Apple Computer is 50 and So Am I
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Hip-Hop, Personal Computers, and me- all 50 years old this year. I remember when I was a kid, the conventional wisdom amongst adults was that rap was a destructive force for society at large whereas computers were a force for good. Nothing is purely good or purely evil, but I know which side I'm on here in 2026.
It's funny to think now that Apple was the underdog in the computer market back in the mid-80's. That's when the whole family shared a computer, and it was in my parents room, and it looked like this:
I think the three most common uses for this computer were:
1) Broderbund Print Shop to make large banners on reams of dot matrix computer paper:
#2 Choplifter
#3 Practicing my Logo programming for my after school computer class
Each of these tasks took a lot of effort, and I think that added to the excitement I felt when I would get new software on a floppy disk, or print a new banner for a family function or birthday card.
The next Apple I had was my very own, and it lived in my room. It was the Macintosh Classic and I loved it and cared for it like a pet. I designed so many pop art masterpieces with MacPaint.
One of my favorite things about this machine was you could get little sound clips that would play when it started up (not sure how I sourced these since it was well before the internet existed). The two I had in heavy rotation were George H.W. Bush saying "I'm president of the United States, and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli." And Bart Simpson saying "Don't have a cow, man!"
I can't remember if the Classic was the Mac I took with me to college, I think it was. Computers were built to last and they were more expensive than they are now, so you really had to commit.
Speaking of commitment, I believe Lynn and I got each other ipods for our wedding in 2003. Or probably we shared one because it was expensive? Idk, it was awhile ago. But that was another very exciting product release from Cupertino.
As you can tell, I was definitely an Apple fanboy (although no one called each other "fanboy" back then). Post-college I even made my first documentary about Mac computer geeks, along with my friend Nate. And of course we edited it on Apple's recent software release, Final Cut Pro. A program that certainly had a huge effect on my entire career. Nate and I went on a Geek Cruise, designed for our fellow Apple-obsessives, and the lead attraction was none other than Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak! I remember him being a sweet goofball and thinking how different the company would have been if he had helmed it instead of the other Steve. I think it was Wozniak's vision for Apple that I fell in love with. It was playful, focused on discovery, and rooted in the counterculture. Steve Jobs' vision was...not that.
Today's Apple products are still great. Like everyone else I probably couldn't survive without my iphone and my macbook. But I do miss when they were the weird underdog. I'll take Tekserve over an Apple Store any day of the week.
My local Apple Store at the Grove is an apt microcosm of this. It's so huge that to look up at the 60 foot ceiling covered in reflective material is disorienting, and kinda makes me feel sick. I know I sound like Andy Rooney, with the unruly eyebrows to match, but I don't like this world-dominant Apple very much. Although I do love seeing the short film experiments that my nephew makes on his iPad. And being able to easily facetime my family across the country. Things I never would have imagined while playing Choplifter on the green monitor of my Apple IIe. I guess you can't make it to 50 without some compromises along the way.
All that said, happy 50th Apple. And happy 50th to me. I wish I had a Print Shop banner to hang for the occasion.
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