While I was in school the entire graphic design business changed, the combination of Apple’s Macintosh computers and LaserWriter printers, Adobe PostScript printing language and Aldus PageMaker desktop publishing software threw out all those old tools. These new tools were cheaper, easier and let the designers have an incredible amount of control. My university added a Mac lab for the graphics students the year after I left school.

I graduated from school with solid fundamental skills on outdated technology. To continue in this field I needed to get a computer and learn how to use this new publishing software. So in 1990 I set out to buy a computer. I consulted with my future wife about the purchase. I didn’t have an opinion on what kind of computer to buy, but she did. She had been working for a designer in Alamo Heights and they used Macs. Mac SE30′s to be exact. And she was sold. As some might say, she drank the Kool Aid. She convinced me and we set out to buy the best Mac we could afford. We got a bank loan for over $5,000 and bought a fully-loaded Mac IIsi, a laser printer and 14-inch color monitor.

This computer was sweet. 20 MHz 68030 Motorola processor with an optional 68882 FPU (Floating Point Unit). The standard version of the IIsi came with 1 megabyte of RAM and a 20 megabyte hard drive. Yes, megabyte. But I wanted the best experience possible so I bought an upgraded model with 5 megs of RAM and a 100 megabyte hard drive. I even upgraded to the new System 7, not yet called the Mac OS, that had just come out. It was computing power of Star Trek proportions!

This was the computer that I learned on. I learned Adobe Photoshop and Aldus PageMaker, Quark Xpress and Adobe Illustrator, Fractal Design Painter and Aldus Persuasion. Using this computer, and my next Mac (a Performa 637CD) and my next (a Motorola clone) made me into the “Mac Guy”. I learned Macs well enough to get a job at River City Silver, a professional photographic lab that used Macintosh computers. People asked me questions about the hardware or the software and I could figure it out or find the answers. I was a true believer in the platform even at times when the prospects were dim for Apple and the conventional wisdom was that the company was a stiff breeze away from oblivion.

I was fortunate enough to go to the Mac World Expo once, in 2004, and see Steve Jobs do one of his signature keynote addresses before the Mac faithful. Even though there were no market-changing products the show was electrifying. Jobs introduced the iPod Nano ad Mac OS 10.3 Panther, the Xserve G5 and iLife with GarageBand. The energy and respect in the auditorium was profound.

The story of Apple and Steve Jobs is inspiring for those of us who remember the dark days when Macs were less than 5% of the market share and Apple’s name was a joke in much of the business world. That Jobs could turn the company that fired him around to be the second most profitable company in the United State after Exxon Mobile is staggering. The products that have become an essential part of my life and work: iPhone, iPod, Macintosh computers and the all technologies that Apple fostered have profoundly affected people’s lives for the better.

Jobs brought computers to the masses, popularized the mouse and the graphical interface of modern computers, killed the floppy disk, rekindled our love of music and changed the music industry forever, changed the face of animation through Pixar and so many more things that the list boggles the mind.

Thanks Steve. You were an inspiration on the level of Edison or Ford. Rest in Peace.

One of the best things about working the World Wide Web is the wealth of knowledge and resources at your fingertips. From the World Wide Web Consortium’s dry listings of the technical specifications of HTML, CSS and other Web standards to A List Apart’s articles exploring the cutting-edge of Web design, you can find information that is right for your level.

Read the entire article on the IADT Buzz blog.

IADT San Antonio offers a full Bachelor degree program in Web Design or Internet Marketing as well as degree programs in Graphic Design, Fashion Merchandising, Advertising Design and Merchandising Management.

– The Laughing Luddite

Hey Luddite: Just like the old VHS versus Betamax debate lost in the fog of time, these are simply two confusing and competing standards. The DVD-R was originally developed by Pioneer in 1997 and is supported by most DVD players. The newer DVD+R (plus R) was created by a group of companies that became known as the DVD+RW Alliance in 2002.

All modern (2004 and later) drives can use both. DVD+R is newer and probably technically better, but if you are making DVDs for distribution DVD-R is safer with older computer and standalone DVD players.

We discussed using the iPad with iWork, Quick Office, Air Mouse Pro, Photo Loader HD, Photoshop Express and plenty more.

More discussions from MobiCamp San Antonio are online at CinchCast.

Thanks to all who attended and shared their knowledge. I know I learned a lot and look forward to the next one.

The husband had the idea to put this together in MS publisher (we don’t have Macs) and then take it to Staples to see what they could do. That would be easier, but I have no idea of if they do that type of thing or what it would look like.

Any ideas or advice would be apprecitated.

— Book Squirm

Hey Book: Naturally, I would recommend using iPhoto on a Mac as it is super easy and the books are great. Short of buying, borrowing or stealing a Mac, consider investing in Adobe Photoshop Elements 9.

This software (retail $99) has the closest functionality I have seen to iPhoto’s ability to make books and calendars. Check out the Photoshop Elements 9 – Explore What You Can Do page to see some of the capabilities. Be sure to hit the “Create a photo book” link while you are there to see a demo video. You make the book on your computer and can take your time. Once you are done, you can upload and buy it through the software much like iPhoto. They partner with Shutterfly or Snapfish, but Adobe’s software is much better. You can also print the book at home if you choose.

You can download a 30-day fully-functional trial version from Adobe’s site to see if you want to pay for it. Many stores sell PSE for less than the retail.

I have used Photoshop Elements before and it is a rocking good program. Most of the functionality of the $699 Photoshop CS5 with the addition of photo organization and project features. Can’t be beat for the home user.

Hey Mac Guy:

— Couch Commander

Hey Commander: There sure is, and best of all it is built in to the operating system if you are running Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or above. The feature is called Screen Sharing and you turn it on in the Sharing pane of the System Preferences of your desktop computer. Check the box next to Screen Sharing and adjust the settings as desired. You can then connect from the laptop either with iChat of through the Finder.

This feature works on your local network or over the Internet. Not only is Screen Sharing worthwhile for controlling one of your own computers remotely, but it is an excellent tool is you provide technical support for other Mac users. No longer do you have to ask them questions about what they see on screen, just have them fire up iChat and see what they see.

You’ll find a good overview of the process on Cnet or check out this video of the feature on eHow for more details. Unfortunately, Apple’s official help document, About Screen Sharing, only has meager information on this subject.

Hey Mac Guy:

— Winkin’ Blinkin’ Icon

Hey Winkin’: This indicates that the Mac cannot find a hard drive with a “blessed” System folder. Put in the Mac OS X install disc that came withyour Mac and it will boot from that. Once you get to the install screen don’t reinstall the Mac OS, look at the menus at the top for a Utilities menu. Pick Disk Utility and run the Disk Repair option on your hard drive (probably called “Macintosh HD”). Restart and hopefully the problem will be solved. If not, make an appointment with a Genius at the Apple store and they should be able to fix it quick.

Hey Mac Guy

– iDad

Hey iDad: Tell your daughter to check out MilliAmp (formerly iPodJuice.com | 210-568-7473). They know iPhones and iPods backward and forward, they offer less expensive repairs than Apple and they’re just nice folks. You can walk in to their San Antonio shop at 5890 De Zavala Road, suite 107. If you aren’t in San Antonio, MilliAmp can take your device by mail, repair it and then ship it back.

Hey Mac Guy:

Should I be performing routine disk maintenance like we have to do when using PC’s (defrag, registry cleanup, etc.)?

– Maintenance, Man?

Hey Man: Defrag on a modern Mac is generally handled automatically by the operating system, but there are a couple of regular maintenance items you can do. Try repairing the file permissions. To do this, launch Disk Utility from the Utilities folder and follow the steps outlined here.

If you have the Mac set to calculate folder sizes in the Finder, that will slow things down. The Finder has to add up all of the files in every subfolder to come up with the number. Since this can be tens of thousands of files, I generally recommend that you turn this off unless you need it for a specific purpose. File Vault can also slow operations down.

There are also three maintenance operations that the Mac is supposed to perform at regular intervals: one daily, one weekly and one monthly. If the computer is off when these processes are scheduled, they may not happen. These processes clear old log files and do general UNIX maintenance and may not really be critical if missed periodically. There are a couple of utilities that can run these scripts for you at will. Try Maintidget or OnyX.

Make sure you are not running more software than you need. Look in your Account settings in the System Preferences for your Login Items. These are programs that run automatically at startup. Some of these programs are helpers for commonly used applications like iTunes. Others get installed when you try out software and you may not need them. Right-click (or Control-click) on them to see them in the Finder to help figure out what they are if it is not obvious.