My journey was similar to yours and the time frame was the same. I started with a machine, The Classic, I think, with the 20 MB external drive running OS 6. I well remember the extensions managing bit and the transition for OS 8 to OS 9 to OS X. I also remember Hypercard which was so simple it made programmers of us all. What ever happened to that?
It is easy to forget that the Mac was the easiest to use word processor at the time and that MacPaint was revolutionary. Wang was a very successful company selling a machine that was strictly a word processor. Apple put them put of business. Word processing had a bigger impact on the success of Apple than most people realize. That and not having to be a semi programmer/computer guru were the keys. Yes, DOS required some programming skills and many didn’t care to learn it.
I live down the road from where Wang used to be, and when I was there, before the advent of desktop publishing for the masses I saw Wang at the top of their game. (really, accomplished with the Mac and a Laser Printer early on)
It was SHOCKING to me how quickly Wang went down. They tried, but...their business model was completely destroyed by desktop computing.
I just tried to find a graph online that displays it, but couldn’t find it. You can guess what it looks like, with time on the x scale, in 1980 traditional publishing was up around 98% while desktop was down around 5%. By 2000, the graph crossed in the middle to form an “X”, and the positions were reversed. Stunning.
Whenever I drive by the old Wang building (now something else, but still located on Wang Drive, I think)I look over at it, and all I can think of is: “Buggy Whip Factory”.