Apple IIe, Commodore 64, Amiga: What was your first computer?
I started using computers in school (in the fourth grade) and the first computer my family owned was an Apple IIe.
How did you get your start?
Good Answers (134)
C64 (plus tape reader, floppy disk drive 1541 and MPS803 printer)
Ciao.
Paolo.
Vic 20 (pre C64)
My first computer was a TI-994A that I got for Christmas when I was 7 yrs. old. I learned TI BASIC, TI Exteded BASIC and a little bit of low-level assembly (16-bit RISC-ish architecture). I always tried to program my own games in it, and had lots of fun! Having it greatly influenced my preferences and career goals since then.
Links:
TRX (Trash) 80. I had to program in binary. it was awful. Superman and those damn kids in the back of comic books were selling a pack of damn lies!
Benjamin T.
Client Software Technical Lead
Best Answers in: Software Development (4), Career Management (1), Ethics (1), Computers and Software (1)
I wanted one of these eight bit micros in the 1970s but did not have the money. I bought a BASIC programming book for the TRS-80 and would read it every day in my home room in junior high school. Oh, if only I could try PEEK and POKE in the privacy of my own home.
My first computer was a Mac Plus, so my first language was HyperTalk. Since then, I have purchased....
Mac 512
Mac SE
Mac IIx
Mac IIci
Quadra 605
Microcenter Win98 cheapie
Orange iMac
Mac Cube 450
iBook 800
iMac G5
MacBook 2G
But I still wish I could pop open HyperCard once in a while.
Dave S.
Freelance software developer specializing in Perl/C/Linux development
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I got my start on the Apple IIs (might've been II+, but the IIe wasn't out yet) at school. The first computer I owned was a Timex/Sinclair T/S-1000, followed a year or two later by a C=64.
James M. K.
Architect/Project Manager at ZGA Architects and Planners, Chartered
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Shannon,
Atari 800XL with 64K and a tape drive.
Jamie
Commodore Vic 20
Atari 800 - with the 64k RAM upgrade. (not not 640)
It had a casette tape drive. You would hit "load" and press play, make a sandwich, check on it, go outside, see a movie, come back and check on it, watch tv, check on it, (repeat) still loading.....
Sold it to the kid across the street so I could buy a car. (wish I still had it)
Sarah M.
Recruiter, Sales, Motivation
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My families first computer was an Apple IIe I must of been in 2nd or 3rd grade then? I still remember playing Chopper...
The first computer in our house was a C64. About two years later, I bought an Amiga 1000 w/512K and two 880K floppies (GREAT computer for its day).I still have the "upgraded" Amiga 2000. I originally learned the PC at college on an Apple II (The College of New Jersey had a room full of Apple II's affectionately called the "Apple Orchard").
It's only for business reasons that I eventually HAD to get a "compatible".
Craig W.
Computer Programming and Software Development Professional
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The first computer I wrote code for was a Xerox Sigma 7; it belonged to the school. The first computer I bought for myself was an Atari 1040ST, but I used it mainly for word processing and as a remote terminal. Didn't write any code for it.
My parents bought me a TI994a when they became discontinued. They couldn't afford to buy me any games so I wrote my own. A friend of mine and I would each come up with a game idea then see who could create the best game out of it.
Soviet Apple ][ clone called Agat.
Links:
I started with a Canon V-20 MSX Home Computer with a tape reader.
Links:
My first computer was actually an Atari 800XL. Oh how I miss basic!
Links:
Wei L.
Life-long learner; Global Citizen; Volunteer;
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Hi Shannon,
I started to use personal computer when I was in Brussels in 1989. I bought my first computer - Apple II Color [I forgot the model] in 1992. It was VERY expensive to me ~ $3,000.
Cheers, Wei
Commodore 64 with tape drive, 5.25 floppy drive, dot-matrix printer, and an old B&W TV. I always wanted an Amiga ...
What a fun question! Thanks for asking.
My first computer was a TRS-80 Model I (with a low 3 digit serial number!) with 4 KB RAM and a cassette drive for offline storage. If my recollection is correct, my parents bought it for me while I was at camp during the summer of '78.
My father used to tell me stories of how he used to "program" computers as a graduate student in the 1950s. As a programmer, he had to carefully place instructions at the correct location on the drum (the rotating magnetic cylinder serving as memory) such that based upon the drum's rotation speed, the computer would execute the next instruction under the read head. If placement was incorrect, the computer would execute the program out of order!
From a usability and productivity perspective, computers have drastically improved for developers. While the same is generally true for end-users, the industry still has a long way to go ...
My first computer was a soviet one called BK-0011 (well, family's owned one). It was wicked to play Tetris when I was 11. The computer broke down eventually and went to my school where I continued to use it while learning Basic. Then the thing got replaced by ES (soviet analog of IBM). My friend had Sinclair ZX Spectrum. It was cool.
I've never seen early Apples, Commodores or Amigas unfortunately. I hope one day I lay my hands on one of each.
I started on a TRS-80 with 16K of RAM and no lower case letters in 1980. Eventually we upgraded it to 64K (I think) and went from cassette tapes to stringy floppies to floppy disks. The floppy disks were single-sided, unless you were clever enough to know how to punch holes in the right places on the disk. I played some games on a TRS-80 emulator recently and it totally brought back memories of my wasted youth.
Toby Marie W.
Independent Consultant, Acclivus PDP
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Commodore 64
Jim C.
Open Networker: Seeking new opportunities as an engineering technician in information technologies or embedded systems.
The Radio Shack Color Computer was my first computer. I got it in 1982 and I still have it. As a matter of fact I still collect them. It a great little computer based on the MC6809 and actually still has an active following. It was never as popular as the C64, Apple II, or the Ataris, but it still is a damn good computer.
-Jim Cox
http://miba51.blogspot.com/
Links:
An 8Mhz Amstrad PC1512, like in 1987, when I was 5 or 6yo. :D
Links:
Michael C.
Faculty at University of Phoenix, American Thoracic Society: Java and PHP developer
Commodore 64, w floppy!
Sharp MZ-80K (with Z80 CPU and 48 Kb RAM) in 1981. Next one was an Acorn Archimedes 305 (with Arthur 0.2 OS in EPROM) in 1987.
Links:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharp_MZ
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_Archimedes
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TI-59
Clarification added September 24, 2008:
Actually, my first programming experiences were on a TI-59 calculator in the late seventies. I remember the discussions at that time whether such a device was a computer or not, depending on the definition of "computer".
Apple II+, 48k of RAM, 5 1/4" floppy. I added a 16K RAM expansion card (from Microsoft!), a second floppy, a muffin fan inside for cooling, and a dot-matrix printer. I remember carefully working through the BASIC Programming Manual and the *entire* DOS Reference Manual--a great basis for understanding how computers work(ed?). Programmed in BASIC and Assembly Language. What fun, what memories! Thanks for asking!
Pong Console, the kind that ran on 4 D Cell batteries!
then Vic 20, with the Sears brand Cassette tape drive.
Mine was Commodore 64 + tape + floppy then I bought Amiga 2000 and then moved to PC.
