why i became a macaddict.
ever wonder why there are no Mac Users and there are PC Users? it's because we're called "Mac Fanatics", the self proclaimed greatest salesforce of Macs in a PC dominated world. i'm lucky i work where everyone breathe macs.... well, ok... a few PC wheenies in a few cubes in the accounts department. once i step out of my comfort zone, i'm right away... "different". do you know how difficult it is be "different"? ( that's a different blog i will write about some other day...)
let's take "work" for instance. way back when (yeah, yeah... it's been that long.) all our designs and comprehensives were done by hand, the only computer in our studio was used mainly for typing out proposals, accounting, correspondents and exactly whatelse i don't know.
in graphic design, one must have the talent to make it. drawing skills were ESSENTIAL. design skills were a MUST!
1. design comprehensives were repeatedly done until the client finally says.... "Print."
-a package design comprehensive would normally take 72 hours of hard labor, depending on the complexity of the structure and whims of the client.)
2. then i would manually draw out mechanicals of logos, typefaces, and artworks for this. texts were done by typesetters who we contract outside because we can't afford those machines that only do bromide text outputs. then there's the camera that takes pictures of our mechanicals so we'd have bromides of different sizes for our final art. (if you have no idea what i am talking about here..... bear with me. you probably aren't old enough to witness the jurassic art of graphic design) - a package design final artwork would probably take one-two weeks to complete, depending on the complexity of the logo, correct typesetting (which usually take 10 trips from the typesetters until they get all the spellings and typefont specs right) and all other factors.
3. then we hand-over our camera-ready final artwork to the printing press so they can convert it to negatives or color separation to make plates...... ( i told you- it's ugly. )
- a package design color proof would be done in a couple of days depending on the schedule of the printer or color separator and whether they got all the colors correct.
in 1988, we got our very own Mac that can do all these in a week's time. Finally, a personal computer that can do other stuff than type a letter.
1. i design and make revisions or improvements as prescribed by the client, print it out. do the whole process again until they say.. "Go to press." the word "print" became an in-house thing already.
2. all logos, artworks and typesettings done in two to three days. camera ready. proofreading done in-house. (now, who needs DRAWING skills with a mac??)
3. in those times, direct to print wasn't invented yet wherein we skip procedure 3. but hey... we don't print the whole goddamn thing.... we just design it.
it was the advent of the then Aldus Pagemaker and Freehand, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop and QuarkExpress that made graphic design the best career ever. the BEST JOB ever. commands and tools for these softwares were simple enough and so basic that it didn't take me long to master all softwares. oh well... it was still the 1.5s and 2.0 versions i started with. teehee.. life was simple then. and who can imagine there's this thing called a "mouse" which nobody has ever heard of? people were stuck with the keyboard to move around. icons and folders were "what?".
my mom helped me purchase a Classic Mac on 1990. i was then so versed with the business of graphic design that me and my friends opened up our own graphic design studio. designing stuff for procter and gamble, phils. mainly. all their packaging and merchandising materials were mostly done by us. then i went freelance. it was just ME and my MAC. i EARNED a living with just this MAC. it was my life. it was my job. it was my passion.
even before microsoft came up with the "windows concept", apple used windows already, i knew how to work my way around on a PC that looked like my mac desktop. (what the hell was a desktop??? i told them to imagine their screen as their desk with so many filing cabinets with folders and files inside.) so i taught them how to use these windows effectively when it came out ... drop down menus, keyboard shortcuts, folders, etc.---
all of a sudden i was this computer nerd outside the design industry. they thought i was a comp genius because i can do so many stuff with my PC (personal computer) nobody can. and i was talking geek... i mean, greek.
that began my love affair with the Mac.
it's simple and it gets my work done without the hassle of configuring, re-configuring, troubleshooting, and disinfecting my machine all my waking hours. if i did, that'll make me less productive. while everyone's just using their comps as a typewriter, i was making love to mine... i mean... it was making life easier for me.
sure. any PC can deliver the same output for me now. all the cool graphic software are now available for windows. but the experience is different. i had the privilege of working on the same softwares on a PC,too. ( just to stress that i have used windows on some occasions, too.) the commands are slightly different, the look is somewhat different and i managed to be as creative as i was on a mac. it was slower though on more complex tasks but it was generally ok. the simpler tasks of saving, going around files, searching for my links, and customizing were rather different--- not difficult. if one is used to doing it simpler, i wouldn't complain. but i know better.
i'm no expert but a few people had asked for my help to troubleshoot their PCs, setup their internet settings, fix a drive, setup the video card, etc.--- ( of course, these are the hapless non-geek end users... regular consumers.) almost always, i was able to help them. that's why i know the ins and outs of windows os as well. now, don't tell me i don't know what i am talking about.
i saved a few bucks... (ok, a sack load of it.) and bought a powerbook g4 two years ago and it was the BEST thing i ever did for myself. i got hooked to it 24/7. i was playing games, logging my thoughts in, surfing, downloading... anything. installed windows on it,too------ only because i needed this software rpg emulator that would compute how many troops to send for this ambar online war game. bought so many stuff for it as well....
after 2 years... i sold it.--- yeah! sold it! and bought the new titanium powerbook (tiBook). it's way too cool with the new mac os x. i was so impatient to wait another 3 months so i can get the spec i wanted. a built-in cd-rw/dvd rom. oh heck, i just bought a cd-rw separately. now, i'm thinking of selling it again. why? because i want the faster one with 800mhz... not that the 667mhz is slow but because i want the fastest machine on earth. =)
i'm a mac advocate. and people hate me for being so "fanatic" about it. why wouldn't i? after they do a mac-bashing session with me, i had to misinform them of the many mac myths and rumors they hear about apple. educate them, kumbaga. i don't have to convince them to switch to macs--- coz most of the PC users i know are so stuck with the idea that PC is the best OS on earth because of its market share.... then it must be good. there must be something about PCs that makes it so darn popular.--- or that it gets the job done anyway. i know it's the price. but you get what you pay for, right?
it's just that, owning a mac is like owning a lexus or a mercedes benz. just because honda civic has the highest market share doesn't mean that honda civic is the best car. both cars can take you anywhere anyway. however............ [stop] ---- you know what i'm getting at, right?
why i became a macaddict? because macintosh made me. it works with me. it blends with me. and my mac loves me. does it crash on me? never. i never experienced a "fatal crash" wherein all my files went bye-bye. ocassional "freezes", yes. and most of the time, i only needed to re-start my comp. not re-boot. not re-install. but simply turning it on again.
am i a biased? you bet i am. and that's the story of why i became a macaddict. i just love this machine.
ever wonder why there are no Mac Users and there are PC Users? it's because we're called "Mac Fanatics", the self proclaimed greatest salesforce of Macs in a PC dominated world. i'm lucky i work where everyone breathe macs.... well, ok... a few PC wheenies in a few cubes in the accounts department. once i step out of my comfort zone, i'm right away... "different". do you know how difficult it is be "different"? ( that's a different blog i will write about some other day...)
let's take "work" for instance. way back when (yeah, yeah... it's been that long.) all our designs and comprehensives were done by hand, the only computer in our studio was used mainly for typing out proposals, accounting, correspondents and exactly whatelse i don't know.
in graphic design, one must have the talent to make it. drawing skills were ESSENTIAL. design skills were a MUST!
1. design comprehensives were repeatedly done until the client finally says.... "Print."
-a package design comprehensive would normally take 72 hours of hard labor, depending on the complexity of the structure and whims of the client.)
2. then i would manually draw out mechanicals of logos, typefaces, and artworks for this. texts were done by typesetters who we contract outside because we can't afford those machines that only do bromide text outputs. then there's the camera that takes pictures of our mechanicals so we'd have bromides of different sizes for our final art. (if you have no idea what i am talking about here..... bear with me. you probably aren't old enough to witness the jurassic art of graphic design) - a package design final artwork would probably take one-two weeks to complete, depending on the complexity of the logo, correct typesetting (which usually take 10 trips from the typesetters until they get all the spellings and typefont specs right) and all other factors.
3. then we hand-over our camera-ready final artwork to the printing press so they can convert it to negatives or color separation to make plates...... ( i told you- it's ugly. )
- a package design color proof would be done in a couple of days depending on the schedule of the printer or color separator and whether they got all the colors correct.
in 1988, we got our very own Mac that can do all these in a week's time. Finally, a personal computer that can do other stuff than type a letter.
1. i design and make revisions or improvements as prescribed by the client, print it out. do the whole process again until they say.. "Go to press." the word "print" became an in-house thing already.
2. all logos, artworks and typesettings done in two to three days. camera ready. proofreading done in-house. (now, who needs DRAWING skills with a mac??)
3. in those times, direct to print wasn't invented yet wherein we skip procedure 3. but hey... we don't print the whole goddamn thing.... we just design it.
it was the advent of the then Aldus Pagemaker and Freehand, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop and QuarkExpress that made graphic design the best career ever. the BEST JOB ever. commands and tools for these softwares were simple enough and so basic that it didn't take me long to master all softwares. oh well... it was still the 1.5s and 2.0 versions i started with. teehee.. life was simple then. and who can imagine there's this thing called a "mouse" which nobody has ever heard of? people were stuck with the keyboard to move around. icons and folders were "what?".
my mom helped me purchase a Classic Mac on 1990. i was then so versed with the business of graphic design that me and my friends opened up our own graphic design studio. designing stuff for procter and gamble, phils. mainly. all their packaging and merchandising materials were mostly done by us. then i went freelance. it was just ME and my MAC. i EARNED a living with just this MAC. it was my life. it was my job. it was my passion.
even before microsoft came up with the "windows concept", apple used windows already, i knew how to work my way around on a PC that looked like my mac desktop. (what the hell was a desktop??? i told them to imagine their screen as their desk with so many filing cabinets with folders and files inside.) so i taught them how to use these windows effectively when it came out ... drop down menus, keyboard shortcuts, folders, etc.---
all of a sudden i was this computer nerd outside the design industry. they thought i was a comp genius because i can do so many stuff with my PC (personal computer) nobody can. and i was talking geek... i mean, greek.
that began my love affair with the Mac.
it's simple and it gets my work done without the hassle of configuring, re-configuring, troubleshooting, and disinfecting my machine all my waking hours. if i did, that'll make me less productive. while everyone's just using their comps as a typewriter, i was making love to mine... i mean... it was making life easier for me.
sure. any PC can deliver the same output for me now. all the cool graphic software are now available for windows. but the experience is different. i had the privilege of working on the same softwares on a PC,too. ( just to stress that i have used windows on some occasions, too.) the commands are slightly different, the look is somewhat different and i managed to be as creative as i was on a mac. it was slower though on more complex tasks but it was generally ok. the simpler tasks of saving, going around files, searching for my links, and customizing were rather different--- not difficult. if one is used to doing it simpler, i wouldn't complain. but i know better.
i'm no expert but a few people had asked for my help to troubleshoot their PCs, setup their internet settings, fix a drive, setup the video card, etc.--- ( of course, these are the hapless non-geek end users... regular consumers.) almost always, i was able to help them. that's why i know the ins and outs of windows os as well. now, don't tell me i don't know what i am talking about.
i saved a few bucks... (ok, a sack load of it.) and bought a powerbook g4 two years ago and it was the BEST thing i ever did for myself. i got hooked to it 24/7. i was playing games, logging my thoughts in, surfing, downloading... anything. installed windows on it,too------ only because i needed this software rpg emulator that would compute how many troops to send for this ambar online war game. bought so many stuff for it as well....
after 2 years... i sold it.--- yeah! sold it! and bought the new titanium powerbook (tiBook). it's way too cool with the new mac os x. i was so impatient to wait another 3 months so i can get the spec i wanted. a built-in cd-rw/dvd rom. oh heck, i just bought a cd-rw separately. now, i'm thinking of selling it again. why? because i want the faster one with 800mhz... not that the 667mhz is slow but because i want the fastest machine on earth. =)
i'm a mac advocate. and people hate me for being so "fanatic" about it. why wouldn't i? after they do a mac-bashing session with me, i had to misinform them of the many mac myths and rumors they hear about apple. educate them, kumbaga. i don't have to convince them to switch to macs--- coz most of the PC users i know are so stuck with the idea that PC is the best OS on earth because of its market share.... then it must be good. there must be something about PCs that makes it so darn popular.--- or that it gets the job done anyway. i know it's the price. but you get what you pay for, right?
it's just that, owning a mac is like owning a lexus or a mercedes benz. just because honda civic has the highest market share doesn't mean that honda civic is the best car. both cars can take you anywhere anyway. however............ [stop] ---- you know what i'm getting at, right?
why i became a macaddict? because macintosh made me. it works with me. it blends with me. and my mac loves me. does it crash on me? never. i never experienced a "fatal crash" wherein all my files went bye-bye. ocassional "freezes", yes. and most of the time, i only needed to re-start my comp. not re-boot. not re-install. but simply turning it on again.
am i a biased? you bet i am. and that's the story of why i became a macaddict. i just love this machine.
posted by Aisa at 2:46 PM
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