chip, there are issues like that. (and wow, a huge fly just flew by me! what’s he doing in here at 1am??)
Macs and PCs can play nicely together - my dad does it every day, but there are issues. I would guess though that you wouldn’t run into them as much as him because he deals with desktop publishing and fonts a ton.
I’m excited to see what you decide!
April 3rd, 2006 at 1:50 am
Thanks for the input, both of you. I really appreciate it.
Phil - I didn’t know your Dad was “bi-platform”!
I’d be interested in talking to you about how that works out for him. My understanding, however, regarding the speed issue, is that it’s the software that needs to be updated, not the operating system or the computer itself. Am I wrong about this? If I’m not, it seems like it would be okay to buy the machine before all the software was updated.
April 3rd, 2006 at 7:19 am
I use a PowerBook and a Dell desktop together, in (relatively) perfect harmony. If you want more info, Erin, feel free to email me, although I’ll eventually post something to my site explaining how I manage.
Found your site from the TUAW “Rig of the Day” which was one of your Flickr photos (the Performa)… Hope to be back!
April 3rd, 2006 at 8:24 am
Hi Erin,
Great post. I love the story and yeah, I think KidPix was/is great. I am the father of a Mac household and my kids are using the OSX version of KidPix now (as well as MS Office, Photoshop InDesign, Ilustrator, etc etc). THe Macs are great and you can get along with the PCs just fine. I am a freelenace designer and use Macs at the house but frequently PCs at my Client’s. So I guess I am bi too.
I am a total MacHead (Mac Yoda to family and friends) so I can, and would be happy too, answer any questions you may have. Bottom line: get a Mac, any Mac. The software that comes with it is fantastic (iLIfe for example) and there simnply isn’t anything like it for Windows. It all works together fabulously and plays well with other OSs and networks. If you are nervous about issues with the MacBooks on intel, grab one of the G5 machines like the last gen iMacs. You can go to the Apple Store online and scroll down to the Special Deals graphic, click it and it takes you to the Refurbished product page. I have bought almost all my Macs in the last 6 years there, frequently the model that has just been replaced by an update and I save a bunch of dough. Check this out, too: http://www.apple.com/macosx/quicktours/viewall.html
Email me anytime - I mean that. I am always happy to help people make up their minds about buying a Mac.
April 3rd, 2006 at 8:31 am
Erin,
BTW, you are correct about the speed thing. It is that software needs to be updated to natively use the Intel processors. Programs that are written for the PowerPC chips will run fine, but utilize an emulation layer called Rosetta that works transparently. You won’t even notice a speed issue for regular stuff. It is the heavy duty apps that will have a performance hit until the new versions come out (like Photoshop). All the apps that Apple ships with the new Macs are Universal Binaries (meaning they will work with PowerPC and Intel natively) and third party updates are appearing constantly.
More about ROsetta here: http://www.apple.com/rosetta/
April 3rd, 2006 at 10:28 am
Old computers rock. Old Mac computers rock even harder!
April 3rd, 2006 at 10:50 am
Nice. I like the part where you link to me as “Mac users”
And yes Kidpix was the coolest application ever. The guy who made it teaches for U of O .. I almost went there to study graphic design.
If you count PDAs, I’ve had 6 computers just by myself… and I’m only 19. I’m a proud computer geek too!
cheers,
Cameron
April 3rd, 2006 at 11:32 am
Does anyone remember the Apple Newton? I think I was 14 when they came out, I wanted one SOOOOO bad. Random, I know.
April 3rd, 2006 at 12:40 pm
Wow, guys! I got up this morning and was shocked to find a bevy of new comments on this post; but not as shocked as I was to discover that I’m the tuaw rig of the day! Wow! Thanks to the tuaw people for doing that, and also thank you to all of you who have left me these informative, interesting comments!
Richard - thanks for the offer; I am glad to find out that other people are living out the PC desktop/Mac laptop situation that I am contemplating. I’m sure I will be posting more about this issue as things develop.
Greg - Thank you! Your comments were very helpful. I checked out the refurbished Mac section of the Apple Store that you were talking about, and you’re right, there are some really good deals there! At this time, however, I am really only interested in a laptop (not a desktop), and I am also reluctant to get anything pre-Intel chip. My Dad and I noticed they had a G5 iMac at Costco the other day, so naturally I wanted to play around with it. It seemed like a great machine–except that the first thing I noticed was the slowness of it. Compared to my (three-year-old!) PC, it was remarkably slow. That was pretty discouraging to me, which is why I’m particularly interested in the new intel Macs. Oh, and I’ve seen that Tiger tour before; I actually watched it last fall when Tiger first came out. But you were smart to link to it, because that demo was one of the things that got me thinking seriously about a Mac in the first place!
Cameron - Lol, happy to do it. I hope you get some of the benefit of the OODLES of traffic I’ve been getting today from tuaw! Egads! The guy who designed Kidpix teaches for the UofO? Sweetness. Six computers! Wow. Yep, you definitely qualify as a computer geek.
Matt - Elijah has an old Apple Newton. Unfortunately, he wrote a ton of journal entries in there when he was like fourteen and now has no way of retrieving them. Sucks! :-p
April 3rd, 2006 at 3:40 pm
I used to have a Newton! An eMate. It’s actually the very first computer I owned myself.. I got it for $100 around 1999 or something. It was great.
Oh, and I’ve got, like, two referrals from your site
it’s pretty great. I bet you’re getting a lot tho!
And yeah, that iMac G5 at Costco probably had insufficent RAM, I doubt Costco would put in more for a display unit … although the Intel iMac is much faster. People have said that the new Intel Macs are much “snappier” than PowerPC Macs (at least with naitve software) …
April 4th, 2006 at 12:49 am
I didn’t put that out very clearly. Yes, it is not the OS X that has “problem,” but the non-native software like Photoshop. Greg completely covered it, and well, however, so I see no point pointing it out again.
I’m going to actually use my flickr account for you to show some fun stuff you can do with the Photo Booth program that comes with the macbook (one of my friends bought one and didn’t tell me about it!! sweet power cord
)
April 10th, 2006 at 5:12 am
Don’t forget about Boot Camp.
April 10th, 2006 at 11:44 am
We are a Windows and Apple family. I have found that both have their high points and their low points but can live happily in the same computer room. Although I do agree that the Mac are much more user friendly and visually appealing.
June 17th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
I have used Macs for most of my adult life. I was even a Mac network administrator at a nearby school district for five years. I could tell you a million reasons that Macs are superior to PCs, but others have already done that (the lack of Mac software story is a myth, though). I’m here to tell you what it appears no one else as told you yet (but maybe you already know). Macs can now run the Windows operating system natively, right along side Mac OS X; and it is as fast or faster than it is on actual Windows computers. Read what this Flash game developer wrote when he bought his first MacBook Pro a few weeks ago (FlashGamer). You can skip past all the technical jargon to the third paragraph. That sums it up.
Your family no longer has any excuse to stick with Windows-only computers.
Finally, I know you want a laptop (I have a PowerBook G4 and a PowerMac G4), but have you seen those amazingly wonderful 20-inch iMac screens? Just think what you could do with one of those things when working with digital photography.
Also, iPhoto works amazingly well with Flickr. Importing photos from your camera to the computer is incredibly simple. The computer does almost all the work for you. You only have to plug the camera in and hit the import button.
You can also download two free iPhoto enhancers: Flickr Export for iPhoto and Keyword Assistant. The first allows you to upload to Flickr directly from iPhoto, and the second streamlines the keywording (photo-tagging) process. You will be able to tag huge numbers of photos at once with it. All in all, you will be able to write your photo comments in iPhoto, as well as your titles and keywords (among other things) before they are ever uploaded to the internet (maybe your Windows photo program does some of that too; I don’t know). It makes the process so much simpler that you will be amazed.