I was excited to see a new weekly column devoted to vintage Apple products debut on the Macworld web site in November. Written by Christopher Phin, the series is, in his words, “unashamedly in love with yesterday’s Apple.” He promises to provide readers with “a mix of practical advice, hidden histories and wildly nostalgic love letters to beautiful old pieces of hardware and software” in the coming weeks, and after reading the first 4 articles I am impressed and plan to be a regular reader.
Of course part of the reason is that I keenly appreciate anyone who shares my passion for classic Apple hardware and software, but what delights me the most about “Think Retro” is that is is quality content, with glorious photos and beautiful, descriptive words that evoke the genuine emotions I remember the first time I saw or used the items he writes about. It seems that 95% of content related to Apple that appears on the web nowadays is little more than recycled press releases, repeated gossip from a rumor site, or wild speculation with little basis in fact, all with click-bait headlines. After reading it you are no wiser for the experience and often feel like the writer and publisher ought to compensate you for slogging through their lame efforts you know any writing teacher would return to them with “F – Redo” emblazoned across the top in crimson.
In contrast, “Think Retro” is clearly a labor of love, written with genuine care and respect for the topics and illustrated with brilliant photographs you can tell weren’t culled from stock images. Check out the introductory column, A Love Letter to the Apple Logo and if you are at all interested in what the author calls “yesterday’s Apple” I am confident you’ll be a regular reader.