Volume Number: 25
Issue Number: 11
Column Tag: Editorial

From the Editor, November 2009

I should be surprised that this milestone snuck up: 25 years of MacTech Magazine. But time marches on regardless if you're paying attention, and here we are. 25 years -- as old as the Mac itself. I remember the technology arena at the time being a hodgepodge of various technologies and companies: Atari, Commodore, Apple and various makers of x86 boxes. At the time, I really wanted an Atari ST: I'm a musician and it had built-in MIDI ports. A friend bought a Mac SE at the time, and I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to use a machine with a 9-inch black-and-white screen. Computers were just beginning to exploit color! I had my Commodore 64 hooked up to a 19" color television, wasn't a 9" screen a step backwards?

Of course, then I used a Mac, and I understood. Immediately. It wouldn't be until I got my first job that I would be able to buy a Mac. By this time, Atari wasn't in the game any longer and Commodore was in their death spiral. I had met my wife around that time and, as an artist, she was interested in having a Mac around, too. We pooled some cash and plunked down more than I want to admit on a IIci, maxed out with 5MB of RAM and an 80MB hard drive. We grabbed a 13" Apple RGB display, too.

Clearly, we've come pretty far. Not only has the hardware improved, but the entire software stack has evolved several generations. Fortunately, it's also all the more accessible. The real tribute, of course, is to the people - the human beings - that make all of this possible. From the inventors of technology, to the teachers and story tellers, to the people that bend the rules to everyone that ultimately uses these innovations and provides feedback to the former group. Those are the people we strive to represent in MacTech.

I do remember, after that fateful purchase of my Apple Macintosh IIci, looking for more information about the Mac and finding MacTech Magazine. MacTech has clearly evolved quite a bit in the last 25 years, too. Pre-OS X systems didn't have such a great need for Sys Admins, and I only knew a scant few that ultimately ran a Workgroup Server. Most universities at the time ran a handful of Macs in a separate group, all using AppleTalk/EtherTalk to happily print to a LaserWriter. Few bothered with network access outside the lab. You'd use a mainframe or mini for that, of course.

Now, however, to mirror the world that the Macintosh inhabits, MacTech covers Sys Admin topics, development topics and iPhone - all of which are increasingly intertwined. I'm thrilled to be personally part of the MacTech story for the past few years as both an author and Executive Editor. More importantly, we'd like to hear your stories. We'll be publishing one a month for the entire 25th anniversary year from well-known people in the Mac community. Add your story to our on-line archive at http://www.mactech.com.

Enjoy this month's issue, perhaps with the perspective of how incredible all of this is, and how much more incredible you're going to make it.

Edward Marczak,
Executive Editor