Tag: apple

40 years later

I started thinking about this post on the Mac 40th anniversary yesterday. By this morning in the shower I had the whole idea fully mapped. Thankfully I then checked and it turns out I had already written the whole post 10 years ago. So I won’t do it again.

I have been reflecting on that moment of 40 years ago lately, it has been one of the few truly transformational discoveries. The second one for me would have been in 1994 when I first saw the web, the third one in 2007 when the iPhone was launched.

I suppose that these moments feel significant in hindsight, because I’m still using those same technologies every day. I must have been super excited when I used a Newton for the first time in 1993, but I can hardly remember that day.

I have been more and more involved with AI and Large Language Models for the last year, and this definitely feels as another one of those moments. A class of technology which changes dramatically the way we deal with computing.

I’m also looking forward to Vision Pro. No idea how good or transformational it will be, but I will definitely be at the front of the line as soon as it becomes available on the old continent.

Happy Mac Anniversary everyone! Let’s see where we end up in 10 more years.

3 things about Apple Watch

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One

I think that the heart rate sensor is the most relevant feature of this product. It’s not just about fitness: with the right software having a constant monitor of heart rate and other activities will soon start saving lives. In a few years this class of products will have an impact on the healthcare budgets. It’s big.

Two

Remember iPhone 1.0? iPod 1.0? iPad 1.0? Holding my first iphone today, it looks and feels like ancient technology. The current Apple Watch looks a bit chunky, but in no time it will become much sleeker. This is a 1.0.

Three

Is it “Apple WATCH”? ALL CAPITALS? REALLY?

30 years later

On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like “1984.”

It must have taken a few weeks after that famous January 24th before my dad came home from an Apple resellers meeting with a big white box with a colorful logo.

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The first Macintosh of my life was installed in our living room, with a plaid to protect the polished mahogany table. The mouse. The graphic UI. MacPaint. It was love at first sight.

Since then I have used a Mac pretty much every day. I cannot think of any other piece of technology that I have used so much and for so long, and that has had so much influence on my life.

I have used a lot of Macs.

At the beginning it was the 128K. Then the 512K. Then it was the Plus. The first hard disks (what will we ever do with 10Mb of storage?). And the internal ones, which as soon as summer arrived started overheating.

The Macintosh II had colors, the SE/30 was quick, the IIfx was sooo powerful! I worked for years doing graphic animation on a IIfx.

When we started working together, the first Mac Monica and I bought was a Quadra 700. And a LaserWriter 12/640 which lasted for almost 20 years.

There were some dark times. System 7. The Power Macintosh 8500. Some friends moved to Windows. I stubbornly stuck with my Mac. I even bought a 20 anniversary Macintosh.

Then the light again (Jobs was back) with the colored iMacs, the translucent G3 desktop. And the beautiful G4 Cube.

And all the laptops. Starting with the fantastic PowerBook 100, which was simply amazingly small. And then the sophisticated, black and cool Lombard and Pismo. And the first G4 Titanium. Can you imagine? Titanium!

And then all the Aluminium MacBooks, and the incredible light Air, and… it’s today.

Thanks for the ride Apple. And what a ride!