How I got my start with Computers?

[Bigun]

I messed with digital computers while in the U. S. Army in the 1960s.

My first PC was a Tandy 1000A with dual 5.25 inch floppies and 640K of RAM for which I paid a LOT more than you can get a really nice laptop for these days. Accounting for inflation, more than ten times more!

Your stories below.

[Wingnut]

Also had a Tandy 1000.  But my 1st was a TI 994A 16 bit commuter.

[Bigun]

Also had a Tandy 1000.  But my 1st was a TI 994A 16 bit commuter.

Well, I also had a TI scientific computer purchased in 1977. Does that count?

[DB]

My first "computer" was a wire wrapped Z80 I built running code written in machine language on C size graph paper... All the relative/absolute logic jumps were calculated by hand...

On the way home from buying the Z80 CPU chip I also got my first speeding ticket... Too excited to get home I guess...

[Bigun]

My first "computer" was a wire wrapped Z80 I built running code written in machine language on C size graph paper... All the relative/absolute logic jumps were calculated by hand...

On the way home from buying the Z80 CPU chip I also got my first speeding ticket... Too excited to get home I guess...

After the Tandy, I never bought another store-bought computer until maybe five years ago.

[240B]

When I was a kid, my brother bought a Commodore 64. My first time ever seeing a computer.[/size]
We played text games. "You are in a forest." N,S,E,W



examine mailbox
https://writtenrealms.com/game

[Wingnut]

Well, I also had a TI scientific computer purchased in 1977. Does that count?

Was that a calculator? Well that does predate the TI 99 by a few years.  Not sure if you win?  lol

[Smokin Joe]

Well, I have an old TI, in the box still. It was given to me. First experience was on timeshare with UVa, from college. Then, Fortran at UND (*&*$# punch cards....
First I owned was a TRS-80, blown out to 128K with dual floppy drives, dot matrix printer, and the cassette drive.
Next was a Packard Bell, running Win 3.11,
Then graduated to a Toshiba laptop running Win 95, and used it for work. Subsequent machines included another Toshiba running Win 98 (2nd ed), one running Win XP, along with a Sony Vaio and a couple of house boxes running XP.
Finally, after dodging the intermediate forms of Windows, made the move to an HP laptop (switched over to SSD when the drive crashed, the day after I had made a backup) with Win 10 Pro 64 bit. and a new house box running the same.

I bought all of my laptops refurbed (or open box: the Sony, which was an SOB to figure out--bad memory, changing that out fixed it). I have become accustomed to Win 10, and am not really in a rush to 'upgrade' to 11.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't want my stuff in the cloud, and 11 seems pushy that way.

[corbe]

   A hand me down IBM 5150 from Shell.  It taught me EDLIN and how to stuff as many drivers as you could above the 740K limit.  I've been on IBM Mainframe throughout my career. Started on a Univac 1050-II in Supply/USAF 72.

[Bigun]

Well, I have an old TI, in the box still. It was given to me. First experience was on timeshare with UVa, from college. Then, Fortran at UND (*&*$# punch cards....
First I owned was a TRS-80, blown out to 128K with dual floppy drives, dot matrix printer, and the cassette drive.
Next was a Packard Bell, running Win 3.11,
Then graduated to a Toshiba laptop running Win 95, and used it for work. Subsequent machines included another Toshiba running Win 98 (2nd ed), one running Win XP, along with a Sony Vaio and a couple of house boxes running XP.
Finally, after dodging the intermediate forms of Windows, made the move to an HP laptop (switched over to SSD when the drive crashed, the day after I had made a backup) with Win 10 Pro 64 bit. and a new house box running the same.

I bought all of my laptops refurbed (or open box: the Sony, which was an SOB to figure out--bad memory, changing that out fixed it). I have become accustomed to Win 10, and am not really in a rush to 'upgrade' to 11.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't want my stuff in the cloud, and 11 seems pushy that way.

@Smokin Joe  A couple of weeks ago I took a W10 laptop that was supposedly not upgradeable to W11 and installed Linux Mint Cinamon on it. My son played with it for a week and yesterday brought me a perfectly fine Dell Precision laptop with W11 factory installed and asked me if I could do it to his. I did and he's happy as a clam. No clouds unless you install and pay for them. (My son has the long knives out for any kind of software that requires a subscription and absolutely hates Microsoft.)

I would do mine to if I could get A Linux version of my genealogy software.

[DB]

   A hand me down IBM 5150 from Shell.  It taught me EDLIN and how to stuff as many drivers as you could above the 740K limit.  I've been on IBM Mainframe throughout my career. Started on a Univac 1050-II in Supply/USAF 72.

I finally dumped my IBM PC 1 in a dumpster about 7 years ago...

[Smokin Joe]

@Smokin Joe  A couple of weeks ago I took a W10 laptop that was supposedly not upgradeable to W11 and installed Linux Mint Cinamon on it. My son played with it for a week and yesterday brought me a perfectly fine Dell Precision laptop with W11 factory installed and asked me if I could do it to his. I did and he's happy as a clam. No clouds unless you install and pay for them. (My son has the long knives out for any kind of software that requires a subscription and absolutely hates Microsoft.)

I would do mine to if I could get A Linux version of my genealogy software.

Unfortunately, I am using mine for work, and the software I use was designed for Windows. There isn't an equivalent in Linux, and what I use is an industry standard. BTW, I agree with your son about subscription software. It's why I installed Office 2019 instead of 365. (I bought my first version of Office with the manuals, on floppy disks (25, 3 1/4) for 2 dollars, unopened, at a rummage sale.)

[Bigun]

Unfortunately, I am using mine for work, and the software I use was designed for Windows. There isn't an equivalent in Linux, and what I use is an industry standard.

  Same trap I'm in.

[Sighlass]

Brother says our first computer was a TI-99/4A

But it does not look like what I remember...

My memory has it more like 1981-1982 IBM or clone like MPC-1600 (except only one disk input) ??? I just don't remember to be honest.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPC_1600

I tried to do the graphics of  Space Invaders, and succeeded (visually but I could only do a simulation of the game without user input)... I made my own report cards and got away with it for a few months... until I was caught... and got the mandatory whooping.

I got tired of the limited memory and lack of programing training on how to make input/output of games so I forgot the computer. We moved and never set the computer back up. It wasn't until around 1993-4 that I got another computer (and a huge phone bill for not linking to the correct internet connection on dialup).

I found conservative forums and was hooked....



 

[DB]

The first computer I bought was a Sinclair ZX80

https://www.timexsinclair.com/computers/sinclair-zx80/

Cassette tape to save/load programs...

[roamer_1]

After the Tandy, I never bought another store-bought computer until maybe five years ago.

My first was an old HP 386sx that my inlaws gave me... It was busted and wouldn't boot... I learned to troubleshoot the boot sequence through a DOS for Dummies book, and general logic - Literally found a pie recipe in the Config.sys ... rewrote that and it was off to the races.

That computer changed everything. When I figured out how valuable it could be for my business, I bent into it hard.

My next one was a Tandy 486sx and I jacked it up with a companion chip that stacked into the CPU to make it a dx... and bought my first hdd - What was I ever going to do with 200 mb of space- Such a grand vista... I couldn't use up 200mb in my whole lifetime 

I too built white boxen, nearly all the way along- Nowadays, it ain't hardly worth it...Business class off-lease machines are so cheap.

[Bigun]

My first was an old HP 386sx that my inlaws gave me... It was busted and wouldn't boot... I learned to troubleshoot the boot sequence through a DOS for Dummies book, and general logic - Literally found a pie recipe in the Config.sys ... rewrote that and it was off to the races.

That computer changed everything. When I figured out how valuable it could be for my business, I bent into it hard.

My next one was a Tandy 486sx and I jacked it up with a companion chip that stacked into the CPU to make it a dx... and bought my first hdd - What was I ever going to do with 200 mb of space- Such a grand vista... I couldn't use up 200mb in my whole lifetime 

I too built white boxen, nearly all the way along- Nowadays, it ain't hardly worth it...Business class off-lease machines are so cheap.

Yep! Spend more on components than its worth.