Ooh..the first computer my parents had in the family home was an Amstrad CPC6128, I think, from the local paper in 1996 or so. I used to play with the turtle program, write stories and print letters, and load games from the tape deck.
Then we had a PII bought from a friend of my uncles, who overcharged us and could not be found when it broke. After that we had a variety of pentiums. A neighbour gave us an old Tecra which we used for a while- it's sturdy.
MY first computer was a secondhand PC which I bought with my student loan for £300 the weekend before I started uni in 2003. I wanted a 'Snow iBook' as my diary recalls! It had a 1GHz processor and a glossy LG flatron 17" screen, which was marvellous compared to our old 233 with fuzzy 14" monitor. It eventually broke (I did fiddle a lot inside the case) and I had something built by a local repairman in the most god-awful case which I loved at the time- it was a faux microsuede- feel black tower with blue strip LCDs which lit up whenever it was on.
Then I received another PC, a Medion, as part of my disabled students allowance. I played the Sims a lot. While I was at uni my parents got a Dell something (XPS 5700) I think, a desktop, which ran circles round the 233! It is now slow as molasses and sounds like a plane taking off. Eventually I tried to sell my Medion and I think I ended up giving it away on freecycle to some very happy family, after an ebay bidder won it for £80, then came to my house and offered me £20.
In 2007 after my first proper job started I bought my first mac- a white Macbook. The dvd drive broke and I had a replacement, then the casing cracked so I returned it and bought a 15" original Macbook pro, which was by far my favourite. I had a 23" ACD I used to use with it which was intended for graphics work but I've never managed to scrape up the money for a decent camera. Eventually after too much tinkering the MBP died and I sold it along with the ACD, and bought a 12" iBook for basic internet use. I ALWAYS wanted one but I think my teenage-hood illusion was ruined when I tried to go on youtube! I loved the size though, but found the screen very dim for my needs. I tripped over the cable and had to replace the DC-in board. Then I started my current job (graphic design/admin/basic IT stuff for a small office) and my boss kindly split the cost of a unibody 13" MBP with me. I lent the iBook to my ex but then the dvd drive so he's using it for basic internet surfing with an external drive.
So now I have a 13" MBP- I like having a backlit keyboard again, but I'm not sure how I feel about the thick black bezel around the screen. It's a good size for me as I move between floors at work to show things to people, and around the house. I still hanker for the PPCs and would love a 12" PowerBook.
)
atw
