When I was in college, the university’s main computer lab had only one line of Macs.  It contained a plethora of PC’s, fifty at least, set out in a nice little rows, rather like soldiers marching in formation.  Some were Dells, some were Gateways, with a few HP’s throw in for good measure.  One was, I believe, actually an eMachine, but I was never quite certain.  I never had the opportunity to use it.  Back in those days, I did not even immediately notice the strange line of computers shoved up against the back wall.  I was very much a Windows user back then, having jumped online just a couple of months before.  As far as I was concerned, Apple was either something you consumed or a relic of the 1980s.  I even at the time would engage in a bit of Apple bashing with my Windows loving friends.  Needless to say, I look back on this time as my own personal computing Dark Ages.  After several years of battling Windows, I began to wonder what life was like on the other side of the computer world.  It was actually Willow on Buffy who inspired me.  I kid thee not.  Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of my favorite TV shows of all time, and Willow Rosenberg my favorite character on the show.  And she used a Mac.  I began to wonder.  If the Mac, this machine I had thought so little of for so long was cool enough for Willow, might it also be for me?  Thus inspired, I set out in quest of a Mac.  I wished to know what it was like to use one.  Naturally, my first stop was the university’s main computer lab.  I walked in, scanning the room for a row of Macs.  I did not, however, immediately see one.  Thinking this odd, I decided to look around, trying not to appear like a stalker who had momentarily lost sight of his quarry.  I wander around for a moment, ignoring the looks a couple of people gave me.  There were, after all, several machines available.  So why the hell was I wandering about?  And then, my eyes caught sight of the strange line of computers shoved up against the back wall.  I noticed the big blue apple logo on the side of the towers.  Ah.  Here they are.  Macs.  I sat down at one, looking over the alien desktop.  Icons on the right side, how odd.  Task bar at the top.  Seems natural to me somehow.  Interesting ribbon on the bottom of the screen, filled with icons.  Ah.  Assuming that in order to launch an application, I clicked on one of those icons, I placed hand on the mouse.  It was one of the old hockey puck mice, but hey, not every first time is perfect.