5 ms·

Back in late 1980's I went to a university where the administration thought it would important for every freshman to get a macintosh. So, we bought on this idea

Back in late 1980's I went to a university where the administration thought it would important for every freshman to get a macintosh. So, we bought on this idea and shelled out 2000 each for a machine that would propel us into the future. A machine that had no hard drive, ran software on diskettes and had no memory protection. I can not remember how many times I lost my paper because that damn thing would just reboot out of memory. It was a badly designed machine that would be ok for games but not for serious homework/work. A classmate of mine got so fed that that he threw it out of his dormitory window. Steve had the charisma to sell an idea but at that time there were other alternatives that would better for a lot of people. Sometimes I wonder, if the administration of uninversity got any kick-backs from Apple executives, if you understand what I mean

anonytrary 7y ago
> I can not remember how many times I lost my paper because [the mac] would just reboot out of memory. This is less of an Apple problem and more of a 1990's problem. I often had painful nights where I'd lose hours of work on Documents and PowerPoints because my Windows 98 either froze or crashed.
- TomMarius 7y ago
  My girlfriend's PowerPoint crashed and froze just yesterday... To her, the computer is just as bad today. What's the point of nicer graphics when it's still slow and unreliable.
  - Razengan 7y ago
    Well Microsoftware makes any computer look bad.
  - johnchristopher 7y ago
    Aye, aye. It's incredible that simply navigating a folder still triggers hiccups in the UI of windows.
jacobolus 7y ago
My parents got a Mac SE in 1989 and continued using it heavily through at least 2005. It still works perfectly (though at some point the hard drive needed replacement). It had a great keyboard, and very simple effective software. It was a much better writing machine than most of the later machines I have encountered.
bhaak 7y ago
> It was a badly designed machine that would be ok for games but not for serious homework/work. Funny, considering how games were never first class citizen in Jobs or Apple's strategy for their devices.
- Razengan 7y ago
  Yes, ironically some beloved franchises actually began their life on Mac/NeXT computers. Simcity, Doom from the top of my head.
  - sjwright 7y ago
    And Dark Castle, possibly the first game ever to use the now-standard WASD key layout.
mjw1007 7y ago
[non-rhetorical question:] Was there anything in that sort of price range that did have memory protection? A PC with OS/2? An Acorn machine with RISC OS?
scarface74 7y ago
Back in the late 80s which personal computer would you buy with memory protection?

anonytrary 7y ago

> I can not remember how many times I lost my paper because [the mac] would just reboot out of memory. This is less of an Apple problem and more of a 1990's problem. I often had painful nights where I'd lose hours of work on Documents and PowerPoints because my Windows 98 either froze or crashed.

TomMarius 7y ago
My girlfriend's PowerPoint crashed and froze just yesterday... To her, the computer is just as bad today. What's the point of nicer graphics when it's still slow and unreliable.
- Razengan 7y ago
  Well Microsoftware makes any computer look bad.
- johnchristopher 7y ago
  Aye, aye. It's incredible that simply navigating a folder still triggers hiccups in the UI of windows.

jacobolus 7y ago

My parents got a Mac SE in 1989 and continued using it heavily through at least 2005. It still works perfectly (though at some point the hard drive needed replacement). It had a great keyboard, and very simple effective software. It was a much better writing machine than most of the later machines I have encountered.

bhaak 7y ago

> It was a badly designed machine that would be ok for games but not for serious homework/work. Funny, considering how games were never first class citizen in Jobs or Apple's strategy for their devices.

Razengan 7y ago
Yes, ironically some beloved franchises actually began their life on Mac/NeXT computers. Simcity, Doom from the top of my head.
- sjwright 7y ago
  And Dark Castle, possibly the first game ever to use the now-standard WASD key layout.

mjw1007 7y ago

[non-rhetorical question:] Was there anything in that sort of price range that did have memory protection? A PC with OS/2? An Acorn machine with RISC OS?

scarface74 7y ago

Back in the late 80s which personal computer would you buy with memory protection?