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cbelt3 wrote:
Pretty sure it was 92-93 and I was looking to upgrade from my Mac Plus.. I remember the discussion about the IIvx on the site. First that it was 'cool', and then that Apple sucked for selling the better and cheaper Centris 650. Back then it was mostly a discussion site.. deals started by people emailing Dan a deal, and he would post it on the site.
DealMac 'officially' started in '97
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DealNews
Brian created "Phorum" in '98
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phorum
wait... there was a dealmac before the 1997 launch? Tell me more... or is this one of those brain farts of yours :-)
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hal wrote:
Since Dealmac is coming to an end, I thought it might be fun to review how we all got together.
I was shopping for a new computer in 1997 and spent a lot of time on a forum for Power Computing users that was started by the same guy that founded dpreview (which took off right as PCC lost their Apple license and the forum died a little while later)
On that forum, someone mentioned the existence of dealmac and it soon became a daily reader that lasted for YEARS - longer than any other site I can think of...
anyway, how did you discover dealmac (and later the dealmac forum and then this one)?
That story sounds very familiar as I was following the same websites (the Power Computing forum). The Digital camera review site he started at that time was DCResource.com, I remember it very well. I bought my much used and loved Kodak DC4800 based on his very good review of it. I think his name was/is Jeff Keller.
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Lew Zealand wrote:
[quote=hal]
Since Dealmac is coming to an end, I thought it might be fun to review how we all got together.
I was shopping for a new computer in 1997 and spent a lot of time on a forum for Power Computing users that was started by the same guy that founded dpreview (which took off right as PCC lost their Apple license and the forum died a little while later)
On that forum, someone mentioned the existence of dealmac and it soon became a daily reader that lasted for YEARS - longer than any other site I can think of...
anyway, how did you discover dealmac (and later the dealmac forum and then this one)?
That story sounds very familiar as I was following the same websites (the Power Computing forum). The Digital camera review site he started at that time was DCResource.com, I remember it very well. I bought my much used and loved Kodak DC4800 based on his very good review of it. I think his name was/is Jeff Keller.
Ah... you're right - I couldn't remember the right camera page, but I do remember that his name was Jeff Keller - he started while still at UCSD (my school) - we chatted a few times...
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hal wrote:
[quote=cbelt3]
Pretty sure it was 92-93 and I was looking to upgrade from my Mac Plus.. I remember the discussion about the IIvx on the site. First that it was 'cool', and then that Apple sucked for selling the better and cheaper Centris 650. Back then it was mostly a discussion site.. deals started by people emailing Dan a deal, and he would post it on the site.
DealMac 'officially' started in '97
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DealNews
Brian created "Phorum" in '98
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phorum
wait... there was a dealmac before the 1997 launch? Tell me more... or is this one of those brain farts of yours :-)
I'm pretty sure this was the case. I DEFINITELY remember the IIvx kerfluffle, and that puts a definite date to it. I was working with a freelance group in central Ohio back then, and using the library computers to look up information. I was sort of consulting and sort of not working and sort of running an office cleaning business. In other words, I was wheeling and dealing like a maniac. DM didn't require logins until the phorum beta went to like .. um... 0.9 ? DM was really a posting page before the phorum went live, and Dan just maintained it via emails.
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I don't remember the exact "how" of my finding DealMac, but I believe it was '97. I was somewhat new to the Mac world--we'd had an Apple ][+ around 1980/1981, but throughout the late 80s, I didn't do a lot of computer stuff, then in the early 90s, my dad gave me an IBM PS/2 that he no longer needed, and I got online via "Prairienet" which was started at the University of Illinois College of Library Science (or something like that). They gave you a username, and a phone number to connect to via modem, and then you could access the web via Lynx, email via Pine, and Usenet.....glorious Usenet!
My dad sold me his LCIII in 1996 or 1997, and it was probably in learning how to use that that I came across DealMac.
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I came for the hookers and booze...
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I know that I was Googling for something for my 6400. I am going to guess ram. And I am going to guess it was 97/98. It's when I discovered http://www.zone6400.com as well. I had more fun with that doggoned computer.
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Must have been some time in the Spring of '98, just after I bought my TAM at the fire-sale discontinuation price. I could finally get onto the net at home, using aol and later freei.net.
Don't remember how I found dealmac, but I was browsing around a lot for information and deals, and it must have popped up in one of my searches.
Time does fly!
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A friend hipped me to it, around 2000.
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Thinking '97 for me. Got my first ever computer at that time, an 8500. As Paul said, it was painful to work on, the 8600 was so much better.
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