The first Mac I ever used was a Mac Plus. That was 1986.

The first Mac I ever owned was also a Mac Plus, but that was 1991, just after Apple stopped making them.

But My First Mac isn't my story. It's yours. Each article here was written by a Mac user looking back at the start of their Macintosh journey.

Share the story of your first Mac experience by emailing [an error occurred while processing this directive] with "My Turn" as your subject.

Dan Knight, publisher, Low End Mac

2008

• Overclocking a Mac mini got me hooked on souping up Macs, 2008.09.04. Stories of hot rodding iBooks, G3 iMacs, and PCI Power Macs on the cheap.
• Mac LC III still a most useful machine, Jeff Gaskill, 2008.07.30. A love affair that will last as long as they make Macs began with a used LC III in 1997, and it's still being used today.
• Hooked on Macs, new and old, Simon Royal, 2008.07.15. Starting with an old Quadra in 2000, Royal left behind Windows and began acquiring his own stable of Macs.
• With a 600 MHz iBook running circles around a 2.8 GHz Celeron, it was time to switch, Jason Dill, 2008.06.05. The author now has a MacBook, along with a couple of older, cheaper Macs for use around the house.
• The Mac 512K and Microsoft Word changed my life, TR Kelley, 2008.05.22. For a writer with a manual Royal typewriter, Word on the Macintosh truly was a life-changing experience.
• My first iMac, Carl Nygren, 2008.05.19. There were a couple of Bondi blue iMacs in school that weren't even plugged in. Intriguing....
• Hooked by a PowerBook Duo, Walker Quine, 2008.01.25. Receiving a PowerBook Duo 2300 with Mac OS 8 was enough to hook the author - and get almost his entire family using Macs.
• My first Mac was older than me, Alexander (Sasha) Ivanoff, 2007.12.19. It all started with a Macintosh IIsi from 1990, which was great for ClarisWorks and playing games.

2007

• It all started with an Apple IIc, John Hatchett, 2007.12.19. The first computer was an Apple IIc, followed by some MS-DOS computers - and then discovery of the Macintosh.
• Old Macs are practical, not just nostalgic, Chris Kilner, 2007.12.05. 10 Macs, five monitors, and two printers off for recycling, but still a dozen Macs at home for fun, nostalgia, and troubleshooting.
• Switching to Mac tripled my productivity, Ted Bragg, 2007.12.03. Tired of losing work and tech support, Bragg bought an iMac, switched to Mac versions of his apps, and tripled his output the first year.
• I'm never going back to Windows, Ben Zalutsky, 2007.11.29. Early exposure to an iMac (in 4th grade) has created an obsession for older, useful Macs.
• It all started with a Mac Plus in the classroom, Robert Alpizar, 2007.10.29. "Over time, as I began to see how much simpler the Macs were to use vs. the DOS computers, I began to explore them more."
• A Mac Plus for college, Ben Stafford, 2007.10.02. It was 1995, and a Pentium system sold for $1,400. Could a $400 used Mac Plus system be good enough for college?
• A Quadra with ClarisWorks and Mathematica: All you need for a thesis, Rick Lawson, 2007.08.27. With a thesis deadline approaching and no desire to learn Windows, the author picked up an inexpensive used Quadra 605 system, which has all the power and tools needed to complete the project.
• Performa 6300 'the beginning of a beautiful friendship', Antonio Bunt, 2007.07.24. "...these machines really caught my eye and my heart. I never looked back, and I have been a Mac user ever since."

2003

• Ten years, two PowerBook Duos, Spencer Garrett, My First Mac, 01.13. The portability, compact size, and the Mac OS made Apple's subcompact Duos perfect computers.
• Hooked by the iBook, Jeff Campbell, 07.08. "The moment I saw the iBook I was hooked, and by August I had one in my hands."

2002

120. A Mac Plus in 1986 - the rest is history, Scott Clausen, 01.02. I saw an Apple dealer and decided to see what their product was like. The rest is history.
121. Technogeek falls in love with OS X, Rob D Libbert, 01.04. Linux power user discovers OS X, falls in love with the interface.
122. Macs get the job done, Brian Miller, 01.08. "With a Mac, I don't spend time thinking about what I'm trying to do, but thinking about what I can do."
123. No PC could equal it, Henk Goewie, 01.10. "Apple manufactures incredible hardware that has the life span of a quality TV or stereo, whereas the average PC equals an average toy."
124. First Mac use a revelation, Steve Wassenich, 01.31. "The Mac didn't tell me where to put the words; it let me do that, and I didn't have to define where I wanted the words to appear."
125. A lesson well learned, Robert McQuistion, 02.05. Some lessons are only learned the hard way -- like don't sell your favorite computer.
126. Working less with my Mac than with my PC, Ronald Bodinger, 02.12. Guess what? I work with my Mac less than I did with my PC!
127. Quadra revives a passion for computing, Genevieve Gauthier, 02.14. I thank my friend every day for pushing me in the fantastic world of Macintosh.
128. Low-end Macs work better, longer, and cheaper, Sheldon Jaffe, 02.19. "The most I've paid for any machine was $700, and I don't regret any of the purchases."
129. My first new Mac, Kurt Cypher, 02.26. Three years of used Macs - and now a 600 MHz iBook!
130. In love with the Mac GUI, Ronald Buckner, 03.19. In love with the Mac GUI, but the PowerBook 145 was too slow....
131. Reaching for a Mac, bluekatt, 03.28. How much is that compact Mac in the store window?
132. Windows user hooked by PowerBook, Christopher Alan Gohm, 05.21. How the Mac OS replaced Windows in the mind and heart of one user.
133. SE to Pismo in 14 Months, PEA, 06.03. How picking up that first SE 14 months ago changed this PC user's ways.
134. Classics, Performas, iMacs, and G4s, Jason Walsh, 06.10. From Classics in school to a Performa at home to editing video on a G4 to writing on an iMac, the Mac is a great production tool.
135. Sinclair, Unix, NeXT, and Macintosh, Martin Spenceley, 06.27. It took eight years to fulfill the longing for a Mac - which has grown to quite a collection since.
136. Macs are the more sensible option, Adrian Carter, 07.15. After using Sinclairs, Ataris, and Intel PCs, the Mac became the sensible choice for MIDI, gaming, and nearly everything else.
137. OS X: The best of Amiga, Linux, and the Mac OS, Ryan Callaghan, 07.17. "I had already decided that my next machine was going to be something completely unable to run Windows...."
138. Internet article leads to Mac addiction, Alan O'Neil, 09.24. "I had never really given Macs much thought as usable computers, and even bashed them sometimes."
139. It's everything I need and more, Bernard Quinn, My First Mac, 11.01. "It looks great, and I'm having fun using a computer for the first time in years."

Articles from 1999-2001 have been moved to the My First Mac Archive.