Growing up in suburban Southeast Michigan, tools of the trade meant
many things: a slide rule, mechanical pencil, and horse hair brush were
my Dad's tools used as a draftsman; an old typewriter on my desk in my
bedroom to bang out book reports, along with a gallon of Elmer's glue
for pasting photographs, as well as 45 records and a transistor radio
used to listen to music were my tools of the trade.
The digital hub at that time meant engineers using CADAM devices to
design parts for cars, cassette tapes used to to record music from the
radio, and those huge computers NASA used to ferry men to and from the
moon. The digital hub wasn't at home; it was in the workplace.
Fast forward 25 years or so to the era of the digital hub. The hub
is now in the home. Well, for yours truly, call it the proto-digital
hub.
My digital hub got its modest beginnings by the purchase of a brand
new Performa 635 in 1994, a
computer that what then (and in some ways still is) an impressive
multimedia workhorse. Over the years it has lived up to that label
through the addition of a TV tuner card, MPEG video card, and the
external Apple Presentation System. Along the way, a refurbished
QuickCam, used QuickTake 150 camera, a new StyleWriter 2400 printer,
and a new 4.3 GB hard drive found their way into the core of the
hub.
Last year, we reached a critical mass that prompted me to buy
another Mac. First, it seemed that several graphics and Web
applications that had some desirable features were PowerPC-only.
Second, my daughter wanted to try Instant Messaging; we tried it on the
Performa, but results were mixed at best. Third, new, current apps were
for the most part PowerPC-based - such as the current version of
MacLink.
This time we purchased a refurbished Mac, a summer 2000 indigo iMac DV
400. A great machine! Since then I have added a USB printer and a
FireWire CD-RW drive.
Below are my ten uses of my two Macs, from most to least, along with
software and peripherals.
|
Hardware/Software
|
Usage
|
|
iMac, modem, Internet Explorer, AIM
|
Chatting with friends (kids)
|
|
Sherlock
|
Web surfing, research tool (all)
|
|
iMac, BBEdit, Graphic Converter
|
Writing and composing Web pages
|
|
iMac, AppleWorks
|
Homework, general writing
|
|
iMac, Epson 820 Printer
|
Printing homework
|
|
iMac, ethernet hub, Performa, QuickTake 150, PhotoFlash, and
ColorSync Plug-In
|
Downloading pictures onto the Performa through the serial port,
tweaking the color using ColorSync plug-in in PhotoFlash and
transferring to my iMac via the ethernet hub
|
|
iMac, CD
|
Playing CDs or games
|
|
iMac, ethernet hub, Performa, MacLink Version 11, AppleWorks 5
|
Transferring files to the Performa for backup purposes; using the
floppy drive on the Performa to retrieve files from PC disks from work,
translating files as required using MacLink and saving as AW5 files,
transferring over the hub to my iMac
|
|
iMac, CD writer, Toast
|
Burn back-up data CDs, Video CDs, music CDs
|
|
Performa, Finder
|
Back-up to my iMac
|
My Performa 635, running OS 8.1, is serving as a tool to prolong the
usefulness of my QuickTake camera, serve as our fourth TV in the house
(also used to watch VHS tapes, as the VHS player is hooked up to AV
ports in back of the Performa), and as a back up device. The Umax SCSI
scanner is rarely used, nor is the SCSI Zip drive.
For the future, an
iBook is on the horizon, as well as an AirPort station and two
AirPort cards. This should be a good fit as my iMac and the ethernet
hub connected to the Performa are both AirPort ready, and it would be
compatible with my USB printer and FireWire CD-RW drive.
An AirPort hub would allow placement of the three computers
throughout the house. Hopefully that day will be soon.
