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What was YOUR very first computer?


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1st family computer - Single board MOS KIM-1 (Fond memories of playing Hunt the Wumpus on it)

1st real/practical family computer - TRS-80 Model 1 w/L2 BASIC, expansion module, dual Percom drives, Epson MX-80 printer, voice synthesizer

 

My 1st personal computer - TRS-80 MC-10 with the 16K memory expansion pack

My 1st real/practical personal computer - Coleco Adam (Still have it to this day)

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The very first "computer" i made a program on was the TI 59 at school

http://mycalcdb.free.fr/galerie/TI/TI-59.1.jpg

 

The first computer on which i made a B.A.SI.C program was the Sharp PC1210 , again at school

 

pc-1210.jpg

 

 

Then shortly after , at school ,i program on Thomson TO7.

 

220px-Thomson_TO-07-IMG_0414.jpg

 

The very first computer i own , just after i sold my Colecovision , was a Commodore 64. (end of 1983, i think ).

 

but the same year, i got also a ZX 81 from a friend, where i learn a lot on it. (the basic was better than the C64 one!!)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Sinclair_ZX81.jpg

 

And shortly after in 84, i got the chance to have my first PC (a compatible PC XT ).

 

In 86 , i sold my C64 for a Atari ST. (not being enough rich to have the Amiga of my dreams).

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sad, but true. I know teens, that when looking at the rear of a computer, cannot even identify the power cable. Wish I was kidding.

How about a 13 year old XBox owner, that doesn't even know how to disconnect the Composite Video and switch it to HDMI... I think he was worried it might break something.. Maybe because his family never lets him do anything by himself..

 

I mean, REALLY!!!! I don't expect Everyone to Know Everything, but knowing how to plug in your Consumer Electronics Should be a Basic Requirement..

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I feel that every smartphone-toting youngster needs to understand what P5, and P6 are on a Disk II controller card for the Apple II series.

 

Seriously I know youngsters even aged 15 that have no clue about wiring up any sort of console. Fer cryinoutloud! Me and my buddies aged 7 and 10 were begging for rides to the local TV repair shop for parts and to pester the technician about something computer related. An activity that was as commonplace for us as it is for a modern-day gamer to subscribe to DLC.

 

This of course was back in the day when your local supermarket had valve testers.

 

And now that I think about it, was a TV repairman a hip job back then? And could a neighborhood, today, use an electronics repair guy? Somebody that might change laptop parts or solder wires and connectors together or fix mechanical things. I mean what other alternative is there? Throw the device away and buy a new one?

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<< BIG SNIP >>

 

I mean what other alternative is there? Throw the device away and buy a new one?

 

Welcome to the 21st Century!!!

 

Luckily the Maker Fair's are inspiring a large number of people to Understand and then DO Something, rather than sitting around until somebody makes something for you to purchase....

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Luckily the Maker Fair's are inspiring a large number of people to Understand and then DO Something, rather than sitting around until somebody makes something for you to purchase....

cat above.txt | sed -e 's/large number/tiny but important group/'

 

What concerns me isn't the number of people who don't know how things work..

It's more the fact that they seem to be totally OK with it...

 

Although, perhaps it's just cyclical and will be moving back in the (IMHO) right path soon...

 

I'm not sure if it's good or bad that the best education around for how things works and how to fix things nowadays seems to be youtube.. ;-)

 

It is disheartening when hiring techs, even those with certifications, knowing that a lot of them have no idea how these things work..

 

desiv

(Is this the part where I yell at everyone to get off my lawn? Man, I'm getting old. ;-) )

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VIC-20 in Summer 1983, but datasette in December 1983. :)

 

Upgrade to C64 in 1985 sometime.

Upgrade to Amiga 500 in 1988.

Upgrade to Amiga 3000 in 1992

"Upgrade" to 486 in 1994, Windows 95 Beta (never used Windows 3.1!)

 

New computer every two years is about right. Well, new to me. :)

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How about a 13 year old XBox owner, that doesn't even know how to disconnect the Composite Video and switch it to HDMI... I think he was worried it might break something.. Maybe because his family never lets him do anything by himself..

 

I mean, REALLY!!!! I don't expect Everyone to Know Everything, but knowing how to plug in your Consumer Electronics Should be a Basic Requirement..

Maybe is family is too worried. My dad was convinced that Atari 2600's would ruin a color TV and really micromanaged electronic things for the fear that someone would break something.

 

Then again, it probably didn't help my case when I tool apart the stereo when I was 6 to see if I could figure out how it works. Then I did it again when I was a little older with the new one (might have been the turn table actually… don't remember). I always talking things apart to figure it out. Can't say my track record of putting it back together was so hot.

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Today, when someone is trying to fix something they tend to equate Failure A with Solution A, Failure B with Solution B. There is no independent thought as to how something works or how a solution is arrived at. Let alone having the ability to pick the right solution or modify it to fit the moment. If the Solutions don't match the Failure exactly precisely, everyone involved suddenly becomes directionless.

 

They are afraid to "build a working model in their head", afraid to visualize and imagine how something might operate internally. I hear snap responses of "it's too complex!" to even the simplest tech things like switches and relays. Or other responses like, "that's the way we were told to do it."

 

Granted. Not everyone is like that. But more and more are becoming like that. And companies encourage that sort of behavior across too many disciplines.

 

There are simple things that work great with procedures like scheduled maintenance items.

There are complex things like R&D troubleshooting that do not work well with procedures.

Edited by Keatah
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Another Vic 20 here and (of course, being my first) it's still my favourite 8 bit. I have respect for the others but nothing will ever touch that moment on Christmas morning 1984 when I hooked up that thing and saw the cyan and white glow for the first time. All computers should have a cyan border. Life would be better for everyone then.

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One time my friend and I were talking about how we used Mac Classics in tech class in Jr High and his GF (who is several years younger than us) asked if we were talking about the first iMac.

 

Then we had to explain that the Mac Classics had monochrome displays lol

 

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One time my friend and I were talking about how we used Mac Classics in tech class in Jr High and his GF (who is several years younger than us) asked if we were talking about the first iMac. Then we had to explain that the Mac Classics had monochrome displays lol

I've often wondered... ...If Apple were to create a Mac "Flashback" with a monochrome LCD screen, and similar form/function as the original Mac...

 

1. How inexpensive could they produce such a device and still sell it for a profit?

2. Would there be enough interest in such a device as to make it worth it?

3. Assuming it would be done by emulation (hardware or software), what Apple copyrighted software could they/would they include with it?

4. To make it a viable product, would it have to be integrated/dual-boot with iOS, the Internet and iTunes/iStore, or could it stand alone as a pure reproduction?

 

See, the thing is, I've never had a spare $2,500 to spend on a computer... ...any computer. And it seems that with Apple, starting with the Mac (...well, really, an entire Apple II system with floppy drive and monitor, with prices adjusted for 2013 dollars, would cost about that much as well), the cost of entry has always been around at least $2,000 for whatever new system was introduced.

 

I remember walking through computer stores in the mid-90's and seeing Macs priced at $3,000; $4,000; $6,000... ...and thinking, "Who's buying these"? In those days you couldn't get into a new PC for less than $1,500 and there were plenty of "state of the art" systems in the $3,000 - $4,000 range as well. But there was also a healthy used market, and some of the Atari ST line and Amiga gear still around. My first three PCs were left-over machines from work that were either given to me, or sold to me for like, a hundred bucks.

 

But I am curious about all of the fervor over the original Macintosh line, back in the day. I mean, that's when the "Cult of Apple" really got going. Sure, I could hit eBay and find a beat-up old Mac Classic for a few hundred bucks, and then try to assemble some software for it. But if I could get a shiny brand-new bona fide Apple Macintosh Flashback product with carefully selected fun and interesting software, running from a 16Gb solid-state hard drive, for under $200, that's something that might interest me.

 

Anybody else see it this way?

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And it seems that with Apple, starting with the Mac (...well, really, an entire Apple II system with floppy drive and monitor, with prices adjusted for 2013 dollars

Adjusted?

The first Mac (128k, 1 floppy, built-in monitor) was released at $2495 in 1985.

That's over $5000 adjusted for inflation.

The Apple II in 1977 was $1298 for the 4K model with no drives or monitor. That's almost $5000 adjusted...

Now, the first //e was $1395, which is just over $3000 adjusted. So, that model, with a floppy and monitor you might be able to get for around $5000.

the cost of entry has always been around at least $2,000 for whatever new system was introduced.

So, other than the initial release (which was even higher), it seems like Apple was shooting for an (adjusted) $5000 price point for the setup.

 

desiv

p.s. My adjustments come from http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

Edited by desiv
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Good thing you weren't like my younger brother. He pillaged my Dad's toolbox one Sunday morning (he was also about six then), went out into the driveway, and dismantled the entire passenger compartment of the family car. By the time we woke up, the seats, dash, inside panels, windows, and any other removable parts were in a huge pile next to the car. He was looking for the cotter pin to release the steering column when we found him. It took my Dad almost a week to get it all back together correctly.

 

 

Then again, it probably didn't help my case when I tool apart the stereo when I was 6 to see if I could figure out how it works. Then I did it again when I was a little older with the new one (might have been the turn table actually… don't remember). I always talking things apart to figure it out. Can't say my track record of putting it back together was so hot.

 

My first bit of programming was on a TRS-80 Model I that a friend owned, followed by a lot of programming on another friend's TI-99/4. I then bought my own TI-99/4, which I still have and use. When I got married to my current wife about 15 years ago, she saw it and said, "get rid of it, it's old," so I turned it over and showed her the manufacture date code: 0880, which was the eighth week of 1980. I then told her what that meant, and that the computer was indeed old, older than she was, and that I'd had it and I'd been using it since before she was born. I then commented: "guess which one of these two things will leave my life first--you or it?" She was not amused--but we're still together and I still have it, so all is good. . .

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Good thing you weren't like my younger brother. He pillaged my Dad's toolbox one Sunday morning (he was also about six then), went out into the driveway, and dismantled the entire passenger compartment of the family car. By the time we woke up, the seats, dash, inside panels, windows, and any other removable parts were in a huge pile next to the car. He was looking for the cotter pin to release the steering column when we found him. It took my Dad almost a week to get it all back together correctly.

Now that's funny! I'll bet your dad didn't think so though. :)

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Adjusted?

The first Mac (128k, 1 floppy, built-in monitor) was released at $2495 in 1985.

That's over $5000 adjusted for inflation.

The Apple II in 1977 was $1298 for the 4K model with no drives or monitor. That's almost $5000 adjusted...

Now, the first //e was $1395, which is just over $3000 adjusted. So, that model, with a floppy and monitor you might be able to get for around $5000.

So, other than the initial release (which was even higher), it seems like Apple was shooting for an (adjusted) $5000 price point for the setup.

 

desiv

p.s. My adjustments come from http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

 

Thank you. Your corrected data improves on my original premise that the historically high prices of Apple computing products has left a huge portion of the global population out of havng the opportunity to experience these break-through technologies during their heyday. So how about it, Apple? You're the wealthiest, most successful corporation in the history of the planet now, so you could afford to take a chance that it won't be a big seller or make a big profit for you.

 

Develop an under $200 Macintosh Classic Flashback. You could bring back some memories for all of the people who were kids in Jr High and High School and were lucky enough to get to use Macintoshes in the school computer lab back in the day. You could remind all of today's desktop Windows users that your company had figured out so many of the desktop metaphor UI elements way before Microsoft finally got their act together with Windows 95.

 

Hell, Apple engineers wouldn't even have to design it. They could turn it over to Chinese engineers at Foxconn and simply give it their blessing with copyrights and trademarks and have final say before the production units went out the door.

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