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When do you first remember using a computer?
- Thread starter Reecedouglas1
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My best friend in high school's dad was a chiropractor. His dad has a IIc at one point in their chiro office. It was still there in late 1996-1997 doing whatever it was they had it doing.
Did use BBC micros at school but first one I 'properly' used - Zx Spectrum... Still up in the loft somewhere...
Met my husband on a BBS. We've been together 23 years now. Married 20 in the fall.
I mentioned the Timex Sinclair up a few posts.
That's cool!!! Congratulations on that!
My parents for whatever reason (money) chose to live in a rural, unincorporated area with no sidewalks and no sewer system. The nearest mall and bookstore were 30 minutes away by freeway. So, the BBS enabled me to find other teens in my area. And since some of them were into the same things I was we eventually began meeting up.
PS. I met my wife while working at UPS. It will be 20 years for us on Nov. 8th.
What's BBS?That's cool!!! Congratulations on that!
My parents for whatever reason (money) chose to live in a rural, unincorporated area with no sidewalks and no sewer system. The nearest mall and bookstore were 30 minutes away by freeway. So, the BBS enabled me to find other teens in my area. And since some of them were into the same things I was we eventually began meeting up.
PS. I met my wife while working at UPS. It will be 20 years for us on Nov. 8th.
Amiga CD32:- 
Amiga 500:-
Bulletin Board System (BBS), text only and can also be ACSII, way to share info, upload via dial-up modem back in the day with "Hyper-terminal-like" or software typically that would come with dialup modems, or third party software. Useful for reporting events, download patches/cracks etc..
Amiga 500:-
Bulletin Board System (BBS), text only and can also be ACSII, way to share info, upload via dial-up modem back in the day with "Hyper-terminal-like" or software typically that would come with dialup modems, or third party software. Useful for reporting events, download patches/cracks etc..
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Was a seriously ahead of its time device. I remember the massive 20MB HDD I bought for it
Examples: Compuserve, Genie, AOL, Prodigy, etc.......
My dad has always been into computers and always owned a lot of them. When I was a wee tot in the year 2001 (about 3 years old or so), I remember using my dad's iMac G3. And I also used a Compaq Presario that had Windows 98 on it. I got my first computer when I was 10, an iBook G4
High school timeshare terminal to a computer at Moffat Field, 1971. Computer club.
College terminal hooked to something, I think it was a Honeywell, maybe an IBM S/360 (never saw it lol). Wrote a fisheries population study on it. 1975
There weren't any computer classes, this one was owned by the Engineering department.
First home computer I used was my dad's Northstar Horizon - I wrote a real estate comparative program for him. It had just come out and my boyfriend at the local computer store got it for us. This is where I learned Basic.
First computer I used at work was a Honeywell monster - I was the operator that had to deal with moving tapes around and dealing with the printer that was taller than it was. I hated running payroll because it had so many tapes - tape 1 + tape 2 output to tape 3, move tape 3 to tape 1 and run again to another scratch tape... I think there was about 24 tape transfers. Scary stuff in 1977.
I remembered the data entry people where their entry output to cards. And how excited they were when they could actually output to a disk drive - wow!
TRS_80 was the first computer I used to hook to the 'internet'. No www web, it was all usenet and gopher. Hooked into systems at U of Washington and Berkeley.
College terminal hooked to something, I think it was a Honeywell, maybe an IBM S/360 (never saw it lol). Wrote a fisheries population study on it. 1975
There weren't any computer classes, this one was owned by the Engineering department.
First home computer I used was my dad's Northstar Horizon - I wrote a real estate comparative program for him. It had just come out and my boyfriend at the local computer store got it for us. This is where I learned Basic.
First computer I used at work was a Honeywell monster - I was the operator that had to deal with moving tapes around and dealing with the printer that was taller than it was. I hated running payroll because it had so many tapes - tape 1 + tape 2 output to tape 3, move tape 3 to tape 1 and run again to another scratch tape... I think there was about 24 tape transfers. Scary stuff in 1977.
I remembered the data entry people where their entry output to cards. And how excited they were when they could actually output to a disk drive - wow!
TRS_80 was the first computer I used to hook to the 'internet'. No www web, it was all usenet and gopher. Hooked into systems at U of Washington and Berkeley.
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(B)ulletin (B)oard (S)ystem.
In the pre-internet days you'd dialup a BBS phone number with your computer modem. The computer at the other end would detect a ring and connect you to the system.
The operator who ran the BBS was called a SysOp (System Operator). The SysOp was God because he/she controlled the system.
Large BBS's had multiple phone lines to handle multiple connections. BBS's were like modern day forums where you had interest areas and made posts.
The software I used for four years or so was AABBS (All American BBS) for the Commodore 64/128.
What an awesome thread.
I was born in '93, so my first memories of using a computer were when I was very young. Too young to recall my actual age, but I had to have been 4, 5, 6, somewhere in there. We had a Windows machine in the house that ran an early version of Windows (95, 98, not sure). I remember my brother and I sitting with my mother when we wanted to get on the internet. It felt like such a big deal. The computer would finally boot up, we'd eventually get AOL opened up, and then we'd *try* to connect to the internet. Yes, try. It was not a guaranteed thing in those days. We'd hear all the crazy sounds that are associated with dial-up (high pitched tones, following by loud crashing 'CCCSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH'). And it was at that point that we MAY or MAY NOT have connected to the internet. Even if we were only checking Mom's emails, I still found the whole ordeal fascinating.
My father also had a laptop. This thing didn't even run Windows -- I don't know what it ran. DOS? He would let me play it with it and I would find a way to open the DOS-equivalent of NotePad and just type stuff. Anything. Just the ability to type things on the keyboard and have them appear on the screen was the coolest thing.
A few years later, when my parents got a new computer (a Compaq, I think -- remember them?), they gave me their old computer. And my love from computers only blossomed from there onwards.
What a terrific time to be a kid.
I love computers. Cheers to us techies!
I was born in '93, so my first memories of using a computer were when I was very young. Too young to recall my actual age, but I had to have been 4, 5, 6, somewhere in there. We had a Windows machine in the house that ran an early version of Windows (95, 98, not sure). I remember my brother and I sitting with my mother when we wanted to get on the internet. It felt like such a big deal. The computer would finally boot up, we'd eventually get AOL opened up, and then we'd *try* to connect to the internet. Yes, try. It was not a guaranteed thing in those days. We'd hear all the crazy sounds that are associated with dial-up (high pitched tones, following by loud crashing 'CCCSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH'). And it was at that point that we MAY or MAY NOT have connected to the internet. Even if we were only checking Mom's emails, I still found the whole ordeal fascinating.
My father also had a laptop. This thing didn't even run Windows -- I don't know what it ran. DOS? He would let me play it with it and I would find a way to open the DOS-equivalent of NotePad and just type stuff. Anything. Just the ability to type things on the keyboard and have them appear on the screen was the coolest thing.
A few years later, when my parents got a new computer (a Compaq, I think -- remember them?), they gave me their old computer. And my love from computers only blossomed from there onwards.
What a terrific time to be a kid.
I love computers.
Cheers to us techies!
Fascinating. Never heard of it before.
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I recall the dial up noises. Imagine that now!What an awesome thread.
I was born in '93, so my first memories of using a computer were when I was very young. Too young to recall my actual age, but I had to have been 4, 5, 6, somewhere in there. We had a Windows machine in the house that ran an early version of Windows (95, 98, not sure). I remember my brother and I sitting with my mother when we wanted to get on the internet. It felt like such a big deal. The computer would finally boot up, we'd eventually get AOL opened up, and then we'd *try* to connect to the internet. Yes, try. It was not a guaranteed thing in those days. We'd hear all the crazy sounds that are associated with dial-up (high pitched tones, following by loud crashing 'CCCSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH'). And it was at that point that we MAY or MAY NOT have connected to the internet. Even if we were only checking Mom's emails, I still found the whole ordeal fascinating.
My father also had a laptop. This thing didn't even run Windows -- I don't know what it ran. DOS? He would let me play it with it and I would find a way to open the DOS-equivalent of NotePad and just type stuff. Anything. Just the ability to type things on the keyboard and have them appear on the screen was the coolest thing.
A few years later, when my parents got a new computer (a Compaq, I think -- remember them?), they gave me their old computer. And my love from computers only blossomed from there onwards.
What a terrific time to be a kid.
I love computers.
They were quite popular in the US during the mid-80s to mid-90s before the internet got going.
That said, as far as the telephone company was concerned you were making a phone call. If that call was long distance you paid the charges.
My mom took my phone line away at one point because I ran up a $300 phone bill.
In the 1970's I was introduced to two technologies which were the start of my immersion into a whole new world..... One was a teletype machine (TTY) used to communicate with deaf people who contacted the public library in which I was working. I was fascinated by that thing and amazed that I could type back-and-forth in real time with someone. Also, around the same time period I learned about word processing on a couple of Friden Flexowriters in my husband's office. I still preferred the IBM Selectric we had at home, though. The public library system eventually began using computers, "dumb" terminals, and as a reference librarian it was important to learn how to use them to do effective searching in various databases. In 1985 I went back to school post-master's degree to pick up a couple of classes in computer usage and also other topics. As was mentioned above, these were the days of dialup via a modem. A friend lent me her TI "Luggable" for use during the time I was taking the computer classes, making it easier to do the assignments at home. I still remember the day that I set up the thing on our kitchen table, reached over and positioned the telephone receiver into the modem and dialed up one of the services to use a database. As information started spooling out, I stared at it and said wonderingly to my husband, "I've got the whole world on our kitchen table!"
Time went on....some personal events interrupted my fascination with computers, but the seed had definitely been planted. In 1990 the library was getting even more into the use of computers and I was beginning to feel the tug of wanting a machine of my own at home. My first computer was an IBM PS/1, designed for the home user and a bit awkward to use but a learning experience nonetheless. About a year or so later, I was visiting my mother-in-law and we went to have dinner with friends of hers at their home. The man of the household opened the door and before we'd even stepped in he said excitedly, "I've just gotten Windows! Want to see my new machine?" I grinned, curious, as I'd heard about this new "graphical user interface" and how much nicer it was than DOS (which I hated)...... The man and I spent the next little while in his office marveling at the wonders of WIN 3.1. I went home and the next day or so went out and bought a new computer with WIN 3.1......
That led to a series of computers through the years as Windows morphed from one version to the next, and then in 2005 I got fed up with Windows altogether and started a new adventure: purchasing and using my first Mac, the 2005 G5 Rev B iMac. The love affair with Macs continues......
Time went on....some personal events interrupted my fascination with computers, but the seed had definitely been planted. In 1990 the library was getting even more into the use of computers and I was beginning to feel the tug of wanting a machine of my own at home. My first computer was an IBM PS/1, designed for the home user and a bit awkward to use but a learning experience nonetheless. About a year or so later, I was visiting my mother-in-law and we went to have dinner with friends of hers at their home. The man of the household opened the door and before we'd even stepped in he said excitedly, "I've just gotten Windows! Want to see my new machine?" I grinned, curious, as I'd heard about this new "graphical user interface" and how much nicer it was than DOS (which I hated)...... The man and I spent the next little while in his office marveling at the wonders of WIN 3.1. I went home and the next day or so went out and bought a new computer with WIN 3.1......
That led to a series of computers through the years as Windows morphed from one version to the next, and then in 2005 I got fed up with Windows altogether and started a new adventure: purchasing and using my first Mac, the 2005 G5 Rev B iMac. The love affair with Macs continues......
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My first memory of using a computer was at my towns public library in their children's department. As I recall they accepted those 8" floppy discs that had games. That was probably 1990/91. I know my parents had home computers shortly thereafter- including my mom with a PowerBook 140.
The first family computer was a 1993 Gateway with Windows 3.1. We had a black and white Canon inkjet printer that was eventually upgraded to a color (!!!) inkjet HP printer.
I remember my dad used to bring home computer paper from work, but it was that awful zigzag paper with the tear off tracks... which had to be removed before putting in the printer.
I believe we got the internet in 1996 with the purchase of a new Gateway Pentium II with 17" monitor and a very cool scanner.
The first family computer was a 1993 Gateway with Windows 3.1. We had a black and white Canon inkjet printer that was eventually upgraded to a color (!!!) inkjet HP printer.
I remember my dad used to bring home computer paper from work, but it was that awful zigzag paper with the tear off tracks... which had to be removed before putting in the printer.
I believe we got the internet in 1996 with the purchase of a new Gateway Pentium II with 17" monitor and a very cool scanner.
I switched to Mac in 2003.
My first PC was 1990 and being DOS that's what I learned. My mom had a Mac but I ignored it.
Once I got in to the graphic design industry every job I had was Mac. Having learned them at design school though it was a bit easier.
My mom got me a TiBook 400 during Christmas 2001 so I did have a Mac two years before I converted. The tipping point was when I had a problem with my home PC and all my files were lost because of the GD drive overlay (for large drives). Then my PC USB Zip Drive decided to wipe out one of my zip disks and that was it.
Having used Macs at work up until this point I knew that I could still continue to be productive with a crippled Mac. That impressed me because at the time I couldn't do anything with a crippled PC. So, since I already had the TiBook, I abandoned PC and haven't looked back.
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I still have about 2/3rds of the last box of that paper bought for the Star Micronics SG-10 dot matrix printer I had. Periodically when we run out of copy paper I use it.
The photocopier at my work occasionally still makes similar noises. What year is this again?!
The summer of 1965 - IBM Mainframe model 1401 with 4K of memory>
Oh, yes: I remember that very special sound you sometimes got when accessing the online world via a dial-up system.
And I remember DOS - everyone hated it - and Windows 3.1.
And I also remember the excitement on a colleague's face - he worked in linguistics - as he dragged me into an office in his department in the antique university where we both worked at the time to show me - bursting with pride - the latest piece of cutting edge technology, a gleaming desktop that had 1GB of memory that was the most recent acquisition of the advanced linguistic outfit.
I was suitably awed and impressed. At that time, my own computer - the first I owned, a 386 - had a memory of 80MB.
And I remember DOS - everyone hated it - and Windows 3.1.
And I also remember the excitement on a colleague's face - he worked in linguistics - as he dragged me into an office in his department in the antique university where we both worked at the time to show me - bursting with pride - the latest piece of cutting edge technology, a gleaming desktop that had 1GB of memory that was the most recent acquisition of the advanced linguistic outfit.
I was suitably awed and impressed. At that time, my own computer - the first I owned, a 386 - had a memory of 80MB.
My son started with an iBook G3 when he was about three or so (I let him use it and then gave it to him when he was five). His first encounter (and my daughter's) was AlphaBaby, a Mac app that allows your kid to pound on the keyboard and produces either symbols or type, depending on the keys you strike.
dial up yay! When we moved to Oregon in 1983 our house was still on a party line. Weren't supposed to put a modem on that but we did anyway until we could get a direct line installed. Loved that dial up sound. And how you could tell the speed of the modem by the different connection tones it made. Yup, we live 30 miles outside the nearest town.The photocopier at my work occasionally still makes similar noises. What year is this again?!
My next door neighbour worked at a local technical college, and one summer he brought home a computer that they didn't want to leave in the college over the break in case it got thieved. It ran a sort of CP/M I think. Came in a metal light blue case. Must have been either 1977 or 1978, and I have no idea what type of computer it was. It was neither a Commodore PET nor an Apple II.
As his own children seemed completely disinterested he asked if my brothers and I wanted a go. I sat there and typed in some programs from a book, and amazingly they worked.
[doublepost=1496267883][/doublepost]
As his own children seemed completely disinterested he asked if my brothers and I wanted a go. I sat there and typed in some programs from a book, and amazingly they worked.
[doublepost=1496267883][/doublepost]
I loved my Amiga 500. First computer I owned myself. Wonderful machine.
We had a TRS80, so early 80s? My dad used to take my brother on weekends to swap meet things where he could get games (like Frogger or Donkey King) on tapes (like audio tapes). In hindsight they were probably all pirated.
In school our music teacher started weekly computer classes when I was I 4th grade 83-84) and I think they were Apples.
In school our music teacher started weekly computer classes when I was I 4th grade 83-84) and I think they were Apples.