Your First Computer

[CrittendenWildcat]

I purchased my first computer back in 1994. It was a Compaq with a 486SX 25mhz processor, 4MB of RAM, and a 200MB hard drive. I remember purchasing an additional 8MB of RAM for $80 a year or two after, which was a big price drop per MB than it had been previously.

We all have smartphones now that would put the computing power/RAM/storage/efficiency of my first PC to shame 100X over.

What were the specs of your first computer?

 

[Ron Mehico]

Back in 1989 my dad would bring his apple home from work occasionally and I would play a game where you were getting off an elevator at the right floor but you had to time it right (my
memory is definitely fuzzy about it and I don’t remember it well). Then we bought our first actual computer in 1995, it was a Hewlett-Packard and all I remember was it was 1.2 something. MHz? GHz? Don’t really remember as I was 14. My buddy had a gateway that I though was really cool because you could put CDs in the monitor. Wonder why gateway, compaq, etc went away as they were incredibly popular.

 

[80 Proof]

We got a Commodore 64 around 1983. Mom used the word processor, I played Q-bert.

We got a Mac around 1987.

 

[PuffyNips]

Texas Instruments 994A

 

[Rockford]

The time was 1981 The choice was between Commodore 64 and the Apple IIc

They had floppy discs at that time. Commodore 64 floppy disc had, of course, 64K
The Apple IIc had 128K

The salesman, at a hardware store mind you, took me aside, looked around, and whispered "128K is all you'll EVER need!"

I can't remember if I laughed out loud or not, But I did buy the Apple IIc, typing on a Mac now.

 

[UK till Death]

My grandparents got a new computer and gave us their Tandy 1000. Must have been circa 1990. I still remember the night they brought it over, I was amazed.

 

[Hank Camacho]

The time was 1981 The choice was between Commodore 64 and the Apple IIc

They had floppy discs at that time. Commodore 64 floppy disc had, of course, 64K
The Apple IIc had 128K

The salesman, at a hardware store mind you, took me aside, looked around, and whispered "128K is all you'll EVER need!"

I can't remember if I laughed out loud or not, But I did buy the Apple IIc, typing on a Mac now.

Congrats on your continued virginity.

 

[CrittendenWildcat]

Wonder why gateway, compaq, etc went away as they were incredibly popular.

Gateway, with its cow-spotted boxes, was in decline and purchased by Acer in 2007. The name fell into disuse, but Wal-mart is bringing back the brand for some exclusive cheap laptops (made by the same company that produced Wal-mart's exclusive but not well-recognized EVOO laptops).

Compaq, also in decline after Dell overtook them in market share, entered into a merger with HP in 2002. The Compaq brand name also fell into disuse over time.

 

[DSmith21]

Apple 2e in the mid 80's. I only used it to play games like Castle Wolfenstein.

 

[CrittendenWildcat]

Had a friend in college around 1991 whose parents purchased him a PC. Had a 1GB hard drive, extremely large at the time. I would visit and we'd play Wolfenstein. Would also play Indy 500, our strategy (since the game was very difficult) was to knock out all the other cars on the opening lap by causing a crash, then hopefully skate to the finish.

A couple of other computer brands that were popular way back when, but aren't around (or a fraction of what they were) today: Tandy and IBM of course, Digital, NEC, Micron, Fujitsu, and Packard Bell. More recent ones include Toshiba and Sony.

 

[CrittendenWildcat]

The incredible advances in computing technology that has occurred over my lifetime fascinates me. My current phone is a Pixel 4a 5G. Compared to the computer I bought over 26 years ago, the smartphone that is light and thin and fits in my hand and lasts for days on a single charge has:

600X the storage capacity
1500X the amount of RAM at over 100X the speed
8000X+ the processing power
800X+ data throughput speed

...and my phone cost less than half the price I paid for that PC in 1994.

 

[Hank Camacho]

Obligatory:

 

[UKGrad93]

Commodore 64 around 1985.
My older brother got a Commodore Vic 20 to Christmas in 1981. 20 k ram, we eventually added a tape drive to it.

 

[UK till Death]

Had a friend in college around 1991 whose parents purchased him a PC. Had a 1GB hard drive, extremely large at the time. I would visit and we'd play Wolfenstein. Would also play Indy 500, our strategy (since the game was very difficult) was to knock out all the other cars on the opening lap by causing a crash, then hopefully skate to the finish.

A couple of other computer brands that were popular way back when, but aren't around (or a fraction of what they were) today: Tandy and IBM of course, Digital, NEC, Micron, Fujitsu, and Packard Bell. More recent ones include Toshiba and Sony.

Our computer after the Tandy 1000 was an NEC. Sucker was well over 3 grand IIRC. Had a cd rom drive with a caddy. Remember caddy cd drives?

 

[Tinker Dan]

Used Commodore 64 in the late 80s. Then I re-enlisted and used part of my bonus to buy an Amiga 500 (I think). I never really learned to use either.

I finally made the switch to Apple once I could use Microsoft Office easily on the Mac.

I am a BIG TIME Apple Fan now and unapologetically so. I am working on truly learning the Mac Ecosystem and slowly moving away from Microsoft as well. Thank you, Lynda (Linkedin Learning)

I have been eyeing the new M1 stuff but holding out to see if the new iMacs come out this year.

However, I am typing this on my old 2011 MacBook Pro, and my 2013 27" iMac started acting very squirrelly this morning.

I might have to breakdown and get a Mac Mini in the interim. Damn, the bad luck.

 

[Rex Kwon Do]

AST Advantage!

Wolfenstein was the jam. Also some F1 game that I feel like was EA Sports. Lakers vs Celtics.

Had Compaq, Gateway, HP along the line after that. Think have had every major brand through the 90s 2000s but have been a Mac guy for the last decade.

 

[UK till Death]

Used Commodore 64 in the late 80s. Then I re-enlisted and used part of my bonus to buy an Amiga 500 (I think). I never really learned to use either.

I finally made the switch to Apple once I could use Microsoft Office easily on the Mac.

I am a BIG TIME Apple Fan now and unapologetically so. I am working on truly learning the Mac Ecosystem and slowly moving away from Microsoft as well. Thank you, Lynda (Linkedin Learning)

I have been eyeing the new M1 stuff but holding out to see if the new iMacs come out this year.

However, I am typing this on my old 2011 MacBook Pro, and my 2013 27" iMac started acting very squirrelly this morning.

I might have to breakdown and get a Mac Mini in the interim. Damn, the bad luck.

I've disliked mac since I was a child. Their little pathetic games section in the computer game store in Fayette Mall was depressing.

I tried using a mac/apple a couple years ago and hated it. I also hate their proprietary bs esp when it comes to storage.

 

[Tinker Dan]

I've disliked mac since I was a child. Their little pathetic games section in the computer game store in Fayette Mall was depressing.

I tried using a mac/apple a couple years ago and hated it. I also hate their proprietary bs esp when it comes to storage.

Now don't hold back, tell us how you really feel.

I have never been a gamer, so that part has no appeal to me.

I can understand all the hate, but for me, it works. Another part of the story. My original iMac died out of warranty. Apple ended up giving me a brand new iMac as it was a faulty video card and a known issue from their end. They could have not done anything as it was truly out of warranty.

I have been going down the virtual training, content creation, etc. rabbit hole for work. I am finding that with Keynote and iMovie, I can do so many things with native software. When I am ready to step up a bit, I can go right to Final Cut Pro for a one-time fee of $299 and $199 for Logic Pro for audio.

I used Adobe Creative Cloud for a while. Also, used Davinci Resolve a bit. The Mac software just seems natural to me and is native to the computer.

Being able to break the Microsoft and Adobe Creative Cloud chains and subscriptions is a HUGE deal for me. The new M1 Chips really changed everything in my mind.

But everybody has different needs in computers.

 

[CrittendenWildcat]

Not wanting this to devolve into a PC vs. Apple p!ssing contest, but I've always preferred the compatibility/flexibility/interchangeability/cost of PC/Windows over Apple/ios. Apple had a very limited set of hardware they had to attune their ios software to, and they did it very well, and it makes for a very tight and secure operating environment. Windows, meanwhile, needs to be compatible with over 100,000 different PC component setups with different CPU's, RAM, hard drives, etc.

I recognize Apple has great hardware and software and I understand the loyalty and ease of use, but the price premium for Apple products just to play in their walled garden always turned me away.

 

[BlueVelvetFog]

 

[BigBlueDave_rivals76951]

I remember purchasing an additional 8MB of RAM for $80 a year or two after, which was a big price drop per MB than it had been previously.

I bought that same machine as my first that year.

An older brother that spoke from a position of knowledge, told me at the time that the cost of memory was really crashing. It was $50/MB. if I ever wanted to upgrade.

That was still just six years removed from when I took cs101 at uk. The lecture and homework was through uk’s mainframe. Only the once/week lab touched a pc.

Don’t let your floppy disc get within 6’ of a magnet.

 

[Tinker Dan]

Not wanting this to devolve into a PC vs. Apple p!ssing contest, but I've always preferred the compatibility/flexibility/interchangeability/cost of PC/Windows over Apple/ios. Apple had a very limited set of hardware they had to attune their ios software to, and they did it very well, and it makes for a very tight and secure operating environment. Windows, meanwhile, needs to be compatible with over 100,000 different PC component setups with different CPU's, RAM, hard drives, etc.

I recognize Apple has great hardware and software and I understand the loyalty and ease of use, but the price premium for Apple products just to play in their walled garden always turned me away.

Crittenden,

No peeing contest from me. I totally get everything you said and understand the feelings. I think you hit the nail on the head perfectly.

I use a PC for work and probably always will as I do not see them changing lanes.

For me and my productivity needs, I am learning that Apple far exceeds what I can get elsewhere, and the ease of use is unparalleled.

I think the Apple / PC debate is as volatile and dug-in as Religion and Politics. lol

One example of the things I use and LOVE. As a technical trainer, I use and study dozens upon dozens of technical manuals and product brochures. I can take the PDF and pop them right in the Books app on iCloud, and I have them arranged in Collections. Now I have them handy on any of my devices.

Just to reiterate be clear. I am not trying to hijack the thread. I use both PC and Apple. One just works better for me.

As has already been mentioned, all computers have progressed so far and are amazing in what they can do.

Thanks for starting this thread.

 

[funKYcat75]

Pretty much this one, but a model that was released later in the year with 75 mhz. Legend something or the other. Parents got one from Montgomery Wards, but once I got it turned on there was no Win95 or a way to redeem anything for it. So I boxed it up and took it to Best Buy and got the one with Win95. No way that would work now. Added some RAM a year later and it lasted until about 2000.

 

[bluthruandthru]

We had an IBM 5150.

CPU	Intel 8088 @ 4.77 MHz
RAM	16kB or 64kB (expandable to 256kB)

Operating system	IBM BASIC / PC DOS 1.0 CP/M-86 UCSD p-System

Storage

Up to two 5.25", 160K/320K (single/double sided) floppy disk drives

Display

IBM 5151 monochrome display IBM 5153 color display

 

[kyblue'92]

Compaq Presario

 

[Zakk Wyldcat]

IBM PC, many many hours were spent playing this game -

 

[IdaCat]

1980

 

[Tinker Dan]

1980

Where do you put the ribbon on that thing?

 

[RunninRichie]

P500a mesh case
Rtx 3080
Ryzen 5600x
1TB Samsung nvme ssd
500 GB Samsung nvme ssd
360mm corsair capellix all in one CPU liquid cooler
7x 120mm rgb corsair LL120 fans
Asus rog b550f motherboard
16gb 3600mhz 16 cl trident z neo ram
850w corsair RM power supply

 

[rick64]

Gateway 1000

 

[CrittendenWildcat]

P500a mesh case
Rtx 3080
Ryzen 5600x
1TB Samsung nvme ssd
500 GB Samsung nvme ssd
360mm corsair capellix all in one CPU liquid cooler
7x 120mm rgb corsair LL120 fans
Asus rog b550f motherboard
16gb 3600mhz 16 cl trident z neo ram
850w corsair RM power supply

Get out of here with that newfangled fancy ****
Did you buy it, or build it? How much?

 

[PhDcat2018]

The time was 1981 The choice was between Commodore 64 and the Apple IIc

They had floppy discs at that time. Commodore 64 floppy disc had, of course, 64K
The Apple IIc had 128K

The salesman, at a hardware store mind you, took me aside, looked around, and whispered "128K is all you'll EVER need!"

I can't remember if I laughed out loud or not, But I did buy the Apple IIc, typing on a Mac now.

Played on the apple II as a youngster. Lode runner took hours of my time.

 

[Tinker Dan]

P500a mesh case
Rtx 3080
Ryzen 5600x
1TB Samsung nvme ssd
500 GB Samsung nvme ssd
360mm corsair capellix all in one CPU liquid cooler
7x 120mm rgb corsair LL120 fans
Asus rog b550f motherboard
16gb 3600mhz 16 cl trident z neo ram
850w corsair RM power supply

Starter model? Might be good for Pong or Pac-Man.

 

[wildcatsboston1984_rivals]

The first computer my family got was when I was in middle school. It was a Packard Bell. That's all I can remember.

 

[AustinTXCat]

Purchased a Timex Sinclair 1000 at the old Hickory Hollow Mall (Nashville) in April, 1983 after returning from a peacekeeping deployment to Sinai. Rough using it at first. Lived in the manual and picked up BASIC and loop routines with a little effort. Transitioned to a C64 in 1985 after deploying to Germany. At one point, our entire missile site were C64/128 users thanks to hacked German software (Berlin Cracking Service). Transitioned to DOS and 8086/8088 in 1989. Strangely, IBM-Lexington once provided live phone support out of Lex around that time. I also first connected to old Q-Link in 1989, my first exposure to the Internet. Phone charges were insane.

 

[Get Buckets]

My earliest computer memory is my dad playing Leisure-suit Larry

 

[RunninRichie]

Get out of here with that newfangled fancy ****
Did you buy it, or build it? How much?

Built 2.1k

 

[cawoodsct]

About 1988. No clue what it was but I stopped typing papers on a typewriter.

 

[awf]

We had an IBM 5150.

CPU	Intel 8088 @ 4.77 MHz
RAM	16kB or 64kB (expandable to 256kB)

Operating system	IBM BASIC / PC DOS 1.0 CP/M-86 UCSD p-System

Storage

Up to two 5.25", 160K/320K (single/double sided) floppy disk drives

Display

IBM 5151 monochrome display IBM 5153 color display

The company that I worked for gave me a computer just like this......to be honest I never really learned to operate it.......I had a note book full of hints....

 

[_ukcat]

Zenith Z-150 with Dual Floppy Drives around 1984-85.