From Gateway to Apple

If there’s a time that when and how I got my computers, I think this is the perfect moment, especially since I have become affluent in computer with both Mac and PC nowadays. However, it was a long and winding road with my history in this subject as, like life in general, it comes in stages, especially since there are three desktops that I would be discussing as “the first”, with the first two set up for my final “firsts.” So let’s hit the memory lane and see the path that I have gone through.

Before I begin to discuss my first ever computer, here’s a summary of what came before as I have been learning to use a computer since I was in Hong Kong, and even that came with three stages. First by learning how to use the early days of Mac with their coding in GS Primary School (later became one of my off-topic soar subject), then I had associated with Junior Police Call (JPC) computer class for two years (another off-topic regarding to the organization‘s membership), before having a lousy time with a Linux-type computer in my final year there. Upon reaching junior and senior in high school, I had the opportunity to use the school’s Macintosh before going to junior college and had a blast with their PC. After all of that as part of my foundation, I inherited my cousin’s computer that was an independently constructed piece of hardware, which I used it for a while before getting into my first computer that I have bought for myself.

About three weeks or so after the death of my grandfather, my family and I took a shopping trip in Serramonte Shopping Center, and I saw there was a Gateway store across from Serramonte Ford dealership, which got me wondering the possibility of purchasing one from them, and that’s how I got my first Gateway computer that was similar with the original iMac. At the time, Gateway Astro was the more affordable option rather than spending thousands of dollars on an Apple Computer that didn’t sell well (spoiler alert: that was the reason why Steve Jobs ended up going back to Apple to fix their systems and hardware alike). One of the advantages over Mac at that time was that Astro still has floppy disc drive alongside CD player, however, the downsides was the machine weighed about 45-60 pounds, which was a pain to lift it up all the way to the house, after a few years I switched the second computer of the same brand before my third tower, one of which was bought online while the other was bought in a CompUSA store at Stonestown Galleria. This was when I have finally managed to do some tweaking of my own by expanding the internal hard drive while also relying on external ones. Once that machine ran afoul with Microsoft for the upload, or my dad had constantly hounded me for “not sharing the computer,” I got him a Dell laptop (only to have my fury damaged the monitor beyond repair), so I ordered the touchscreen via online.

After the Dell laptop got damaged, I went to Dell’s website and bought a touchscreen desktop, which was useful for a time before the monitor burned out, that’s when I’ve finally said, “enough is enough, I’m getting a Mac”, and this is where I am now. Since I have the experience in operating PC, Mac would be a perfect fit for me. This transition led to a unification of peripherals with the same Apple brand, specifically with my iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Pencil, and so forth. In terms of operating a Mac, most of the controls are familiar to standard PC, with the exception of using Control key than Control key, however, installing and uninstalling softwares are much simpler than going through the pains on PC, regardless if it’s Dell, Gateway, or Microsoft, perhaps it has to do with personal acceptance of doing something new. Now with the fourth desktop computer, would I be tempted to switch to another one in the near future or just swapping out like for like? Time will tell if my iMac can outlast all other ones.