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Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 4:08 am
by MartinW
NCR Century 100 16mb
Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:12 am
by NoRRmad
Commodore 64. (Oh, and I programmed a bit on a Texas Instruments SR-52.)
Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:18 am
by zooomart
My first purchase: AT&T 8086 with the extra big 30 meg hard drive, dual 5.5" floppies, And Harvard Graphics presentation software.
First one I used was a M&D CAD work station
Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:35 am
by bikermeow
An XT with the everyone must have Loderunner. And about 20 free 5.25' floppies to go with that. Of course I upgraded to an AT eventually

and upgraded that with the proud acquisition of a V45 math-co chip
Cheers
Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:53 am
by owldaddy
Macintosh 636CD
Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:27 am
by CycleRob
1st one Used ? . . . . ? . . . ? . . .
Owned: the $200 Commodore 64 & I still have it in the original box. That was pretty expensive for a guy like me back then. Unfortunately it's SID chip is dead, so it sings no more. Wrote a few BASIC programs and entered the others from a booklet. Back then, it's 5ΒΌ" 720 Kilobyte external floppy drive was considered a "Hard Drive".
BTW, This post belongs in the Off Topic section.
Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:53 am
by sjbmw
First learned to code on a IBM 1130, IBM System 38... 1978...RPG, COBOL, Fortran
Apple II... Basic 1981...
First PC, a 286 in 1985 or 86 I think....
Let's hear it for Wildcat BBS.....
Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 7:49 pm
by Ves
Commodore 64. Had a modem too, to talk to the IBM mainframe at school... smokin!
You would buy games books. They had line after line of basic code. You had to type the code into the computer one line at a time, and then you had a running game.
Yeah, baby...
Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 12:17 am
by iowabeakster
Atari 800
Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 7:33 am
by stilldking
Commodore Vic-20 with the Data-sette. [A cassette player that (VERY slowly) loaded programs from a standard tape.]
Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:25 am
by omg1010
Osborne "Portable" (
http://oldcomputers.net/osborne.html) 1982 ... A portable suitcase at that time ...
Best regards
Oliver
Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:38 pm
by machew01
I can't remember. But I can remember passing through the computer operations service window a box of cards that contained my Fortran program. When he got time, the operator would then load them into the card reader. And voila! The next morning, I would have my results. Pretty slick, huh!
mac
Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 8:04 am
by scottybooj
The original........ the Z3.
How old you think I am? I think my father wasn't even born when that thing was created.
I think our first in-home computer was a 286. First one I used was a vic-20 back in 4th or 5th grade.
Remember using a magnet to clear the tapes?

Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:51 am
by stilldking
scottybooj wrote:
Remember using a magnet to clear the tapes?

My Grandfather had an electromagnet to de-gauss watch parts, so I used that. Worked GREAT!
Even if the tape wasn't the one you intended to de-magnify (or was just a little too close).

Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 1:53 pm
by mcooperstein
MikeCam wrote:DEC VT100 Sep 1978
DEC VT100 was a terminal, not a computer. You Probably meant, VAX 11-780 or possibly PDP-11 running either VAX VMS or RSX11M or RSTS-E.
I know my DEC's!! I cut my teeth on them.
My first 'home' computer that I used was a MITS Altair 8800. Then when the Apple II came out I got one of those.
btw-the MITS Altair was the *first* computer available to consumers for home use. It ran CP/M, the foreruner to DOS, very similar to DEC's RT11 OS.
Mark
Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 3:00 pm
by Airman
IBM PC, 64k memory, 8088 @ 4.77 hz processor, DOS 1.1. It came with one 320k 5 1/4" floppy I installed a seecond floppy giving me huge storage capacity. I eventually installed 256k of memory,(all it would hold I believe) and a 9600 bd UsRobotics modem. That was 1981 I believe. I became one of the legions of "Sysops" running a BBS, (Bulletin Board Service) using a second phone line to the house. For those of you who wonder what a basic IBM PC would cost when they came out, I think out the door it was $2700.
Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 3:40 pm
by rdsmith3
IBM 5110 around 1979 or so in college
Radio Shack TRS-80 was first PC used at work around 1982 or so
IBM PC was the first one I bought myself in 1985
Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 6:44 pm
by Sunbeemer
Texas Instruments 99-4A with cassette tape storage, text-to-speech module and parallel adapter for a printer. Later I got an Osborne portable to write my thesis on...the original "Window"

Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:46 am
by jfbarron
A 486 - 33 with an astounding 4 MB of RAM. Cost about 3500 bucks back in 91 with a few accessories like a decent monitor and a dot matrix printer.
Learned how to use AutoCAD on it. Learned to hate DOS. It's like Martian!
Computers are much better now, I spend hours designing systems in 3D SolidWorksfor clients and it is an enviable lifestyle.
I get to ride my bike and live a free life. How did I ever spend all those years as a wage slave?
They say ya gotta eat a ton of s**t before you die.
What a great time to be alive!
Re: Your first computer?
Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:52 am
by Caol
'84 or '85?
Sinclair ZX-80
RF modulator for Channel 3 (or 4)
Cassette tape storage
ROM based BASIC
1K of RAM
But I splurged and got a 64K Rampack and a "printer"!
and an HP9826 at work! It had a 5-1/4" floppy drive! Wheeeee!
FOR I = 1 TO 10
PRINT I
NEXT I
I think the Sinclair is still in a case at home!