Transformatively

I began using a personal computer on a daily basis in 1982 when I got my hands on an IBM PC. Still attending engineering school, I began coding on it after finishing a college course programming in FORTRAN via punch cards and later, on a WYLBUR terminal. Obtaining compilers for FORTRAN and BASIC, and MASM for assembly language coding, I began thinking I would rather pursue a degree in computer science than in civil engineering. So began the long, somewhat excrutiating relationship with Microsoft products. DOS was the first operating system I used until finally trying Windows in the early 90s. I had already been exposed to X11 on UNIX systems and had high expectations for WIndows running on the Wintel platform. Of course, it was a disappointment, but I endured it until 2012 when I finally bit the bullet and switched to the Apple techosystem. That was a bullet I had wanted to bite over two decades earlier but wasn't prepared to fork out the money to purchase a NeXT STEP cube. By 2012 my little company was humming along on neutral while the banskters and automakers were being bailed out by hapless taxpayers so I bought some Apple stuff.

Still unable to land any contracts, it was a delight spending time learning and leveraging an iPod Touch, and iPad 2 and Mac OS X running on iMacs. To say it was transformative is an understatement, and I spent the next three years learning everything I could about them all.

Many fine memories were kindled during that learning curve climb which still resound within, sitting by the fire, sipping hot tea through blizzards and spring or summer thunderstorms as knowledge accumulated and skills ramped up rapidly. No regrets after 30 years of Microsoft.