Photoshop Experiments

Resurfacing old creative works can be both cringe-worthy and nostalgic at the same time. Creating digital illustrations was purely a hobby for me and favorite pastime around the time of graduating high school. Playing with composition, effects and mimicking Y2K trends was a delight to render them in glorious full-screen, only a paltry 1024×768 pixels back then.

The term “wallpaper” was used in Microsoft Windows before Windows XP (In Windows XP and later, it is called the “desktop background”). Meanwhile, macOS refers to it as “desktop picture”. On older systems that allowed small repeated patterns to be set as background images, the term desktop pattern was used.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallpaper_(computing)

Kicking the CPU’s Tires

Whenever I jumped onto a PC in a Computer Lab around the turn of the century (circa 1999 – 2000), I’d personally bench test the computers performance with Adobe Photoshop effects. Drop Shadows, Posterize, and Zoom Blur to name a few. Those were the more intense compute tasks at the time. Any system that completed the task within a few seconds and didn’t error out for lack of RAM was worth re-visiting for it’s creative horsepower.

My First Power Mac

Upon graduating high school and just completing a college level certificate in Commercial Art & Graphic Design, I eagerly anticipated getting my own brand new Apple Computer. The new compact all-in-one iMac had recently debuted and shortly there after the boring beige boxes got an exciting revamp with the release of the new Power Mac G3 (Blue and White). Getting my my hands on this translucent powerhouse was dream come true.

I eagerly went nuts customizing it, upgrading the RAM to 128MB and eventually 256MB (MEGABYTES!), adding additional hard drives, and burning money on Zip Disks.

The Power Mac G3 (Blue and White) (codenamed Yosemite) was introduced in January 1999, replacing the Beige Mini Tower model, with which it shared the name and processor architecture but little else. It is the first Power Macintosh model to include the New World ROM, and the last with ADB port. 300 MHz, 350 MHz and 400 MHz models were introduced with a price range of US$1,599 – US$2,999.^[24]

Though still based on the PowerPC G3 architecture, the Blue and White was a totally new design. It was the first new Power Mac model after the release of the iMac, and shared the iMac’s blue-and-white color scheme. Inside the enclosure, the logic board is mounted on a folding “door”, which swings down onto the desk for tool-free access to all the internal components.^[24]

The same keyboard and mouse designs as those first introduced with the iMac were sold with the system. These featured the same slightly different shade of blue from that of the Bondi Blue iMac to match the new G3 enclosure. The keyboard was criticized in MacWorld’s review of the G3 as feeling “cheap compared with the huge Apple keyboard of old” and the removal of several keys. The Apple USB Mouse, previously included with the iMac, was also reviewed poorly, noting that “many users will find it unacceptable: because of the round design, it’s impossible to tell the top of the mouse from the bottom by touch.”^[24]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Macintosh_G3

Bold best summarizes the Blue & White Power Mac G3. With an entirely new minitower case design and huge graphics on the side, this Mac would stand out even without the bright color. In a big step forward, these models have 4 PCI slots, one more than previous models, and the B&W G3 is the first computer to ship with copper CPU technology (used in the 350 MHz to 450 MHz models). And with a tip of the hat to the iMac, the B&W G3 doesn’t have a built-in floppy drive.

https://lowendmac.com/1999/blue-and-white-power-mac-g3/

Eventually this behemoth was succeeded by the second-generation iBook G3 “Snow” (12.1 in) which had a 500Mhz processor and ran circles around my first PC.

What was your first Mac or PC purchase?

As a late Gen-X or early Millennial, I was raised on computers. What was your first personal computer you decided to buy once needed, what are your using today? Let me know in the comments below and thanks being here!