Your First Computer

A 1995 Dell Latitude XP laptop - with a staggering Pentium 100MHz CPU, 8MB of RAM, a large 500MB HDD, 14.4k PCMCIA modem (via CompuServ initially, then AOL) and Windows for Workgroups 3.11. I was eight at the time. I still have it (in my living room, of all places) in complete working factory condition. Absolutely everything is standard, including the battery (which is now shot after years of no use). It still runs off the mains though. I used to host a bouncer and a few eggdrops on it for sheer geekery until very recently. Replaced Windows with Debian and acquired a PCMCIA ethernet card. I might put it in the data centre actually, just for a laugh.

That was followed by a 400Mhz Celeron/64MB/8GB in 1998. Small form factor desktop. That caught fire after about a year. I was running VMware at the time (I had upgraded the RAM and HDD first).

Then worked my way up the range, the usual 800MHz AMD's, 1GHz, 1.2GHz and so on...

Kids these days don't realise what they've got. Dual/Quad core 64bit, more RAM than we had HDD, not to mention double-digit MBit broadband...

It used to take me a WEEK to download an album - nearly as long to convert it to WAV to burn to CD. And don't get me started about parental nagging regarding dialup costs.

gtford.
 
Man I feel old. Mine was a Commodore 64, tape backup then upgraded to an external floppy. I was in a Commadore computer club and we we traded software. We met once a month in certain locations. I had thousands of games on floppy and rarely had to buy one.

I guess that was the blackhat days of old. That was the shit back then. I also had an Amiga. Oh yes, the good old days.
 
my first one was a HC-90, there i've made my first basic program (copied from their book, but hey it was frerre jaque singing :) )

and then a Pentium II @ 400Mhz with 256Ram and a Voodoo 3 3000 !!!
 
My first computer can not remember the name but it was an 8088 with a 50 meg hard drive not for sure on the ram was running Dos 3.0 something with a 2400 baud modem

I remember getting on the old Bulletin board systems

remember getting a 1 gig hard drive thought I would never file it up boy was I wrong
 
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Started with a Timex Sinclair then got an Apple Mac. It was required when you went to the college I went to. Then I almost failed out as all I did was play a game called 'zork' for 20 hours a day..
 
My wrist watch has more power than these.

Well... A digital watch of today has more power then the computer that was used in the first spacerocket landing on the moon.

And sure... If beeing young and haven't experienced the computers back in the 80'th I am sure that one doesn't have so much to compare with, except then maybe a new 5$ digital wristwatch.

If you are about to start an peeing contest I can just tell you that I duct taped my whifes iPhone to my wrist. Sure a little bit big for a watch but I can bet that my "wrist watch" now got more functions and computer power then your's ever will ;)
 
I can't even remember what it was, but I was always using all types of computers and wanted one. When i finally got it Duke Nukem 3D ran hot all day and night on win 95 OS (i think) oh the glory days...
 
Don't laugh at mine... Sinclair ZX81.
Check the specs... What a beast...
HTML:
http://oldcomputers.net/zx81.html
 
I honestly do not recall exactly what my first computer was (I think it was a Dell, right after the company began) but I worked on Navy gear in the early 70's that still had a few vacuum tubes and large tape spools. Anyone remember screen burn?

I vividly recall going to Sears and dropping half a months pay on my first hand-held calculator to replace my slide rule. It would add, subtract, multiply, divide and calculate square roots. I had to wait in line and felt lucky to get it!

Hand-held was actually a misnomer. The thing was huge and would have broken a toe if dropped on your foot. The guys in my crew all got a lot of enjoyment out of turning it upside down and spelling shelloil, hello, and the likes.
 
Timex Sinclair and Atari 800xl, from about 4 years old that got me started :P
 
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TRS80, WITH the thermal printer. Oh yeah baby. Good times.

Upgraded to teh l33t Apple IIe with dual floppies after that. Chopper command ftw.

Then a string of commodores - peek and poke anyone? :) Ultima with it's crazed teddy bear sprite monsters.

I actually programmed on punch cards once. Seriously.

Wow, great thread. I'm soooooooo grateful to have a quad core 64bit laptop with 2 gigs of ram that I paid less than $400 for... but man how I miss Lode Runner some days.

:)
 
LOL...what the HELL is the steering wheel for??


I dreamed of someday having this...

oldest-computer.jpg


I had no clue what I'd do with it, at the time...
 
Mine was a Commodore 64, but I also tinkered around with my friends TI-99 also. Maaan, I just dated myself.
 
Tandy 5000 MC Professional: 20mhz :)

http://members.cox.net/snowman25/tandy.htm

The old man got 'er in 1989, and is where I first encountered Hang Man, Dig Dug, and many other OLD school games.

:jaw:$8500 AND IT DOESN'T COME WITH A MONITOR OR MOUSE!

As for me, an old Gateway 450rog laptop. 512mb ram and 40gb hard drive all for $200. Completely stopped working the first month I had it...that thing drove me crazy. It still setting in pieces a few feet away from me.
 
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