Standard Issue Computing

Category: Apple

  • Apple: The First 50 Years by David Pogue

    I’m a casual Apple user/fan. Which feels somewhat ridiculous to say considering that they are easily the tech company I give the most money year after year. Every day I use multiple Apple devices and services: iPhone 17 Pro, Series 11 Apple Watch, AirPods Pro, an M4 MacBook Air (my work computer), and Apple Music and TV+ subscriptions.

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  • Highlights from The AppleSoft Tutorial (1981)

    The manual is from 1981, probably the same year the carpet in my house was installed

    I recently picked up some vintage Apple manuals, the most exciting being The AppleSoft Tutorial. Just look at that cover!

    In case you’re not familiar, this is a manual included with Apple II computers of the era. It serves as an overview of the hardware and as a basic BASIC programming guide. Here are some highlights, presented without context.

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  • Highlights from the Premiere Issue of Macworld Magazine

    Thanks to the wonderful site Vintage Apple, I was able to check out a scan of the first issue of Macworld. It’s a fascinating magazine; part promotional tool, part behind the scenes, part user guide.

    Here are some of the highlights for me:

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  • Apple Student Dorm Door Hangers From 2004 and 2007

    I’ve been really into mid-2000s Apple lately and have been buying some ridiculous stuff on eBay. In a recent purchase the seller (bless them!) included these Apple door hangers. I’m assuming they were promotional items given out at Apple Stores or on college campuses. Each hanger is adorned with some manner of cringey college cliche that I can’t help but find charming.

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  • Apple iMac G5 (2004)

    When I went away to college in the mid-2000s, the iMac G5 was the computer I wanted. I imagined myself using it in the dorm, looking cool and sophisticated as I typed away while listening to The Shins or something. This was the college reinvention I needed, a massive change from the cobbled together gaming PCs and ska CDs of my past.

    Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford an iMac so it was my old beige Compaq with a GeForce 2 that came with me to college, solidifying my lameness from the get go.

    20+ years later I’m still lame, but I was able to finally pick up a boxed, working, iMac G5 for a cool hundred bucks. After spending a bit of time with it, I gotta say it’s better late than never- this is a wonderful computer.

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