I spent a day in a NewâŻYork schoolâs upperâEastâSide computer lab on a Macintosh Performa 5200, where I enjoyed exploring its user interface and learning to use a painting program with two teenage girls who were also experimenting with lines and shapes. After struggling with a buggy bucketâfill tool that covered the whole screen, I offered help in broken English; my awkward gestures initially embarrassed the girl, but she eventually smiled and thanked me. Though I later recalled her as a vectorâgraphics enthusiast from Amiga days, I still wonder why she seemed offended at first, yet my brief interaction left an impression of camaraderie amid the labâs otherwise routine tech lessons.






















