What was your first computer?
Wednesday, June 26, 2002 by mormegil | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
This came up in another thread, and I thought is would be fun to carry over.
I still own, and it still works, my Timex Sinclair 2068. Remember being so prod that it came with 72k of memory, that was so much more then the Commodore 64, and when I got the 16 K expansion pack I thought I was a god among 12year olds.
I still think it had the easiest version of basic built in to that ever was. Each key had 4 commands on it, so when programming with it you could white “if then goto” in 3 key stokes. I spent an entire summer righting my very own version of “The Last Straighter” Video game. I found the thermal print of that lately and had quite a laugh.
I even wrote my very own version of “Turtle” a very primitive graphics program. I Remember thinking, “I sure wish there was some way to work on computers and be an artist”. What do ya know it turned out there was.
I still own, and it still works, my Timex Sinclair 2068. Remember being so prod that it came with 72k of memory, that was so much more then the Commodore 64, and when I got the 16 K expansion pack I thought I was a god among 12year olds.
I still think it had the easiest version of basic built in to that ever was. Each key had 4 commands on it, so when programming with it you could white “if then goto” in 3 key stokes. I spent an entire summer righting my very own version of “The Last Straighter” Video game. I found the thermal print of that lately and had quite a laugh.
I even wrote my very own version of “Turtle” a very primitive graphics program. I Remember thinking, “I sure wish there was some way to work on computers and be an artist”. What do ya know it turned out there was.
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Doreen
Reply #22 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 11:31 AM
Reply #22 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 11:31 AM
p200 
(of course that was before I discovered the net too)
only used it for connecting to work cuz that was all it was good for!
(of course that was before I discovered the net too)
only used it for connecting to work cuz that was all it was good for!
paxx
Reply #23 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 11:42 AM
Reply #23 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 11:42 AM
My absolute first computer was Radio Shack's (Tandy's) Coco (color computer). But I really wasn't into computers then. I just had it but never really used it.
My first real computer I got, and actually used it daily, was a Mac Plus, black and white, no hard drive. Back in those days, I'd bring Microsoft Word along with my documents on a single floppy disc to the computer lab at College.
A good computer that cost me 3,000$ at the time. It lasted me 7 years. Then it just died of old age.
After that, I wanted a new Mac (cause I liked Macs). My budget was 3,000$, and I wanted a 33 Mhz computer with 4 megs of RAM, a CD-Rom and Speakers. When I sold the sales guy at the store what I wanted and the budget I had, he said no way. I had to pay around 5,000$ to get that on a Mac.
That's when I got a PC. I think that was in 94, or maybe 95, cause I installed Windows 95 on it a few months after I got it. Anyway, I got exactly what I wanted for the budget I had.
My first real computer I got, and actually used it daily, was a Mac Plus, black and white, no hard drive. Back in those days, I'd bring Microsoft Word along with my documents on a single floppy disc to the computer lab at College.
A good computer that cost me 3,000$ at the time. It lasted me 7 years. Then it just died of old age.
After that, I wanted a new Mac (cause I liked Macs). My budget was 3,000$, and I wanted a 33 Mhz computer with 4 megs of RAM, a CD-Rom and Speakers. When I sold the sales guy at the store what I wanted and the budget I had, he said no way. I had to pay around 5,000$ to get that on a Mac.
That's when I got a PC. I think that was in 94, or maybe 95, cause I installed Windows 95 on it a few months after I got it. Anyway, I got exactly what I wanted for the budget I had.
werewolf
Reply #25 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 12:23 PM
Reply #25 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 12:23 PM
I'm having an absolute brain-fart re the name of my first machine. It's competitor was the Osborne. It was supposed to be portable (weighed about 30lbs had a grey box and the keyboard buckled onto the case. Very large floppies. I used it to do Basic programming. I had that monster for years.
had a grey box and the keyboard buckled onto the case. Very large floppies. I used it to do Basic programming. I had that monster for years. 
MadIce
Reply #26 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 12:26 PM
Reply #26 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 12:26 PM
My first computer was a ZX80, but I was using a NorthStar CP/M computer before that. I later got a PC, but also had a CP/M machine just for fun. There is still public domain software for CP/M arround that I wrote. A while back I encountered it by accident on the internet. 
UBoB
Reply #28 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 12:43 PM
Reply #28 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 12:43 PM
Depends on how one defines "Computer" I had and still have an abacas as well as a slide ruler from when I was 10 years old. 
If you define computer as one of these boxes with a monitor attached, well then, my first was a Pentium 150 with...(wait for it, here it comes)....***MMX Technology*** (yippee!!)
If you define computer as one of these boxes with a monitor attached, well then, my first was a Pentium 150 with...(wait for it, here it comes)....***MMX Technology*** (yippee!!)
dendillon
Reply #29 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 1:36 PM
Reply #29 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 1:36 PM
IBM PC jr with a wireless keyboard - this was teh reason for the King's Quest games
mormegil
Reply #30 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 1:58 PM
Reply #30 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 1:58 PM
Anyone have a The Actavsion Computer?, I forget what it was called.
jcg
Reply #31 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 2:01 PM
Reply #31 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 2:01 PM
Leading Edge 512K RAM with two floppies, one for data and one for the program.
Caylynn
Reply #32 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 2:27 PM
Reply #32 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 2:27 PM
Oh, I loved the King's Quest series, those were great games! As were the original Ultimas. And A Bard's Tale.
Ah, the good old days of computer RPGs.
As were the original Ultimas. And A Bard's Tale. Ah, the good old days of computer RPGs.
C-Rat
Reply #34 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 3:50 PM
Reply #34 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 3:50 PM
Victor 386SX25 2 MB RAM (upgradabel to a whoppin 6 MB )
85MB hard drive
1/2 MB Video Card
14" color monitor (.52 pitch
)
)85MB hard drive
1/2 MB Video Card
14" color monitor (.52 pitch
)
Bangkokboy
Reply #35 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 4:32 PM
Reply #35 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 4:32 PM
Had an IMSAI 8080 with tape recorder. Also General Automation 16/60 with 8" floppies, paper tape reader, & teletype. 
migellito
Reply #36 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 4:50 PM
Reply #36 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 4:50 PM
atari 400.. no drive of any kind.. hehe. it was one of those with a rom cartridge slot for various programs, and a crappy membrane keyboard. hooked up to the tv
then i got an apple ][e my junior year in high school. a single 5.25 floppy. hooked up to the tv
my school had a couple trs80's and my friends had vic's and c64's. i remember going over and playing archon all the time.
then i got an apple ][e my junior year in high school. a single 5.25 floppy. hooked up to the tv
my school had a couple trs80's and my friends had vic's and c64's. i remember going over and playing archon all the time.
Peff
Reply #37 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 5:00 PM
Reply #37 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 5:00 PM
Oh dude, Archon...I remember that...it was a great game!! I loved the C64 version of Zaxxon too.
I still have a bunch of old printers too....A tandy daisy wheel (150 chars per minute) and a Star Micronics are among the oldest still working (not that I use them anymore)
I still have a bunch of old printers too....A tandy daisy wheel (150 chars per minute) and a Star Micronics are among the oldest still working (not that I use them anymore)
WOM
Reply #38 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 6:40 PM
Reply #38 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 6:40 PM
8088, 1mg of ram, 20mg hard drive, 13in color monitor,5 1/4 floppy and 3 1/2 floppy. I was running windows 3.1. Thought I was in hog heaven. I couldn't exist today. About $1500, 1990.
skinner7892
Reply #39 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 6:48 PM
Reply #39 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 6:48 PM
Let me rewind about 17-18 years from now... Oh my! So many good souvenirs, really! My first "real" PC was an XT running @ 4.77MHz (in the full size XT case, yuk!), 256KB of RAM (maybe a bit more), 2x 5 1/4" 360KB floppy drive, Green mono monitor then after CGA Monitor/video card (HUGE monitor!), DOS 2.11. No HD, mouse or sound card (later AdLib Midi cards arrived but costed too much for what they did). I also remember playing with the first Microsoft game (I think) on it which was Microsoft Decathlon. A keyboard killer for those of you who may remember that one!
Wow! How good those years were for a growing 11 years old boy! Being in touch with PC's at their early days in the consumer world surely had the biggest impact in my life.
Oh my! So many good souvenirs, really! My first "real" PC was an XT running @ 4.77MHz (in the full size XT case, yuk!), 256KB of RAM (maybe a bit more), 2x 5 1/4" 360KB floppy drive, Green mono monitor then after CGA Monitor/video card (HUGE monitor!), DOS 2.11. No HD, mouse or sound card (later AdLib Midi cards arrived but costed too much for what they did). I also remember playing with the first Microsoft game (I think) on it which was Microsoft Decathlon. A keyboard killer for those of you who may remember that one! Wow! How good those years were for a growing 11 years old boy! Being in touch with PC's at their early days in the consumer world surely had the biggest impact in my life.
MikeB314
Reply #40 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 6:50 PM
Reply #40 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 6:50 PM
They had Zaxxon for C64?! Man, I can't believe I missed out on that!
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Reply #21 Wednesday, June 26, 2002 11:21 AM