brad_k
join:2004-07-11
Wenatchee, WA | reply to wxboss
Re: Your first computer
That would be a VIC 20
Load ,8,1 |
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Paul Sweet
Premium
join:2004-08-12
Richmond, VA
| reply to wxboss
The first computer I programmed was a Control Data 6600 at the University of Texas in the late 1960s. The joys of FORTRAN and batch processing - bringing a shoebox full of punch cards (with no hanging chads!) to the computer center in the evening, and returning the next morning to find a core dump, then spending the rest of the day debugging the @&#% program.
The first microcomputer I owned, in the late 70s, was made by Ohio Scientific Instruments. It had a 6502 processor (same as the Apple II), 16 K memory, and BASIC in ROM, written by a couple programmers who called themselves Microsoft. This interpreter used only 4K or so. I couldn't afford a disk, so I used a cassette recorder for data storage. About 10% of the program would get corrupted by the 300 baud audio interface when loading, so there was a lot of cleanup required before actually running a program.
My first "real" microcomputer (1983) was a Wang PC with dual 5 1/4" 360K floppy drives. It was quicker and more powerful than IBM's first models. It had a 8 MHz Intel 8086 processor, which had a 16 bit data path, while IBM used a 5 MHz 8088, which had only an 8-bit path. The word processing program was based on Wang's dedicated word processor, and was much easier to use than WordStar, which was the program being pushed on the IBM. Unfortunately, the memory card was proprietary and expensive, and the chips were soldered in, so I couldn't afford to upgrade it beyond the initial 128K.
My first Dell (1987) was a PC Limited 286. It wasn't much faster than the Wang, but it had a 40 Megabyte hard drive and 640K memory. |
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danag42
join:2000-02-02
Worcester, MA
clubs: | reply to wxboss
I think it was the Commodore 64. With a tape drive to record programs!! |
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SeminoleRob
join:2001-12-19
Panama City, FL
| reply to wxboss
Where do I start...
It was between the TI-99 and an ATARI-1200XL
Atari 800XL
Atari 65XE
Atari 130XE
Commodore 64 (had 7 days, sold it to a friend and bought a 128
Amiga 500
Commodore XT (first with HD)
IBM PS1
.. after that,it was homebrew. |
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Proginoskes
Space
Premium
join:2001-08-11
Asbury Park, NJ
clubs:  | reply to wxboss
Tandy 33MHz 386SX, 2MB RAM, 107MB HDD. |
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gnomedex
Premium
join:2004-06-13
University Park, PA
clubs:
| reply to wxboss
My first personal computer? NEC READY 9761... a perfect gaming machine: 233MHz PII, 128MB(Maxed) EDO RAM, 7GB HD, 4MB video card, 24x CD-ROM.. etc. Not bad for 1997
My dad had an old epson laptop that is still around somewhere
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Learn as if you are going to live forever, live as if you are going to die tomorrow |
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BigSlamu
Premium
join:2000-10-28
Springfield, VA
clubs:
 ·Verizon FIOS
| reply to wxboss
The first computer that I wrote programs for and used was a Compucolor. Moved up to an Atari 800 shortly after that. First computer that I bought and owned was the Commodore C-64 that I bought in 1982. I originally had only a tape drive because the floppy drive cost more than the computer at that time. Finally picked up a floppy drive in 1984. Commodore was king back in the early eighties. To this day I still think that "Raid Over Moscow" was one of the best games ever.
My first IBM compatible was a 386-20. This was the last computer that I bought assembled. Since then I have built and upgraded more computers than I can count. Currently I run two (2) AMD Athlon 64 3000's with 1 Gig of RAM each and I also have an Athlon XP 2000+ that I use as a game server. |
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FTCXtreme
join:2005-03-14
New Braintree, MA
| reply to wxboss
The first computer I had seen was a Packard Bell, when I was 3 or 4 I remember not much. The first I had used was an Apple II, in school back in 97/98. My first computer in the house was a Compaq Presario with Celeron 466, 64MB of RAM( we got 256MB of RAM for free from compaq due to all the computer crashed from the POS) It was the computer for idiots, Everthign was color coated and labeled in big writing, It lasted from Dec. 99 to March 2005 when I screwed it up. I remember when we unpluged it and everythign in the house for Y2K LMAO. My second computer, and current computer was a Pentium 4 1.7 GHZ, 256MB RD RAM, 40 gi HD, ATI Rage 128, which was upgraded to a Radeon 9600 then downgraded to a Geforce 2.
My first actually owned by myself PC, was given to me, by the school because they were throwing them out was a Celeron 700, 64MB of RAM 20 gig HD, All were swaped for FREE*, from other system that were being thrown out, Currently, Pentium 3 1.0 GHZ, 256MB of RAM, Audigy soundblaster 24bit, ATI Radeon 9600(why I downgraded the other to a geforce 2) I also get a Packerd Hell with a Pentium 155, and 16MB of RAM in the closet. |
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Antony
Premium
join:2002-02-17
Sacramento, CA | reply to wxboss
Timex Sinclair 1000 (hooked up to the parents TV with cassette tape recorder to store my programs)
Home built PC once I got a decent paying job - 386 w/ math coprocessor, 16MB RAM and 345 MB HD. |
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Vchat20
Landing is the REAL challenge
join:2003-09-16
Warren, OH
clubs:
| reply to wxboss
my first computer was an old Tandy 1000. had a standard 3-1/2 floppy drive, no modem, and a proprietary OS running on top of DOS. bad part was, i was 4 years old and i knew more about it than my parents. i could fly through dos commands and theyd be like 'wtf?' 
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Alec Trebek: Well, all you had to do was write down a number. And you wrote... Threeve. A combination of three and five. Simply stunning. And you wagered... Texas with a dollar sign in front of it. I'm speechless. |
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redsonrising
Premium
join:2000-11-21
Sacramento, CA
·AT&T U-Verse
 ·Pacific Bell - SBC
| reply to wxboss
Atari 400 w/ the membrane keyboard and the 410 tape drive! 8K of RAM I believe.
Got the 810 single side single density floppy drive with the Happy Enhancement and Archiver chip later on when I upgraded to the Atari 800 which had a whopping 48K of memory which I think I got upgraded to 64K.
WooHoo!
r_r
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Auditor, I’m no stinkin’ Auditor. I’m a Fiscal Archeologist! |
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vrem
join:2000-10-11
Houston, TX | reply to wxboss
Mine was ZX spectrum 48k. Then I upgraded to C64, which still works now (if I can find it in the attic!)
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Who needs an antivirus when you have fdisk? |
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NetFixer
Freedom is NOT Free
Premium
join:2004-06-24
Murfreesboro, TN
·AT&T Southeast
 ·Vonage
 ·Cingular Wireless
·AT&T CallVantage
| reply to wxboss
I built my first computer from scratch. It was a multiprocessor design with an 8070 for intelligent I/O control and an 8085 as the primary CPU. Initially it used a Teletype KSR-33 for the console and multiple cassette tape drives for storage. The bios and tape O/S were also written by me. Later I upgraded to a CRT monitor, 8" floppies and CPM, then to a 10MB HDD.
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We can never have enough of nature.
We need to witness our own limits transgressed, and some life pasturing freely where we never wander. |
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oliphant
I Have 8 Boobies
Premium
join:2004-11-26
Corona, CA | reply to wxboss
TRS-80 color computer (good ole 6809). |
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email scope
join:2005-03-06
Canada | reply to wxboss
A 386. But it may have been a 286. |
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remusrm
join:2003-04-07
Northridge, CA | reply to wxboss
mac performa 6116cd with apple 14 inch display with speakers and 14.4 modem and apple writer 1200 printer... |
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chill187
| reply to wxboss
well i go back a little ferther then that i had a sinclare 1000 with the 5k add on it had the first steps of dos i program my first clock a charle brown face and learn how to put dot anywere on the montor it was fun then i got the atari i seen the commdor 64 but didnt have 1 my self its nice to think back some times haha |
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NEP1611
join:2002-03-27
Northford, CT
| reply to wxboss
UCLA |
About a month after I bought it the videocard crashed and, to make a long story short, the company sent me a new PC with a 100MB hard drive.
Other than this I didn't have many problems with this computer, but it got obsolete quickly and I traded it in for a custom-built PC with 33 mhZ, which the place sold me with a bad motherboard (no wonder it kept freezing up on me!) |
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Austinloop
join:2001-08-19
Austin, TX
| reply to wxboss
A Heathkit Z80 machine in around 1982. All in one, monitor, keyboard and computer in one box. One five and 1/4 inch floppy, added a second floppy and some memory. No modem. Ran HDOS. Just about everything had to be typed in in basic.
Regards,
Larry |
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BullroarerT
join:2003-10-08
Fountain Hills, AZ | reply to wxboss
was in '77 a Challenger 64, used a B&W TV as video, and a cassette tape recorder as a storage device. My bro still has it. |
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