Gawd, they know how to make me feel old...
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Comitstrip: First Computer[^] My first was an Amstrad 1640: EGA graphics, 640K RAM, 8MHz processor, no math coprocessor (but a socket so you could add one), no HDD, but twin 5 1/2" floppies (360Kb per disk). And that was second hand... What was your first "real" computer? (I'm not counting Spectrums and their ilk here: if it had a cassette tape it doesn't count :laugh: )
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
Ithaca Intersystems DPS-1, Z80 processor, S100 motherboard, 64K RAM + 64K hard-to-access memory, 2 x 720K 8" disk drives in a separate cabinet. Computer + disks weighed > 80lbs together. Text-only monitor was connected by RS-232. I also had a 512 x 512 graphics monitor and a primitive dot-matrix printer. I programmed in assembler, Pascal, an muLISP.
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Comitstrip: First Computer[^] My first was an Amstrad 1640: EGA graphics, 640K RAM, 8MHz processor, no math coprocessor (but a socket so you could add one), no HDD, but twin 5 1/2" floppies (360Kb per disk). And that was second hand... What was your first "real" computer? (I'm not counting Spectrums and their ilk here: if it had a cassette tape it doesn't count :laugh: )
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Comitstrip: First Computer[^] My first was an Amstrad 1640: EGA graphics, 640K RAM, 8MHz processor, no math coprocessor (but a socket so you could add one), no HDD, but twin 5 1/2" floppies (360Kb per disk). And that was second hand... What was your first "real" computer? (I'm not counting Spectrums and their ilk here: if it had a cassette tape it doesn't count :laugh: )
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
I bought my first PC in 1984 (had been using university and work hardware before that):
- IBM-AT 80286 processor @ 8MHz, 512KB RAM
- Hercules EGA Graphics
- 20 MB Seagate hard disk
- 5¼" 360K floppy drive
- 5¼" 1.2M floppy drive
- Princeton Graphics Color Monitor
- Okidata Microline 192 dot matrix printer
- Hayes 1200 Modem
Software:
- MS-DOS 3.1
- PC Write (editor)
- Lattice C compiler
- Vitamin C GUI SDK for DOS
The hardware set me back $4500. I think the compiler was $300, Vitamin C was $50 and PC Write was $30. The box came with MS-DOS. I misread your question as "What was your first PC?" My first computer was a Honeywell Multics system with the world's most awesome terminals I'd ever seen. Circa 1980. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
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Ithaca Intersystems DPS-1, Z80 processor, S100 motherboard, 64K RAM + 64K hard-to-access memory, 2 x 720K 8" disk drives in a separate cabinet. Computer + disks weighed > 80lbs together. Text-only monitor was connected by RS-232. I also had a 512 x 512 graphics monitor and a primitive dot-matrix printer. I programmed in assembler, Pascal, an muLISP.
Peter, are you THE Peter Grogono who wrote "Programming in Pascal" (circa 1980) - the book that changed my life (for the better) forever? /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
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Comitstrip: First Computer[^] My first was an Amstrad 1640: EGA graphics, 640K RAM, 8MHz processor, no math coprocessor (but a socket so you could add one), no HDD, but twin 5 1/2" floppies (360Kb per disk). And that was second hand... What was your first "real" computer? (I'm not counting Spectrums and their ilk here: if it had a cassette tape it doesn't count :laugh: )
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
Mine was a TRS-80 MC-10 (baby CoCo). It had 4k of RAM, jacks for attaching a tape deck to load software that didn't exist, and could display a whole nine colors. Even for the time, it was a PoS, it made the C64 look like a supercomputer. But it was mine, and I learned to write (short) programs on it.
OriginalGriff wrote:
I'm not counting Spectrums and their ilk here: if it had a cassette tape it doesn't count
Ridiculous, you're excluding most 8-bit computers because they used tape instead of (expensive at the time) floppy drives. Back in the day, those were "real" computers. This just seems like an arbitrary way to exclude anyone who got their first computer in the '80s and didn't have a lot of money (those business-class IBMs went for $3k-$5k in '80s dollars).
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A 520 ST, which I still have. But, if you ignore the cassette restriction, a TI 99/4A (Which I probably still have...9or maybe my sister has it.)
We won't sit down. We won't shut up. We won't go quietly away. YouTube and My Mu[sic], Films and Windows Programs, etc.
The TI99 was great! Got a kick out of looking at ones for sale on ebay the other day... we had one in '83 or '84... Wish I still had it. Loved playing Donkey Kong, Hunt the Wompus, TI Invaders, and Centipede on it!
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Yeah we ha a ti994a also but thought it didn't qualify here because of the cassette. We had great fun writing basic programs to scroll expletives on the screen. What fun teaching a computer to swear. Just look what we've done!
I remember messing with the voice synthesizer on it. That was really cool.
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Comitstrip: First Computer[^] My first was an Amstrad 1640: EGA graphics, 640K RAM, 8MHz processor, no math coprocessor (but a socket so you could add one), no HDD, but twin 5 1/2" floppies (360Kb per disk). And that was second hand... What was your first "real" computer? (I'm not counting Spectrums and their ilk here: if it had a cassette tape it doesn't count :laugh: )
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Peter, are you THE Peter Grogono who wrote "Programming in Pascal" (circa 1980) - the book that changed my life (for the better) forever? /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
Yes, that's me. Good to hear that I changed your life -- for the better :) I wrote the Pascal book during 1977-78, before I had my own computer. The Pascal programs in the book ran on a CDC 6400 at the university where I was working. Peter
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Comitstrip: First Computer[^] My first was an Amstrad 1640: EGA graphics, 640K RAM, 8MHz processor, no math coprocessor (but a socket so you could add one), no HDD, but twin 5 1/2" floppies (360Kb per disk). And that was second hand... What was your first "real" computer? (I'm not counting Spectrums and their ilk here: if it had a cassette tape it doesn't count :laugh: )
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
Altair 8800 (still up in the attic) 64K Ram (a portion of that was ROM for the CUTER system) Punched paper tape for storing programs Front panel switch input Video to Channel 3 NTSC Eventually upgraded to Micropolis 390K floppy drive
I'm not a programmer but I play one at the office
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Yes, that's me. Good to hear that I changed your life -- for the better :) I wrote the Pascal book during 1977-78, before I had my own computer. The Pascal programs in the book ran on a CDC 6400 at the university where I was working. Peter
Wow. It's an honor to bump into you @ CP! I think I emailed you a couple years ago to thank you for opening doors for me in a way you could probably not have imagined. I'm pretty sure I've saved your reply. Thank you, again! :rose: /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
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Move over, parvenus! My first computer was a Commodore PET 2001 with 8KB (that's KILO-bytes)! My dad bought it in 1977, and it was one of the first five of its kind in Israel. The Commodore PET 2001 had a built-in cassette recorder/player, which could be used to store/load programs and data. Given that many (most?) mainframes of the time still used tape for mass storage (a disk drive might be used for the O/S and for commonly-run programs), I take exception to the assertion that a computer with a cassette tape was not a computer. I used it for many things, from calculating e and pi (to about 10,000 digits - all that I could do in-memory) to learning 6502 assembly language to game playing (I purchased an incredibly slow version of chess that ran in those 8KB). Those were the days! :)
I sooooo wanted one of those... but my dad bought an Exidy Sorcerer[^]. I later borrowed it for an extended period of time. My actual first computer was an Amiga 1000.. which I still have and fire up once in a while. I even still have the original monitor and Rom Kernel manuals (a set with the mislabeled manual).
We can program with only 1's, but if all you've got are zeros, you've got nothing.
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Comitstrip: First Computer[^] My first was an Amstrad 1640: EGA graphics, 640K RAM, 8MHz processor, no math coprocessor (but a socket so you could add one), no HDD, but twin 5 1/2" floppies (360Kb per disk). And that was second hand... What was your first "real" computer? (I'm not counting Spectrums and their ilk here: if it had a cassette tape it doesn't count :laugh: )
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
Wow, Timex Sinclair (admittedly, no drive, but a 40 col thermal printer!) [I returned it, BTW] TI 99/4A (Expansion Pack, Plus Floppy) TRS-80 Model 1 PDP-11/34a (at school, 20 paper terminals, and 3 CRTs for the cool kids, LOL) All within 1yr. Then I moved UP in the world: I got a Tandy-1200 HD (monochrome, green screen) DOS. With a HD and a Floppy, LOL... This lasted me until my first Dell in College. And I have been using various Dells since! (Of course, Dell was called PCs Limited back then). Kirk Out!
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Comitstrip: First Computer[^] My first was an Amstrad 1640: EGA graphics, 640K RAM, 8MHz processor, no math coprocessor (but a socket so you could add one), no HDD, but twin 5 1/2" floppies (360Kb per disk). And that was second hand... What was your first "real" computer? (I'm not counting Spectrums and their ilk here: if it had a cassette tape it doesn't count :laugh: )
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
My first computer was an s100 bus z80 base system (back in the late 70's). I wire wrapped all the boards except for the graphics card (16 lines by 64 ASCII characters) which connected to a small TV. I had a 2KB monitor program called Zapple and a total of 4K of RAM. I use to know most of the z80 instruction set by the numbers since I didn't have a z80 assembler. This system eventually morphed into a CP/M system with 48KB of RAM and 2 high density 8 inch floppy drives! Talk about a fun time learning about computer hardware and software.
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Comitstrip: First Computer[^] My first was an Amstrad 1640: EGA graphics, 640K RAM, 8MHz processor, no math coprocessor (but a socket so you could add one), no HDD, but twin 5 1/2" floppies (360Kb per disk). And that was second hand... What was your first "real" computer? (I'm not counting Spectrums and their ilk here: if it had a cassette tape it doesn't count :laugh: )
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
My first computer was one I designed and built myself, starting the day the 8080 CPU was released, in late 1974. There was no commercially available microcomputer in those days. By Feb. 1975 I had it up and running, with a huge 1K of RAM! I had to put a small boot program using the front panel switches, and I had an old 33ASR teletype with a paper tape punch and reader for mass storage, as well as keyboard input and printed output.
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Comitstrip: First Computer[^] My first was an Amstrad 1640: EGA graphics, 640K RAM, 8MHz processor, no math coprocessor (but a socket so you could add one), no HDD, but twin 5 1/2" floppies (360Kb per disk). And that was second hand... What was your first "real" computer? (I'm not counting Spectrums and their ilk here: if it had a cassette tape it doesn't count :laugh: )
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
My first was a Philco C2 (named for the building that housed it). It had a fantastic 28k of RAM. Data and programs were loaded using 80 byte punch cards. Due to limitations, we could only load 2007 data cards. If we exceeded the data limit, I would have to do the calculation on a Friden calculator to determine which of the cards I could yank to complete the run on the C2.
The difficult may take time, the impossible a little longer.
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Mine was a Commodore VIC20 - was great at the time (I was 8 at the time and got given this at Christmas instead of the Atari console that I'd asked for - wise move) :) http://oldcomputers.net/vic20.html[^] Introduced: June 1980 Released: January 1981 Price: US $299 (cost about the same in GBP) CPU: MOS 6502, 1MHz RAM: 5K (3.5K for the user) Display: 22 X 23 text, 176 X 184, 16 colors max
How do you know so much about swallows? Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
Ah, the mighty VIC-20. I still remember that special plastic smell when I first unboxed it, more than 30 years ago.
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Comitstrip: First Computer[^] My first was an Amstrad 1640: EGA graphics, 640K RAM, 8MHz processor, no math coprocessor (but a socket so you could add one), no HDD, but twin 5 1/2" floppies (360Kb per disk). And that was second hand... What was your first "real" computer? (I'm not counting Spectrums and their ilk here: if it had a cassette tape it doesn't count :laugh: )
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
My first was a Commodore Pet 2001 with no HDD, no FDD, and no cassette tape drive. I had to type programs in every time. My second was a Commodore Pet 4000 with the integrated "datasette" cassette tape drive. Third was a Franklin Ace 2000 (Apple IIe clone) with a 5MB HDD and 5.25" floppy. I added a Bernoulli box with two 10MB cartridges the next year. I kept them in the garage until about 15 years ago, when my wife made me start "disposing" of all my old computer equipment.
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Yup. IBM 1620 with hydraulic disk drive that always leaked hydraulic oil on the floor! An I think it had 40K of 6-bit Binary Coded Decimal "digits". Pretty quickly learned how to cold-start it by using the bit switches mounted on the front of the selectric typewriter that was the operator's consol. Punch cards and a 60 lines per MINUTE line printer (upper case only). Those were the good old days.
Roy Williams
Member 10119140 wrote:
Pretty quickly learned how to cold-start it by using the bit switches mounted on the front of the selectric typewriter that was the operator's consol...
You are describing a different machine. The 1620 (either version) didn't have bit switches sufficient to boot the machine. The cold start was done with a punch card in the card reader. I think it was 35000000000... mumble mumble. I used to have the 30 or so digits memorized. Warm start was done by hitting the halt button and typing 4900796"RS" on the console, which was a branch to location 00796 in core (the main monitor loop).
I'm retired. There's a nap for that... - Harvey
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Comitstrip: First Computer[^] My first was an Amstrad 1640: EGA graphics, 640K RAM, 8MHz processor, no math coprocessor (but a socket so you could add one), no HDD, but twin 5 1/2" floppies (360Kb per disk). And that was second hand... What was your first "real" computer? (I'm not counting Spectrums and their ilk here: if it had a cassette tape it doesn't count :laugh: )
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
OriginalGriff wrote: What was your first "real" computer? (I'm not counting Spectrums and their ilk here: if it had a cassette tape it doesn't count ) Mine was a Xerox 820 with the dual-processor option plus an eight-inch floppy drive and an eight-inch, eight megabyte hard drive in a separate case. It was already eight years old when I got it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox\_820
