My introduction to PCs began back when I had zero interest in computers. A friend pushed a Macintosh Performa 5260 on me, saying, “The internet era is coming!”

This was the dawn of the internet, when dial-up BBS was huge. My friend even pronounced Yahoo as “Yah-hoo” and Google as “Goggle” (true story!).

Naturally, I was desperate to access adult sites (we called them “homepages” back then). I devoured Mac magazines like Mac Fan, Macworld, and Mac People, installing endless free software from cover discs to teach myself.

Around the same time, computer music (DTM) was taking off in the music scene I was already part of. Wanting to run audio editing software like Sound Forge, I built my first custom Windows PC.

Since then, using Windows alongside DAWs like Adobe Audition and Cakewalk, I’ve expanded into video editing—and I’m still in a state of eternal learning.

Looking back, I’m deeply grateful to that friend who forced the PC on my clueless self for cheap, and to my parents who paid for it without complaining and signed us up for “Tele-hodai” (late-night unlimited dial-up).

I haven’t used a Mac recently, but back then, Macs had wholesome easter eggs for birthdays and New Year’s. Windows had none of that warmth, which was a bit of a bummer!