The author of this message is young. I remember punch cards. I remember when screen displays were cutting edge. I remember (in 1986 and before) when only one machine--the MAC-would actually print what you wanted in the footnotes. I have a 1990 vintage IIci. It still works as does my 1990 vintage laserwriter IINT. There are no machines running Windows '95 that predate 1995. By the way, my MacSE still works. My new Power PC and iMacs also work on the same old printers. All of my macs still network on my home phone wires. Although set up in 1989, some of them work on "slowtalk" and some work on 10-baseT. BUT THEY ALL WORK. Back in the bad old days, wordprocessors for the PC came with 2-300 print drivers. And you know what? Even in an office of several hundred, you never had the right printer unless you bought the computer, the OS, the software, and the printer AT THE SAME TIME. I have MAC software written in 1985 that works on my iMAC. My iMAC prints on my Laserwriter IINT. In 1988, when IBM came out the the PS/2 computers (which were intended to run OS/2--remember?) IBM was still not committed to supporting the 3.5 inch floppy disk. Apple was a renegade for using a 3.5 inch flopply in 1984. In 1999, my primitive MacSE can read modern floppies--and your 1988 IBM cannot. IN FACT, your 1990 PC clone cannot even determine what kind of floppy is in the system! I have an SE, a IIci, a 68040, a PPC640 clone, an iMAC and other computers all networked as they have been for ten years. If my iMAC has no floppy or SCSI--so what--my other computers do. And they are all networked. And their interfaces will hopefully become obsolete in the future, but they haven't yet. The fact that my computers all work is a minor miracle. No other company offers that feature--and no other computer company allows you to take your old worthless computers and dedicate them to something useful (like data gathering or drive servicing). Computers are all about software and communication. The most important communication is with your printer, and in this feature MACs really excel, not merely because all MAC printers are network printers, but because postscript is embedded in the system level. As for software, all serious modern software originated on the MAC--including Word, Excel, Pagemaker, Quark, Photoshop, Filemaker, Hypercard (and hypertext), Eudora and so forth. (Database II and III did not). Even Windows used Mac source code and the trial court said that it was OK because of the agreement between Apple and Microsoft. The problem with software recognition, is that no one recognises Apple inovations until they are ported to the PC. (eg. Excel, Myst, Myth, and even Word '98). So the question is this: Did Steve Jobs betray you by introducing new machines that did not accept your old hardware? The answer is NO. Check the used machine market. The only hardware that depreciates faster than your old Apple hardware is WINTEL hardware. And by the way, your WINTEL hardware is not compatible EVEN IF YOU BOUGHT IT IN THE SAME YEAR. Do you know that the iMAC (the stupid "girly" computer introduced over a year ago) was the only computer with 10/100base-T ethernet built-in? It has a DVD-CD-ROM. This is entry level. What the heck do you want? Take all those old MACs you have and buy a ethernet/slowtalk bridge for $40-100, and you are fully compatible with the future and the past. Your WINTEL companions are not. WINTEL people are descendants of the true-bluers--they live in a word of future-ware. None of them has a job to do today. Every time some study says that MACs do the job now (like connect up an iMAC in less than 10 minutes from the box) the WINTEL people say "this is not fair." But there are only two issues: 1) what i can do; and 2) what it costs (in time and money). With computing power/dollar doubling every year, at some time you've got to move on. But its funny how Apple has actually made your old computers useful, while at the same time breaking new ground.
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The author of this message is young. I remember punch cards. I remember when screen displays were cutting edge. I remember (in 1986 and before) when only one machine--the MAC-would actually print what you wanted in the footnotes. I have a 1990 vintage IIci. It still works as does my 1990 vintage laserwriter IINT. There are no machines running Windows '95 that predate 1995. By the way, my MacSE still works. My new Power PC and iMacs also work on the same old printers. All of my macs still network on my home phone wires. Although set up in 1989, some of them work on "slowtalk" and some work on 10-baseT. BUT THEY ALL WORK. Back in the bad old days, wordprocessors for the PC came with 2-300 print drivers. And you know what? Even in an office of several hundred, you never had the right printer unless you bought the computer, the OS, the software, and the printer AT THE SAME TIME. I have MAC software written in 1985 that works on my iMAC. My iMAC prints on my Laserwriter IINT. In 1988, when IBM came out the the PS/2 computers (which were intended to run OS/2--remember?) IBM was still not committed to supporting the 3.5 inch floppy disk. Apple was a renegade for using a 3.5 inch flopply in 1984. In 1999, my primitive MacSE can read modern floppies--and your 1988 IBM cannot. IN FACT, your 1990 PC clone cannot even determine what kind of floppy is in the system! I have an SE, a IIci, a 68040, a PPC640 clone, an iMAC and other computers all networked as they have been for ten years. If my iMAC has no floppy or SCSI--so what--my other computers do. And they are all networked. And their interfaces will hopefully become obsolete in the future, but they haven't yet. The fact that my computers all work is a minor miracle. No other company offers that feature--and no other computer company allows you to take your old worthless computers and dedicate them to something useful (like data gathering or drive servicing). Computers are all about software and communication. The most important communication is with your printer, and in this feature MACs really excel, not merely because all MAC printers are network printers, but because postscript is embedded in the system level. As for software, all serious modern software originated on the MAC--including Word, Excel, Pagemaker, Quark, Photoshop, Filemaker, Hypercard (and hypertext), Eudora and so forth. (Database II and III did not). Even Windows used Mac source code and the trial court said that it was OK because of the agreement between Apple and Microsoft. The problem with software recognition, is that no one recognises Apple inovations until they are ported to the PC. (eg. Excel, Myst, Myth, and even Word '98). So the question is this: Did Steve Jobs betray you by introducing new machines that did not accept your old hardware? The answer is NO. Check the used machine market. The only hardware that depreciates faster than your old Apple hardware is WINTEL hardware. And by the way, your WINTEL hardware is not compatible EVEN IF YOU BOUGHT IT IN THE SAME YEAR. Do you know that the iMAC (the stupid "girly" computer introduced over a year ago) was the only computer with 10/100base-T ethernet built-in? It has a DVD-CD-ROM. This is entry level. What the heck do you want? Take all those old MACs you have and buy a ethernet/slowtalk bridge for $40-100, and you are fully compatible with the future and the past. Your WINTEL companions are not. WINTEL people are descendants of the true-bluers--they live in a word of future-ware. None of them has a job to do today. Every time some study says that MACs do the job now (like connect up an iMAC in less than 10 minutes from the box) the WINTEL people say "this is not fair." But there are only two issues: 1) what i can do; and 2) what it costs (in time and money). With computing power/dollar doubling every year, at some time you've got to move on. But its funny how Apple has actually made your old computers useful, while at the same time breaking new ground.