![\"Punch](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikepopewords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/spindle-punch-card.png?w=600&ssl=1\")
A computer “punch card” with the warning not to fold, spindle or mutilate it.<\/p><\/div>\n
Punch cards had been in use since they were used to control looms in the 1700s.\u00a0 However, by the 1970s, their use was being phased out as teletypewriters and keyboard inputs began taking their place.<\/p>\n
With the advent of microcomputers, now referred to simply as “PCs” (short for “personal computer”) what had been a domain of magicians and sorcerers now began to open up to mere mortals like us.<\/p>\n
Early PCs consisted of three basic components:\u00a0 The processor (the CPU, or central processing unit), a keyboard for input, and a display terminal for output.\u00a0 Budget-friendly internal storage did not yet exist, so a “disk reader” was added to the CPU box, and the operating system and programs were loaded into memory from there.\u00a0 Crude?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Exciting?\u00a0 Oh, most definitely!<\/p>\n
![\"IBM's](\"https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/07\/GettyImages-533665836.jpg\")
IBM’s original PC. The base unit contained the CPU and floppy disk drive, a keyboard and a display.<\/p><\/div>\n
In 1984, Apple Computer (as it was called) introduced the Macintosh, and changed the world.\u00a0 Designed as the computer “for the rest of us,” the promise of the Mac was accessibility to non-technical types; a way to join the growing world of computing and automation.<\/p>\n
Looking back in retrospect, it’s hard to believe the obstacles positioned to block the Mac’s success.\u00a0 Real<\/strong><\/em> computer types didn’t use a mouse, or a graphical user interface (GUI) in order to interact with the machine!\u00a0 Early adopters, however, loved the Mac.\u00a0 In many communities, they banded together in computer clubs, known as “user groups.”<\/p>\n At the time, Apple had an office in Reston, Virginia (ostensibly for working with the federal government) and local Macintosh users formed the Greater Reston Area Macintosh Association, or GRAMA.\u00a0 On the other side of the Potomac River, Marylanders formed the Washington Apple Pi<\/a>.\u00a0 To cover the growing spread of Apple and Mac user groups, came the D. C. Area Federation of Macintosh User Groups, or the lovely-named dcaf MUG<\/em>.<\/p>\n Those were the days!\u00a0 Now, personal computer users could don wizards’ robes and transcend mere mortal knowledge of computers.\u00a0 Macintosh User Groups, or MUGs, would meet, usually monthly, and exchange information, see new products, get demonstrations and tips on software packages, and purchase disks of “shareware” software.\u00a0 Much of this software came from small, independent developers, and were sometimes whimsical, often leading-edge, and always creative.<\/p>\n One such whimsical program was a free program called, “MacPuke.”\u00a0 It was a single-purpose add-on that simply caused the speaker to emit a barfing sound whenever a disk was ejected.\u00a0 To witness a puking Mac was a sure-fire way to draw laughter.\u00a0 And even amazement!<\/p>\n To show allegiance, t-shirts, coffee cups and tchotchkes<\/a> could be found everywhere.\u00a0 The multicolored Apple logo (such as it was at the time) adorned office walls, car bumpers, and every conceivable item imaginable.<\/p>\n The multicolor Apple logo, which preceded the current monochrome look.<\/p><\/div>\n As an Apple Macintosh devotee, the number of books, shirts, pens, notepads, coozies, coffee mugs, and more are beyond my reckoning.\u00a0 I even have two “portraits” of Steve Jobs produced by Susan Kare<\/a>, the woman who “iconified” the Mac<\/a>. COMPUTERS AND TECHNOLOGY ARE SO UBIQUITOUS THESE DAYS that we often don’t pay any attention to the wonders they truly are.\u00a0 A great many of us walk around every day with a computer in our pocket, much like some of … Continue reading ![\"Apple's](\"https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/02\/logo.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1024\"){kind=logo}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mfna.org\/rfo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/JobsByKare-1024x768.jpeg\")
The rabid fandom has all but disappeared.\u00a0 I should note that the Mac wasn’t the only brand, nor the only operating system to have its adherents.\u00a0 There still exist user groups for virtually any type of computer, but no longer are they the repositories of “all wisdom,” given the Internet and the wealth of online resources.\u00a0 That too, is a reason I miss GRAMA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"