What did you have before and after the Apple II?

[Keatah]

The Apple II series was a long-life platform, spanning the late 1970's through the early 1990's. And being computer enthusiasts, we were highly likely to have more than one platform. So what did you have prior to, in conjunction with, and after the Apple II?

 

I personally had and considered the Atari 800 as a companion system, turning to it for arcade gaming action. I tried early on in the Amiga's life, A1000 to transition to that platform, but as a kid and gamer already spoiled by huge software libraries, it was a fail for me. I tried later with the 500, and had marginally more success - mainly in learning mouse & graphics operations like in PhotonPaint or Deluxe Paint. Amiga was my only foray into the 16-market.

 

I had a C64, Vic-20, TI-994/A, TRS-80 CoCo 1 and Timex Sinclair (all acquired on the cheap) to pick up other games and round out my "home computer lab", but never really dug into those platforms like I did the Apple and Atari.

 

I also had a number of single board system like the KIM-1 and RCA COSMAC VIP and a few others.

 

 

[iKarith]

At one point I had an Epson PX-8. If I could find another one of those, I'd get it. I didn't actually own an Apple // until late 1992(!), but I grew up like most blind folks my age with one always nearby at school. Which was good because when the Epson died, for awhile, I had nothing.

 

Afterward (my IIgs died in November 1994!), I had nothing again until March 1995. As a graduation gift, my grandmother bought me a 486 DX2/66.

[Ransom]

Before the Apple II, I had an Atari 400, an Atari 1200XL, and, briefly, a TI 99 4/a (not in that order).

 

After the Apple II, I bought a 386SX-16 from Zeos.

 

Zeos was a fairly large, mail-order PC manufacturer based in Minneapolis, MN back in the day. They were originally an electronics assembly company called NPC Electronics. Once they got into the PC manufacturing business, they changed their name to Zeos. They did pretty well, and were the first with 24/7 toll-free tech support. They built nice machines and had good support, so I was a happy customer. I ended up buying three PCs from them by the time they merged with Micron and the Zeos brand disappeared.

[Osgeld]

We had nothing before the //e

Next computer after was a Packard Bell 486dx2/66 with CD ROM and ESS audio drive, Quite a jump

Then again there wasn't a huge reason to jump beforehand

 

to go into more depth my Dad is a self employed piano technician / tuner / rebuilder now retired, he wanted a machine to cover the needs of everyone, for him it was purely a biz machine until he started down his pokemon degree path, then it was also used for academia. I at the time was a snot nosed brat (now im just a brat), and my mother tought at the local community college.

 

so biz applications, early education and later education (they had a big nasy dec system at the time but the personal desktop machines were apple II's) it just made since to put that fairly sizable investment into an apple II, 10 years or whatever later it made since to go with a winders 3.11 PC, which was quickly upgraded to 95 as that was the hawt OS to have

Edited June 11, 2016 by Osgeld

[Newsdee]

Nothing, the Apple ][e was my first machine. I had it for quite a while, later on concurrently used the parents' Mac SE and 386sx16 (for some games) in the beginning of the 90s.

My next machine was a 486sx25 than I later upgraded to dx66 if I recall correctly. Powerful enough for some DOS games, Win 3.11, and connecting to BBS. From there upgraded to several other PCs.

 

As for other hardware, on the side we had a Mac LC in the early 90s which I used for homework mostly, and at school in the late 80s we had a Thomson MO5 network from a monochrome XT PC with an Hercules card.

Most of my good friends had a C64 so I was quite familiar with it, and knew of one TI99 and one ZX Spectrum belonging to extended family members (I used the machines a bit so knew some games).

 

I think somebody had an Atari VCS but they shelved it early on. I also remember going to a barber shop once where they had a Colecovision hooked to a green monochrome CRT and playing spy hunter on it.

Consoles weren't popular in my area of the world until much later. My parents were opposed to getting a console at first; my dad would refer to Nintendo with a sarcastic pun: "Ni Tengo Ni aprendo" ("I don't have [a computer], nor I learn [anything]"). I don't remember when we got our SNES but it might have been in 94/95.

Edited June 12, 2016 by Newsdee

[MarkO]

My first Computer Experience was with the Apple ][+ at High School, but the First Computer I owned was the ZX-81, built from a Kit, with my dad. The Apple ][e was my Second Computer that I owned, and was a very productive computer for my dad for 10 years..

 

MarkO

[BassGuitari]

Commodore 64 when I was a real little kid, then some kind of 286, then a Packard Bell 486 (Packard Bell Navigator, what-what!), then a Compaq Armada laptop (thing was badASS in 1998...needs a new hard drive now), then some piece of crap Dell with Windows ME, then I think it was my HP media center system (w/ WinXP, I frickin' loved that system...still have it, but the hardware's just about shot now, I pretty much ran that thing into the ground). Around or after the HP I was really starting to get into retro systems (the time was right: high school kid with a job and no bills, coinciding with the long-lost mythical time when retro stuff was usually cheap as hell) and I picked up another Commodore 64, an Atari 800XL (one of the extremely few systems I ever sold), an Atari 600XL (Goodwill find), and an Atari 800.

Yeah, I didn't get a working Apple IIe until around 2007.

After that came everything else: Timex/Sinclair, Compaq Portable, TRS-80, Tandy 2, Color Computer 1/2/3, Aquarius, VIC-20, ZX80, another 800XL (actually came in a lot with one of my Apple systems), Laser 128, MC-10, IBM 5150 (mainly a parts/donor system for my Compaq Portable...stupid people keep breaking the damn disk drives at Midwest Gaming Classic! )...

[magnusfalkirk]

Bought a Sears Video Arcade (the Sears version of the Atari VCS) in 78, then the TRS-80 (model 1 level 2 with 16k of ram and a tape drive) in 79. Bought an Apple II+ (48k of ram and a disk drive) in 80. In 82 gave the VCS to my soon to be in-laws. Picked up an Apple IIe (128k, two disk drives) in 85. Got rid of the II+ about then. Added an Apple IIc in 92 while I was in Alaska. Added an Apple IIGS in 94 in Las Vegas. Finally stepped up to a Mac 6115CD in 96. Eventually got rid of all the Apple II's and have stayed with the Mac since. Went retro to the Apple II in 2010.

 

Dean

[meridian]

Before a ZX-81 and a Prof-80 (french clone of TRS-80 model 3)
After the Apple IIe, an Apple IIGS ^^ and Atari 1040

[ianoid]

Commodore PET before and then a 386sx clone PC afterwards.

[Newsdee]

Before: Nothing. I got mine fairly young as kid.

 

After: around '89, a Mac SE and sometimes a 386sx 16mhz laptop my parents had. I recall it had VGA monochrome with horrible ghosting, but played very different games than the Apple and Mac.

 

I stopped actively using the Apple II around '93/'94 when I got a 486 dx 25mhz desktop for me, and the "family computer" became a Mac LC mostly used for homework. I can't remember how much I've upgraded since but everybody switched to their own PC/laptop after those two machines.

 

I remember at the time that we felt Macs were vastly underpowered for the price, which put us off the brand for good.

Edited July 25, 2016 by Newsdee

[spacecadet]

Before, I had nothing.

 

During, I technically only had my Apple IIc. But I lived with a couple of roommates who had Atari ST's that I had basically free reign on - we all just shared computers. A few years prior to that, I would go with my mom to work occasionally and for some odd reason they had an Atari 800XL there that seemed to exist *only* for visiting kids to play games on it. I remember playing Larry Bird vs. Dr. J Go One on One endlessly on that thing. Also M.U.L.E.

 

After, funnily enough, like Osgeld I had a Packard Bell 486DX2/66. I wonder if we had the same machine. That thing was a piece of garbage but it was a lot more powerful than my IIc *or* my roommates' ST's and it had a CD-ROM drive, so to me it was quite amazing until I figured out what a pile of junk it was.

[Smokeless Joe]

Before, everything! I'd been wanting an Apple II since at least 1981. After a 35 year wait, I got my first just two months ago; an Apple IIGS. It's pretty sweet.

 

As a kid I had Atari 8bits, a 400 and eventually an 800XL. In college I switched to PCs/IBM compatibles. After working for a few years, I switched to Macs.

 

Now I'm going all retro, initially sticking to my roots, but lately I've been branching out. I have an Atari 1200XL that (metaphorically) will probably never get out of the garage, much less be able to drive all the way around the block, an Atari 400 that just won't quit, and I still have my old 800XL that I'm restoring. I also just ordered my first Commodore 64 (64c) which should be here on Wednesday.

 

After, I've just been boosting the GS to take advantage of modern conveniences. I scored one of the latest CFFAs for only a moderate markup, a RAMGS/4, and I just created a DB15 to JP21 cable to plug the RGB-out into a Framemeister. I dream that some day soon the Transwarp IIGS project will have new Transwarps available.

[First Spear]

Before - a Mattel Intellivision! My parents believed the early advertising that it could start as a video game machine and could be turned into a computer later (the Keyboard Component). We got one in 1979... A year or two later it appeared that the Keyboard add-on was "never" coming, so we got a Franklin Ace 1000, which was a natural buy because it was several hundred dollars cheaper and was made in New Jersey locally.

 

We went from Ace 1000 to Ace 2200 to Laser 128 to 128/EX, finally got a IIGS in college.

 

After? Well, I was one of millions soured by the way that Steve Jobs strangled the ][ line out of existence to support the Macintosh line, so instead of going to the Macintosh, I went to Windows primarily but still kept an eye on Mac and ][ stuff.

 

Now that the ][ has reached the "White Dwarf star stage" in its lifetime, I keep a IIGS handy to show the kids the occasional game title, we still have some unique stuff there that has not been reproduced on newer platforms.

[Cambouis de l'Atari]

It's barely one year I have a IIe ! Back in time I could never afford an apple II. First console a VCS, then first computer ZX81, then deep into the C64, and finally A500. Quite a common suite...

[20ohm20]

Before: TI-99/4A and C64

 

After: Amiga 500

[+save2600]

Had a TI-99/4A first, then an Atari 400, then an Apple ][+

 

After that, got a C64, then an Amiga 1000 and an A500 about a year later. Had an Aquarius somewhere between too. lol

[tep392]

Atari 400 -> Apple IIe -> long span without computer -> Tandy Sensation 486SX