When did you first use a computer and which one?

[WhatExit?]

50 years later we're still living in the Xerox Alto's world developed in Xerox's R&D laboratory, the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC).

By 1975, dozens of Xerox PARC’s researchers had personal Altos in their offices and used them daily. The large cabinet contained a CPU, memory, and a removable disk pack. On the desk are additional disk packs and the Alto’s vertical display, mouse, and keyboard...

50 Years Later, We’re Still Living in the Xerox Alto’s World

The Xerox Alto, which debuted in the early spring of 1973, is uncannily familiar today, because we are living in a world of computing that the Alto created. Here's how the Alto came to be.

spectrum.ieee.org

 

[WhatExit?]

Maybe you remember Wang computer, Tandem computer, Apple 1, Apple ii, Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80, Atari 400 or 800, or Commodore computer. IBM PC, Osborne Computer, Apple Lisa, Compaq Portable, or the Apple Macintosh introduced in 1984 in a famous Super Bowl commercial. IBM PC Jr. and PC AT, Compaq Deskpro 386, Commodore Amiga 1000,

Commodore - The company developed and marketed the world's best-selling computer, the Commodore 64 (1982), and released its Amiga computer line in July 1985. With quarterly sales ending 1983 of $49 million (equivalent to $114 million in 2021), Commodore was one of the world's largest personal computer manufacturers.

Computers | Timeline of Computer History | Computer History Museum

www.computerhistory.org

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

I started out programming Sprite Logo on Apple ii’s, then graduated from that to an Apple iie and from there I got a PC-XT running IBM DOS 2.0 on an Intel 8088 with two 5 1/2 inch floppy drives. Then went to an IBM PC-AT running Microsoft DOS 4 on an Intel 286, with a 20 MB hard drive (big ol 5.25”). From there went on to other PC stuff with 386 and 486 chips and up to the Pentiums when I started building my own and haven’t stopped since.

I had friends with Tandy’s, Commodores, and Ataris.

Great times but some are rose colored glasses with parts before plug n pray.

 

[Outdrive1]

I had a Commodore 64.

 

[stephenkatsea]

Commodore 64 for me, mid 80s.

 

[Mr. C]

Late 80’s early 90s for work. Macintosh for editing. Program called audio vision ( now called Pro tools) & Media composer

 

[mjc]

I started with these IBM 3081. Mainframe maintenance we got pc's later

 

[Ladsm]

Compaq 386 laptop for work with a roller ball on the side of the screen. I had to put it on the dash vents of my Ford Aerostar work van and warm it up in the morning to get it to boot up.

 

[Maw]

Started with a Timex Sinclair (Z-80 based), then a Commodore 64, a used DEC LSI-11-23, next an IBM PC (8088) that I built myself (included stuffing/soldering the motherboard), an XT (8086), . . . God I'm old.

 

[Ziggy]

Would you consider the Texas Instrument scientific calculator a computer? I mean, it did compute afterall. My brother had one in 1974ish?? A holy grail of sorts for the classes he took.
Something like this maybe?

 

[WhatExit?]

Would you consider the Texas Instrument scientific calculator a computer? I mean, it did compute afterall. My brother had one in 1974ish?? A holy grail of sorts for the classes he took.
Something like this maybe?
View attachment 1206467

Good question. According to the Computers timeline (link above) it IS a computer and played a part in the evolution of the machines

 

[SoCalDave]

We had a Compaq Deskpro 386 in the late 80's. 40 mb hard drive and we thought we were on top of the world.

 

[spectras only]

Still have my Steinberger slide ruler I used in school in the 60's. Have it ready to fire it up, just in case EMP strikes the grid.
It was used by NASA engineers, I trust it for its accuracy.

 

[Aces & Eights]

First home computer for me was 1998, it was a custom build a friend did for me, got most of the components from Fry’s. 10mb hard drive, dial up internet access, main search engine I used was dogpile.

 

[Sharky]

First one was a Macintosh Preforma 6300

Next one after that was a Power Macintosh 8500.

Upgraded to a G3 processor. It became useless when Apple went to OS 10

 

[HTTP404]

50 years later we're still living in the Xerox Alto's world developed in Xerox's R&D laboratory, the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC).

By 1975, dozens of Xerox PARC’s researchers had personal Altos in their offices and used them daily. The large cabinet contained a CPU, memory, and a removable disk pack. On the desk are additional disk packs and the Alto’s vertical display, mouse, and keyboard...

50 Years Later, We’re Still Living in the Xerox Alto’s World

The Xerox Alto, which debuted in the early spring of 1973, is uncannily familiar today, because we are living in a world of computing that the Alto created. Here's how the Alto came to be.

spectrum.ieee.org

Fucking dinosaur. Well done.

 

[HTTP404]

IBM 386 sx25. I think it was running DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.0.

 

[BabyRay]

We used a TRS 80 to produce our billing statements. I recall that the only drive was a 5.25” floppy. It wasn’t much, but it sure beat the old posting machine!

 

[C-2]

Started with a Timex Sinclair (Z-80 based), then a Commodore 64, a used DEC LSI-11-23, next an IBM PC (8088) that I built myself (included stuffing/soldering the motherboard), an XT (8086), . . . God I'm old.

Same here, a Sinclair. A rich friend had the TRS-80, couldn’t keep my hands off it. Then the rest is history…

 

[bilz]

Trash 80 as it was affectionately called in hi school. Xt,At, friend bought an amiga.

 

[Sleek-Jet]

Apple IIe... 1986(ish). It was actually a clone made by Franklin. Kind of a rare animal in the history of Apple since they rarely licensed the Apple OS.

Then on to 386 PCs and so on.

 

[Nordie]

In my grandpa's ham radio room he had a commodore 64. Played frogger on that thing often.

 

[HTTP404]

My friend's dad had a machine that was always up and running. I can remember trying to run commands on that this. I didn't know WTF I was doing but I was interested.

 

[mash on it]

Neighbors Apple Lisa, ~1985.
It helped my report card to allow me to go on a river/Havasu trip during spring break.
By the end of the year, my grades were up, btw, for basketball ball, ya know.

Dan'l

 

[Cray Paper]

First computer I used was in 1995, HP and the only reason I used it was to look up a car website I read about in Car Craft magazine, then used it to play car racing games. That POS costs a couple of grand but got me involved with the voodoo of computers. I thought to myself when in my younger years I would be the last generation to not have to use them, but was so wrong.

 

[rivermobster]

Buncha punk azz kids!

I started on a OG 286 with a green screen.

First thing I did was take it apart to see how the fuck it worked!

 

[LuauLounge]

TRS80 wrote a couple of billing apps.

 

[hallett21]

Windows 95 and that included flight simulator back then.

 

[C-2]

Buncha punk azz kids!

I started on a OG 286 with a green screen.

First thing I did was take it apart to see how the fuck it worked!

I used a Tandy 1000 with the green screen for my business until about 1995

 

[C-2]

A bit of nerd history...

Impressive lady...Admiral Grace Hopper - super smart Navy lady who wrote one of the first programming languages and coined the term "debugging". Only back when she said it - she really was pulling a bug out of a machine lol.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper

 

[rrrr]

1992 IBM PS2 with a 40 megabyte hard drive and green screen monitor

 

[Orange Juice]

Data General MV-4000

 

[92562]

My Dad was an OG Electrical Engineer before "Aerospace" was a thing. He worked for North American, then Rockwell, then Boeing. His claim to fames were the N-73 and the guidance system for the Minuteman III. He built a home computer from a Heath Kit set using the predecessor to the 5200 chip which would later power America Sings and Country Bear Jamboree at Disney and even later, the OG Atari 5200. I was maybe 5 or 6 years old when Dad taught me how to program in Basic. I think that computer had 4K of RAM and we had little magnetic strips that held 1K each.

 

[tamburello]

TRS 80 Color. If I recall correctly data was saved to a special audio cassette recorder that you could buy with it.

 

[Eliminator21vdrive]

386 2 meg of ram and upgrades were not cheep lol Dos and windows 3 I think

 

[Flatsix66]

My first was a Commodore VIC-20, then a Commodore-64. When I was 20 I started working at Burroughs in Mission Viejo, they had a mini called a B20...

 

[Badchoices03]

On my 9th birthday in 1983 my mom got me a Commodore 64, and played the shit out of California Games

 

[spectra3279]

Started with a heathkit digital h8. Progressed to a trash 80 color computer. Then an atari 800xl. Then went to the big stuff, Sperry univac cp-642B.

It was the big brother to what sent the astronauts to the moon. No IC chips. 4 of these in a master slave configuration and an external memory unit equaled 1 Meg of ram. It had 90 comms channels and was water cooled. This was the naval tactical data system (ntds) on ships until the mid 90's when all were phased out. Ran nothing but assembly language. People laugh but there was really only 2 troubleshooting tools for it. A rubber mallet and a paperclip.

 

[pronstar]

Dad bought an IBM PC sometime in the mid 80’s.
Dual floppies, green monitor.

I remember doing my first school report, it felt like the future.

 

[stephenkatsea]

What was that thing on TV with all the punch cards that were fed down to numerous slots. The Univac (?). It was about the size of a room.

 

[stephenkatsea]

Apple did some wise marketing by providing their computers to So Cal elementary schools.

 

[jetboatperformance]

8084 with an Amber monitor Didnt do Sh*t ...... Boating related story though , When My Son was restoring his 78 Glastron CVX 20" One day while under the deck void He discovered an IBM punch card laminated to the underside ..............

 

[outboard_256]

First home computer for me was 1998, it was a custom build a friend did for me, got most of the components from Fry’s. 10mb hard drive, dial up internet access, main search engine I used was dogpile.

Your friend really cheaped out on the hard drive. Is Fry's still around? I haven't stepped in one in about 10 years.

 

[samsah33]

I remember walking into a client's office to do some number crunching on one of these beauties, I pretty much though I was cat's ass when I got to bust out this suitcase and my Lotus1-2-3 complete with WYSIWYG...!

 

[whiteworks]

There was a Commodore 64 in my second grade class, it didn’t do much that interested me. Somewhere around 1990 I became aware of the computer in the office and that you could look at tits on it, no clue what kind it was, but it had tits on it.

 

[ChevelleSB406]

I was born in 1980, first home computer was a Commodore 64, and good shout out on California games higher in this thread, I had that one as well and loved it, challenging. After that was a gateway 2000 486/33hz on windows 3.0 . My brother and I bought the soundblaster card and speakers and 16 megabits of memory to help it along, and of course the 14.4 modem so I could play Doom2 with my friends. Falcon 3.0 was the flight simulator of choice and still one of the best video games ever built if you ask me, the whole desert storm campaign with all the ordinance types in extreme detail, and all planes, friendly and enemy. Amazing game. Test Drive games were the driving games of choice.

 

[rivermobster]

Apple did some wise marketing by providing their computers to So Cal elementary schools.

I've said it over and over...

The guy was a marketing genius.

 

[BoatCop]

Don't remember the first one I "worked" on. "Worked" in " " because I didn't do the computing shit, just support. It was 1973, the company operated a key-punch and accounting programs. My main job was driving around the LA basin picking up punch cards to process. One of our biggest clients was "Motherhood Maternity", but we had about a dozen other big corporations. The key punchers would process the cards, I'd take them and feed them into the machine, which did its thing and transferred it all to reel to reel tapes, that I'd take to the "computer" which was held in the industrial center on El Segundo Blvd west of Hawthorne. The computer took up half of a warehouse. It would process the tapes and issue reports, paychecks, accounts receivable invoices, accounts payable checks etc. I then took the final product(s) back to the companies to distribute. The computer, as big as a house, had way less processing power than your average 2010 "smart" phone.

As far as personal computers, my folks were Xerox Copier distributors, so when they went to computers for their business, they went with this. It was so specific activity directed, that the only thing I could do on it was pretty much word processing. I did use the Coast Guard's 3C (Command, Control, Communications) computers in the mid '80s, but for my purposes, all it did was track inventory, order supplies, submit requests, and play "Rats".

 

[Baja 252]

Around 1980 the company I worked for bought an IBM System 38 to run our ordering system. First time I ever used a computer.

 

[rivermobster]

A bit of nerd history...

Impressive lady...Admiral Grace Hopper - super smart Navy lady who wrote one of the first programming languages and coined the term "debugging". Only back when she said it - she really was pulling a bug out of a machine lol.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper

If you're into all that nerd shit...

Read: Being Digital

"Negroponte, a Wired columnist and founder of MIT's Media Lab, presents an accessible guide to the cutting edge of digital technology and his predictions for its future.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc."

Being Digital: Negroponte, Nicholas: 9780679762904: Amazon.com: Books

Being Digital [Negroponte, Nicholas] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Being Digital

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