A is for Apple, our favorite computer company. And A
is also for Aqua, the new look of the interface under
OS X.
B is for BeOS, which could have been the core of the
next generation MacOS but instead faded into history and was eventually
absorbed by Palm. And B is for Byte, the essential unit of
computer information, one of a set of 256 possible codes representing
instructions, letters, numbers, addresses, and so on.
C is for Carbon, the set of API's supported by both OS
9.x and OS X in emulation (Classic Mode). And C is for Centris, a type of 68040 (pre-Power
Mac) computer from the early '90s.
D is for Darwin, the free core of OS X.
E is for Extended Keyboard, with excellent tactile
response and the "innovative" cut, paste, and copy keys. Many of us
still use our old ADB Extended Keyboards because nothing since has had
quite the right "feel" to it.
F is for FireWire, otherwise known as IEEE 1394 or
iLink, a high speed, hot-swappable peripheral connection standard
particularly noted for being used in digital cameras and external hard
drives.
G is for G3 or
G4, the CPU of modern iMacs,
iBooks, Power Mac G4s, and PowerBook G4s. And G is also for
gigabyte, or 1024 megabytes.
H is for HyperCard, the application that had
hyperlinks before there was an Internet. We miss you.
I is for "i", the consumer-level tag on Apple's
products such as iBook,
iMac, iTools, etc.
J is for Jobs, Steve, leader of Our Favorite Computer
Company. In case you hadn't heard it lately through all the noise of
computer users telling you what to do, we really appreciate your hard
work and vision, Mr. Jobs. Other CEOs should be blessed with a
clientele that so desperately wants you to succeed.
K is for kilobyte, a term not heard much anymore. It
stands for 1024 bytes of information, roughly a single typed page. One
floppy disk holds roughly 1400 kilobytes of data.
L is for Low End Mac, the
site for not-quite-new Macs and the people who love them. And L is also
for Lisa, the computer that was
Mac before there was Mac.
M is for Macintosh, the
computer that changed the world. And M is also for megabyte, or
1024 kilobytes.
N is for NeXT, Mr.
Job's company that was ahead of its time. Eventually purchased by
Apple, bringing its CEO with it, the NeXT operating system contributed
to the development of OS X. And N is also for NuBus, an
obsolete expansion slot used in older pre-Power Macs (and some early
Power Macs).
O is for OrangePC, a venerable company noted for its
PC-on-a-card solution for cross-platform users.
P is for PCI, the internal expansion card protocol
used by PCs and Macs. And P is also for PowerBook, the first truly useful
portable computer and still the lightest, coolest, and longest-lasting
yet full-featured portable computer anywhere.
Q is for Quadra, the
last of the pre-Power Mac series of computers using Motorola's 68040
chip.
R is for RAM, or Random Access Memory. This is the
part of the computer that forgets what it was doing when you kill the
power.
S is for System, the term for the Mac OS before the
term Mac OS was used. Still used in OS 9 as in "check your System
Folder."
T is for Titanium, the
trendsetting new laptop from Apple for pro users.
U is for Understanding, which is easier to do with a
Mac, because it is so user friendly.
V is for VRAM, or Video RAM, memory used to keep a
"virtual copy" of your screen and from where the images of the screen
are uploaded to the monitor for display.
W is for Windows, that "other" operating system.
X is for OS X, Apple's next-generation operating
system currently in release.
Y is for YOU, the Mac users who kept Apple alive
through the Hard Times and read the Mac Web every day just because you
can't get enough Mac info.
Z is for ZTerm, a terminal program used to access
dialup services which do not use the Web, such as Bulletin Board
Systems.
Now I've done Mac ABC's.
Next time don't you buy PCs!
Jeff Adkins is a
science teacher who isn't afraid to state his preferences in computing
platforms. In his classroom he has everything from a Quadra 700 to a 500 MHz CD/R-CD/RW iMac,
and they all work together nicely. He also writes Mac Lab Report for Low
End Mac. and maintains a site for astronomy teachers at www.AstronomyTeacher.com.
