My first Mac... 33 years later!

2026-08-19 09:40

Back in 1992, my dad bought a Macintosh IIsi to learn and master a new technology that was becoming an increasingly big part of his daily work: the computer. Since he was already living in the United States at the time, it wasn't until a trip in 1993 that I got to touch that incredible machine for the first time.

The memory I have of that moment feels like I stepped into the future for a few seconds. Computers were still rare and expensive. Combine that with Mac OS windows and the beautiful design of the IIsi, and you can grasp the magic of something that felt like it came straight from a parallel universe.

I don't know about you, but certain memories and experiences stay locked in me forever. When I bought my iBook G4 in 2005, that 90s moment hit me hard. I finally had a Mac of my own.

That same year, I ran into the IIsi again, sitting in a closet like an old relic. The crazy thing is that more than a decade had passed and its design still felt futuristic.

Macintosh IIsi in the closet.

This time, my son was traveling with me, and I just had to show him that incredible time capsule. But for someone born into a world full of computers, it was just another toy. And that's totally fine. I was still moved by it. Exactly like what happened years later when he used the Apple IIe I restored.

Fernando, Vladimir's son, playing with the Macintosh IIsi keyboard.

With the Mac out of the closet, I had to take a few pictures, right? One of them actually ended up becoming the cover art for the VCP podcast (in Portuguese) — the original one — which I started recording that very same year. The upside-down 2 and 3 keys that served as the podcast cover for years came right off its keyboard.

VCP podcast cover art (original).

Speaking of the keyboard, I've been doing some digging, and it looks like there's an ADB to USB converter that I can use to make the Apple Keyboard II work with my current M1. That's crazy! And you know what's even crazier than that? A few days ago, I received a huge box in the mail here in Porto. Inside was the very same IIsi I used for the first time 33 years ago 🤩.

Thank you, dad! ❤️

Caixa que chegou pelos correios aberta e com o teclado do Macintosh IIsi desembrulhado.

P.S. What a beautiful machine! It still feels like something coming from the future.