Your First Computer

timebandit
By timebandit

Laptop designer honoured with Duke of Edinburgh prize

The creator of the world's first laptop has been given a lifetime achievement award by the Duke of Edinburgh.

Bill Moggridge has been named the winner of the 2010 Prince Philip Designers Prize.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11722255

The GRID Compass was designed in 1979
This was one year before I bought my life changing Sinclair ZX-80 (The predecessor of the ZX-81 and ZX Spectrum)
When I told my friends back in 1980 that I had ordered a computer they thought I was joking. Like me they pictured a room full of equipment and white coats whenever they heard the word computer. There were few schools in the the UK that had computers, and no one I knew, had ever heard of a home computer.

What was your first computer? How old were you when you first used a computer?

By qatarisun• 10 Nov 2010 23:08
qatarisun

in 1991, MS-DOS, "Basic" programming language.. that was fun..

By reysaj• 10 Nov 2010 21:45
reysaj

MS-DOS was the operating system. I have a bunch of collection of micro-floppy diskettes back home.

By reysaj• 10 Nov 2010 21:41
reysaj

I was a first year high school then. Every class schedule in computer was exciting. Sorry, I can't remember the model or the specs of the computer we were using at University of Southern Philippines (USP), Cebu City, Philippines. That was the time I started to dream to pursue a computer science course in college but I didn't make it because the tuition fees was very expensive at that time.

By timebandit• 10 Nov 2010 21:16
timebandit

The one computer that I liked was the one that had green screen.... I guess it was earlier than the monochrome screen...

JM a green screen is monochrome

By sentibhim• 10 Nov 2010 11:58
sentibhim

What is computer ? I am still Using Type writer .LOL

By anonymous• 10 Nov 2010 11:40
anonymous

I started with a 286... in College... early 1990s. They had 286s, 386s and one 486 where they used to store all the mark list of the students.

Only I could hack into the system to check out everybody's marks even before it was put on the notice board....

The one computer that I liked was the one that had green screen.... I guess it was earlier than the monochrome screen...

By drmana• 10 Nov 2010 11:32
drmana

Used the first one in 1993 when they introduced computer classes in school....oh I hated it so much. I was among those who were praying that all computers would crash in Y2K :-)

By timebandit• 10 Nov 2010 10:50
timebandit

Nope Brit.... I don't remember the make of our first calculator. I say our calculator because it was the family calculator purchased by my dad and used by us all (back when they were very expensive). But I don't remember the year or make.

By britexpat• 10 Nov 2010 09:32
britexpat

Do you remember the first calculators with reverse logic from Texas Instruments ??

Good times :O)

By timebandit• 10 Nov 2010 09:18
timebandit

A TRS-80.... I really, really wanted one of those. Still do as a mater of fact. Would love to have one for old times sake. I used to borrow one every now and again back in 1980, but couldn't afford one as I had only just left school. The ZX-80 was the extent of my budget. The TRS-80 had a whopping 4k of memory, with a whole 1k dedicated to maths processing. My ZX-80 couldn't even think and display at the same time, so whenever it was running code the screen would go blank.

By chocoholic• 10 Nov 2010 09:16
chocoholic

ba dum bum

lol brit

By britexpat• 10 Nov 2010 09:15
britexpat

Did they have radio Shack in the 1880s ?

By chocoholic• 10 Nov 2010 09:14
chocoholic

I was in college, early 80s, had to learn to write programs for elementary school students on a Tandy (Radio Shack) TRS-80

lol, those things were obsolete before I ever graduated and got into a classroom

By anonymous• 10 Nov 2010 08:21
anonymous

386 DX, some 150MB HDD, Windows 3.11, Micro & Mini floppy drive (July 1993)

By rb73• 10 Nov 2010 07:52
rb73

Comodore 64 in 1985/86.

By timebandit• 10 Nov 2010 07:49
timebandit

Brit Linux is indeed Unix, thus you are correct. But Unix is hardly ever heard of these days, and so I would have excepted Linux in place of Unix. MS-DOS is indeed the Grand Daddy of Windows 7 and I accept that MS-DOS still lives with Windows 7. And of course Apple OS is..... well I have no idea what the latest flavour is, because I don't have an apple.

Yes I know there are other specialist Operating Systems out there, but these are the three core domestic OS's.

By smoke• 10 Nov 2010 07:45
smoke

My first home computer was a Intel Pentium IV 256mb ram and 80gb hard disk with a 15inch CRT monitor! Used that baby for a good 4 years. First time on a computer was when i was 18 :P

By britexpat• 10 Nov 2010 07:43
britexpat

Interesting question.. Could the answer be :

Apple OS, Unix and MS-DOS ?

By timebandit• 10 Nov 2010 07:42
timebandit

I think Brit trumps me with 1977, but I do remember 8" floppy disks. And man they really were very floppy. I remember my company taking receipt of our first 5MB hard drive. And I remember having to place a frozen milk carton on my ZX-80 to keep it cool.

By Khanan• 10 Nov 2010 07:41
Khanan

was my first computer..back in early 90s

By anonymous• 10 Nov 2010 07:36
anonymous

1995 I did my Aptech computer course..Boot system with floppies was required...DOS :)Black screen... :)blinking cursors...

By mjamille28• 10 Nov 2010 07:33
mjamille28

TB, well, little, yeah ok... just don't rub it in.. :(

By timebandit• 10 Nov 2010 07:32
timebandit

MJ you are still a little angel ;)

By mjamille28• 10 Nov 2010 07:31
mjamille28

1980? I was a little angel then.. :P

By timebandit• 10 Nov 2010 07:29
Rating: 2/5
timebandit

The 1980's was an interesting decade for computers. In the first half, every brand was a unique piece of hardware running almost unique operating systems.

I enjoyed using all the different flavours of technology that were around. It was an exciting time. However in the second half MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) started to become a standard. This was unfortunate in some respects because it was not the best available at the time.

Now there are only really 3 flavours. 10 points to anyone who can name them.

By britexpat• 10 Nov 2010 07:29
Rating: 4/5
britexpat

Memories..

My first computer was also a Comodore, back in 1978. The first computer I worked on was an IBM 370/158 back in September 1977. It was big, Blue and the chiller to keep it cool was the size of a living room ..

Great memories :O)

By anonymous• 10 Nov 2010 07:25
anonymous

First used it when I was in 6th standard back in 1993

By mjamille28• 10 Nov 2010 07:07
mjamille28

I was in high school when I first got to use the computer, had computer subject in school back then.. :P

By timebandit• 10 Nov 2010 07:05
timebandit

Ah... I see there are still problems with images in posts.

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