Oppo Question Time: First Computer

"505Turbeaux" (505turbeaux) 03/11/2015 at 15:18 • Filed to: None

0

55

I was just talking to one of my coworkers about a video driver being 300MB, and I said "well back in MY days" he finished my sentence as "those dial up speeds". No sir, this predated it quite a bit. Timex Sinclair was mine. What was yours?

and yeah I had this

Jonathan Harper > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:22

1

My dad had a KAYPRO. It had alien invaders on a floppy disk and was amazing.

505Turbeaux > Jonathan Harper 03/11/2015 at 15:23

0

DAT CRT

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:24

3

The TRS-80 was mine....well, my mom's actually, but she let me use it. The Sinclair was my second.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:24

1

my first PC that was 'mine' was a eMachines T1220. Run of the mill for the time of 2002. But the first PC I ever used at home was one with Windows 3.1 (IBM PC i believe) with an onboard speaker doing all the sounds, we also had a Win 95 machine right next to it after a couple years or so, and it had an awesome NEC CRT monitor that had built-in speakers.

TheHondaBro > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:25

1

Gosh, I don't remember, some beige PC running Windows 98.

My first Mac, however, was an eMac.

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:25

1

This:

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/b/Kq3Ff7

At least the first one that I've owned myself. The first one that I used was some sort of Mac from the early 90s.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:26

1

Can't remember the brand but it only had one of those big floppy's for actual memory so I would just make lists of all the auto manufactures and cars I could think of.

No games or anything, just a black screen with a cmd line.

505Turbeaux > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 03/11/2015 at 15:26

1

glad to see I am not the only old school guy around

ranwhenparked > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:26

1

It was an IBM 5150 PC, but it was used and we didn't have it very long. The first one we got new was a Macintosh Performa 630CD.

Agrajag > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:26

2

I don't remember what model, but it was an Apple desktop circa 1995. My brother still has it somewhere. My main memories of it were endless hours playing Power Pete and Escape Velocity.

Carl (@stuffcarlsays) > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:27

3

Commodore VIC-20

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:28

1

I grew up with a Packard Bell with a massive 30 mb (with an M, not a K) hard drive, a modem, and a "turbo" button that lit up when you pressed it. I also had to learn how to fix it as I used it because computers weren't terribly good back then and my parents sure as shit weren't going to figure it out. Also, for some reason half of the games and programs I had for it could only be opened using DOS, so I got to start playing with that when I could barely read.

Funktheduck > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:29

1

My first computer was put together from a bare bones kit from tiger direct. It ran windows 95 I think. Maybe 98

BrainForest > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:30

4

TI-99/4A!

My Dad brought it home brand new. There was no disk drive, but the tape drive saved data in modem-handshake-like beeps and buzzes. The speech synthesizer, connected on the right, was awesome.

However, Dad wouldn't let us hook it up to the TV for fear of damaging the tube. We had to make due with an amber monochrome monitor.

Yes, Bill Cosby was the marketing face of the product.

505Turbeaux > Funktheduck 03/11/2015 at 15:31

0

nice, good old kit machines!

duurtlang > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:31

1

A 486 at 60 or MHz, with a 500 MB drive, probably about 8 MB of RAM and it already had a fancy 3.5 inch floppy drive and a 4 speed CD ROM player. 14 inch CRT screen. Windows 95, in late 1995. I was 12, and it was the family computer. We did have a Nintendo starting in the 80s.

My family was a bit late with having a computer at home. I did use 5.25 inch floppy disks, DOS and Windows 3.1 at school prior to our first home computer.

Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:31

1

My grandfather gave us a Commodore 64 way back in the mid 1980s.

505Turbeaux > BrainForest 03/11/2015 at 15:31

0

nice! I remember the RF adapters like that

area man > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:32

1

Anyone remember Northgate? I think we got a 386 in 1991 or so. Ran some version of MS-DOS - I remember keeping a little piece of paper next to the monitor with the commands for a couple coloring/puzzle games written down.

Quattro-luvr, Powered by Datsun & Stinger > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:33

2

My first computer was a Commodore 128D.

The first computer I ever used was an Apple II.

First computer I broke was a IBM PC Jr.

Jonathan Harper > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:34

2

I just asked him, he still has it. You should retrofit a Kaypro into the back of the 505 and make it a time period accurate "mobile office" lol.

505Turbeaux > Quattro-luvr, Powered by Datsun & Stinger 03/11/2015 at 15:34

2

yeah I had a IIe in school. Goddamn Oregon Trail fo days

505Turbeaux > Jonathan Harper 03/11/2015 at 15:34

1

now you got me thinking dirty thoughts. I just tracked down the original radio for it too

crowmolly > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:35

1

IBM PC Jr!

No hard drive? Check.

CGA Monitor? Check.

Early wireless keyboard? Check.

The standard spec came with the same 4.77MHz 8088 CPU as the PC 5150, along with 64KB of memory. However, the machine also came with a pair of joystick ports as standard, as well as ROM cartridge slots in the front, which could hold games. The machine was a major flop in the US, and as a result was never released in Europe.

BrainForest > area man 03/11/2015 at 15:35

0

Yes! We had several Northgates, including a sweet 486 DX4 and the first Pentium on the block. Their facility was a few miles from us; we bought right from the company store.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:36

2

My Dad was homebuilding before it was easy, and the first computer he put me in front of was running Windows 3.0 on a 386DX. Of course, Windows was for his work stuff and pretty much everything I did on the machine was through DOS. The first time "I" had a computer was a laptop for college...my parents didn't think it was necessary (or good) for their children to have private computers.

Jonathan Harper > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:37

3

you know what to do

Snuze: Needs another Swede > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:38

1

My parents hate technology, so we got on the bandwagon late. It was a Packard Bell (remember those piece of crap?) with a 133MHz Pentium, 16MB of RAM, 4x CD-ROM, and a whopping 2.1GB hard drive. I remember thinking "My god... 2.1 GB... I'll never even come close to filling this up!"

505Turbeaux > Jonathan Harper 03/11/2015 at 15:41

1

my father as Director of IT for a large manufacturing company, had a collection of one of every machine the company ever owned, including cell phones, in an unused corner of the warehouse. I dont know what happened after they canned him 5 years away from retirement, but I wish he left with all that stiff. Just that Apple Lisa...

E. Julius > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:43

1

By the time I came into the world this was the spare computer that had been passed down to my brother. We also had some windows 95 machine I can't even remember. First computer that was mine alone was a 2002 Dell Inspiron laptop that my brother handed down to me when he upgraded in 2005.

MonkeePuzzle > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:51

0

my first family computer was something akin to this IBM compatible "portable". My father has worked in software design and sales since the 70s so we were always well heeled in computer terms. First people in my area to get a Pentium!!! wowzas.

First computer I actually paid for with my own money? was a 700mhz Athlon, overclocked to just over 1ghz. a scaldingly hot (no seriously, it burned me!) machine in the hot australian summer in a room packed with teenage boys all gaming. My position beneath the air con was no small coincidence.

I'll protect the identities of the others, but yes, that's me in my stylin' hawaiian shirt

and my college years, where I specialised in computer hardware and networking

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:52

0

SX-64 was my first owned computer...

Still have it. Still works.

moved on to a Mac Plus with the full-size external 20meg HD...

then an Amiga 2000 video toaster rig (mostly used it to play Bubble Bobble)

then a PowerComputing powerCenter 120...

lots of Macs for a while... used G4s and G5s and MacBooks, then I discovered the world of Hackintoshing...

Nibbles > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:54

1

It was an Emerson 8086 of some model name from somewhere around 1985. Two 5 1/4 floppy drives, 640k memory (because we'll never need more than 640k) and a CGA card. I had it connected to a tractor-feed Dot Matrix printer so I could make Sick Banners for my school presentations.

I played games like Zaxxon, Maze, Golf and TMNT 1989.

505Turbeaux > Nibbles 03/11/2015 at 15:55

0

did your mom also use it to print out the letters of Happy Birthday for you and hang them up?

Klaus Schmoll > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:56

1

Some 386 with almighty 32 Mghz, and Turbo button to slow it down to 16, running Win 3.0 or so. Much fun was had with Test Drive and LHX Attack Chopper.

uofime > Agrajag 03/11/2015 at 15:58

1

Power Pete was awesome, but I always sucked at it

Nibbles > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 15:59

1

Lol nope. My parents were so computer illiterate, they'd just give me instructions on what to print and I'd do it for 'em. I was a fuckin' Print Shop Master; I could make any banner you wanted as long as it was a barely-legible monochrome

It was also the first computer I ever broke. I remember it like it happened yesterday. Couldn't figure out why I could delete a folder so out came "deltree .. /y"

505Turbeaux > Klaus Schmoll 03/11/2015 at 16:02

0

hahahaha DAT LTD

505Turbeaux > Nibbles 03/11/2015 at 16:03

1

and, youre done! hahaha goddammit

jariten1781 > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 16:03

1

The first I remember was some IBM back in the 84-85 ish time frame. Don't remember much about it other than it was the green monochrome screen and it didn't have a hard drive, instead dual floppies. Moved up in the years...things I remember are the first EGA then VGA graphics dad brought home then Sound Blaster which blew my fucking mind. We had 386s then 486 then 486DX then skipped first gen Pentiums. At that point I started buying my own stuff with some el-cheapo (comparatively, would be way expensive today) Dell Pentium II in late 97.

RallyWrench > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 16:08

1

Sinclair, you say?

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > Agrajag 03/11/2015 at 16:51

1

Escape Velocity was the best! Ambrosia had great mac games, it's a shame they didn't port any onto iOS or android.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 17:54

0

Mine was an Apple II clone that I saved up and spent $300 for. Was already severely outdated when I bought it. Bad purchase, but I had the fever...

JGrabowMSt > 505Turbeaux 03/11/2015 at 18:35

0

First I had an HP POS that wasnt put together right from the factory, then I went through a couple of custom builds that were upgraded, starting with a dual Pentium 3 Xeon, then to a Pentium D 940, then Core 2 Duo and then a Core 2 Quad upgrade. Now Im back to dual Xeon and glad about it.

But I mostly use a Chromebook or my MacBook Pro with a virtual machine for work.

Kids these days have no idea what theyre missing...

Tekamul > Carl (@stuffcarlsays) 03/11/2015 at 18:59

0

Me too! With a serial tape drive.

LuczOr > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 03/11/2015 at 20:42

0

This is my experience as well. Big 5.5" floppy disks. We actually had a game on one of the floppys, but I can't remember the game for the life of me.

LuczOr > Snuze: Needs another Swede 03/11/2015 at 20:51

0

Lol, I remember telling my buddies that I had a over 2GB storage from 3 hard drives. I remember the response so clearly to this day, "What could you possibly need that much space for? You won't need to buy a drive ever again."

Now I sit here with 2.5TB half full. And that's only moderate storage imo.

Agrajag > uofime 03/11/2015 at 21:24

0

Those fucking dinosaurs, man.

Agrajag > Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. 03/11/2015 at 21:26

0

That and its sequel are among my favorite games ever. So many hours sunk into them. I loved all the add-ons and expansions people made for them as well. I have an older powerpc iMac I've been thinking of reinstalling os9 onto just so I can play them again.

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > Agrajag 03/11/2015 at 22:26

0

you can play it on windows, at least EV Nova you can. I also spent hours and hours on those games. Igadzra FTW

Agrajag > Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. 03/11/2015 at 22:41

0

I forgot all about Nova somehow. I didn't get into that one as much for some reason. Might need to replay that one. The first two are OS9 only it looks like. Price hasn't changed much in almost 20 years...

I still have nightmares of Cap'n Hector.

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > Agrajag 03/12/2015 at 09:11

1

Haha god damn Captain Hector! Nova was my favourite, the weapons were really diverse and the story lines were fantastic. If you buy nova you can download total conversion mods to get the first two, I tried out one of them, can't remember which though.

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > 505Turbeaux 03/12/2015 at 10:38

1

Mine was an Atari computer. Looking online I can't find anything that was exactly similar, but if I had to guess it was probably a 600 or 800XL. We had a Summer Olympic game loaded onto it, that my sister and I played to death. We would always false start the swimming competitions because it took like 20 minutes to complete. Screw that.

505Turbeaux > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! 03/12/2015 at 10:40

0

I remember those!

SantaRita > 505Turbeaux 03/12/2015 at 11:53

1

"mine" but i was using them staying late after school a decade earlier.

The Apple Macintosh Performa 6200CD features a 75 MHz PowerPC 603 processor, 8 MB of RAM , a 1.0 GB hard driv e and a 4X CD-ROM drive in a compact desktop case. This model also shipped with a 15" Apple color monitor and an external 14.4k modem (mine had in INTERNAL modem)

this system taught me how to upgrade RAM, Upgrade a modem, add a TV tuner card....and that if you delete the system folder, you're going to need the OS Floppies ASAP.