Patrick--no, my family was never rich or anything. The reason I got stuff like hard drives is because I didn't really play with toys once I discovered that Apple IIe at 2 and a half. I sometimes call myself "Violator" because I basically violated all the rules of a typical childhood.
By the time I was 7 I rarely played with my model railroad, which was really the only toy I loved. My other "playthings" included art supplies (pencils/crayons/markers), books, and my little "My First Sony" tape player/recorder...my big gift for Christmas in 1990! I also was, and still am, an avid swimmer and spent almost every summer day at the pool. I also played soccer and backyard baseball (I'd later get into basketball and organized baseball as well). Outside of the Mac my favorite toy was my mom's piano.
Instead of buying me a new Ninja Turtle (something I always despised) or dump truck or Batman every month or so I'd go months and only get a box of crayons and a pack of pencils, maybe some new swimming goggles or a tape. With the Mac, sports, and music I really didn't need much. Then whenever birthdays or Christmas hit, the money that would have been used on a "normal" child's toys was saved up to buy stuff from MY toy store...Egghead Software. I didn't get a ton of presents but the ones I did get were usually Mac related or something I would find useful--aside from that hard drive I also got my electronic pencil sharpener for my seventh birthday--and I still have both the drive and the sharpener, both in good shape 14 years later!
Anyway, I thought of another great little program to add to this list--Label Secrets. It came with Mac Secrets and would change the label names on your System 7 label menu to read a tip out of the book--sort of like a "tip of the day". It was written by David Pogue and Joe Schorr (the authors of the book) if I recall.
By the time I was 7 I rarely played with my model railroad, which was really the only toy I loved. My other "playthings" included art supplies (pencils/crayons/markers), books, and my little "My First Sony" tape player/recorder...my big gift for Christmas in 1990! I also was, and still am, an avid swimmer and spent almost every summer day at the pool. I also played soccer and backyard baseball (I'd later get into basketball and organized baseball as well). Outside of the Mac my favorite toy was my mom's piano.
Instead of buying me a new Ninja Turtle (something I always despised) or dump truck or Batman every month or so I'd go months and only get a box of crayons and a pack of pencils, maybe some new swimming goggles or a tape. With the Mac, sports, and music I really didn't need much. Then whenever birthdays or Christmas hit, the money that would have been used on a "normal" child's toys was saved up to buy stuff from MY toy store...Egghead Software. I didn't get a ton of presents but the ones I did get were usually Mac related or something I would find useful--aside from that hard drive I also got my electronic pencil sharpener for my seventh birthday--and I still have both the drive and the sharpener, both in good shape 14 years later!
Anyway, I thought of another great little program to add to this list--Label Secrets. It came with Mac Secrets and would change the label names on your System 7 label menu to read a tip out of the book--sort of like a "tip of the day". It was written by David Pogue and Joe Schorr (the authors of the book) if I recall.