I’d say that it began in July 2002. My wife Eliza and I like to catch the live Apple Keynote’s whenever we can. The July 2002 broadcast introduced the iMac 17″ flat panel, preloaded with OS X. I mentioned to Eliza that I thought that this would be a great machine to get acquainted with Apple’s products. Seeing some of the functionality of OS X, I knew that I wanted to get in somehow and the iMac seemed like a cool piece of hardware to being that journey.

On August 27th 2002, at Carrabba’s Bar and Grille in Orlando, Florida – Eliza and I exchanged anniversary gifts. I am not going to mention my gift, because over the last 4+ years of marriage (now 7+ years as of this writing), Eliza has always outdone me in the gift department. But I digress. So she hands me a small box as my anniversary gift. I open the wrapping, tip the box to dump the contents, and I am greeted with a small packet of some type of chemical used to keep the contents of a package “dry”. Hmmm.

You can ask Eliza, I put the box down thinking that there was no gift in the box. She told me to pick it up and look inside. I did. Inside was a small, cut out, paper iMac. Again I just stared at it, having no clue what it symbolized. And then I looked up at her and realized that she had actually gotten me an iMac for our anniversary. It literally took me 30 seconds to figure it out. I was floored.

At first, Eliza thought that I wasn’t excited about the gift. On the contrary, I was unable to process the reality that I now owned an iMac. Or even the fact that she bought me such an elaborate and expensive gift. Never did I expect this gift. Truly one of the biggest surprises I have ever received in my life. It’s not everyday that your truly surprised. Even on days when you expect to be surprised, you usually have an inkling as to what is coming.

Excitement turned into absolute torture as I knew that I wouldn’t be able to play with my new toy till after our vacation. Imagine this and put yourself in my shoes. Twelve-hundred miles from home, having driven instead of flown, and about 4 days from heading for home. Little did I know, the iMac was waiting for me at home already. Ugh! Matt (who was with us in Florida too) and Eliza both can attest to the fact that I was in extreme pain for the entire ride home. Picture this, I drove the better part of the trip home, and then didn’t go to bed for a few days as I played with the iMac. Literally.

To Eliza: Thank you for one of the greatest gifts ever. You are truly the best gift giver, and maybe someday I can surprise you as you’ve surprised me for so many years. I love you.

It has now been a almost 5 years since I’ve delved into the Mac OS and I have yet to turn back. I owe my computing bliss to Eliza.

Mr. Jobs I must appologize for my ignorance and arrogance. I love my iMac, I really do, but I have always had problems with this or that. Not with the computer itself, mostly just connecting to my other computer. Well, today I decided to read the documents on your well design website. Side note: Your website is always fast, and reliable even though a large percentage of the Internet population downloads movie trailers, and now music from it. Kudos.

After reading few docs about connecting my iMac to the PC, I found it incredibly easy to do so. My sincerest appologies for ever doubting.

Your friend, and future 100% switcher,
Colin

I still find it pretty funny how long it took me to switch fully to Macintosh and how now I’m still mad at myself for being on the OS for so long. For any of you on the fence, pick a day and switch – you’ll not regret it.

[tags]apple, macintosh, imac g4, steve jobs, letter, repost, pc, mac os x[/tags]