I am the satisfied owner of a trusty iBook and an iPod with more tunes on it than my father's collection of vinyl stored in his loft, shed, cellar!We hardly raise an eyebrow these days as computers the size of an apple pip are launched with more memory than C3P0, but it wasn't always like this, was it? Stranger raises a glass of fizz this year to Mac's 25th anniversary in the computer business.

Founded in 1984 by legendary computer maker, Jef Raskin - and apparently named after the Mcintosh, his favourite type of apple - Apple Macintosh (Mac) has always had a futuristic aura surrounding it. Post Blade Runner, Ridley Scott was hired to direct the first Mac commercial. The movie-type commercial heralded Apple Macintosh as the symbol of freedom, crushing the dystopian world set forth by Orwell in Nineteen Eighty Four.

Further epics followed. The launch of the first Macs were accompanied by Space Odyssey-type music, smoke machines and gasps from geeks in the audience. The early computers were revolutionary at the time and were destined to change the face of computing, but in today's terms are about as powerful as my grandmother's alarm clock.

The original Mac computer had a 9-inch screen, keyboard, mouse and 128k of RAM, which is less than an electric toothbrush. The first Mac didn't have a hard drive either, so the operating system was run directly from a floppy disk; however, it still cost $2495 (£1700). The first buyers of this technological marvel in the UK were sci-fi author, Douglas Adams, followed by the one and only Stephen Fry.

Today we enjoy 8GB hard drives, wafer thin 24-inch screens and increasingly smaller, but more powerful machines. It would have taken one of Ridley Scott's epic sets to accommodate a computer with 8GB's of memory back then in 1984.

Whether you're a fan of Macs or not, the impact of this brand has revolutionised the digital world; products such as the iPod have become not just technological luxuries, but icons of popular culture. The iPod has sold over 110 million units worldwide and is one of the most influential products of all time. Along with iTunes, the iPod was the springboard that launched Mac into the mainstream with an almighty splash. Mac's recent stint of PC-bashing commercials, starring Mitchell and Webb, reinforced its almost cult-like following by ruffling Windows' feathers so much that they actually bothered to make their own comeback campaign showing how fun and adventurous PC-users could be too. The latest baby from the iPod family is the iPod Shuffle: a 4GB powerhouse that seems to be modelled on a paperclip - was this really the vision in 1984?

Anyway whether you're an advocate of Mac, or have yet to lose the PC talk and step into the light - you'll never look back when you've had a Mac. (Julian Munday)

Mac geeks (like us!) can find more at www.macmothership.com

Watch Mac's first commercial here: