Well, I was reading a post about Microsoft browsers, how old they were and stuff, and I had this question in my mind. What was the first computer you used? Not calculators or automatic washing machines :).

Well mine was the Atari ST.

http://emulation.net/atarist/clabfalcon.gif

The Atari ST was based around a 680x0-series processor, just like the original Macintosh. It was built, however, mainly for graphical strength, which was shown in its many game titles.

Here`s a website for some specs:

http://www.old-computers.com

is Comodore 64 called as a computer ? If yes that's what i used.
else it was 468 with about 4mb rams.
Not that old though.

Well, I learned to "program" on an old Radio Shack, I think it was the TRS-80. Then I got my very own Atari 800. This wasn't a gaming system like the 2600. For those of you too young to remember, Atari made several computers like the Commodore 64. This one came packed with 48k! I later "upgraded" it with an external 5 1/4 inch floppy drive and an external tape drive. Good times.

Mine was the Tandy TRS-80 as well with a tape drive. I upgraded to a Commodore 64C later and then a 128. As a matter of fact, I still have the C64C, the 5 1/4 inch drive and the modem all in it's original packaging that I put it back in after I moved to the 128.

Tandy 1000HX

The first computer I ever used was a Philips P2000

Somewhere back in '81 or '82 I think.
This was before DOS. Had to type BASIC comands on the screen and data was stored on a miniature cassette.

Later on I got one with a floppy. Not the miniature floppy of 5.25 inch but somewhere around 11 inch I think. Kinda like an old fashion LP :)

My first puter at home was a BBC Acorn Electron. Build in 1982 and state of the art :rolleyes:

My first "modern day" computer was a 4.77 Mhz x86 compoter with one low density 3.5" diskdrive. No harddrive yet. DOS 3.11
CGI graphics too!

From then on it is upwards with a 286, 386, 486, Pentium 1 75 Mhz, Pentium 2 400 Mhz, Pentium III 6.. whoa, hang on. I'm still stuck with the pentium 2 400 mhz :D

Originally posted by Sticks
is Comodore 64 called as a computer ? If yes that's what i used.
else it was 468 with about 4mb rams.
Not that old though.

I also used a 486 with also 4MBs of ram, Pentiums really made me suffer those days, I just wanted it so much... :bawling:

Now, even on an XP1800+, it sometimes feel a little slow :cartman:

Here's a nice trip down memory lane.

http://www.old-computers.com

The VIC-20 was the first one I used (neighbors), but the C-64 was the first one I owned.

http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=252

SPEED 1.0227 Mhz
RAM 5 KB (3583 bytes free), expandable up to 32 KB
ROM 16 KB
GRAPHIC MODES 184 x 176
COLORS 8 character colors, 16 background/border colors
SOUND 3 voices / 3 octaves

Oh the power!

Wow, this thread has brought back some memories. After my Atari 800, I got a 386-sx. The sx versions had no math coprocessor. It had 2M of ram and a huge 20M hard drive.

Original IBM with yellow monitor. Those were the days. I think it had an amazing 30MB HD, along with a few Kb of ram. FEEL THE SPEED! :).

That was an 386DX wih 4mb RAM and 400Mb hdd!! :D

ML

Thanks for the link akashik,

I`ve got some specs for mine:

CPU Motorola MC68000
SPEED 8 mHz
COPROCESSOR N/A
RAM 128 KB (130 ST) / 512 KB (260 ST- 520 ST) / 1 MB (520 ST+)
ROM 32 KB / 192 KB
TEXT MODES 40 x 25 / 80 x 25
GRAPHIC MODES 320 x 200 / 640 x 200 / 640 x 400

I don't really remember what it was... a 386 I believe... I remember Windows 3.0 :).

Sinclair ZX Spectrum :D

i started playing with 20286 computers, in those days Jurassic park film was released and i always used to wonder how they created those dinosaurs on such crappy technology.

Also, in the film some fat ass Linux programmer controlled 100k ports with park mainframe. oh man, that was cool and exciting for a teen ;)

I dont recall the system......but the programming I first learnt was called BASIC . I developed a Time/Distance/Speed calculations program for car rallying with help from my maths professor who taught me about computers in his backyard sitting under a tree. This was way back in early 1980s.

This was mine.....


NAME ZX 80
MANUFACTURER Sinclair
TYPE Home Computer
ORIGIN United Kingdom
YEAR February 1980
END OF PRODUCTION 1981
BUILT IN LANGUAGE Sinclair Basic
KEYBOARD Membrane keyboard, 40 keys, 1 SHIFT key
CPU Zilog Z80A
SPEED 1 MHz
RAM 1 kb, 901 bytes available (upgradable to 64 kb)
ROM 4 kb
(can be expended to 8kb, thereby making it almost a ZX81)
TEXT MODES 32 x 22
GRAPHIC MODES 64 x 44
COLORS Black and white
SOUND None
SIZE / WEIGHT 21,9 x 17,5 x 4 cm / 375gr
I/O PORTS Z80 Bus, tape, video
POWER SUPPLY 9v DC, external PSU
PERIPHERALS 16k RAM extension
PRICE Kit model : £79.95 (UK, 1980)
Assembled model : £99.95 (UK, 1980)
190 (France, 1980)
:D

I had an old school IBM that ran some pre Microsoft...My grandfather worked for IBM so we got the early 80's hook ups

I'm young. My first machine was when I was 10-11 in 1995. It was a 75mhz P1, 1.2GB hard drive, 16mb of ram, 4mb video card, Windows 95 Hewlett Packard. Heh. Memories.

First two systems:

- Commodore Vic-20 (a friend's)
- Tandy "CoCo" TRS-80

The Tandy had loads of programming manuals - this is the system I learned BASIC on.

Then I got a later model C-64 (the slimline one). Had a "proper" monitor, disk drive, tape drive, Commodore printer, etc.

Followed by a 286 Unisys.

Then a Pentium 120mhz IBM Aptiva (this is the first computer I had graphical Internet on at home). We eventually put a 4.3gb HDD (at a cost of $430) and another 32mb ram in this box.

Then a Dell Latitude Pentium 166 MMX laptop. An unfortunate accident with a glass of coke seen the eventual demise of this laptop two years ago.

Then several computers since then :)

-Shaun

My 1st computer was a COMMIE (commodore 64) which i do still use now!!!!!! (Classic awesome computer!!!)

The Dude :)

I started out with an atari 800xl, 64k with data stored on audio cassettes (those things screeched).
I remember the excitement unpacking my next which was an atari 520st with a whopping 512k memory and one of those new fangled 3 1/2 inch "floppy" disk drives.
* runs off to oldcomputers.com for a nostalgic look *

The TRS-80 at radio shack.

Then all of the computers at K-Mart, including a timex sinclair and vic-20.

I was writing programs in basic on graph paper before I even had a computer, and would follow through the logic of them on paper. I was a major geek, apparently.

Then my mom surprised my brother and I with a vic-20 for our birthday. I was 11 years old.

Mine was a 80286 12Mhz with 42 MB Conner HDD, hercules graphic card and a monochromatic screen.

It had 2 MB of SIPP RAM, not SIMM. When I decided to move on to 386, I had to resoldier the SIPPs into SIMMs (remove the legs)...

Had to use sw emulators with the 286 to make the games beleive it wasn't a hercules. otherwise most of them wouldn't run... Like Test drive 2 and others... Woohoo, good times :)

I wonder if I can make the Test drive 2 run on my AMD XP1600+... :)

WebTV was the first thing I used to get access to the internet..

My first PC was an Atari, after that, an Emachines 433 Celeron

:banana: :gthumb: :banana:

Apple IIplus
CPU: MOS Technology/SynerTek 6502
CPU Speed: 1 Mhz
FPU: none
Bus Speed: 1 Mhz
Data Path: 8 bit
ROM: 12 k
Onboard RAM: 48 kb
RAM Slots: 1st expansion slot can be used
Maximum RAM: 64 kb
Maximum Resolution: 6 color at 280x192, 4-bit color at 40x48
Slots: 8 proprietary
Floppy Drive: optional
Serial: optional expansion card
Speaker(s): mono
Introduced: 1979
Terminated: 1983
(http://www.apple-history.com/frames/?&page=gallery&model=aIIplus)

I especially like this part of the description: "It also included a new flavor of Basic in the ROM--a floating point version written by a new company called Microsoft."

More on that baby: http://apple2history.org/history/ah06.html

I still have it in the basement... You reckon it might be worth something? :D

TI99/4A

disk drive as big as a printer :)
http://home.insightbb.com/~kguenther6/tinov82ad.jpg
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=236
http://www.99er.net/994apic.html
:)

- John C.

Vic 20 was the first I used. I don't remember the price but it wasn't cheap and I seem to remember the big selling point plastered all over the box was the fact it was colour! I still have it in the loft somewhere... I might dig it out sometime :)

Then moved onto a Commodore 64, then Amiga 500, then Amiga 4000 then my first PC was a 486 DX2 66 which cost around £1200 :eek2: :eek2:

My first computer was the Osborne.

Billed as the first portable computer, 64K RAM and a 5-in diagonal screen. Weighted about 40 lbs.

The first issue of the users magazine "The Portable Companion" appeared in the summer of 1982 and shows how far we've come and how far we haven't.

On the cover are pictures of Afghanistan rebels using the computer to help track the enemy invaders.

Originally posted by Jim_UK
cost around £1200 :eek2: :eek2:

It's amazing isn't it.

My Pentium 120mhz machine was around $3000. My mum bought it for me as a christmas present quite a few years ago :)

-Shaun

hmmm used or owned? My first was a little plastic digital that worked in binary when I was 6. Not much of a computer but it was technically one.

Of serious machines, probably date myself but the first one I used was an IBM System/3 and a PDP7. Took up most of a 20x30' room. :)

First I owned was one an IMSI 8080 :)

----------
I must get back to my pyramid for a nap now ... :)

My 1st Computer was an ORIC-1 way back in 1984. A pretty great machine for its time and I had color using my color tv and a tape recorder for a disk drive. It was a very powerful 1Mhz 6502A based system with 16kb of RAM :) That was the first machine which I learnt programming and spend most of my time with.

Check it out : http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=180

Originally posted by NyteOwl
hmmm used or owned? My first was a little plastic digital that worked in binary when I was 6. Not much of a computer but it was technically one.

Of serious machines, probably date myself but the first one I used was an IBM System/3 and a PDP7. Took up most of a 20x30' room. :)

First I owned was one an IMSI 8080 :)

----------
I must get back to my pyramid for a nap now ... :)

Used :) , the 486 also costs $2000, and now its lost in the store room.

Windows 95, 533mb hdd, 14 mb ram.

LOL. But it still had some sweet classic games, but I threw it away couple weeks ago.

C-64 then a Classic Mac :blush:

First PC was Apple IIe. Used those PCs at the local university. Anyone could just stroll on into one of their computer rooms [on the weekends] and use their PCs.

My first PC that I owned was a TI99/4A. That was sweet. I had a little black and white monitor and used to code games. That was about 18 years ago. :D

Ohhhhh, I feel old now. :blush:

dragon64 or vic20 :)

IBM 370 via a TTY terminal. I saved my code on paper tape.

My first microcomputer was an Altair 8800 with 8-inch floppy drive. In order to boot the floppy, I had to enter about 20 lines of hex code by flipping toggle switches on the front panel and then clicking an "Enter" toggle. Once all lines were entered, I then flipped an "Execute" toggle switch to run the code and cause the machine to boot from floppy.

Those were the days when accessing a drive required a few lines of code and not just one. You first had to mount the drive, then enable it, then you could have file access.

My first was a Digital PDP-8 at the University of Oklahoma in 1980. I spent a summer there at the Summer Institute of Mathematics. You had to write your program in Algol on a key punch machine and then run the stack through the card reader. You waited about 10-15 minutes for a printout to show how many errors you had in your program during compile.

The cards did work great for the "cards for sorrow" scene at the end of Rocky Horror.

Wow this takes me back.

First computer I ever used was the Control data CDC 6600 in 1974 during computer electronics school at the Control Data Institute of technology in Dallas Texas. Every thing was pure machine code and had to be entered via punch card, you could spend 4 hours typing in a program get your punch cards run the program and test it find the bug by reading your code punch it all in again then run and test again till you got it right. You were only given 10 minutes of computer tme a day to test your code and we had to write a program that wrote to and read from every drive and core mem module for diags as part of our final exam.

http://www.cbi.umn.edu/exhibits/cray/cray6600.html

First home computer, real one, not a box with switches and lights only ;) was a TRS 80 with 4 meg of ram and cassette recorder for storage.

First computer I used: was either a C-64 or a Mac Classic, not sure exactly which was first.

First computer in my house: a 386 owned by my parents.

First computer I owned: Cyrex 486 40 MHz (about the speed of a i486 33) built from old parts. 8 MB or RAM, 125 MB hard drive. WC2 real slow on it. Was Dos 6.22 + Win 3.11 for a while, switched to Win95 (was real slow) when programs for win 3 became as rare as water in the desert.

Currently own a P3 500 MHz. Just ordered AMD 2600+

EMachine 400mhz Celeron 32mb RAM :D

To answer your question. The first computer was designed in the late 30's to early 40's.

The first computers were designed for the US Army to assist in calculating projectile tragectory (SP). This would have increased the rate that a battery of guns could fix on a target, fire and fix on a new target.

After a bit of tinkering they finaly got it down to the size of a large room.

The first real computer called "Eniack" used a series of 2000 vacume tubes and weighted over 4 tons to provide simple calulations. It was programed punch cards fed in manualy at first and then automated at 100 at a time.

Interesting Finds:
First Debugging - http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h96000/h96566kc.htm

First Computer Timeline - http://inventors.about.com/library/blcoindex.htm

Have fun..

PS,
After reading the timeline I even learned something.

Flashback city, I have had a vic 20, commodore64, commodore 128, Atari 800, Atari ST, TRS-80, Apple IIE, 286, 38, etc.

The Kim 1 & 2, One of the first computers on the market. I still have it! Its already worth a bit of money.

My first computer was one of those radio shack computers. 33Mhz, 400MB, 16 mb ram. It was super fast. Running Win 3.1

Gee - Altair's, PDP8's, CDC6600's, and KIM machines - I don't feel so alone now with some additional techno-senior-citizens to keep me company :cool:

my first computer was 386

386 ,i still have it that home ;)

commodore-vic20, with the state of the art games like "Space Invaders" :D

Talk about a trip down memory lane!

Apple IIc with a 9" green display (1.4MHz, 128k RAM and a 5.25" floppy drive). Boy did that thing make noise when you didn't have a floppy disk in the drive when turning it on! :D

UKer here: BBC Micro Model B. We were posh you see! You normally only saw those at schools in the UK during the 80s.

First PC was a 386 DX 25/33Mhz (had one of those "Turbo" buttons to get the extra speed). 8MB memory. I remember the bloke at the shop telling my Pops he would "never need that much memory"!!!

Originally posted by Zopester
UKer here: BBC Micro Model B. We were posh you see! You normally only saw those at schools in the UK during the 80s.

First PC was a 386 DX 25/33Mhz (had one of those "Turbo" buttons to get the extra speed). 8MB memory. I remember the bloke at the shop telling my Pops he would "never need that much memory"!!!

:D Nowadays, 1 gig of ram is considered normal...

The first computer I ever used in a work environment was in 1980 with a Cromemco System Three (http://www-db.stanford.edu/pub/voy/museum/pictures/display/3-5-CROMEMCO.html). We backed up accounting data on floppy disks using the machine.

My first home computer was a custom-order IBM clone that I purchased in 1991:

386/33 with 64k cache
4MB SIMM
Teac FDD
Conner 40MB HD (upgraded to a Conner 340MB 3 yrs. later)

I installed all of the software including DOS and MS Works plus all of the shareware games. I still have this computer.

However, the first time I used a computer was in the 70s when I took a class in BASIC at a local junior college. Can't remember what they used, though.

Originally posted by secludo
Tandy 1000HX


Sweet! I had the Tandy 1000RLX :-)

IBM 8088, cant remember how much memory but i do remember it had a 1.5mb hard drive and was something like 0.7mhz (dunno exactly... its been like 8 years since i got rid of it)

Mine was a toshiba laptop but don't remember what model. Here are some system specs:
4mb memory
pentium processor on 65 hz of speed (crap)
old ****y graphics card+ sound card: sound blaster
windows 3.11

Mine was part comidore, part Amiga, I was 6 years old I believe when i got it. Dont remember too much about it except it had a game like Marip Brothers called Genna Sisters and i always had to insert another disk. Imagine a 6 year old trying to figure out how to do stuff I wasnt a very strong reader at that point :)

Amiga 500 back in the late 1980s with no hard drive hahahaha.

That was one fun comp, but the games were fun.

The disk drive was built into the keyboard, i remember the drive broke and I had to replace it all.

386 with a lot RAM (512KB).

Oric 16K in 1983!
Then I went into the big league and got a Spectrum 48K!

A Spectrum 48k with it's wonderful rubber keys.

Sinclair ZX81

Lovely bit of kit. My dad built it in about 4 hours. It came in a kit form. :D

After that...it was many years before I touched another computer. The one after that was something like an IBM PS2 30 and then there was the Acer Mini ...but not sure of the model. Ahh..takes me back.

Simon

Yep, ZX81 here too...then the good old BASIC BBCs at school.

But I did have the 16k rampack. ;)

Texas Instruments 81A, I belive was the name. :) The year 1980 or something.

VIC - 20

a spectravideo 738. that had 3,58 mhz processor ;)

then played with macs and some pcs, then linux, then back mac.