What was your first computer system?

Post by **weemadando** » 2002-11-20 08:14pm

Apple ][e.

What a beast of a system it was at the time.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2002-11-20 08:17pm

Apple IIe (the first model), complete with joystick, twin disk drive and black-white-green monitor. Impressive machine for the time, with a 6502 processor (the GBA uses it now).

First Mac was a Mac 512, complete with mouse, 320K FDD and 512k RAM.

First PC was an i80486DX/33 w/ 120MB HD, 32MB RAM and 2MB VRAM. It also had both 5.25" and 3.5" floppy drives.

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2002-11-20 08:18pm

Commadore 64. Badass system.

Then we got an Apple Quadra 610.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2002-11-20 08:21pm

Drewcifer wrote:Oh boy. The first computer my parents brought home was a...

Radio Shack Color Computer, the famed Trash-80 CoCo

My middle school had a bunch of TRS-80s networked together. One acted as a FDD and print server while the rest waited their turn to remotely load info.

Later it was a Mac 512Ke. That still boots too. In fact, I still use MacPaint for some art projects, I love brush mirrors!

My dad designed our house on MacDraw II. If our PowerBook 170's FDD still worked I could have grabbed the files off of it

I still haven't ever bought a new computer, just keep bartering up the food chain. My current machine is an ancient Mac (Performa 6400) that has been upgraded (G3 card, USB/Firewire card etc.) Although it's really starting to show its age, it's still a good machine that suits my purposes.

Dude man! Get on eBay and buy yerself a new machine!

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2002-11-20 08:21pm

Durandal wrote:Commadore 64. Badass system.

Then we got an Apple Quadra 610.

We had a Centris 650. The lack of FPU (it used the 68LC040) was most annoying.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2002-11-20 08:22pm

Patrick Degan wrote:The first computer I owned was the old Macintosh IIci, which was about up to the standard of the machines in the graphics lab at the community college I was going to back in '92. It was a decent enough system for its day; 64MB RAM and a whopping 100MB hard drive. It died on me after four and a half years, and though I could have simply replaced the HD, I decided to go to a PowerMac at that point. These days, I tool on the iMac.

After my dad's work got rid of their Macs, he brought home this sweet Mac IIFX machine (32MB RAM, 80MB HD, 2xFDD, 24bit color, 12" Trinitron monitor)

nechronius · Post by **nechronius** » 2002-11-20 08:36pm

Got most of you youngsters beat.

http://www.chrono.org/usr/AdamBox.jpg

ColecoVision Adam. One of the worst hunks of crap to ever grace God's green earth. Released in 1983 if I remember correctly.

Here is a TRUE account of a tech support call I made with ColecoVision. No, the words aren't exactly the same, but as God as my witness, the events are true:

Me: "Yes, my BASIC cassette tape doesn't seem to work. I don't get the ">" prompt like I should and when I type "10 print "hello"" and run it I am not getting a response."

TSG(Tech Support Gal): "Hmm.. Try this, slap the tape against a hard surface like a table several Times."

Me: "Wha?? Oh, ok..." (Raps flat side of cassette tape against table several Times while holding phone close to it) "Is that good enough???"

TSG: "Try hitting it a little harder."

Me: "?????.... ok..." (Raps it several more Times, harder) "How's that?"

TSG: "Good, now try the tape again..."

(Several minutes later)

Me: "Nope, sorry, doesn't seem to work."

TSG: "Looks like the tape is broken. You will have to send it back to us."

Me: "....."

Cut me some slack. I was in the 3rd? grade back in 83. Fair wonder the Adam died.

Kelly Antilles · Post by **Kelly Antilles** » 2002-11-20 09:06pm

Colonel Olrik wrote:

It's still running. Once in a long while, I put a game, just to see the old kid work.

Me too. I had a floppy drive and my 15" TV.

Alex Moon · Post by **Alex Moon** » 2002-11-20 09:12pm

Larz wrote:Mac... I'm sorry...

I'm thinking about getting an old PC just to play some of my old games that are still on 5.25 floppys and to possess foggy bragging rights...

I remember those. I used to play Red Storm Rising and F-19 on my grandparents 386 when I was in elementary school.

Drewcifer · Post by **Drewcifer** » 2002-11-20 09:13pm

phongn wrote:Dude man! Get on eBay and buy yerself a new machine!

haha no kidding! Actually, my system works great for me, but it is really starting to show its age. Luckily, a friend of mine is always getting the latest, greatest box out there, and will probably be getting rid of his G4 hot rod when the G5's come out.

woo hoo, I do some carpentry, and he wants a deck

Post by **AdmiralKanos** » 2002-11-20 09:49pm

Apple II. It had 64k of RAM, the technological wonder of a 5.25" floppy drive, and a copy of "Space Invaders".

Post by **Mr Bean** » 2002-11-20 10:25pm

First Computer I USED was a Commandor 64

First Computer I OWNED was a Windows Dos 286

jegs2 · Post by **jegs2** » 2002-11-20 10:33pm

Ah, the heady and reckless days of the early 80's, when home computer systems were as varied and incompatible as modern console gaming sytems...

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2002-11-20 10:35pm

Ah, the heady and reckless days of the early 80's, when home computer systems were as varied and incompatible as modern console gaming sytems...

Transfering files meant bringing your floppy disk case to school and trading.

jegs2 · Post by **jegs2** » 2002-11-20 10:45pm

TrailerParkJawa wrote:
Ah, the heady and reckless days of the early 80's, when home computer systems were as varied and incompatible as modern console gaming sytems...
Transfering files meant bringing your floppy disk case to school and trading.

...fond memories of that...

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2002-11-20 11:16pm

First used, of course the legendary Commodore 64. Technically this is the first computer I owned. It's predecessor was one me and my dad split the bill on.

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2002-11-20 11:22pm

jegs2 wrote:
TrailerParkJawa wrote:
Ah, the heady and reckless days of the early 80's, when home computer systems were as varied and incompatible as modern console gaming sytems...
Transfering files meant bringing your floppy disk case to school and trading.

...fond memories of that...

I still do that

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2002-11-20 11:23pm

I still do that

Sneaker Net protocol.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2002-11-20 11:37pm

A C-64...ah the memories

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2002-11-20 11:46pm

Started out with a C-64. Started out at the age of three.

Later when my dad started playing with old IBM AT machines, he gave me his C-64. The AT took like 5 minutes to warm up before it even started booting. But damn it was cool. Wasn't sure why, except it was big, it whirred, and you didn't have to constantly swap disks.

And it had Sopwith. Damn that was a cool game.

Later, after a few more computer purchases my dad made, he gave me his 486DX-33 in favor of a new, near-top-of-the-line Pentium 133. (at the time, the only thing better was a 166)

Then he bought me a Pentium2-350 in 1998. Lately I've taken to upgrading myself... now I have an Athlon XP 1900+.

Sokar · Post by **Sokar** » 2002-11-21 12:32am

Alex Moon !

Dude Red Storm Rising and F-19 were the fucking BOMB!!!!

I still have my old Packard-Bell 286 that I play them on !!!!!As well as my old copy of F15 Strike Eagle and M-1 Tank Platoon, the original one ! Holy Shit! , your the first person I've heard ever mention Red Storm in like a decade........

My first PC was a Packard Bell 286 with 640k and no hard disk , every time I turned it on I had to boot from a DOS 3.1 , 5.25" disk....It was such a joke , but it worked so well , and still keeps on trucking onward today. It occupies a corner of my computer room and I still play my old games on it , much to my wifes consternation.....

Enlightenment · Post by **Enlightenment** » 2002-11-21 12:34am

286-12 w/ 640KB, 42MB HDD, 256KB VGA, 15" monitor, and MS-DOG 3.3. Cost just over $4000 CDN.

These days I routinely run programs that have larger memory footprints than that thing's entire HDD.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2002-11-21 12:35am

Sokar wrote:Alex Moon ! Dude Red Storm Rising and F-19 were the fucking BOMB!!!!

I remember playing Microprose's F-19 Stealth Fighter on my old 286. Nothing like a fighter that can get hit by a half-dozen missiles before it goes down, eh? I remember that with a full load of missiles and guns, a good operator could take down a dozen enemy planes easy. I guess it wasn't the most realistic game

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2002-11-21 12:36am

One time I was playing Red Storm Rising all damn day. I finally snuck up on a Soviet carrier ( dont remember wether it was the Kiev or not ) but just as I was going to launch some Harpoons my mom kicked the power cord out of the wall. F*CK!

Sokar · Post by **Sokar** » 2002-11-21 12:48am

LOL , I can sympathize, I've lost count of the days wasted plaing Red Storm, but its so straight forward and fun! My fave tactic was to sneak up into the middle of the convoy or battle group and flush al my VLS tubes in about five seconds.....fucking beautiful.

F-19 is about as far from reality as you could get for a fighter sim....especially the rolling start take off from a carrier deckand the ability to withstand a pounding that would smoke a whole squadron of real fighters....lol

On a side note , anyone here know any trick to get the sound drivers for old games to work on a current generation sound card ? I've got an old copy of TIE Fighter that plays beautifully, but no sound or music......I figureI'd just have to find a modern re-release of it , but figured I would ask