First time?

[TomD]

What was the first computer and/or system you worked on?

I started out in high school on a Bendix (Control Data actually, as they had just purchased Bendix and donated the computer to the school) G15.

The computer was about the size of a refrigerator (a bit larger) with vacuum tubes, magnetic drum storage and paper tape backup and reload.

The "terminal" was a printer/keyboard - everything was hard copy.

You can see pictures of a similar system here (http://aceware.iinet.net.au/acms/ItemDetail.asp?lngItemId=3&) on an Australian WEB site.

[HRGraham]

I started using computers in 5th grade. The first computer I ever used was this:

http://www.welovemacs.com/ppc6300.html

I know, I'm young.

[y6y6y6]

I got started doing games in BASIC on a Commodore Pet. The 32, not the fancy new 64s. The trick was trying to fit everything into that tiny amount of memory. I can't tell you how nice it was to finally get past the point where I only had a fixed amount of space to squeeze my code into.

[Tammy]

I took some summer classes at my high school in 1975. The school had a very fancy mainframe in its own room which we could peer into through the glass walls. The terminals were overgrown typewriters, no monitors or anything like that. About all you could do with them if you didn't know programming languages was to multiply very large numbers, which we did for a while. A friend had a pong game that I played at his birthday party around that time, too, I don't know if that counts. The school got a few early Apple IIs a few years later and we spent some time playing Hangman on them by touching the screen, but they were still just toys.

[johnb]

My first was an IBM PS1 with some proprietary OS slapped on top of Windows 3.1. I had a ball beating on that thing, but damn it was slow.

[TomD]

Along these same line my first program solved quadratic equations on the G15 (http://aceware.iinet.net.au/acms/ItemDetail.asp?lngItemId=3&) mentioned above.

It was sure a lot of fun to enter the coefficients as you were prompted for them and then seeing the results printed out.

A lot of noise was involved with the teletype interface printing and feeding paper and lights flashing on the front of the G15. (You could actually watch the binary data in the registers as the computations were made. You had to single step for it to make much sense but it would display in real time.)

[vanselus]

This was my first computer:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/addatex/TI-99-White.gif

The venerable TI 99/4A. I wasn't really too fond of it at the time cause I wanted to play games and my friends had commodores.

Replaced in 5th grace (1986 I think) with an Apple IIe.

[Serge]

I started playing on computers in the 3rd grade I believe and I'm now in the 11th grade. It was a very old IBM the switch to turn on the monitor was a big orange one in the back along with the computer itself except it was in the front. It was Windows 3.11 except I remember all the games ran though DOS and I remember trying to figuare out commands though a little book I had. Kind of fun I must have been a genious though cause I can't remember how I found the dos commands to run my games which was some Big Bird game and Doom or something.

[KLH]

I started playing on an Apple II e or c, I don't really remember. I actually think we had both at my house, but only one of them worked. It took 1-2 minutes to load up a game on those 5 1/4 in floppy disks.
Those were the good ole days. Not really, hehe..

[Dalfiuss]

I started on an old Leading Edge. I dont remember any of the specs, All I remember was alot of dos and a strange OS/office suite program.

[vanselus]

Originally posted by KLH
It took 1-2 minutes to load up a game on those 5 1/4 in floppy disks.

Yeah and remember how you'd shove the disc in too hard and bend the damn thing? And the little flip down lever that closed the drive.

We used to make a monthly trip to "the computer store" to get the latest floppy of crappy games for a couple bucks.

ahh...

[paolorulez]

my first PC

Model Olivetti M20
Year of release 1983
CPU Z8001
(2 Intel 8086 Cpu)
CPU Speed -
ROM -
RAM 160 Kb
Operating System PCOS/CPM/MS DOS 2.0
Text Display -
Graphic Display -
Audio -
Other Features 2x FDD 5"1/4 360kb

http://www.silicium.org/divers/olivetti_m20.htm

[Fuzzylogic]

Ah, my first one (well at home anyway) was a Commadore 64. Great machine, if I recall it was able to play Atari game cartridges.

[sxtxixtxcxh]

first one i started programming in was a c64...
:) it had a little book full of source code i think..

that was... before i started school i think.

:P probably doesn't count. considering i could barely read.. but oddly enough, thinking about it, i realized i'm basically doing the same thing. ;)

the first computer i seriously started working on was a dos machine. no windows yet. i had a 5.25" floppy with a helicopter flight sim... :D one of the readme's gave a number so you can dial in and fly/dogfight over the phone lines.

[intricate]

Im planning to build a new pc. It's in the mail right now. Its gonna be a bad mamma jamma. I will be better at my video games with it.

[Fuzzylogic]

Originally posted by intricate
Im planning to build a new pc. It's in the mail right now. Its gonna be a bad mamma jamma. I will be better at my video games with it.

Sweet, what did you order?

[intricate]

Its different parts. Generic.

Shipped Items

Quantity

WD Protege 40GB EIDE HD 5400/2MB/12.4/ATA-100
(THD-40EB P ) 1

Ultra 256MB PC2100 DDR 266MHz
(U10-1902 ) 1

Benq 56x CD ROM Internal IDE Beige
(B145-2026 ) 1

Mercury Slim Keyboard PS2 (Black)
(K13-3000 ) 1

HP PS/2 Scroll Mouse - Silver
(C26-1098 P ) 1

Mach Speed XFCP Socket 478 Barebone Black
(M450-3100 BK ) 1

Intel Celeron 2.4Ghz 128k,400FSB SocN
(CP2-CI2400NC ) 1

Ultra Aluminum Fan Skt 478 upto P4 2.8GHz
(U10-8400 ) 1

Ultra 256MB PC2100 DDR 266MHz
(U10-1902 ) 1

Thank You For Purchasing
(TRAK-M450-3101 BK ) 1

XFX GeForce FX 5200 128MB DDR 8X AGP w/ TV Out
(P450-8602 )

[johca]

I can't remember what make and model it was, but it was 1973 and it didn't do much except print out answers to math equation used for labs in physics. It was the only computer the school district had and it was purchased new in 1973. The first computer I owned was an Apple IIGS in 1986. Used a lot of IBMs on the job before then.

[intricate]

1973 huh? That was some time ago lol

[Fuzzylogic]

May I suggest NOT using the Nvidia Geforce card, I have the 5600 Ultra and well.. I'm just not pleased.

I really think my old Ti-4600 did a better job.

Try an ATI Radeon 9600 or better.

[intricate]

Eww. Radeons. I hate radeons. They cause alot of problems with the computer I have now. So I dont want to deal with that with my new comp. Right now in my comp thats built, I have a ge force 4 mx 460 64 mb. Its good and does what I need it to do. So im happy :)

[Fuzzylogic]

Well I guess it depends on what you are doing, if you aren't doing lots of gaming you should be ok.

Just FYI Halo seems to HATE GeForce cards, but then again I don't care for Halo and like NeverWinter Nights which works best with Nvidia.

It's always a toss up. :)

[intricate]

This post was a double post. Sorry for the confusion.

[Fuzzylogic]

Originally posted by intricate
Eww. Radeon. I dont like to deal with the trouble those cause me. Ge force cards have served me well in the past.

Some sort of odd double post?

[y6y6y6]

I've used thre different Radeon cards mixed n matched on several compters with no problems. They are the most trouble free cards I've ever used.

[Fuzzylogic]

Anyway I'm just saying, for your money you may want to go with the ATI or at least check out some benchmarks.

[sxtxixtxcxh]

@ intricate: wooould... that be your first computer you've worked on?

because, if you ask me, that's slightly off topic otherwise.

okay.. back on topic: the first computer i've actually had to use at a job was a mac. os 9 133mhz ppc processor (omg so ooold!)

[intricate]

Yes, this will be the first computer I work on. Its in the mail right as I post this. I'm hoping it'll come soon. Should be fun to put together :)

[Viper007Bond]

8086 or something (was too young to remember), but the first one I actually used often was a 486 with a ONE GIG HARDDRIVE! LOL No one knew what a gig was back then in 1994... Had that until 1997 or 8 when we got a P3 450 MHz. That was quite a step... :D

[Unicorn2]

Heath kit.. 1978?

last i knew, (in 1991) the machine was still running...

[Unicorn2]

Originally posted by HRGraham


I know, I'm young.

You can say that again.. my first pc's processor speed was measured in KILOhertz.

[HRGraham]

Originally posted by Unicorn2
You can say that again.. my first pc's processor speed was measured in KILOhertz.

KILOWHAT!? :)

[Viper007Bond]

Well mine was measured in tenths of a hertz! :p j/k

[vanselus]

mine was measured in kilograms! and it took up a whole room.

but damn, could it calculate 2+2. it just took 10 hours.

[a-pluspc]

386SX. I think it had a 20mb HD and maybe 4mb of RAM. I didn't know much then so I could be wrong on the specs.

I got my first taste of DOS and BASIC programming on this badboy... must have broke it every other week.

Boy did I hate windows 3.1!!!

[vanselus]

hahaha - Win 3.1! Remember trying to network that crap?

ugh. I worked for the Auburn school district while I was in high school in the IT dept, and the secretaries would change the wierdest things and break their computers...

one time some dumbass secretary modified her autoexec.bat file with a bunch of program locations - she thought it would automatically load them.

ahh... a little bit of knowledge is SUCH a bad thing.

[Unicorn2]

Originally posted by HRGraham
KILOWHAT!? :)

no.. kiloHERTZ

instead of megaHERTZ or gigaHERTZ

[vanselus]

Wow, and I would have thought nobody could miss the sarcasm..

:D j/k!