MetroDad: Mac Attack

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May 23, 2006

Mac Attack

I got my first Apple Computer in 1986 when I was 17 years old. It was an Apple IIC and it was love at first sight. Ever since, I've been a die-hard Mac addict.

My Macs have been with me through the good times and the bad. They've traveled all over the world with me and been time capsules of many fond memories. Over the past 20 years, I've gone through countless Macs, converted hundreds of people and loved each Mac greater than the last. Their simplicity, elegance, beauty and power had only served to reinforce my undying faith and devotion.

Sunday, for the first time ever, my hard drive crashed.

I'm crushed.

On the one hand, it gives me a perfect excuse to go out and get the awesome new MacBook Pro. On the other hand, I'm bummed because I hadn't backed up all my data in about a month. Not only may I have possibly lost some great photos of the Peanut but I also lost quite a bit of valuable data (including my work on Fermat's Theorem, cognitive science and the origin of language.)

Oh yeah, I also lost some funny posts about constipation and my collection of "yo mama" jokes.

The worst part of my hard drive crash? For the entire week, I'm forced to use a Windows PC for the first time in my life. Personally, this makes me feel like the love child of Aldrich Ames and Ethel Rosenberg. I think I'd rather see my mother in a whorehouse than on a Windows PC.

Of course, that could just be me.

Anyway, posting will be light this week. However, MetroDad would like to offer a public service announcement to all of you, recommending that you back up all your data as frequently as possible. Otherwise, like me, you may be taking out a second mortgage on your house to pay a team of NASA-trained data-recovery specialists to retrieve your valuable collection of "yo mama" jokes.

Now, excuse me while I go try and figure out what the hell "C:\<Directory>\D" means. Aarrgh!

Posted at 10:12 AM in r a n t, r e s p e c t | Permalink

Comments

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What have you got against my operating systems? Are you trying to get in the way of my plans for world domination?

Bwaahhhahhahaa!

Posted by: Bill Gates | May 25, 2006 at 02:17 PM

Thanks MetroDad, that sounds like the kind of all-purpose cooler-than-fuck shoe I'm looking for. The dark charcoal will reflect very nicely off the milky white Mac. We just won't be able to go out on a date together.

Posted by: David | May 25, 2006 at 02:45 PM

If you can do this with a Mac, I'd buy one:

http://www.extremetech.com/slideshow/0,1206,l=163175&s=26633&a=163159,00.asp

Posted by: honglien123 | May 25, 2006 at 09:59 PM

THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A MAC. The black MacBooks are neat too, but yes, the MBP's are the way to go. ENJOY YOUR NEW PURCHASE!!!!

Posted by: ChaEsq | May 26, 2006 at 03:04 PM

The Holy Shit has just been officially scared out of me. I've had "buy external hard drive" on my to-do list....um, let's just say for a really long time.

No more waiting. This weekend. Thanks, MD for the PSA.

PS - Sorry about Ya Mama jokes.

Posted by: RBrown | May 26, 2006 at 03:12 PM

I'm typing from a PC but I admit to loving the new Mac ads.

Posted by: Grins | May 26, 2006 at 08:47 PM

I can't wait to get my first Mac ever; I'm aiming to buy it in the next 6 months or so. I'll most likely get the new ProBook.

Sorry to hear about your loss of data and photos; I went through that a couple of years back. What did I learn? That that clicking sound coming from my PC laptop was a foreshadowing of the devastation to come. And to do backups much more frequently.

Posted by: Pattie | May 27, 2006 at 11:35 AM

you can have some of *my* pictures, if you want ...

Posted by: s@bd | May 27, 2006 at 03:58 PM

On the bright side, it'll make your return to a Mac all the better -- sort of like, when your car's in the body shop, and you're stuck driving a Neon for a month? Then you get your car back and you're like "Oh yeaaaaah."

Posted by: malnurturedsnay | May 27, 2006 at 04:00 PM

I used my first Mac in 1985. My computer literacy class got one right before the end of the year and I loved it. Until then, we'd been using PC's running DOS. Yick!

I hope you get the MacBook Pro!!!!! And thanks for the reminder to back-up. I'm SO bad about that.

I have to give my computer back to my employer next month as my contract is up for the summer so I will be buying a new Mac soon, too. Would you believe until I got this E-Mac for work, I was using an upgraded Power Computing clone from the mid-90's???? Acccck!!

Posted by: Izzy | May 27, 2006 at 06:13 PM

I was a PC geek all my life until I bought a 12" Powerbook G4 3 years ago. I've since got rid of my PC desktop and converted my husband, who got replaced his fully loaded Dell desktop with a 15" Powerbook and now longs for a PowerMac G5.
My hard drive didn't crash but I had a panic moment last year when my bibiography database, with all the work I had done in the previous 6 months, simply ceased to open. The tech support from the software company was - just load up your backup and it should work. Backup?? I was so spoiled by how dependable my computer was that I hadn't backed up!!

I now have a removable hard drive, a .mac account (which I used with Backup), and numerous flash drives. Still need to get an antivirus though...

Good luck with your hard drive!!

Alexandra

Posted by: Alexandra | May 28, 2006 at 03:14 PM

Man, it was great to go to the NYC Apple store... I blogged about it and posted store photos on the flickr site.

You are in terrible shape. Love my mac...but do use both.
cheers.

Posted by: H.A. Page | May 29, 2006 at 08:32 PM

i became an apple fanatic 5 years ago and hope i will never have to go back. apple is kinda pricey though no?

Posted by: amy | May 30, 2006 at 12:25 AM

As others may have said...don't give up on that harddrive. You might be able to recover the data, or at least some of it.

I have a brand spankin' new MacBookPro and it rocks, hard. I have BootCamp and have booted into Windows just for kicks, but I hate it so much I can't wait to get back to the Mac side.

I don't think I could even have sex with a PC user... kind of like a Republican, you know? ;) (My favorite episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm is when he almost has sex with the actress and then sees a picture of Bush over her bed and he can't go through with it. OK, how random is this comment??)

Posted by: panthergirl | May 30, 2006 at 08:41 AM

Oh and contrary to bitemycookie's comment, I do not run Safari in Rosetta except to get ONE third-party plug-in to work (it's proprietary online proofing software). Otherwise, I keep it off and everything works fine.

My only bitch right now is that the SIMS2 Expansion Packs need Universal Binary patches that haven't been released yet, so that screws up my Adventures in Cyberia blog.

Posted by: panthergirl | May 30, 2006 at 08:45 AM

My condolences on your loss! I am a Mac girl through and through. The horrible PC is in the basement office where I refuse to go. I love my eMac, and I still have my old bluberry iBook that I am keeping for posterity.

Posted by: misfithausfrau | May 30, 2006 at 02:29 PM

Oh, you poor guy! I've been through it and it sucks. I'm actually working at a drive company right now and I'm about to launch a newsletter all about backing up your data. Ironically, before I started working for them I only backed up my work every once in a while. Now I've got an external drive sitting on my desk and I'm expecting a portable any day now (freebies are great, especially when they're used for "product research").

Posted by: the weirdgirl | May 30, 2006 at 03:36 PM

Hi Mark,Just received my Pulse pen last night and am lkioong forward to getting going with it. I have a Mac, installed the software and all seems fine so far. Some comments:* I don't like how my Livescribe data files seem to be stored away in the Application Support folder. It would be helpful if my data files (i.e. any settings, notebooks, recordings) could be stored in my Documents folder, just as many programs allow.* No ability to print out special note paper, which the Windows version allows?* Would be nice to have export to PDF where audio is also included. Then you have a package in which everything can be shipped to someone. It's not conducive to everyone to do online pencasting.Otherwise, it's a great start and was reasonably smooth getting it attached and up and running. And keep up the customer stickiness, it's a good thing all round.

Posted by: Lilian | August 04, 2012 at 11:32 PM

They probably mean that you need to upgadre the software to a newer version of the OS. The current version is 10.6, aka Snow Leopard. You can buy it at your local Apple store.References :

Posted by: Roger | December 24, 2012 at 10:09 PM

Awwwww. I wish I could have been there in the big circle of frnides to sing Hawaii Aloha. I miss my Oishi's family so much and want to wish you all a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year. You will always be in my heart.

Posted by: Samad | December 25, 2012 at 03:28 AM