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  3. What was your first computer?

What was your first computer?

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  • N Nish Nishant

    I mean the first one of your own. Not the first one you used in college or school or work. Mine was a 80286/2MB Ram/40 MB HD :-) 1.44 MB FD and 1.2 MB FD DOS 5.0 Nish


    Check out last week's Code Project posting stats presentation from :- http://www.busterboy.org/codeproject/ Feel free to make your comments.

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    Daniel Turini
    wrote on last edited by
    #45

    Mine was a CP-200. This was a brazilian version of ZX-81, with 16K (KBytes, not Megabytes!) RAM, 8K ROM, a National PV-220 tape recorder. With C-90 tapes, you had an impressive capacity of 64K each side of the tape (wich, obviously, would take 45 minutes to load). And you think your 56K modem is slow... The main proc was an Z-80 8 bits processor @ 3.54 Mhz. It handled the video, too. So, the computer had two modes of operation: FAST and SLOW (it's true, it was these names!). In SLOW mode, you had video refresh. In FAST mode, the screen went blank and the computer was 8 times faster. Some games flashed the screen a lot, because they drawed the screen in FAST mode, then showed the screen for a few moments in SLOW. Some moments playing those games makes you want to puke! :) There are still some emulators of ZX-81 on the web, very good emulators, only a bit faster :) Crivo Automated Credit Assessment

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    • N Nish Nishant

      I mean the first one of your own. Not the first one you used in college or school or work. Mine was a 80286/2MB Ram/40 MB HD :-) 1.44 MB FD and 1.2 MB FD DOS 5.0 Nish


      Check out last week's Code Project posting stats presentation from :- http://www.busterboy.org/codeproject/ Feel free to make your comments.

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      Tom Archer
      wrote on last edited by
      #46

      Mine was an Adam what used audio-like casettes. I worked on that thing night and day realizing that after 18 years I had finally discovered the one thing I enjoyed and do very well. I completely taught myself to program (casette Basic) and wrote, as my first application, a football game. Man, what I wouldn't give to be able to go back and see that code now :) Cheers, Tom Archer Author, Inside C# Author, Visual C++.NET Bible A total abstainer is one who abstains from everything but abstention, and especially from inactivity in the af

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      • N Nish Nishant

        I mean the first one of your own. Not the first one you used in college or school or work. Mine was a 80286/2MB Ram/40 MB HD :-) 1.44 MB FD and 1.2 MB FD DOS 5.0 Nish


        Check out last week's Code Project posting stats presentation from :- http://www.busterboy.org/codeproject/ Feel free to make your comments.

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        Todd Smith
        wrote on last edited by
        #47

        IBM 8088. No harddrive. Single floppy. I started typing in BASIC programs from magazines at the tender age of 8. w00t! Todd Smith

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        • N Nish Nishant

          I mean the first one of your own. Not the first one you used in college or school or work. Mine was a 80286/2MB Ram/40 MB HD :-) 1.44 MB FD and 1.2 MB FD DOS 5.0 Nish


          Check out last week's Code Project posting stats presentation from :- http://www.busterboy.org/codeproject/ Feel free to make your comments.

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          Chris Losinger
          wrote on last edited by
          #48

          C64. but i first used a Commodore PET. -c


          I don't care, and you can't make me.

          Smaller Animals Software

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          • N Nish Nishant

            I mean the first one of your own. Not the first one you used in college or school or work. Mine was a 80286/2MB Ram/40 MB HD :-) 1.44 MB FD and 1.2 MB FD DOS 5.0 Nish


            Check out last week's Code Project posting stats presentation from :- http://www.busterboy.org/codeproject/ Feel free to make your comments.

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            Josh Knox
            wrote on last edited by
            #49

            Got a TI99/4A when I was 11, back in 1986. Taught myself BASIC on it so I could make Space Invaders aliens dance around the screen. It had no permanent backup so I had to reenter the program each time. The got an Apple IIE. Then a 486 which I started using Borland Turbo C++. Good ole days. Josh Knox that-guy.net


            "UNIX is basically a simple operating system, but you have to be a genius to understand the simplicity." Dennis Ritchie.

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            • N Nish Nishant

              I mean the first one of your own. Not the first one you used in college or school or work. Mine was a 80286/2MB Ram/40 MB HD :-) 1.44 MB FD and 1.2 MB FD DOS 5.0 Nish


              Check out last week's Code Project posting stats presentation from :- http://www.busterboy.org/codeproject/ Feel free to make your comments.

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              LittleYellowBird
              wrote on last edited by
              #50

              :-D No one has the same first computer as me! Acorn Electron, 6502 processor, output on tv! Wrote my college project in assembler on it. Cost me a £10! First PC - Amstrad 1640, 40Mb Hard disk and I was really proud because it had a CGA display, cool.... :cool: ali p

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              • D David Cunningham

                Hey Nish, That was my first computer too (the first one I owned anyway) and I'm 35. David http://www.dundas.com

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                Nish Nishant
                wrote on last edited by
                #51

                David Cunningham wrote: That was my first computer too (the first one I owned anyway) and I'm 35. Oh, I see :-) If you hadn't mentioned the 35, I'd have put you in the 45+ group that I put Norm into :-) Nish


                The posting stats are now in PDF:- http://www.busterboy.org/codeproject/ Feel free to make your comments. Updated - May 04th, Saturday

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                • N Nish Nishant

                  I mean the first one of your own. Not the first one you used in college or school or work. Mine was a 80286/2MB Ram/40 MB HD :-) 1.44 MB FD and 1.2 MB FD DOS 5.0 Nish


                  Check out last week's Code Project posting stats presentation from :- http://www.busterboy.org/codeproject/ Feel free to make your comments.

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                  Jack Handy
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #52

                  I had an Atari 800 -Jack To an optimist the glass is half full. To a pessimist the glass is half empty. To a programmer the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

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                  • T Tom Archer

                    Mine was an Adam what used audio-like casettes. I worked on that thing night and day realizing that after 18 years I had finally discovered the one thing I enjoyed and do very well. I completely taught myself to program (casette Basic) and wrote, as my first application, a football game. Man, what I wouldn't give to be able to go back and see that code now :) Cheers, Tom Archer Author, Inside C# Author, Visual C++.NET Bible A total abstainer is one who abstains from everything but abstention, and especially from inactivity in the af

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                    Nish Nishant
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #53

                    Tom Archer wrote: Man, what I wouldn't give to be able to go back and see that code now I understand. I still wish I could have saved my floppies from 12 years back :-( which contained my first programs some of them in GWBASIC :-) Nish


                    The posting stats are now in PDF:- http://www.busterboy.org/codeproject/ Feel free to make your comments. Updated - May 04th, Saturday

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                    • T Todd Smith

                      IBM 8088. No harddrive. Single floppy. I started typing in BASIC programs from magazines at the tender age of 8. w00t! Todd Smith

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                      Nish Nishant
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #54

                      Todd Smith wrote: IBM 8088. No harddrive. Single floppy. Thats the same one we had in school. With green monochrome monitors :-) I still remember booting up from the floppy and it used to take so long then ;-) we thought. Now it takes 10 ten times that much time to logon to XP :-) Nish


                      The posting stats are now in PDF:- http://www.busterboy.org/codeproject/ Feel free to make your comments. Updated - May 04th, Saturday

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                      • J Josh Knox

                        Got a TI99/4A when I was 11, back in 1986. Taught myself BASIC on it so I could make Space Invaders aliens dance around the screen. It had no permanent backup so I had to reenter the program each time. The got an Apple IIE. Then a 486 which I started using Borland Turbo C++. Good ole days. Josh Knox that-guy.net


                        "UNIX is basically a simple operating system, but you have to be a genius to understand the simplicity." Dennis Ritchie.

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                        Nish Nishant
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #55

                        Josh Knox wrote: It had no permanent backup so I had to reenter the program each time :omg: :omg: :omg:


                        The posting stats are now in PDF:- http://www.busterboy.org/codeproject/ Feel free to make your comments. Updated - May 04th, Saturday

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                        • N Nish Nishant

                          I mean the first one of your own. Not the first one you used in college or school or work. Mine was a 80286/2MB Ram/40 MB HD :-) 1.44 MB FD and 1.2 MB FD DOS 5.0 Nish


                          Check out last week's Code Project posting stats presentation from :- http://www.busterboy.org/codeproject/ Feel free to make your comments.

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                          Michael Dunn
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #56

                          One of my uncles was really into computers, so back in the early 80s I'd get hardware from him as he upgraded. I started with some TI model (don't think it was the famous 99/4A, some earlier model) and the included BASIC manual, but I couldn't really make sense of BASIC back then (hey, I was only like 10 years old!). It wasn't until an after-school class on BASIC using Apple //e's that I actually started doing programming. --Mike-- Buy me stuff! (Link fixed now) Like the Google toolbar? Then check out UltraBar, with more features & customizable search engines! My really out-of-date homepage Big fan of Alyson Hannigan and Jamie Salé.

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                          • L l a u r e n

                            zx81 with a wobbly 16k ram pack :)


                            situations to avoid #37:
                            "good morning ... how many sugars do you take in your coffee ... and what was your name again?"

                            coming soon: situations to avoid #38: "...and the dog was there too?"

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                            Tomaz Stih 0
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #57

                            Thank you Laureen. With my 29 I feel old among these youngsters. I started with ZX81 with 1k, :-) followed by ZX Spectrum 48K, Amstrad CPC 464, Atari 520 ST, IBM PC XT 640Kb RAM/4Mhz/10MB HDD/Hercules...Oh, well. Regards, Tomaz

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                            • G Giles

                              Atari 520 ST. They were the days.:(( :(( I've still got it, and get it out everynow and again. Still works. :)

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                              Tomaz Stih 0
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #58

                              Those were the days. Campus word processor, Lattice C and GEM... Regards, Tomaz

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                              • M Michael A Barnhart

                                Two answers depending on what you call a computer and how far own goes. First one in my family that I used was a Wang 720 (they are in musuems) First one I actually purchased was a vic 20. You can do things with 4k of memory and none of those fancy hard drives. To be conscious that you are ignorant of the facts is a great step towards Knowledge. Benjamin Disraeli

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                                Michael Dunn
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #59

                                Michael A. Barnhart wrote: You can do things with 4k of memory 3583 bytes, actually. ;) --Mike-- Buy me stuff! (Link fixed now) Like the Google toolbar? Then check out UltraBar, with more features & customizable search engines! My really out-of-date homepage Big fan of Alyson Hannigan and Jamie Salé.

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                                • P Phil Speller

                                  Original ZX Spectrum - with 48K RAM and dead-flesh feel keyboard. I orginally wanted a ZX81 but couldn't afford the £99 to buy one (being 12 and getting only £1/week pocket money). Free

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                                  Tomaz Stih 0
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #60

                                  I worked as a delivery boy at age 13 to upgrade from ZX Spectrum to Amstrad (Schneider) CPC 464. It was a luxury computer, with beautiful monitor, 640 x 200 resolution, 80 chars screen width and built in tape. >:-) Plus, it talked Z80, which I learned on Spectrum. Tomaz

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                                  • T Tomaz Stih 0

                                    Thank you Laureen. With my 29 I feel old among these youngsters. I started with ZX81 with 1k, :-) followed by ZX Spectrum 48K, Amstrad CPC 464, Atari 520 ST, IBM PC XT 640Kb RAM/4Mhz/10MB HDD/Hercules...Oh, well. Regards, Tomaz

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                                    Tomaz Stih 0
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #61

                                    > IBM PC XT 640Kb RAM/4Mhz/10MB HDD/Hercules Or was it 8Mhz? Can't remember anymore. :-) I just know it had absolutely charming orange screen, which was different from them green screens of neighbourhood peasants. :cool: Tomaz

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                                    • T Tomaz Stih 0

                                      Thank you Laureen. With my 29 I feel old among these youngsters. I started with ZX81 with 1k, :-) followed by ZX Spectrum 48K, Amstrad CPC 464, Atari 520 ST, IBM PC XT 640Kb RAM/4Mhz/10MB HDD/Hercules...Oh, well. Regards, Tomaz

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                                      l a u r e n
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #62

                                      i am rather gob-smacked tomasz the list of computers you have exactly matches the list i would make wierd but cool :)


                                      situations to avoid #37:
                                      "good morning ... how many sugars do you take in your coffee ... and what was your name again?"

                                      coming soon: situations to avoid #38: "...and the dog was there too?"

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                                      • M Michael Dunn

                                        Michael A. Barnhart wrote: You can do things with 4k of memory 3583 bytes, actually. ;) --Mike-- Buy me stuff! (Link fixed now) Like the Google toolbar? Then check out UltraBar, with more features & customizable search engines! My really out-of-date homepage Big fan of Alyson Hannigan and Jamie Salé.

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                                        Michael A Barnhart
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #63

                                        I actually had a VT100 terminal emulation program going. Although trying to keep up with the 300 baud modem was a little tricky :) To be conscious that you are ignorant of the facts is a great step towards Knowledge. Benjamin Disraeli

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                                        • E Erik Westermann

                                          Atari, Apple...geez - you guys should have started with the only *real* computer.......

                                          :) Commodore 64 :)

                                          * 1 MHz processor * 64K RAM * 5 1/4 inch floppy drive that has a capacity of an amazing 170Kb, which you could double when using both sides of the disk! Ducks - expecting somehting to be thrown in this direction Essam - Author, JScript .NET Programming
                                          ...and a bunch of articles around the Web

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                                          Roger Wright
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #64

                                          Essam Ahmed wrote: Commodore 64 That was for rich kids! :-D

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