# Demographics



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

I am curious to know the age demographics of the denizens of ehMacLand. Some of you have grown up with computers your entire lives........some remember the days of black and white TV.........some...........well you get the point. We all know where everywhere is currently living, but what of our ages? I am willing to admit that I was born in 1948 and am 54. This is not meant to label anyone, just a question stemming from curiosity.


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## Mississauga (Oct 27, 2001)

Born in '53 - 1st computer in '97 (late bloomer  ) - a PM 8500/180.


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## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

35 (born in '67)

1st computer: Apple II+ in High School, around 1983.

1st home computer: Commodore Vic 20. 

2nd home computer: Powerbook 160.

M.


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## sniper (Mar 9, 2002)

17

first computer was an apple IIgs at the age of 4


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## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

I was born the same year Sputnik was. My first computer was a Mac Plus (beige) which I bought in 1992 for $175.00. The next fall I bought a Performa 630 and haven't looked back.


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

• Born in '68 (the Summer of Love) St. John's, NL
• Married '98
• Kid on the way, expecting 2/8/03
• Retail business owner, established '95
• First computer purchased was TRS-80 (trash-80)
• Used Macs since 1985 (highschool - autocad, college - QuarkXpress, Illustrator, PhotoShop)
• First Mac purchased was a Mac IIvi
• 5th in line to join ehMac


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Most interesting demographics. A 37 year spread so far. I fear that I may be the "old man" of the group. Someone told me that I was "over the hill", to which I replied "I can't be over the hill since I have not yet reached the mountain top!"

Bjornbro, you would not recognize St. John's now. 
Gorgguide, I was a few days short of my 9th birthday when Sputnik was launched. I still remember going up on the roof of my apartment house in hopes of seeing it go on by.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

This Mayor just turned 30. Used to play with Trash 80's at radio shack. Got a Vic 20 for my birthday. (Was jealous of cousin who had C-64). At one time made fun of Mac Plus that was at The Bay computer section. Have been married for over 10 years with 3 kids. (Oldest is 6 years old) That's my demo


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Mr. Mayor, what say thou to my suggestion to a consulate in NYC? 

Did you ever receive the pics of Macdoc's award yesterday? I shall send a better picture of the whale bone carving, in that the face was washed out by the flash.


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dr.G.:
*Bjornbro, you would not recognize St. John's now.*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Actually, I wouldn't recognize it at all, as my family moved three months after I was born. I will one day return for sure to trace my roots.

Newfies, unite!!


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

Born in 1981.

Computers?

Well, I grew up with the computers my parents had, which in order were:

Texas Instruments TI800, which used cartridges to load programs and such, not unlike an N64 or a SNES.

Then there was a Xerox 286, quickly replced with a 386 as I recall, running DOS. That was traded up for a 486, running DOS 6 and Windows 3. This was back in the early days of Windows, so it wasn;t so much the OS, just a graphical front end for DOS. I prefered the CLI anyway. The only reason to run Windows 3 in my opinion was the game "Captain Comic"  

While we still had the 386, we also picked up a Mac SE/30. Great little machine. Stunt Copter is still one of my favorite passtimes. My Dad still has the SE/30, and it still runs great.

In the early/Mid 90s we moved to a PowerMac 6100/60 running System 7.5, and a Pentium 2 300 machine running Win95. That PowerMac introduced me to a whole bunch of great stuff. A 33.6Kbps modem among other things! I also first played Escape Velocity on that machine, a game that I paid for when it first came out.
At some point the P2 was upgraded to Win98, an improvement but still behind in my opinion.

Then in 1998 my Dad bought a Beige G3 300, and in 1999 I bought an Tangerine iMac 333, both running OS 8.5 as I recall, then OS 8.6, and I bought OS 9 the day after it came out. My father was reluctant to upgrade to 9 because it broke ATM.

Then I moved out, and least february I upgraded to my current iBook 600 14". My father has also replaced his P2 machine with a Sony Vaio running WinXP.

We even had a brief experience with Linux (My Dad installed Mandrake on our 486 at some point (dont remember when, it didn;t last very long) and a version of UNIX too, but that didn;t last very long either. The version my Dad picked up was pretty old.

And now I sell computers for a (meager) living.

In this environment, I guess I couldn't help but end up the geek that I am.

--PB


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## Chealion (Jan 16, 2001)

Born in '85, got first Mac in '91, as my Dad needed it so he bring home work for his preflighting job (Good ol DTP jobs)
Used that until it got stolen then upgraded to a Performa 580, then just recently up to a G4  First started troubleshooting Macs for friends and at home when I first got the 580, and ended being the head student troubleshooter way back in Junior High. Macs are nice and easy to fix, windoze machines are a pain in the... well you get the picture...
And just like PosterBoy (deja vu when I read his post), got Escape Velocity and purchased it with my brother for hours upon hours of fun... Still love that game.

Just gotta finish up my last year of high school, then who knows where I'll go?

Dr. G? What's Black and White TV?  No, but I like those Old Radio Shows


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## RicktheChemist (Jul 18, 2001)

*


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Bjornbro, three months is enough to get you your NL passport (The Newfoundland Separation Federation is quite active here since This Hour Has 22 Minutes came on the CBC). I was actually born in Manhattan, lived there a week, went to live in Brooklyn, NY for 6 months and then out to Queens, NY to be raised. I lived between the two airports and recall seeing the first jet airliners in the 1950's fly overhead and wondering "Where are the propellers?" 

Chealion, I actually recall those last radio shows. They died out in the early 1950's when TV caught on with the public. I guess I was part of the first generation that was placed in front of the TV screen that was no bigger than an original Mac (in a TV that was as big as a VW Beetle). Ah, those were the days...................................


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## Chris (Feb 8, 2001)

Born 1958. The first computer I owned was a 1920s vintage Royal typewriter.  Given the quality of my handwriting, this was a major improvement for my communications skills in Grade 6.!  

The first computer I ever used was my high school's Digital PDP 8E, with a whopping 16k of RAM, two teletypes and a mark-sense card reader. We later traded the TTYs for a nifty innovation, a video display terminal! Oooh!  

Unfortunately, I never really followed up on my early computer enthusiasm, although I worked in Audio-Visual all through university. The first Mac I ever owned is a little Mac Classic, obtained in 1996, now retired to our basement. I've grown from there!


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## VertiGoGo (Aug 21, 2001)

Born in March 1973. Age: 29.

1st computer: Vic 20 with cassette drive (year unknown)

2nd computer: Apple IIe - Grade 6 (1984-85)

3rd computer: Tandy 1000 from Radio Shack

4th computer: some IBM clone thing my folks bought. 

5th computer (I bought): 386DX with 40MB HD and two hamsters' worth of RAM. (1992)

6th computer (I bought): Toshiba ToughBook. 6.4GB, 64 MB RAM. Weighed a tonne.  

Saw the light in 2000 and bought a 500MHz Pismo PowerBook with 20GB HD.

2002...sold Pismo and bought 800MHz eMac with SuperDrive. Mmmmmm...SuperDrive.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Chris, I too used one of the old Royal typewriters. Man, it was huge! It also weighed more than an eMac.


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## used to be jwoodget (Aug 22, 2002)

Born 1960, first computer was a Sinclair ZX81 with a 16K memory pack. Second computer was also a Sinclair but I can't remember its name (it had a colour screen and 32K of RAM ). Those were the days.... Wrote my doctorate thesis on an Olivetti word processor with daisy wheel printer. Encountered my first Mac in 1985 at the Salk Institute in San Diego. Never looked back.

Dr. G. you are as old as you feel. Apart from what sounds like a lousy vision problem, you post as if you were 20!


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

jwoodget, I agree with your philosophy on Life and aging. Would you believe that I used to be much more prolific?!?!?! I loved to read as a boy/youth/adult, but hated writing due to my learning disability in spelling. When I started to write my dissertation, it was a task from hell. Luckily, I had a fine typist who used a new IBM electric ball typewiter with instant correction capabilities. 

When I first used the Bank Street Writer on my Apple IIe, I was unleashed. That was back in the summer of '83. I have utilized Dragon Naturally Speaking speech recognition software, but I still find that I compose more literate work when typing and reflecting. The only thing the written word lacks is inflection and accent. The joke I wrote about the mother who said to God "He had a hat!" needs to be timed and with accent and emphasis that is difficult utilizing the printed word. Still, written words are all we have to communicate on this forum, so they will have to make do for now. I can imagine how your area of expertise has changed since those days of your grad thesis. 'Tis a Brave New World of medical research that still lies just over the horizon............somewhere beyond the Twilight Zone.................. (cue the de-de-de-de-de-de-de-de now).


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Spare me Dr. G I'm your elder by a year  and share the same birthday as PET.
We did this same survey on a very exclusive worldwide anonymous FC board and much to everyone's laughter about 1/2 were over 50 or getting very close.
I really miss that board as it had members from all over the world and many in high ranking positions. It was early FC with the straight news (non threaded) and some of the arguments were just terrific.







Sure got your thinking and typing at the same time going well to keep up with mulitple real time posts to the news.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Oops first computer Fat Mac 512 with Apple Laserwriter - $16,500 took a small business loan to get it. Macs every since, won't even use the stupid PCs at the border  - I can write up my entry faster as I've got it pre-printed from the Mac


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Macdoc, this is my busy season, so to speak. Students are sending email attachments of their case studies/case analyses prior to their final submission, and I find reading the wise postings from the elders (such as yourself), the denizens, troglodytes, et al in ehMacLand quite relaxing. And, if I am chosen to represent the fair city-state-nation of ehMacLand in NYC, I must keep up-to-date, alert and vigilent.


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Chealion:
*...but I like those Old Radio Shows.*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey I love'em too! When I was 12, I lived in Edmonton and I used to listen to the 'CBS Radio Mystery Theatre' hosted by E. G. Marshall. Last year I bought the entire 1,500 episode collection, encoded in .mp3, on 25 CDs. It was a steal at $200 USD. I listen to them on long drives to the city, great fun.


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## Chealion (Jan 16, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bjornbro:
*<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Chealion:
[qb]...but I like those Old Radio Shows.*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey I love'em too! When I was 12, I lived in Edmonton and I used to listen to the 'CBS Radio Mystery Theatre' hosted by E. G. Marshall. Last year I bought the entire 1,500 episode collection, encoded in .mp3, on 25 CDs. It was a steal at $200 USD. I listen to them on long drives to the city, great fun.[/QB]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

LOL, I just listen to the Old Radio Shows put on the local radio station while I go to sleep... gotta love QR 77... (The shows are on from 11PM till 1 MST) you can always listen on the web through www.qr77.com but I don't know if they got it working on a Mac yet, as they used Streamcast


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## Heart (Jan 16, 2001)

34
Married
Going to be a Dad soon.
First baby on the way, due Nov 21, 2002

First exposure to a computer, High School Grade Nine 'PET' computer (Like a Commodore, writing code in BASIC)

First owned home compute Mac did not come until 1995, 5215CD. (No Payments, No Interest for One Year from Future Shop)  

Born and Raised in KW - Ontario

Here's the rest!


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

Now _this_ is a cool thread! We are actually getting to know each other and finding out where we all came from. This makes us all feel even more like a real community. Probably why so many of us have posted here so quickly. Too cool!

I was hatched in 1956. I used to think that I was the unholy byproduct of some early government-sponsored genetic experiment gone terribly wrong....but then I discovered my roots and decided that my Dad and Mom were just two people who actually liked each other, and the fact that they were both decendants of bloodthirsty Highland Scottish Clans was just a side issue at the time. Good thing too, because even the casual observer would think, while looking at myself and my two brothers, that _someone_ sure as hell was trying to breed _SOMETHING_!

I won't bore you all with a lot of drivel about my early life....suffice to say that, despite a serious lack of formal education, I managed to land a position as a technician-trainee in mobile laboratory work on the oilrigs at age eighteen (they were hiring anyone who could see out of at least one eye and speak some form of english at the time....I barely qualified on both counts)

This exposed me to the world of science. It also forced me to use a computer full-time. We were crunching numbers and drawing log data on a "Prime" computer when I worked offshore Brasil in 1978. Pretty rudimentary stuff, compared to this era.

This job also offered me the opportunity to travel extensively. Many of the guys I worked with weren't into living and working in foreign lands, but I jumped at the chance. Plus, they were paying giant money to go overseas. We were given salaries that would make an airline pilot drool with envy. But you had to be able to handle living and working in a faraway land.....for long periods of time. We are talking months and years here. Not a couple of weeks away from the old homestead. Not at all. Plus, you could get fired for screwing up, at a moment's notice. Mistakes ,in this particular job, are simply not allowed. It costs the oil companies many millions of dollars if we generate bad data. The good techs are rewarded handsomely....the bad ones are flushed uncerimoniously. It gets your attention, believe me.

Anyway....when training was completed and we were asked if we would like to travel. I said YES! Then they asked us where we would like to go. I asked for Europe and was given an airline ticket to Houston and told to report to a certain office in a certain building there. When I got there....the sign on the office door said "Latin American and Pacific Operations". I had been Shanghied! My choices were.....some bug-infested dictatorship in Asia minor or some bug-infested dictatorship in South or Central America. Europe....as I soon found out...was reserved for those who had already proven themselves in the nastier corners of the planet.

I decided to make the best of a bad situation and I asked for, and got, South America as my stamping grounds. I knew nothing about the place....I spoke no Spanish or Portugese. All I knew was that Latin girls held a very real fascination in my mind, and that South America was bound to be chock full of these wonderful creatures.

It was! And HOW!!

The job required us to transmit data via satellite link and, later on, we sent it to the head offices in Houston or Calgary by the early internet. At first, we played on the net during the long hours spent babysitting mass spectrometers and gas chromatographs. There wasn't a whole lot to see back then, but almost all of the world's libraries were open to us....and it sure beat reading Lois L'Amour novels day in and day out. (my job requires twelve hour shifts every day, for thirty or forty....or sometimes even sixty days at a time)

As the eighties progressed, our sensitive data became a target for "scouts" who are the frontline of competing oil companies and we had less and less access to the internet. Except on business. The oil companies demanded, and got, secure links and encryption systems built into our computers. We could no longer use them to explore this new frontier. We all accepted it....just as we accepted the constant crashes and freezes. It was just a part of the job. Like mosquitos that carried life-threatening diseases and local guerillas that shot at us when we were at wellsite. Or snakes that slithered all over the wellsite and could kill us with one bite. Or helicopters that were seriously in need of maintenance, and would drop out of the sky like a manhole cover if something important broke in mid-flight. All part of the package. Some guys couldn't handle it and broke under the pressure. Others just soldiered on and dealt with the problems. Especially with the computers.

When you spend hundreds of hours working on crucial data with a computer each month, (especially on a balky PC runing DOS) then you have a tendency to turn your back on it for the two or three weeks you have away from the rig. Especially if it is in a place like Rio de Janeiro or Bogota or Maracaibo or Guatemala City or even Camaguey, Cuba. I had no thoughts of owning my own computer. Farthest thing from my mind, believe me! I was totally fed up with the troublesome beasts....especially when there were so many delightful diversions to occupy my time when in town. This is probably why I never got married. 

Fast forward to 1999. I was now working in North Dakota (I have a permanent US work visa) and I decided that I needed to actually BUY my own computer, instead of using the Laptop PC that the company provided me. I was travelling all over the US and Canada and the laptop that I had with me was set up to only transmit data on a secure link. The internet and email was strictly "off-limits" with this machine. My Dad had just bought his first computer up in Canada, and my girlfriend in Cuba had some limited access to a computer in the hospital where she worked. I needed to keep in touch with the two of them, but couldn't do it with the Toshiba that I carried with me everywhere I went.

Time to buy my own!

I knew one thing for sure....I DIDN'T want a big bag of trouble like the PC that I was using every day at work.

I asked around and read _everything_ I could get my hands on about which computers were the very best. I went through volumes of data and talked to a LOT of people on this subject.

Guess what? The name "Macintosh" and "Apple" came up more than a few times! Go figure.

So, late in 2000, I would finish my shift (we call them "tours" in the oilpatch) and then drive thirty five minutes south (on terrible icy roads) to Dickinson, North Dakota in order to use the public library computers. Once there I would bid on Macintosh PowerBooks on ebay. I had no idea what I was buying....I just knew that I DIDN'T want what I was using every day at work. To say the least. Anything would have been better than what I was using.

I got my Pismo on New Years Eve 2001 (probably no one else was bidding!) and took delivery a few days later at the Dickinson Post Office. I took it back with me to Billings, Montana (where the head office of my company was) and proceeded to try and figure out how to operate a Mac.

It was surprisingly easy to learn and within fifteen minutes I was on the net! Within two days I was a confirmed Macintosh fanatic! 

I have never looked back. 

This system, and the support we get from other Mac owners, is so much better than what I had to deal with at work every day....well, I don't have to explain any of this to any of you, I'm sure! It's just plain BETTER in every way. End of story.

Anyway, I left the oilpatch to run my own business here on Salt Spring about a year later, and discovered ehMac shortly thereafter. I've been here ever since....much to the chagrin of some people... but I LIKE it here....and I ain't leavin till you run me out of town on a rail.

That's how I started to use a Mac, and that's how I got here. Now you're all stuck with me. 

BTW-I have tried to edit this so as to not seem so long-winded....there is a LOT more to tell. Just didn't want to bore anyone to tears.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Macnutt, you certainly got into the spirit of things on my demographics thread. I just was curious about everyone's age, and now I have a great deal of info on everyone. Luckily, I allowed my registration in the CIA to expire. Their meetings were boring, and I am not a covert sort of person.

Still, all of you who have posted in this thread have really achieved the spirit of community. "We are family" as the song goes back in a time when life was simplier.


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## Alesh (Dec 10, 2001)

Hello, I was born in 1982, 20 years old. First exposure to a computer was some anonymous computer in grade school, but we didn't use it too much. My Dad got the family a computer when I was 13. It was a Performa 580 CD. I still have fond memories of that computer, playing Chuck Yager's Air Combat, messing around with AppleScript. Those were the days....


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## Chealion (Jan 16, 2001)

Alesh, u had a Perforam 580CD too? Crazy, I thought I was the only one... lol, but those were the days... and now it sits in its original box, in my closet... neglected for the G4...


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## james_squared (May 3, 2002)

Hello,

Stats:

YOB: 1974
POB: Surrey, BC
Married: 20022002 (Feb. 20th, 2002)
Cats: 3

Computer Experiences:

1st - Texas Instruments.
2nd - Amiga 1000, 2000HD, 600. Amigas were far ahead of their time. Great graphics/art and gaming machines with a great GUI.
3rd - Pentium MMX 166 with 32MB RAM, Win 95.
4th - PII 300 with 128MB RAM, 8GB HD, 8MB ATI, 12MB Voodoo 2, 4x CD Burner, Win 98. Great gaming machine, at the time. Still alive and well with the mother-in-law. The machine is enjoying a leisurely retirement.
5th - iBook 700, 14.1", 384MB RAM, 30GB HD, Combo Drive. First and only Macintosh experience.

Lots of other windows machines at university/work.

Video Game Consoles:

1st - Pong.
2nd - Atari.
3rd - Intellivision.
4th - Colecovision.
5th - Nintendo 8bit.
6th - Sega Genesis.

James


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## Aurora (Sep 25, 2001)

Well, well. After reading all these posts I feel positively ancient. Today, Nov. 11th, I turn 65. I got my first Apple ][ in '79 and moved on to the 128k Mac, the SE, the Performa, 7600, and now the G4 867. I remember that I thought I had died and gone to Heaven when I got a second drive for my Apple. What a difference from the tape recorder that I started with. (My God! Did I end that sentence with a preposition? ) I remember when more memory meant tying a string around your finger.
I did 20yrs in the RCAF/CF then went to Burbank Lockheed to participate in developing radar training courses for the new antisubmarine warfare aircraft that the CF was purchasing. (The Aurora so I guess you can figure where I got my handle)
After stints with Philips and Marconi as training mgr. for airport landing systems, I started my own photolab business to finally retire here in Arnprior.
It has been a long, interesting journey and I count on you guys to help make the rest of the trip just as much fun as the last 65 yrs.
Cheers and take care,
Rob.


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## M. Warren (Jan 4, 2002)

Born 1981, making me 21 years

First known computer experience was with my grandfather's (well probably my aunt's) Mac Plus (I'm tryin to match the pictures from apple-history with my memory).

My first computer I actually claimed my own (meaning own dollars, no else to touch it)):

My G3 450 audio system from macdoc.

peace


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Aurora, I guess that this makes you our senior citizen (I am 54 and Macdoc is 55). Having a birthday today must have been a bit odd when you were growing up as a boy. Still, in a way, you represent, as we all do, the reason why we commemorate Nov.11th.

Lest we forget.


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## Aurora (Sep 25, 2001)

It was never that odd Dr. G as I grew up in wartime England coming to Canada in '47. I had an older brother in the RAF and a sister in the WRENS during the war. Even now, my own three girls know not to call and wish me a happy birthday until after 12 o'clock, Rememberance is still more important to me than my own minor claim to fame.
Cheers,


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## Brian Scully (Jan 23, 2001)

Well I guess I have to claim elder statesman 
Born April 1932 so I am 70 +
First computer was an OSI CP1 single board (including keyboard) 6502 based and cassette input but better than the Apple][ in that you could see the hex code on the screen while loading and know if you had the volume and tone set correctly.
From there to a home built ][+ clone and a //e and a IIGS which was maxed out with all slots filled including a Transwarp card (PC hardware)
First Mac was a LC 520 which became a 570 with a mother board swap and then a Motorola 3000 (mac 4400) and onwards to a iMac DV SE and currently a flat screen iMac
The last three were "This is the last Mac I will ever need


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## minnes (Aug 15, 2001)

I may as well send in my bio.
I was born in 1966, that makes me about the middlist here at 36.5 years.
I had almost no computer experience pre 1996, except for doing word processing on a trash 80 and a dos based pc, in high school we had a mini computer with card reader and learned damn little, except filling out mark sense cards was a pain.
In January 97 I acquired 1987 Mac SE, and fell in love with Macs, later that year I started taking courses in software engineering part time out of curiosity and discovered programming really fascinates me, now I am just about finished and should be earning my diploma as a software engineering technologist by April 2003. 
My list of computers in order of purchase is used se, used se 30, used color classic(Just sold to Peter Scharman). powermac g4 400, Flat iMac 800, I also had a couple of pentiums along the way for PC work. 
In 1997 I knew almost nothing about computers and now I've learned visual basic, C, C++, Java, assembler, PHP, sql, windows , macs, dos , as 400, unix/linux and have worked as a technicion on occasion. I already told Dr G I have about 20/400 vision so I guess I don't let it hold me back. I also have a small publishing business for a creative and occassionally profiable outlet, so I guess life is good.
Mark


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## Mississauga (Oct 27, 2001)

*HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Rob!!!*


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Aurora, what brought you to Canada after the war?

Brian Scully, you are now ehMacLand's elder statesperson. I am becoming younger by the minute.

The WW I vet who was at the Ottawa Remembrance Day services went overseas at the same age that my son is now. Age is a mysterious entity in Life.


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## Mink Tea (Jul 17, 2002)

... love this thread.









I was born in 1978, making me 24 years old. I lived in Corbeil, Ontario (Home of Dionne Quints, no relation) for 18 years. Afterwhich I went to Ottawa to study. Afterwich realized Theatre while a great hobby makes for a terrible career. Moved to Toronto. Currently work for a Television service provider (not telling which) and running my own freelance design company (visit our new site soon... will be complete by Sat)

First Computer: (Parents') Commodrore 128
Second Computer: (Parents') 486DX2 /66 Clone
Third Computer: (B-day Present) PowerMac 6500
Fourth Computer: (Bought myself) Mac G3 B&W 350
Fifth Computer: (Bought Myself too) PowerBook (Lombard) G3 333mhz

Sixth? I am heavilly considering a new TiBook.

I have also "modified" a few machines for different purposes. Including 2-1400 PowerBooks, an iMac and a 9500.

Current project: I'm making an MP3 player jukebox out of a Tangerine iBook and an IKEA coffee table. I may post more details of this later.

Also I have worked with a multitude of Macs in school and work.


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## Aurora (Sep 25, 2001)

Dr.G. I was the youngest of four with the next being 10 years older. We lived in the south of England (Bournemouth) so my early memories are of troops of many nationalities camped in the woods around us. One day it could be Aussies then they would disappear in the night to be replaced by Americans or Canadians. As I said in an earlier post, my oldest sister was a WREN. She serviced and loaded torpedoes on Barracuda aircraft and my brother was a navigator with Bomber Command RAF. My youngest sister worked for NAAFI and met a dashing young Canadian in the RCAF. She became a war bride and my folks decided to emigrate to Canada to give me a better chance in life. I think they chose well. Incidently, while I was working in California, my sister visited me and we took a trip to Long Beach where the Queen Mary was anchored so she was able to point out the cabin she occupied (along with who knows how many other war brides). 
I remember when she sailed from Southampton, my brother was able to fly over and escort the ship out to sea. Boy! Was I proud.
Well, a bit longwinded to answer your question but today, the memories tend to flood.
Cheers,


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## Aurora (Sep 25, 2001)

Many thanks Mississauga.


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## emceepj (Aug 18, 2002)

i was born in 1983 and that makes me 19.

i've had computers all my life. i had a commodore 64! old skool.

i remember the days of windows 3.1.

and i got my ibook in january 2002. and i've NEVER LOOKED BACK!!! bwa ha ha ha!!!

Phil


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## jfpoole (Sep 26, 2002)

When in Rome : D

I was born in 1976, which makes me 26. I grew up just outside Listowel, Ontario. I somehow managed to get a BMath from UWaterloo and I currently work in Waterloo as a software developer.

Computers? Geez. I've had a lot (I've still got a lot, too, much to the chagrin of my sweetie). I've only owned one Mac, though, but something tells me that won't be the case for a while. Anyway, the computers I've had, in order:

Commodore 64
Atari 1040ST
Generic 386DX25 (with a 387, too!)
Generic P100
Generic Celeron 300A
Compaq Presario 17XL362 (PIII 700)
IBM Thinkpad (P120)
Generic Athlon 1GHz
Dell Optiplex Gs (P200)
Dell Optiplex Gx1 (PII 400)
Dell Dimension 4500 (P4 2.26GHz)
Apple Powerbook (G4 667)


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

I agree with Mink Tea -- I too "love this thread". All I wanted to know was everyone's age. Your postings have provided some interesting and unique info for us all, and we are all a bit closer together as a community/family for these efforts. Kudos to us all!!!!!!!!!


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## Alesh (Dec 10, 2001)

jfpoole, I am working towards my BMath at UW right now. Second year... wish me luck! I will need it


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## Strongblade (Jul 9, 2001)

I arrived on your planet in the Summer of '69, making my tour of duty on your world at 33 solar revolutions.

I acquired my first Mac (A venerable Mac II) in 1990. Since then, I have acquired an LC 475, A PowerMac 7100, and finally my G4/450 Sawtooth. 

I also have managed to get ahold of a Wallstreet G3 powerBook, an aging 6100, a venerable LC 575 and a PowerBook 150 with a dead battery.


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## SpanishJoe (Jul 9, 2001)

Born: 1971. Makes me almost 31 (in december)
Married, no kids (yet).

Webpage: http://207.161.208.180/~jason 

First computer - a VIC20. 
Second computer - an electric typewriter
Third computer (1993) - PB 165c
Fourth computer (1996) - PowerMac 7200/75

Now I work in a mac lab withing the federal government, so I haven't bought "my own" Mac in a long time. Now I manage a ton of Apple iron, most of which is listed in my .sig....

-SJ


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## Britnell (Jan 4, 2002)

B 1960

First computer owned: MacPlus, purchased with a 20meg external Hard Drive for $1500. The HP Desk Jet printer cost me $800 with an educational discount.

Current computer, PPC 7600. But am picking up a new G6 dual 1 gig the first week of December.

Also have an iBook, blue clamshell, 300Mhz.

Forced to use Windblows at work, which is a P1 100Mhz piece of crap that is running Windcrap 95.

Did I mention that I dislike Windoze?


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

Note here about StrongBlade:

The CIA Factbook says that he comes from a galaxy in fluidic space and was seen clutching a rubber fish in his three-fingered paw shortly after he splashed down on our lovely planet. He is rarely seen in public without this curious appendage.

Some say that he carries it because it reminds him of home...some say it is actually food....most believe that it can be utilised as a weapon if he is threatened.
Approach him with caution, he may be dangerous. 

(mostly to 
_himself..._ but that is an issue for another thread)


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## icemakk (May 12, 2000)

My turn, first off, welcome to earth strongblade!! LMAO on the 33 revs etc.
Born 1962, Edmonton, raised in Winnipeg.
My first computer was an iMac 333. My kids now use it. They live in Winterpeg Manisnowba while I bask in Calgary. (I wish the ex would move here so I could be closer to the boys)
I briefly owned a PB160 that was given to me...with problems. It died on me one day. I don't think it had ever been defragged. It sits in My Mac dealers sevice dept. and no I don't want it back!!
I now have a 700mhz iBook. The 500mhz was a lemon and went back. This one is great.
My first experience with computers was in school with the old keypunch cards and Fortran language.(Is it still used anywhere??) I was a bit turned off after watching so much Star Trek etc.
I never had the need or $$ until almost 5 years ago when I bought the iMac.
I went from computer illiterate to making my own business cards, designing posters, surfing the net like a fiend and actually writing documents in a few months. If I was a PC owner I think I would still be trying to figure out where my last file went.
I am an entertainer with my sights set on Hollywood or something close so I guess I NEED a Mac as almost everyone who is someone down there has one.
I have had the pleasure of knowing 3 ehmac members face to face. Timmer(who I have worked with), Macdaddy (who I constantly bug for tech advice and also is the one who built my web site and did my CD cover) and most recently Britnell.
All great guys.
Well enough about me...
next


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## adagio (Aug 23, 2002)

I was born in 1952

I am currently using my first computer, a G4/400 purchased on a Friday 13th (a lucky day for me) back in 2000.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

I am impressed with the diversity of ages and the variety of computers that all of us have utilized.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Other than the enigmatic and talented Ms.C. on this site, there does not seem to be many women who are actively posting. My wife was the first woman I met who utilized a Mac, and there are actually many women who teach at MUN who have Macs. For some reason, the demographics of this forum is skewed in such a manner as to not reflect the gender population of our country. Interesting statistic.


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## iJake (Nov 11, 2002)

born in 1964
first computer in 1982? - Timex Sinclair
second - XT 8 Mhz in 1988
steadily upgraded about every two years or so since then - had an Apple 150 portable and an LC 520 (I think that was the model no.) in about 1992 for awhile.
my work is completely PC and I have a PC at work and a few at the house.
They live happily together with the Mac.


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dr.G.:
*For some reason, the demographics of this forum is skewed in such a manner as to not reflect the gender population of our country.*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

How many video game players are men vs women? Men are more visually stimulated and are more "hands on" than women. Hence, men are at the computer more (for enjoyment's sake).


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Bjornbro, following your logic, a woman then would be more inclined to undertake an aesthetic appreciation of the iMac. I don't see the nexus between "video games" and the participation on a Mac-oriented forum.


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## lotus (Jun 29, 2002)

Unless MacNut's father has joined the community I still lay claim to the age thing.Apr.26, 1927.
I am actually from Illinois and moved to Toronto in 55 to open the head office of State Farm Life Insurance. Have lived in Montreal, Chicago and now just a small town.
My first computer a powermac 6100 was a cast off from my daughter four years ago. I now have an iMac G3 and have no intention of ever owning anything other than a Mac.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Lotus, being born a month before Charles L. flew the "Spirit of St. Louis" from NYC to Paris would indeed make you the senior citizen of ehMacLand. I just keep getting younger and younger with each person telling me that they are older than yours truly.


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## minnes (Aug 15, 2001)

Lotus, my Dad was born in 1925 and uses a Mac evry day, he doesnt participate in this forum but at 77 he is the oldest Mac user I know of.
The old and the young, mac users are a diverse lot.
Mark


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

My dad was born in 1924 and I am seriously considering giving him this Pismo for Christmas. He only just started using a computer last year and my stepmom had final say in what they bought (always seems the way, doesn't it?) so they picked up a used HP Pavilion with a Pentium 1 and 96mgs of RAM.

He looks in here whenever he can get her away from it....which isn't often....and I think he would really dig a Mac if someone gave him one. If it happens to work out that way then he will certainly join up and he will then become the oldest ehMac citizen.

You will all become a little younger when he does!


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## lotus (Jun 29, 2002)

Macnutt, sorry I mispelled your name. Too bad your father had to settle for something other than a Mac.Hope he joins us as he will certainly enjoy the banter. EhMac is my first and last stop of the day.http://www.ehmac.com/ubb/icons/icon14.gif


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## lotus (Jun 29, 2002)

Me again! I don't have a clue what that stuff is at the end of my last post. Must have hit the wrong key. I'll have another coffee and things will be better.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Posterboy's map should win an award.


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

Personally...I think that PosterBoy should win an award! He has provided so very much to all of us here.  

Say....didn't we have a thread about this very subject a few weeks back? What happened to that anyway?


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Macnutt, Macdoc suggested that we award the "Soapies" to various people for various categories. I received my award for the Jewish Vaudevillian of ehMacLand in the mail last month. It was a soapstone carving of the likeness of Uncle Miltie. I was very impressed!


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## seymore (Jul 1, 2004)

born in 54.... 25th anniversary this year, 2 kids, 21 and 19.... one an audio engineer, the other in design. My wife is a supply chain/ customer service director... and I am a publisher. But although I sold Commodors and Vic 20's at retail.... I only started to get serious in the last 10 years. I currently have 5 Pc's in the home office... but when I got my iBook.... have decided to switch them all out. Got a second hand iPod from the trading board too> Slow starter..... but long laster


neat thread


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## Chipper (Aug 31, 2004)

Female, born in mid-June 1949 

First contact with computers was with Radio Shack TRS-80s and the littler, earlier model (16 mb, I think) back in September 1982 

Bought my first Powerbook in June 1993 - currently on my 5th Mac - 4 of the 5 have been laptops - I love the portability!


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## Vishalca (Aug 5, 2004)

Wow, that's cool - a thread reborn two years after the last post!

I was born in 1989; I am in G.A.T.E (gifted and talented education), and I do track, and play badminton hardcore! 

First Mac wasn't really a Mac! It was an Apple Product; my 3G 20GB iPod that I got last year! Still using iTunes on Windows; after this computer dies, I will SERIOUSLY look at a Mac for the family!


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

Jeez, seymore! What are ya doing digging around the attic like this? 

Alrighty, born in '61. First comp was a Yamaha CX5M in '86, which was really a Commodore 64 with a Yamaha FM digital synth in it. It was specifically for music, with these big cartridges for loading the programs. Then, an Atari Mega 2 in '89. My first Mac was a Powerbook 520 in '95. Then, a used 8100 in '99, a Sawtooth in 2002 -- and in March (or hopefully as soon as it gets in) a Mac Mini.


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## Carex (Mar 1, 2004)

'66. First computer was not really until 1986 at university. It was a Mac. One of the originals I think but I didn't know enough at the time to be able to tell. Boy did I think it was ridiculous to have to switch to a non-GUI DOS machine a couple of years later. It made no sense.


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## Stephanie (Jul 21, 2004)

Born in 69...spent the first 20 years or so in Scarborough, then moved 'all the way out west' to Brampton.

First computer....
My dad gave me his DEC Rainbow 100 when I was about 14. I learned Basic, dBase and spreadsheets on that computer.

I 'think' the first computer I ever bought for myself was a tandy 102 'laptop' when I was 17 or 18. 

The 102 was also the first computer I took apart and tried doing hardware hacks to. Also it was the first computer I fixed, after something heavy fell on it and cracked the mobo (had to mend a dozen or so broken copper traces). 

Sigh, now I miss my old 102... 

-Stephanie


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## Gizmo (Nov 18, 2003)

Me. Born '52 UK. First computer was an 8 bit 6502 micro in mid 70's that I programmed in machine code (not even assembly language). Had a couple more like this then a Commodore Pet in about '80.
IBM PC in early 80's (running Gem...much better than Windows) and an Apple II+in '83. First Mac was a Mac + in about '85. Had about 8 since then. Lived in Toronto for 20 years now in Ottawa.
(All dates approximate...see birthdate ;-)


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## RC51Pilot (Mar 26, 2004)

Just ticked over to 35 - born Jan 1970. I have 2 girls 5 and 2 and been married for 9 years come July.

First computer I ever used was an IBM SuperBrain. At school we had some Commodore PET's and my first computer to own was a VIC 20. Ahh the good old days 

I pretty much owned a PC of every major processor right from the 8088 days through to my not so current P4-1.6Ghz. Of course I laughed and scoffed at Mac's until last year when I switched to an iBook and made my way to my current iMac G5.

Does anyone remember the first Arcade video game they played? For me it was c.1980 at Roller Alley in Guelph - Space Invaders was the first video game I ever saw or played (not including Pong on TV)- suddenly getting a shot at the latest pinball machine was a cinch seeing as the lineup for Space Invaders was 50 deep 

I remember it as if it were yesterday.


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## Macfriend (Jan 22, 2003)

Dr.G. said:


> I am willing to admit that I was born in 1948 and am 54. QUOTE]
> 
> Hahem!! I also was born in 1948 and I am turning 57 this year. So I gess that in Newfoundland, time does flow slower.
> 
> ...


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## pimephalis (Nov 29, 2004)

Born in '72, raised in the big smoke.

First computer we ever had was a PET -- no hard drive, ran from audio tapes, etc. etc. etc. Then, in sequence, we went through the following:

2. Kaypro
3 - 5. 8086 and 8088 clones
6. Pc Jr. -- Man, that was a mistake
7. 286 laptop for the first three years of University
8. 486 for senior year -- man, those 66 MHz screamed! This machine eventually was upgraded in a franken-style to the point of no longer be recongizable. Got all the way to Windows 98 with this.
9. Dell laptop
10. Acer laptop
11. My beloved iBook

I ain't never going back!


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## Heart (Jan 16, 2001)

Since this is an old thread from the attic, here is an update a couple of years later.

So now I am a 36 year old male, married and TWO kids (boys).

The Wifie is 29 or so.....


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## 2063 (Nov 9, 2003)

Man, I'm one of the youngest here! I was born in 1985, and I know that there are others who are younger or the same age. But I NEVER, EVER thought that Chealion would be one of them!

Ok, I got my first computer sometimes in the late eighties and was an IBM, my Dad worked for Big Blue you see. My mom is a teacher and would always bring back her Apple II to do her assignments.

After dozens of PC's I got converted by some friends in 2002, and haven't looked back since.

I'm a vegetarian, a Quaker, and a University Of Guelph Student in residence.


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## sammy (Oct 12, 2002)

Born in '71, (feb). So I'm just about 34. I only started to look at the Mac about 7 years ago, when we bought our house and wanted to get a computer of our own. At the time my cousin ran his own computer sales and training shop and offered me a modified P3. I asked about the Mac and he stated, "I couldn't make a living selling Mac's." I thought he meant nobody was buying them. He replied, "No, I'd have nothing to fix." Been a believer ever since.
1 boy 8yrs old, and married to the greatest woman for 11 years.


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

'66 (age 38.9). First computer of my own was a Mac SE in 1988, but I'd shared a Mac Plus from '86 to '88. Through all these years and a half-dozen Macs, the closest thing to a Wintel PC on my desk has been a copy of SoftWindows 95.

I'd seen and played with Commodore PETs, TI-99s, VIC 20s, Apple II's and Apple III's in my teens, but the first computer I really used was the McGill MUSIC B mainframe from 1984 to '87. I can't even remember what OS it ran (though I bet someone here does), but it inspires an odd nostalgia....

Like hitting a PF key at peak times and then waiting...waiting...waiting for minutes on end for the computer to execute the command. Working on a DECWriter.  Using the laser printer, a fridge-sized behemoth located in the basement of Burnside Hall. Or working late in an out-of-the-way terminal room, coffee and cigarettes at the ready and nobody complaining about it. (I don't smoke anymore, but back then you could smoke almost anywhere. Libraries had smoking rooms, for Pete's sake.) Those were the days...sort of. I barely missed the days of punch cards, so there's something to be thankful for!


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## RobTheGob (Feb 10, 2003)

Macfriend said:


> Dr.G. said:
> 
> 
> > I am willing to admit that I was born in 1948 and am 54. QUOTE]
> ...


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## RISCHead (Jul 20, 2004)

Talk about old thread revivals - I'm 34, born in 1970. Far too much exposure to all kinds of computers all through my life - starting with a Commodore64 and ZX Spectrum all the way through 68K and 8051 microprocessors, Apple IIs, x86s, SPARCs, PA-RISCs, RS6000s, PDP-11s , s/390s, AS/400s etc. etc. (in no particular order after the first couple


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## kps (May 4, 2003)

Ha, a two year old thread...

I'm same as Gordguide...born same year as Sputnik. For all you young'ns that was waaay back in '57. 

Got into computers in 1990...PC clone, Compaq, LC, Centris, G4, Dell Inspiron, 12" Al PB.


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## daBoss (Jun 20, 2003)

Born in Saskatoon 1957 - Mid baby boomer born at the same time as Rock & Roll (birthdate of rock is still open to debate), the space age, beatniks et cetera.

How many members remember the first time The Beatles were on The Ed Sullivan Show? I do. I was just shy of 7 and wondered why the girls were screaming. I wanted them to shut up so I could hear the music.

Who remembers black, wired, rotary phones, some with party lines? I do. 

Who remembers when you thought someone with two telephones - not two lines just two phones - was wealthy? I do. Or two cars? THEY were REALLY wealthy.

Who remembers a time before cable? I do.

Who remembers when TV listings indicated that shows were in colour? I do. One of my customers on my paper route actually BOUGHT an acetate overlay for their TV giving them pseudo-colour - top third was blue, middle was red and the bottom third was green. Wow. Walmart people before Walmart.

Who remembers all the tips and tricks published in the newspapers in 1969 on how best to photograph the moon landing on your TV? I do. 

No one that I grew up with thought about a career in computers. No one imagined personal computers. The closest thing to a computer nerd was a friend of mine and his battery-of-the-month card from Radio Shack.

First computer was an Apple II clone for term-papers at university. First REAL computer was a Mac SE in 1987. Had fun running QuarkXPress 2.0a, Illustrator 88, FreeHand and more on that baby. Have had too many since to count. Never owned a PeeCee. Never will.

FWIW, our family background is very much about the *old* duality of Canada. Mom's side of the family is traced back to 1642 on Isle de Levis (sp) so one side has been here a looooong time. Father's side, the Irish in me, are prairie settlers of the late 19th century.


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## Ramboman (Dec 13, 2004)

Born in Toronto 66'. Wife, two daughters, dog and a mortgage. First Mac in 99', latest Mac 04'


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## duosonic (Jan 7, 2004)

Female - born 1947 (YOU do the math), Brooklyn, NY - immigrated to Canada 1967. First started using computers as a primary school teaching assistant (Commodores), next took an "Electronic Publishing" course 1986/87 at a local college & was forever converted to Macs. Bought my first one, an SE30 in 1988., Will use PCs if forced to (got to earn a living). Currently support myself (almost) doing contract work & freelancing: business services, economic development, computer support & teaching (mac & PC - can't turn away a potential client), music (guitar-bass-vocals-vocal coaching), graphic design, etc. Live in a tiny (population 250) village in a mountainous rural area of BC – been in the same spot for over 30 years! Have a spice (that's the gentle form of spouse) who has just recently gained mac skills (I gave him my iMac when I got my PB) & a grown son (who uses, ugh, PCs) – all of us are musicians.

Interesting to find out a bit about fellow [sic] ehmac'ers. I spend time on this site every single day - learn so much, enjoy so much, thank you all for participating & creating this wonderful cyber community.


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## cptnkirk (Dec 1, 2004)

Me? Born 1946 in Toronto when there still wasn't a million people in the city. I graduated from university in 1969. I taught for thirty years. French at first. In my first 3 or 4 years of teaching we had to do our marks on a hand-crank adding machine. Cince I had 30 or 40 test and project marks for each student, it took days to do marks. I calculated averages with a slide rule (anyone remember them?). 

I got my first computer in 1978 basically because I was tired of calculating 140 sets of marks by hand. I bought a TRS-80 colour Computer. I taught myself BASIC and wrote a very complex program for storing and calculating marks.

When I sold that, I bought an original Mac 128k 4MHz in 1984. I've been a Mac user ever since. Now I have a 1.25GHz 15' iBook with SuperDrive. It goes everywhere with me.

Just got a Shuffle yesterday!


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## Ingenu (Jun 4, 2003)

Born in Greenfield Park (South Shore of Montréal) in 1976. I lived in Longueuil (still on the South Shore) for 25 years, then moved to Montréal for a year and a half. I moved back to Longueuil last year when me and my ex broke up.

First computer used at home was a Vic 20.

I've used several of my older brother PCs (386, 486) and played Falcon 3.0 and Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe countless hours.

I learned Basic programing in 9th grade (1991, I guess) on an Apple IIe.

Bought my first computer in 1996, a Performa 5200CD. It's still in a closet. My master's thesis is still on its hard drive.

Bought my second (current) computer in 2003, an iBook G3 900, about a month before the G4 model was introduced and a price drop of 300 $...


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## MACaroni and cheese (Dec 24, 2004)

Hi all, 

Born in 1979, makes me 26. Live in Mississauga, no kids, but steady girlfriend. Currently at Ryerson University. First computer was a Commodore 64...waaaaaaay back. Moved to an Intel P2 with 64 megs of ram 300 MHz 6.4Gig Hardrive....moving along to a P3 800 MHz 20 gigs of ram. I had an epiphany, bought myself an Imac G5 20', 1 gig of ram 250gig hardrive, I will never look back to a PC ever again!!

Danny


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## K_OS (Dec 13, 2002)

Born in 1972 Luanda Angola, moved to Lisbon Portugal iin 1975, came to Canada in 1982  

1st computer in grade 5 was a Commodore PET
1st personal computer at home Commodore 64
1st Mac 7200/75
1st PC 486/33/4mb ram/250mb HD/1mb ATI video card


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## jicon (Jan 12, 2005)

Born in 1976 in Liverpool. Moved to Flin Flon, MB when I was six.

First exposure to a computer was probably a Commodore64 at a guy's house in the mid 80's, and a handful of Apple IIe and 286 PCs around the same time.

I never actually had a computer in my house till I got a 486 DX2-50 in 1994 for a University present.

Spent the next six miserable years in Saskatoon, The Pas, and the last four in Winnipeg using a host of different PCs.

Finally got tired of the weather and attitude in Winnipeg, quit my job and drove to Victoria with $800 in my pocket, a bag of clothes, and a PC four years ago. The PC ended up dying... replaced with a few others and Linux. I got a job as a systems administrator, bought an iPod, just got my first mac a few days ago... a mac mini.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Born in New Brunswick: November 10, 1973 (31).
First computer 1986-87: Commodore 64 with a dot matrix printer, 5 1/4" floppy drive and 300 baud modem. GeoOS and OPC Paint were the apps of the day for me.

I've used, and abused: Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Intellivision and the Sega Master System. In between computers and games I played drums (Tama 6 pc. Swingstar -- metallic red) and guitar (tinkered, really: Seagull 12 string acoustic and a B.C. Mockingbird with a 30 watt Peavy Rage) between 1989-1995.

My first Mac was a Performa 6360/160 (1996), followed by a Grape 266 iMac (1999), Lime 400 iMac DV (2000-2001), and finally my iMac G4 15" Flat Panel 800 (2002) and 14" G4 iBook 933 (2004).

I moved to the National Capital Region in Oct. 1999 with my newly wedded wife (all of 2 months.)
We bought our first house in October of 2003
Our first child is due June of 2005.


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## expat (Apr 27, 2004)

Well, I'm 48. I was born in Dec. '56 in Edmonton. I moved to Montréal and then Ottawa in the late 70's and completed my degree at Carleton. From there I moved to Toronto for ten years, then New Jersey and now California.

My first computer was a P.O.S. 286 in the mid eighties. My first Mac was a SE/30 around 1990 some time.


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## agent4321 (Jun 25, 2004)

Born 1972 (32.9 years) in North York, Ont. moved around a lot as a kid and finally settled in Vancouver, BC around 1980 been here ever since. 

First computer experience was in school Commodore 64s and I think there were a couple of Macs. Have worked on a lot of different Macs over the years starting with a Mac Classic in the early 90's then had a 486 for a while (girlfriend's). I then need to get a real job so I got educated in graphic design and worked with these Macs: 6100, 7200, G3 Desktop (first purchase), G3 Yosemite (Blue & White), G4 Sawtooth and the rest is in my signature (Powerbook was second purchase).

I'm a proud co-parent of a 2 year old son.



> Does anyone remember the first Arcade video game they played?


I remember like it was yesterday, Christmas 1981 or was it 1982? My uncle bought my brother and I an atari video game unit which came with "Combat" and "Pong", we played that thing for hours!


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## ernestworthing (Jun 10, 2004)

*Me?*

Born in 1979.

My computers:
1) IBM PC/XT (1986)
2) Brandless 486, Self assembled Pentium 133
3) Pentium 4
4) Mac Classic II (2 of them)
5) Mac SE/30
6) Quadra 700
7) Centris 650
9) Sun SPARCstation 1+ (yes, I actually bought this blighter)
10) Powermac 7200
Finally
11) iBook G4 1Ghz


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## dmpP (Jun 1, 2004)

let's see...

26... lived in Thornhill, Ont. since I was about 3... moved out and to Richmond Hill, Ont. at 24... where I am right now...

1st was an Apple IIe
2nd was an IBM 286
3rd was a C-64 (with the oooh sooooo cool fast load cartridge)
4th was a clone 486 dx2 66
5th was a P166
6th was a P233
7th was a PII 350ecc
8th is a AMD Athlon 1GHz
9th is a P4 3GHz
10th is a PB 1.33GHz 15"
11th ... TBD

Computers from #5 and up are still operational and working just fine... so to everyone who says PC break down... it just means that you have to build them right! 

From 6 and up I've custom built myself... (well, with the exception of the PB, although I did upgrade the ram myself hehe...)

What else can I say... you could visit my site... http://www.dmpp.net or http://www.davidpisarek.com 

Been doing design and web dev since the days a Trumpet Winsock (really REALLY early 90's... 1992 actually) Ran a BBS for a few years...

I don't look like the typical computer nerd/geek though...


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## seymore (Jul 1, 2004)

this is too much fun!!!!!!


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## Chealion (Jan 16, 2001)

My writing back then is atrocious! I shall hide myself in shame. (And have since upgraded to a 12" PB)


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## RC51Pilot (Mar 26, 2004)

> battery-of-the-month card from Radio Shack


lol... oh God they had that when I was a kid too. I think the batteries were like white with a gold top and a red pin stripe. Too many fond memories rushing back now.

I was but a twinkle in my Dad's eye when Armstrong and the boys landed on the moon, but my brother had a 33-vinyl record of the entire Walter Kronkite broadcast. I remember it had a silver cover. That was cool.


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## smilecentral (Jan 27, 2005)

Hello - lovely to hear so much about all of you!

I too am female - I do hope more of us show up on this thread though - we seem to be outnumbered.

A little background:
Born in 1981 - turn 24 tomorrow
From a little village down by Windsor, ON - currently reside in Toronto

Computer history:
My family's first computer was around 1992-1993 - a 486. My family has always been behind with computers. I had a little exposure to computers at school, but minimal - my small town just didn't have the technology I guess. Interestingly, when my dad had asked the family what we had wanted in the early 1990s - an inground pool or a computer, I was the only one to vote for the computer, so we got the swimming pool first, and the computer the next year. Oh well. I doubt the vote would've mattered anyway - they wanted that pool! 

Late 2001 my boyfriend (now husband) made the big switch to Mac - a beautiful dual 1 Ghz G4. The most expensive and lovely computer I had ever seen. I lagged on with my PC...until about a week and a half ago when I got my own first Mac! I'm so happy with it (interestingly enough, I had just discovered ehmac.ca, and purchased this G4 used from someone through the classifieds. Thank you ehmac!)

Other items of note:
December 2003 - graduated from U of Guelph with an H. B.Sc. (Microbiology Co-op)
May 2004 - married my wonderful husband (for his Mac? hee hee...just maybe!)
September 2004 - started medical school at U of Toronto

PS - I love to see all of the seniors on this board. That is wonderful! My family is rather technophobic. My grandparents have no desire at all to ever get a computer of any sort, and most of my relatives and family really have little clue about computers, or upgrading or Macs or anything. Sigh.....


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## dingem (Jan 29, 2003)

YOB: 1958 / Age: 46+
POB: Singapore

Grew up in Singapore. Moved to Canada in 1989.

The first microcomputer (as they were called inthose days) I laid eyes on was in 1979 -- a Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 in a department store in Singapore. My friend brought me there because he wanted to show me the BASIC program he wrote. We spent hours standing in front of the display model keying in the program and and trying to get it to work.

In 1980, when I had enough money, I went to the only Apple dealer in Singapore and bought an Apple ][+. I had to have it when I saw the Star Trek game running on it.

The list of computers I have owned (in sequence):
Apple ][+
Mac 128K
Mac Plus
Mac SE
Mac LC
Mac Quadra 605
PowerMac 9200
PowerMac G3 <-- bought from MacDoc
iBook G3/500MHz
PowerBook 15-inch Al


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## Heart (Jan 16, 2001)

I remember the Radio Shack Battery of the month. You could only pick the green ones, not the red ones. And speaking of Radio Shack, we had the Radio Shack TV video game, Pong, with one bar or two against the machine on one-on-one. Even had practice. Was great for those long winter nights up at the cottage.


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## David Mele (Nov 15, 2004)

Hmm . Well i was born in 1990 so my whole life( whooo! go 90's) i have been exposed to computers. So they are really part of my life as i havent known a life without them and really couldnt imagine not using them. 
Anywas my first computer was a used Powerbook 170 back in lik e '00 i got from my brother. This year i bought a ibook.
I was born in Sarnia , Ont and now livein Bright;s Grove, which many people argue to be the same place, but when you put label your mailing adress as Sarnia, it takes like an extra 3 days to get you rmail as it goes downtown and then to the BG post office. OK im on a rant but the point is sarnia is not Brights Grove lol if you ever wanted to know 
Dave


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## retrocactus (Jun 17, 2003)

- Born in 1970.
- first exposure to computers was an Apple ][ in school
- first computer owned was a TRS-80 Model III - would love to find one
- probably one of the few kids actually interested in Basic for the Atari 2600 at the age of 7 (or maybe 8)
- teen thru early 20's comprised mostly of many Atari computers (800xl through Mega STE)
- first PC was in 1996 (Windows 95)
- first Mac was an iBook in 2003 after being at a conference and falling in love with the battery life and wifi
- currently have a 12" Powerbook, mini on the way and a 400mhz G4 Sawtooth that a client gave me after upgrading them to a G5 which I'm setting up as a webserver
- also have a couple of Mac Classics I rescued from thrift stores (still work!) - the original Macintosh was the first lust inducing machine at age 14....I'm pretty sure Mac Paint contributed to my career in web and graphic design
- trying to resist buying anything Apple but can't resist...expect to have a totally unnecessary Shuffle within a month.

Love old tech and have quite a collection...run a website dedicated to computer and videogame nostalgia (www.retrocactus.com).


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## miguelsanchez (Feb 1, 2005)

hi everybody!

i'm new to ehmac, and also to the mac community! i just "switched" last month (new years resolution). i went out and bought myself an emac 1.25 and so far i'm very happy with it. 

about me:

born in 1972, i will be 33 next week. my first computing experience was tooling around on my uncle's apple IIe clone which he built himself and carried around in a briefcase. learned to program in basic on a commodore pet. computers owned are:

1) commodore 128 - most of high school
2) 486 clone - all of university
3) ibm thinkpad p133mmx - served me well for the last 7 years 
4) emac g4 1.25 - looking good so far

that's it. thanks for reading,

miguel


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## daBoss (Jun 20, 2003)

*Dr. G must be busy grading papers.*

No comments for days.


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## deafmac (Oct 12, 2004)

Born in 1961 making me 43 years old!

First computer used was the IBM XT with Windows 1. and WP 1.0 at University. Friend of mine in 1986 showed me the Mac SE and I was very impressed with the GUI. Another friend bought the Atari ST (similar to Mac), great golf game.

My macs to date!

1) Mac Classic 4 mb ram and 40 mb hard drive (1990)
2) Quadra 700 
3) G3 Beige 300mhz Tower
4) G4 400 mhz Grey Tower
5) G3 Pismo Powerbook 400 mhz (love this machine)
6) TiBook 600 mhz 15 inch 
7) iBook 14 inch 1mhz (wife uses it now)
8) Dual 1.42 G4 Tower with 17 inch Apple Display
9) Dual G5 2.5 with 23 inch Apple Display
10) Soon to arrive 17 Inch G4 1.67 Powerbook

That's for awhile! I am not getting any more machines for the next few years!

Thanks,
DeafMac


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## fipahi (Sep 6, 2006)

*Mac user from waaaaay back*

I am ten days older than Disneyland.

Well, I didn't start in 1984, but I did start in 1985. I had a Mac 512, with an external floppy drive. I bought the Image writer 1, the Image Writer 2 came out a couple of months later. Always a trend setter I bought something called Thunderscan. It was a primative scanner you attached to the printer. It never really worked.

With my first Performa I bought my first modem. 300 baud. You could practically see the letters from on the page.

I can honestly say that Mac changed my life, for the better. If I had never bought a mac I wouldn't have the career I have, know many of the people I know, and have had nearly as much fun as I have had.


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## bryanc (Jan 16, 2004)

*Wow... this is an old thread...*

I just found this thread, and thought there were some mathematically impaired people around here who couldn't add up how old they were... then I noticed that those postings were 4 years old!

I tell people that my first computer was a PDP-11 in 1968, which is true, but I was only 3, and I just played x's and o's on it.

My real computer experience started with programming a commodore PET in 1977, followed by an Apple ][+ (with a _floppy disk drive_). I went over to the dark side when I bought a PC clone in 1982 (a 4.77 MHz monster with a 10 Mb hard drive), and used PCs running DOS, Desqview, OS/2, Linux and every flavour of windows from 3.0 to XP Pro, until I finally decided to taste the kool-aid. I bought a TiBook running OS X 10.0 back in 2000, and I've shrugged off all of my PCs now. I now have an AlBook and an iMac (as well as the old TiBook, which runs fine, but is too slow for my current needs). As soon as a MBP with a merom processor hits the market I'll be upgrading to the fastest one of those I can buy.

Cheers


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## saxamaphone (May 18, 2004)

Born in '72. first computer some ibm compatible pc, pre-286, maybe an 8088 or 8186)... second computer (first i bought for myself) an LC575!

...mac pro on the way!


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

bryanc said:


> *I just found this thread*, and thought there were some mathematically impaired people around here who couldn't add up how old they were... then I noticed that those postings were 4 years old!


You just found this thread? It was bumped less than three hours before your post!

Technically, fipahi "just found this thread." But it's fipahi's first post, so we'll forgive bumping what has also turned out to be an interesting read.

"I hate demographic threads" used to be my catchphrase on Howardforums, since every other Lounge thread seemed to be advertiser-driven, and gave the impression that false users were interested in threads that could sell more ads on hofo based on the responses of heavy user-buyers.

I still do.

I'm sure that was _not_ Dr.G.'s intention!


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## Kazak (Jan 19, 2004)

I started at page 1 and didn't check the dates, so imagine my surprise when I got to the first MacNutt post! Had a spooky moment there.

Born 1962--post-Marilyn, pre-JFK.

My dad worked afternoon shift, and Mom let me stay up to watch Star Trek when the episodes were new.

In high school, I mucked around with some other people's PCs. First Mac use: SFU 1986. First Mac purchase: Mac Classic, 1991.


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## amoha (Sep 2, 2006)

hi every one
i was born in october 1966, in karachi pakistan, i bought my first computer in 1996, my X tought me the windows 95, i got divorced because my X had an online affair with someone in london UK, so the day she left, i literally smashed that computer on the wall, next week i bought a mac and never looked at the windows again, i have certification in 10.2 and i still hate windows with all my passion....


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## janej (May 9, 2006)

Greetings ehMacers
It is high time for me to stop lurking here and introduce myself.
This year I turned sixty and it has been an interesting journey. 
I did fine art, printing and drafting by hand until 1987 when I saw someone use a mac with a laserwriter. A map that used to take hours to do came out of the printer in seconds. When MacPaint was fired up, I lost all track of time. There was no turning back from this Eureka moment.
I read "Zen and the Art of the MacIntosh" and began reading MacWorld and MacUser. Soon I purchased a Mac Plus (upgraded) from a Doctor relocating from California with a new CI. It cost $1600 and came with Switcher, MacPaint and MacWrite, and an external floppy drive.
Waterloo offered a computer course for Distance Education that I took in the early nineties. A Toshiba laptop running dos and a modem arrived along with instruction books, and assignments were sent in over the internet. I passed, but realized then that I was a Mac person.
Anyone remember the ScanMan hand scanner? I got Illustrator 88, but went with Letraset's Digital Darkroom instead of Photoshop. A lot of money went into dead end programs. One day I may make a collage of all the old disks. 
At different times I have owned:
a Mac SE, SE 30, SI, Classic, Classic II, 6100, G3 Desktop (in my closet), 180 c (also in the closet), G3 iBook and an 867 Quicksilver. Currently lusting after a G5 or a new iMac.
My Mac has kept me sane through thick and thin and it is good to meet others with a similar passion.


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## overkill (May 15, 2005)

Born in 79 and first computer was a commadore 64


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## iChard (Dec 9, 2002)

born in 1975 - i'm 31 - one wife - one daughter who is 11 months old!

1st computer - atari 400 with tape drive and DONKEY KONG cart!
2nd computer - atari 800XL with printer plotter and floppy drive
3rd computer - peecee and upgrades...
then i switched!
G4 - yikes (no longer)
G3 - Pismo (still have and it's a G4 now)
G4 - MDD (no longer - but looooved)
G4 - powerbook (my current machine)


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## pmoyniha (Dec 13, 2004)

Hey,

Born in 1982, first computer was a C-64, then a series of PCs, each slightly better than the one prior. First mac was a year ago, iBook G4, so very much better than the PCs prior. Will never look back.

-P.


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## Big Rob (Nov 12, 2005)

*First Computer*

Born in 1964.

First computer used was Commodore PET in 1979 in high school.

First home computer purchased was Mac Classic in 1991.

Have owned 3 additional Macs since that time... and the Classic still works!! Although I don't use it anymore.


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## rodneyjb (Apr 9, 2006)

Hi all

36 years old here.

My first exposure was the atari 2600...got a commodore vic20 shortly after that. Graduated to an Amiga 50 soon after, then made my first peecee purchase...a 386.

Various peecees since then...first Mac in January of 04...1book 800mhz. Just got an iMac 20" core duo 2.

My house is now windoze free...praise my good senses.

Rod


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

45 years here. Born in Mar. 61. Believe it or not, I vividly remember the assasination of John F. Kennedy (he was killed in Nov.'63). Thought I'd just put that personal trivia in there. My first Mac came from the in-laws in 1993, which was a Mac SE.


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## oldgrumpy (Aug 22, 2005)

born in 1940.
First computer: In 1980 bought a Vic 20 (3583 byes free)
First Mac: LCII. Used itfor quite awhile then wnet over to the dark side for quite a few years. Bought a Mac Mini in April 2005. Just bought a 12" iBook off ebay. Back to enjoying my hobby again.


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## sheamusj (Sep 21, 2006)

Age 60 January 2007.

First computer: 1967, IBM 1401, punch cards, programmed by moving plugs.
2nd... 1968, IBM 360/65, the monster of its day. Several other 360 systems following.
3rd... 1984, 1st of the Mac series, several other Macs following, FatMac, Mac Plus, Mac SE and so on
1998, first and last PC (for home), Compaq desktop
2000, bought 2 iMacs, 450 MHz, (Green DVD models), 128 MB RAM, 20 GB HD, my darling wife and I discovered (Mac identities, shared capabilities) so we gave second computer to one of our sons. Our iMac still works great!
Next Mac (this fall), 20 inch iMac, 2.16 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB HD


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## speckledmind (Jan 12, 2005)

Born in December 1958
i'll be 48 years old in two months.

First Mac purchase was a MacPlus in 1987 I think ?
Edit : I just looked it up, it's 1986 lol

I have been in the graphic arts business since way back when ( well about 30 some years ), in 1987 I took a close look at things and said to myself, “ there is no way this lino type a majig antiquity and competing services will last, it’s way to complicated, time consuming and when it’s time to make changes, it’s a real nightmare.
A friend in the industry came up that same week and showed me this nice little box ( the Mac Plus ) and said “ from now on, I write my own text, make my own corrections, print it out at low cost and voila “, then he says “ better yet, I can draw on it “, it took me a fraction of a second to get on board, that same day I was shopping for a computer.
I took a first look at a PC ( because of the price of course ), the gentleman took the time to explain to me in great detail drive A, drive B and drive C, save the file by naming it “ frone.doc “ and remember where you placed it, and what ever you do “ don’t rename it “, ( I will skip some details if you don’t mind lol ) I then went home with a head hacke, the next day I was in a Mac shop expecting a nightmare again, it took that gentleman but a few seconds to sit me down with a cup of coffee, he inserted a disk in the computer to give me what he called “ a tour “, I sat back and had a great smile on my face as soon as it started, he came back near the end and said “ want to play with it ? “, I said sure !, and I had fun, that same afternoon I dished out some serious money and purchased it on the spot : )
That first computer came straight home, and I had a ball playing with it for hours on end, I marveled at what this little machine could do, a few weeks later I took it into the shop to show everyone what I considered “ the next step in evolution for the graphic arts “, well what do you know, they all laughed at me for bringing in a toy lol, funny thing though is, I parted way with that company soon after and did my own thing, they closed down a few years later, manly because they did not have a vision of the future, they thought that this computer thing would be a fad.
I’m not the only one that parted ways with companies like that, many did, and look at where we are today.
Vision, isn’t that what the Mac is and as always been about ?
You know, way back then when I asked myself where all of this computer stuff was going, and saw the potential to do my own thing, I had to make some serious choices, a ) to take a good guess at where all of this was going, b ) dish out some serious money, c ) where all this would take me, and you know what ? simple ease of use was the turning point, it still is ; )

I’m a Mac User to the bone,
always was, always will be,
I think it, create it, and show it off,
I think I’m part of the vision.
I saw the ease of use. lol

Cheers,
Denis

PS : My first Mac set up cost me the price of a small car.


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## shaker440 (May 5, 2004)

Born in '77 and shook hands with a mac for the first time in college.
First mac I bought was a G3 233 desktop in second year ('97 i think) and have had a few since then.
My current design workhorse at home is a heavily upgraded and slightly modified dual 1.25 MDD and the wife and kids surf around on our iMac 400.


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## sheamusj (Sep 21, 2006)

*Welcome to the ehmac Community*



shaker440 said:


> Born in '77 and shook hands with a mac for the first time in college.
> First mac I bought was a G3 233 desktop in second year ('97 i think) and have had a few since then.
> My current design workhorse at home is a heavily upgraded and slightly modified dual 1.25 MDD and the wife and kids surf around on our iMac 400.


A pleasure to meet you, and thank you for contributing to the ehmac community. I think you will like it here.


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