As many of you know I wrote a newspaper column in 1984 with a review of the Macintosh computer which was picked up on by Mac fan boys twenty years later and used to condemn me for not immediately falling in the love with the mouse in 1984 and questioning its future. Some people have gone so far as to misquote my commentary which was simply that it – the mouse – was experimental. The primary made-up attribution was that I didn’t want one of these “newfangled” devices. I never said any such thing and this sort of writing I never do. It was wishful thinking by someone hoping to make me look like an old fart, which might be true today, but was not 30 years ago! I’ve seen the misquote appear here and there and manage to get it pulled whenever possible. Anyone who uses it should be ashamed of themselves.

Curiously that 1984 column was re-addressed in 1987 when I was asked to reflect on the then old 1984 column. After the 1987 column I thought the matter was resolved and my take on the Mac corrected.

In hindsight I probably got more mileage out of this Mac Mouse topic than anything I’ve ever done, which is kind of pathetic, if you think about it. The fabled “My Dinner with IBM” comes in at number two. If anyone is interested I’ll dig up the original unedited version of that screed.

So while cleaning the closet I managed to run into an original clipping of the 1987 column for your perusal.