Wow! It is rather hard to believe that my first Apple computer that I owned was a donated 300mhz Tangerine iBook that my friend Eric had given to me as he upgraded to the Powerbook G4 15″ around the fall of 2003. At the time, I was a heavy PC user and really did not consider Macs even though I was a budding photographer at the time. Ironically, digital photography was either a technological novelty or a fairly expensive professional workflow solution. There wasn’t the saturation of affordable pocket point and shoot cameras like the Kodaks and Fujis as today where a person could go to Best Buy and dig out a sub-$200 camera during the 21st century.

I appreciated Eric’s gung-ho approach to supporting Mac usage and that had an impact on my lifestyle. I am sure that his praise for the colored designs of the then-current colored clamshell iBook infused my imagination to see out the box. Perhaps this influenced my decision to switch from wanting to be a documentary photographer to becoming a conceptual artist and painter.

Eric was quite a character, an aspiring musician and writer who wanted to leap into the chasm of his internal genius. He had wanted to channel his energy into creating a hybrid of goth, heavy metal, and church-influenced sound that would be unique. His being Mormon in the fringes of Boston and later on Philadelphian society really highlighted his ability to combine the visionary and the moodiness of life with an articulate voice.

What are the things that attracted me to this tangerine iBook? Except for the fact that it looked like no PC laptop, there was a particular functionality with the Mac’s well-shaped handle that flipped out so that you could carry it without having to cradle it in one’s arms. I admit that the curved edges and spacious keyboard made it good for writing and editing low resolution photographs.

Even though Macs have improved in technology such as the chipsets, RAM, and the hard drive space, there are many times when I prefer to use my iBook for pure memories of a fashion meets tech craze which marked the late 1990′s. In 2010, Apple has opted for a much more professional look with its neutral colors and extensive use of glass and aluminum. Gone are such colors like lime green, graphite, and blueberry. Except for the current iPod nanos and shuffles which retain the footprint of those crazy yet lovely colors. I miss those days even though honestly, the portability of the present MacBook Pros is a improvement on the rather bulky clamshell iBooks.

But those memories linger and I admit that everyday I am grateful for the time that my close friend Eric introduced me to the Apple line of products.