Harry P.

Yeah, it was a real flash in the pan. Came and went in the blink of an eye.

Macs are a bit more expensive than the run-of-the-mill PC. And in the past it was true that some common software wasn't available in Mac format, but that's all changed. These days you can get Mac versions of pretty much any software that you can get for a PC. Word, Powerpoint, all the stuff that you traditionally think of as "PC" or "Microsoft" has been available in Mac versions for many years now. Macs and PCs cross-connect seamlessly these days, the divide between them is long gone. But the cool thing is, 95% of the world is on a PC... so the bad guys don't bother to write viruses for Macs. I've been using Mac from day one of my computer life, and I don't think I've ever had a virus on my computer.

Any of you guys remember laser disks? I still have my Pioneer laser disk player. Wow, talk about obsolete technology... But hey... at least it also played audio CDs... so it wasn't a total waste!

I can see the faces of the guys here who are under 40... They're all reading this stuff and going... "huh???"

I vaguely remember learning Fortran (or I should say, trying to learn it!). And wasn't there also something calledl "whatfour" and "whatfive" or something like that? Wow! It's like revisiting the dark ages!

:lol: Exactly! Oh man, I actually did LOL on that one! Who knw that Christian was a stand-up comic?!

See now, that's the problem. You probably should have been busy with each other's laptops...

A little side note to the techno talk: Vinyl records (yeah, those big black discs we remember from the good old days) are making a comeback! CDs are passé, sales are flat or down, mp3 downloads are how music is sold these days... but good old-fashioned vinyl LPs are actually making a comeback. In fact, record companies are re-releasing albums on vinyl that had never before been available in that old format, but had only been released on CD. I've read that people long for a tangible, physical object that they can hold in their hands. Downloading music electronically to your ipod just doesn't give that sense of "ownership" that holding an actual disc in your hands does. I never gave up on vinyl... I still have every single record I ever bought, still have a turntable (you younger guys probably don't even know what a "turntable" is!).... what's old is new again!

For the record... every issue of MCM is still created on a Mac.

That is one of the most beautifully stated and insightful posts I have seen in a long time anywhere.

Are you trying to make me jealous???

One thing that has definitely changed in my business (graphic design) is that client's expectations of what is possible to do in a given time has really changed. A job that would have taken a week to do 20 years ago is now expected to be done in much less time, sometimes even the same day. The problem is, though, that while actually creating a "production ready" file for a brochure, for example, does take less time to do on the computer vs. the old-fashioned paste-up boards, the process of designing... the thinking time needed to come up with the concept, working out the layout and design, picking or creating graphics, typefaces, colors, etc. is still basically done in the designer's head, and goes no faster than it did 20 years ago. It still takes time to come up with a design, but less time to translate ideas to "paper" (digital files).

I've read studies done on "multitasking" as it relates to work, that is, actually trying to actively work on two different tasks at the same time that both require critical thinking (not like doing one thing actively while doing a second thing passively, like listening to the radio while washing the dishes). The data shows that whenever a person's attention is divided between two or more tasks simultaneously, the attention paid to any one of the tasks is less than what would be paid if the person was doing just that one thing (a fairly obvious conclusion, as our brain is wired to focus on one task at a time). That, of course, explains the danger of texting while driving (apart from the obvious danger of looking at a tiny keyboard instead of looking where you're going)! While people think they can "multitask" (and actually it is possible to walk and chew gum at the same time... ) the reality is that multitasking doesn't result in more work being done well in less time, it actually results in less work being done more poorly in about the same time it would take you to do Task A and then Task B.

A perfect example of my point of people being overly reliant or fixated with technology. Why do you feel the need to surf the web while you watch TV? Why does one single activity (TV) not "do it" for you anymore? Why do you need to be doing two things at once? I'm not trying to be judgemental, I'm just curious to get your reasoning on that. I find it fascinating (yet weird) that many people these days literally have to be doing two or even three things at the same time. It's a mindset that I don't have... so I wonder how that sort of thing develops. Maybe a certain personality type is more prone to doing that sort of thing?

Obviously technology (computers) have fundamentally changed our lives (for the better, IMO). And I'm definitely not a technophobe... in fact I rely on technology every day. I couldn't do my job without computers, email and the internet. But I do think that people who literally can't put the cell phone down, or walk around all day long wearing that silly bluetooth thing, need to rethink their priorities. When your life revolves around texting, facebook and twitter, something is definitely out of whack.

Another thing I wonder about is the whole idea of cell phones possibly causing brain tumors and cancers. Scientists on the one hand say that they think cell phones are safe, then on the other hand say that they haven't been in wide usage long enough to develop any scientifically reliable data. I wonder what happens if cell phones actually do cause brain tumors or cancer, and 20-30 years from now people start developing cancers related to excessive cell-phone usage. Can you imagine the legal mess that would cause. We'd have lawsuits flying left and right.

Everyone seemed to be able to survive without them quite nicely back in the 20th century. I have a feeling most people felt less stress and were generally happier with their lives back in the 40s and 50s than most people are today. Many people have become slaves to technology; these days many people can't imagine being able to survive without ther smart phones and GPS systems and whatnot. I cringe every time I see someone sitting in a fast food joint or in the waiting room of a doctor's office or auto repair shop or wherever, sitting there and constantly playing with their cell phone. Some people seem to be addicted to the stupid things and can't sit still for a minute without doing something on their phone. I wonder how people who have become so dependent on their cell phones manage to shut down at night and disengage from all the "social media" nonsense and actually go to sleep!

My house has an electric door bell!

Ummm... Mac and Apple are the same thing. Apple is the company, Mac (Macintosh) is the brand name, so every Mac is an Apple Mac.

http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1245&bih=715&q=engine+stand&gbv=2&oq=engine+stand&aq=f&aqi=g5g-m5&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=877l3503l0l3636l12l11l0l1l1l0l313l1861l0.5.3.1l9l0

Wow, my parents were a lot stricter than yours. They never let me drive a car indoors...

I can't take any "concept" car seriously anymore, ever since Chrysler showed that absolutely gorgeous Charger concept a few years ago... and then sprang the actual production version on us that was, to be charitable, "not quite as nice" as the concept.

Another beauty from you. As usual, the paint is flawless!

How about a photo or at least a link to some photos or info?

No, that's not exposed aggregate. This is exposed aggregate: http://members.shaw.ca/bomr/ExposedAgg.html