Old Macworld issues...anything more fun?
Got into a big taped-up box of mine today that contained every Macworld from October 1999 until last Christmas (I've got all of 2003 in my room) and put them in order and put them all in some magazine holder things I bought at Wal-Mart.
Now have about 4 years' worth of Macworld sitting next to my bed.
While the info and relevance (did I spell that right?) of these older issues has long since been rendered nearly worthless, there is simply no greater hoot to be had by reading breathless headlines and articles trumpeting the "new 300MHz portable from Apple!" and the first writings/reviews involving AirPort, FireWire, the G4 (the "supercomputer for the rest of us!" it says), the $3999 price of the Cinema Display upon its unveiling, etc.
And David Pogue is writing feature articles on the "new iBook" and lauding its "creamsicle colors" and "flattened iMac" appearance.
And I gotta say, Macworld - as a magazine and a source for solid, well-written information, and generous helpings of good, close-up photography and infographics - was a MUCH better magazine 3-4 years ago!
And the ads in the back? I've gone back in time, it seems! Seeing all these old two-page spreads for MacWarehouse and MacMall with fruit-flavored iMacs and matching Epson 740i inkjets and colored hubs from Belkin. And RAM prices? OMIGOSH!
It was a simpler, nicer time then, wasn't it? Everything had colors, and buying a USB hub or hockey puck replacement mouse was never so much fun.
I hate to throw these things away, so I guess I'll just hang on to them and use them for the occasional chuckle or "wow, we've come a long way" reminder.
I'm just amazed at how things have moved along! Where has all this time gone? I know one thing: my ass is hopping on eBay to find me a Rev. B tangerine iBook. If only for a conversation piece, backup machine and something nice to look at in the evenings...
Comments
uhhhh, sex, drinking, sexy drinking, rubbing honey all over my.....well, you get the picture....old macworld issues would be fairly far down the list for me...but perhaps i just have issues with issues
g
Okay, it's not THE most fun thing. But it's up there in the top 35, okay?
I remember looking at and wishing to save up for a USED PM 7100 for only $2200.
Originally posted by thegelding
rubbing honey all over my.....well, you get the picture....
Dude, I hope you did NOT watch Law & Order SVU this week.
If you did, and you still posted that, LIFETIME BAN.
I saw that episode!
Originally posted by murbot
Dude, I hope you did NOT watch Law & Order SVU this week.
If you did, and you still posted that, LIFETIME BAN.
no i didn't...im me and let me know what i should be ashamed about (that could easily be a looooooong list)
g
Originally posted by pscates
Got into a big taped-up box of mine today that contained every Macworld from October 1999 until last Christmas (I've got all of 2003 in my room) and put them in order and put them all in some magazine holder things I bought at Wal-Mart.
I have every MacFormat from 1996 to about 2001. That's back when the Performa 5200 was the best thing to hit modern computing, and 8MB of RAM was insanely great
Amorya
This is from the "News" section:
Motorola and IBM Reveal PowerPC Plans
Motorola Discusses Forthcoming PowerPC G5 Processor
...Apple, IBM and Motorola...are already making plans for a new generaration of PowerPC processors that will blaze at speeds up to 2GHz.
Motorola...says it is currently testing PowerPC G4 processors with AltiVec technology running at up to 700MHz. Eventually, Motorola says, the G4 design will hit speeds up to 1GHz.
Waiting in the wings is the PowerPC G5, a 64-bit chip that will also support 32-bit processing to ensure compatibility with current applications. The G5, likely to be available in one to two years at speeds of up to 2GHz...
Motorola says it will also offer a G6 processor, but has given no details on planned features.
Well, they DID get the whole "G5" thing right. Except it was IBM. And it was three-and-a-half years. But other than that...
Despite such a positive, forward-looking article, we all eventually learned that Motorola couldn't find their butt with two hands and a flashlight.
These old issues rock!
10.1 - Good to Go!
Wow. And look at Panther.
Originally posted by advocate
Alright, now I'm getting too nostalgic. Pardon me while I go install the OS X Public Beta on my Cube. 8)
It would be a crying shame to do that. That Public Beta was garbage, tons of fun, but it was completely un-functional and worthless.
I've been going over old MacWorld issues from 1994-1998, and it's almost incredible how we went from being in a state of continual anticipation over some nebulous next-generation OS that may or may not come, to a routine yearly diet of OS updates that seem to always bring something radically new to the table.
I just went over an old issue ('96?) talking about the BeOS and how it may be the Mac's saviour. Kinda makes you feel good Apple went with NeXT.
Oh, and there was an old MacAddict I've got here shouting about how IBM just got a PPC in their labs going up to 1 Ghz. They were saying how not before long, the next Apple Ad would have that Pentium III strapped not to a snail, but a house plant.
Man. If only they knew...
It really makes you grateful for what we take for granted today.. the funniest ads are for software, like a spell checker for $79.. imagine having to buy a spell checker?
I think my collection dates back to the second year...somewhere in the basement.
EVERYTHING came in the five iMac colors! Looking at all the ads in the back was like looking at a toy catalog!
But just the newness, the whole "screw the floppy!" vibe, USB was here, FireWire was coming around, the PowerBook went to a G4, the G4 towers were gorgeous as could be. You had cool-looking iBooks and, of course, the gorgeous slot-loading iMacs.
Lots of peripheral makers really popped up during that time. If it used USB and needed to be green or orange, SOMEBODY made it!
A glorious time. Not as mind-blowing, big-picture-wise, as 2003...but still quite a bitchin' time to be a Mac user and Apple supporter!
Remember: this was pre-iPhoto, pre-OS X, pre-iPod/iTMS, pre-FireWire iBooks, etc.
We just looked to a future with something called "OS X" and perhaps - if we were lucky - Apple would make us a 17" iMac of some sort!