I have had a “coming and going” relationship with Apple during my lifetime. The first computer I ever had was an Apple IIc, back when all of my friends had Commodore 64s. As a middle-school aged kid, I wasn’t terribly impressed by the monochrome screen that seemed as small as the little television we took camping1, but even then I had to admit that the setup looked far cooler than any C64 one I’d ever seen. It was neat to able to carry the thing around like a briefcase, and even neater that it had the floppy drive built right into the computer.
What did I use it for? Mainly to play A Bard’s Tale. I can still recall facing 99 berzerkers, 99 berzerkers, 99 berzerkers and 99 berzerkers2 for countless hours on the machine that was really ahead of its time.
It would be over 20 years before I’d own another Apple product.
As a guy trying to wrap his head around video editing, I had grown sick of Sony Vegas and Adobe Premiere. I’d heard great things about the Mac when it came to getting the job done, so I picked up an eMac — sort of a gateway Mac. From there I went into a 15-inch Powerbook, then a 12-inch Powerbook AND a 15-inch MacBook Pro, and now I’m into an 11-inch MacBook Air. Not to mention all of the iPod family3, two iPhone models and the original iPad.
The 20 years leading up to my re-introduction to Apple wasn’t all bad. But the last 7 with an Apple device (or three) at my side have been anything but bad. I’d go as far to say that without Apple products working for me, I wouldn’t be making a living doing what I do today. Apple has played a huge role in shaping my life.
Steve Jobs famously said the following:
“No one needs permission to be awesome.”
Suffice to say that it was his being awesome that gave me the tools to make my being awesome a whole lot easier. It’s for that reason that my “comings and goings” have stopped — I’m not going anywhere, Apple.
Thanks, Steve. Your creations have had a huge impact on bringing my creations to life.
1 We were high-maintenance Southern Ontario camping folk, after all.
2 Uh-oh. It can be played on Steam now. Must…resist…temptation.
3 Save for the original/classic line for some reason.
