Computers I've UsedRecent |
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| (Recent computers coming Real Soon Now.) | Yeah, right. What's it been, five years since I wrote that? |
| One of these days, I'll get the appropriate photos up, but meanwhile, I just say that through the 1990s up to 2004 I used a succession of cheap Windows 2000-based PCs for my various work and play pursuits. | |
In the Fall of 2004, after my Web development PC badly crashed for the second time in four months, the first having taken me over two weeks to mostly recover from, I went searching for an Alternative. I first looked into various Linux OSs, but the lack of bona fide Photoshop on that platform was a deal-killer. The Macintosh OS X platform was next on my list. I had dabbled with it at a computer store, but never had it in front of me day-to-day, so I wasn't sure if it would do everything I needed for my Web business. The next day, an ad appeared in the paper for an inexpensive used Power Mac G4 tower and 17" ViewSonic monitor. Fate! I bought it, got it set up and have never looked back! I still maintain a Windows XP machine (mostly for testing), but I leave it turned off most of the time. When I turn it on, before I can use it I have to download the endless megabytes of security updates and reboot, which takes 10 to 20 minutes, so I leave it turned off most of the time! I have spent maybe 10 minutes a week maintaining my Macs over the last two years. I'm sold! :-) In late 2005, my wife also made The Switch to a (pre-Intel) Mac mini. We added an old "slot-loading" G3 iMac to our guest room in 2007. Around the same time, I also added a Ubuntu linux-based PC as a digital photo and backup archive; something I've wanted to do for years. I use iView Media Pro as a database of those 20,000+ photos and as a means to browse them. It works well! In 2008, I installed a 2 GHz MacPro tower unit running four CPUs, with 9 GB of RAM. Yep, it's wikkid F-A-S-T! :-) In 2009, we got Lynn an Intel iMac as an upgrade to her aging mini. |