First computer

[Quetelet]

Re: First computer

Anyone ever play "Elite"

[ArchStantonsGhost]

Re: First computer

My brain.

[stuckinthe80's]

Re: First computer

A ZX spectrum 48K. I loved Manic Miner and Paperboy. I sat for hours trying to load a game and getting frustrated when about 10 seconds from completion it would crash! Those were the days!

[andyccm]

Re: First computer

First real computer was 48k Spectrum but before that had a Philips Videopac7000

[Derekflint]

Re: First computer

First real computer was 48k Spectrum but before that had a Philips Videopac7000

If I were to actually buy a computer for its retro importance, it would have to be out of the ZX81 or BBC Micro.

However, the Videopac in terms of looks and specs (the cart slot, the flat keyboard) surely has to be the most retro computer ever. Just LOOK at it.
I'd like to say we've come a long way, but I'm currently looking at a generic PC.

[Kiop]

Re: First computer

I had the Videopac as well - it was my first games console and I loved it.

[Etch-a-sketch]

Re: First computer

Well, apart from my neighbours having an early TV game console my stepfather had an Exity Sorceror in 1979!



Most kids I went to school with didn't even have a home computer (apart from Ataris etc) even in the late 80s or early 90s as adults! So, it was a novelty for us and our friends to come and hang out and play the old 'tape cassette' games in the early 80's. He had it hooked up to a black and white tv and was actually writing programs for it.

We used to play Space Invaders at home when everyone else was still playing Pong on TV games. It had 8K, 16K or 32K or RAM. I mean, what the hell could you DO with such lo RAM? But yeah, I too remember waiting for ages for tape games to load (or not load). I used to play 'Quest' quite a lot too.

Then in 1986 he bought an Amiga 1000!! Which at the time was amazing as could be taken out to 8meg!! At the time the graphics were incredible and nobody I knew until years later had computers like this at home. We were very lucky. He used it for his work and we played games on it....in rgb colour with 3d animation.

The Amiga 1000 was a quantum leap above any other system out at the time, as it included a 32-bit pre-emptive multi-tasking GUI (Graphic User Interface), 4 channel stereo sound, 880k 3-1/2 inch floppy disks, and video modes which provided up to 4096 colors at once. The Amiga can even display multiple screens at different resolutions on a single monitor, all at the same time.

The Amiga quickly became a favorite for graphic artists and animators since its multiple co-processors allowed it to do complex images and animations that other systems, with the exception of expensive workstations, just couldn't handle.

Anyway, having computers around when I was young helped me quite a lot in my career. I was computer literate early and using Macs at college in the late 80s in my design work. Got me a job straight out of Uni too...knowing my way around a design program in 1990 was an advantage.

On the Amiga in the mid 80s we used to play:

- F/A 18 interceptor
- Myst
- Test Drive
- Defender of the Crown
- Dark Castle
- Star Glider
- Mad Marbles
- Surgeon

...sigh...good times

[NostalgiaFreak]

Re: First computer

Mine was an Acorn Electron in around '83 or '84.

[glam_racket]

Re: First computer

Let's see...
From nipper to now

A generic Pong-o-tron
Atari 2600
(Does Grandstand's Astro Wars count?)
Dragon 32
Atari ST 800XL
Then Various PCs (up to the one I'm sat typing this on now)

[Derekflint]

Re: First computer

Mine was an Acorn Electron in around '83 or '84.

I like the Electron nowadays - it's a clean, no nonsense design.

@glam racket - Astro Wars might not be a computer, but it was a beautiful piece of kit - the control stick alone was a work of art.

[NostalgiaFreak]

Re: First computer

Yeah, there's still something that looks very fresh and not dated about it to me, same goes for the Atari 800XL as well, which was my second computer/games system.

[stephengraham]

Re: First computer

Hi all....
My first computer P4 with 256 RAM, i am currently using the same.
I have purchased that computer in 2004.....

[anjilee81]

Re: First computer

My very first computer was an Apple IIc... waaay before the Macs lol. Had a green screen like you see in movies like "Working Girl". Floppy disks the size of salad plates, everything being in DOS code... yeah, that was the stuff lol. Funny thing is, since I grew up with the basics like that, when things go wrong with my computer now, I have an idea of what to go looking for in computer codes to see what looks amiss. Ive had to rebuild hard drives a few times with these skills. I also recently came across some of the games I use to play on that thing on classicarcadegames.com. Pretty awesome site if anyone is interested.

[Elbmek]

Re: First computer

I was one of the first trained up on the army's first computer system - in 1984, green screens and power that would not light a match at 1mm

[Sculpher]

Re: First computer

...I use to play on that thing on classicarcadegames.com. Pretty awesome...

Getting a dead link here...