Surprising computers
From the Editor's Desk
Arthur McLean
This column you're reading right now was typed on an Apple computer. The page that this column is printed on was designed on an Apple computer. In fact Apple's have played a great part in every page of this week's paper and every issue of the Times you've read for many years now.

One of the things Apple is known for is the design of its computers. They're sleek, sometimes a little funky and definitely not like that black box that's probably sitting at your desk.

It's fun to see reactions of some people who've never seen one of the fairly recent models before taking a gander at one of the iMacs here in the office. "Is that the computer, the whole thing?" They ask as they point to the white halfdome sitting on advertising manager Tonya Joyce's desk.

Some of the other iMacs in the office are often mistaken for just being the monitors with another box holding the guts of the machine somewhere out of site. It's also fun when folks notice you slipping a CD into the side of the screen. The first reaction is whether or not they really saw what they think they saw. The next reaction is usually one of amusement. For some folks, I think there's even a slight feeling like that's not how it's supposed to work.

It's amazing how far computers have come. When I started in this business, we used original Macs. You know, the little squatty ones with the monochrome screen? We'd print out what we needed, cut the columns of text into strips, apply hot wax and paste them onto large sheets that would then be photographed and the images burned onto plates for the press.

Today, the printing is for proofing purposes. No wielding of large scissors or Exacto knives, no wax and no giant cameras taking pictures of the assembled pages.

Those little computers were great for typing stories, and that's about it. But they worked like a charm, never needing any more than to be turned on. My editor's computer at the time was a different story. I still remember him cursing it when it would crash and he would just rip the power cords out from the wall. I think they put in a special outlet up high to make it easier for him to rip the power cords out and plug them back in.

Now, we can write the stories, edit our digital photos, design pages, get emails and message our other offices in real time, all on the same machine.

In between I've seen Apple put out great Macs and so-so ones, great operating systems and terrible ones.

Today, the company's definitely on the great side of the equation, and recent sales figures the company released show that its products are more in demand than ever.

But I find that, just like my editor back then, these computers can still get me to cursing them from time to time.

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