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[CM] What was your first home computer?

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  [CM] What was your first home computer? RS Wood  <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2017-04-17 11:01 +0000
    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Andreas Kohlbach <ank@spamfence.net> - 2017-04-17 15:05 -0400
      Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Ian McCall <ian@eruvia.org> - 2017-04-18 11:45 +0100
        Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Nyssa <Nyssa@flawlesslogic.com> - 2017-04-18 11:14 -0400
          Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Roger Blake <rogblake@iname.invalid> - 2017-04-18 15:27 +0000
            Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2017-04-18 15:47 +0000
            Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Nyssa <Nyssa@flawlesslogic.com> - 2017-04-18 11:52 -0400
              Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2017-04-18 14:46 -0400
                Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Nyssa <Nyssa@flawlesslogic.com> - 2017-04-18 16:52 -0400
          Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2017-04-18 14:40 -0400
            Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? "Kerr Mudd-John" <admin@127.0.0.1> - 2017-04-18 21:14 +0100
        Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2017-04-18 14:32 -0400
          Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> - 2017-04-18 20:10 +0100
            Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> - 2017-04-18 22:46 +0300
              Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2017-04-18 21:04 +0000
              Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Robert Swindells <rjs@fdy2.co.uk> - 2017-04-18 21:47 +0000
                Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Andy Leighton <andyl@azaal.plus.com> - 2017-04-18 17:57 -0500
                Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2017-04-18 23:40 -0400
                  Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Jason Howe <jason@tatooine.smbfc.net> - 2017-04-19 04:34 +0000
                    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? JimP. <solosam90@gmail.com> - 2017-04-19 11:59 -0500
                      Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? scott@alfter.diespammersdie.us (Scott Alfter) - 2017-04-19 18:17 +0000
                      Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Jason Howe <jason@tatooine.smbfc.net> - 2017-04-19 18:45 +0000
                      Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2017-04-19 19:59 -0400
                  Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> - 2017-04-19 03:28 -0300
                Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> - 2017-04-19 12:55 +0300
                  Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Larry Sheldon <lfsheldon@gmail.com> - 2017-04-19 05:40 -0500
                  Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Nyssa <Nyssa@flawlesslogic.com> - 2017-04-19 10:02 -0400
                    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2017-04-19 12:49 -0400
                  Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Bob Eager <news0006@eager.cx> - 2017-04-19 15:44 +0000
                    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? "J. Clarke" <j.clarke.873638@gmail.com> - 2017-04-19 22:05 -0400
                  Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Richard Thiebaud <thiebauddick2@aol.com> - 2017-04-19 12:05 -0400
                    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? JimP. <solosam90@gmail.com> - 2017-04-19 12:11 -0500
                  Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2017-04-19 12:44 -0400
                    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? bartc <bc@freeuk.com> - 2017-05-14 11:22 +0100
                  Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Walter Banks <walter@bytecraft.com> - 2017-04-19 13:38 -0400
                    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Morten Reistad <first@last.name.invalid> - 2017-04-20 07:09 +0200
                  Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Andreas Kohlbach <ank@spamfence.net> - 2017-04-19 13:58 -0400
              Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> - 2017-04-19 02:37 -0300
              Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Ian McCall <ian@eruvia.org> - 2017-04-20 11:47 +0100
                Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Osmium <r124c4u102@comcast.net> - 2017-04-20 08:56 -0500
                Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> - 2017-04-20 17:07 +0300
                  Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Larry Sheldon <lfsheldon@gmail.com> - 2017-04-21 22:18 -0500
              Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Anssi Saari <as@sci.fi> - 2017-04-21 14:10 +0300
                Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> - 2017-04-21 15:00 +0300
                  Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2017-04-21 12:53 +0000
                  Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Andreas Kohlbach <ank@spamfence.net> - 2017-04-21 15:01 -0400
                    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> - 2017-04-21 23:35 +0300
        Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Andreas Kohlbach <ank@spamfence.net> - 2017-04-18 15:44 -0400
      Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Brian Reay <no.sp@m.com> - 2017-04-18 22:23 +0100
    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Jon Elson <jmelson@wustl.edu> - 2017-04-17 14:38 -0500
    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Alan Frisbie <Usenet03_REMOVE@Flying-Disk.com> - 2017-04-17 18:17 -0700
    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Gene Wirchenko <genew@telus.net> - 2017-04-17 20:06 -0700
      Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Gene Wirchenko <genew@telus.net> - 2017-04-18 22:50 -0700
        Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2017-04-19 12:38 -0400
    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? isw <isw@witzend.com> - 2017-04-17 20:41 -0700
    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? ANTant@zimage.com (Ant) - 2017-04-17 23:00 -0500
      Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2017-04-17 22:13 -0700
        Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2017-04-18 14:27 -0400
    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Walter Banks <walter@bytecraft.com> - 2017-04-18 12:02 -0400
    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Dave Garland <dave.garland@wizinfo.com> - 2017-04-18 21:58 -0500
    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? songbird <songbird@anthive.com> - 2017-04-19 10:09 -0400
      Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2017-04-19 12:52 -0400
        Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? songbird <songbird@anthive.com> - 2017-04-19 16:41 -0400
          Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2017-04-19 20:31 -0700
            Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? songbird <songbird@anthive.com> - 2017-04-20 10:28 -0400
              Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Ian McCall <ian@eruvia.org> - 2017-04-21 10:47 +0100
                Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2017-04-21 09:50 +0000
                Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? songbird <songbird@anthive.com> - 2017-04-21 08:46 -0400
                  Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Ian McCall <ian@eruvia.org> - 2017-04-21 18:00 +0100
                    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2017-04-21 20:19 -0400
                      Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Ian McCall <ian@eruvia.org> - 2017-04-22 11:18 +0100
    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? "Jack Myers" <jmyers@n6wuz.net> - 2017-04-19 10:35 -0700
      Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Andreas Kohlbach <ank@spamfence.net> - 2017-04-19 17:06 -0400
      Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? songbird <songbird@anthive.com> - 2017-04-19 16:29 -0400
    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Mok-Kong Shen <mok-kong.shen@t-online.de> - 2017-04-20 10:49 +0200
    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Ivan Shmakov <ivan@siamics.net> - 2017-04-20 10:13 +0000
    Re: [CM] What was your first home computer? Kara M'bola <maxupixu@in.val.it> - 2017-04-22 09:42 +0000

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#13522

Ian McCall <ian@eruvia.org>:

> On 2017-04-18 19:46:46 +0000, Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> said:
>
>> I bought an Atari 520ST. A big disappointment. You couldn't do
>> anything with it. It came with the lamest imaginable Basic
>> interpreter and a Logo turtle. I joined a local Atari club, but
>> nobody was interested in programming so I quit.
>
> [...]
>
> The ST I had was -fantastic-. There's the games, which were good

Never tried to play a game on the ST. I wanted to program.

> 1st Word Plus, the incredible Signum. Timeworks.

Some software, I presume. I didn't want to buy software, I wanted to
create some.

> Then there were the MIDI ports, so I got into writing music with
> Steinberg Pro 12 and a couple of MIDI keyboards.

Didn't have a MIDI keyboard.

> Emulators - it could run Mac software faster than a Mac Plus and with
> bigger screen space on the utterly gorgeous SM124 paper white monitor.

Didn't have any Mac software, either.

> I also had a Vortex 286 fitted, meaning I
> could run DOS and code in Turbo Pascal etc..

Didn't have any DOS code.

> GST C, for £20, is how I taught myself C as well.

That would have been something, but having been accustomed to being able
to program with a computer out of the box (TRS-80, VIC-20, Commodore-64
at school and friends), I resented the fact that the computer on its own
was useless.

> We had very different experiences - the ST was one of the most
> productive machines I've ever owned.

Good for you.


Marko

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#13546

[Resent--first attempt seems to have gone into the weeds. 
alt.folklore.computers removed in case that causes mews.individual.net 
to drop it.

On 4/19/2017 04:55, Marko Rauhamaa wrote:
 > Robert Swindells <rjs@fdy2.co.uk>:
 >
 >> On Tue, 18 Apr 2017 22:46:46 +0300, Marko Rauhamaa wrote:
 >>
 >>> Ok, all this hardware. What did you do with it?
 >
 > (Nobody has yet offered any responses. Were the home computers just
 > paperweights?)

My first was an XTish clone bought from an Iranian (I think, might have 
been an Indian) operating out of a store-used-as-a-factory in the 
Hillsdale Shopping Center.

It had the standard stuff, plus an outrageously huge 20 megabyte drive 
and a collection of add-on boards to emulate a UTS 20, and a TTY 28, 
since my work was on a real computer--a UNIVAC 1110 a few miles away.


 >>> I bought an Atari 520ST. A big disappointment. You couldn't do
 >>> anything with it. It came with the lamest imaginable Basic
 >>> interpreter and a Logo turtle. I joined a local Atari club, but
 >>> nobody was interested in programming so I quit.
 >>
 >> The Atari ST had several good free C compilers for it, you could write
 >> whatever software you wanted.
 >
 > Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of that and wouldn't have known where to
 > look for them. All I saw was a catalog of pricey software I couldn't
 > afford. And besides, I wanted to *create* software, not *buy* it.
 >
 > I did use the builtin Basic to create an 68000 assembler. An arduous
 > task with the idiotic "IDE." I still remember that project as one of my
 > best summer vacations. Too bad I never had an opportunity to build
 > anything with my assembler; the first choice would have been an
 > assembler written in assembly language.


-- 
quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
-- Juvenal


-- 
quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
-- Juvenal

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#13529

Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> writes:

> Ok, all this hardware. What did you do with it?

I had a Commodore VIC-20 and then 64. Mostly I played games. I did do a
little programming (on the Commodore 64), using the awful included basic
and also assembler but I don't remember doing any specific project. Just
tinkering, trying out various little things.

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#13530

Anssi Saari <as@sci.fi>:

> Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> writes:
>
>> Ok, all this hardware. What did you do with it?
>
> I had a Commodore VIC-20 and then 64. Mostly I played games. I did do
> a little programming (on the Commodore 64), using the awful included
> basic and also assembler but I don't remember doing any specific
> project. Just tinkering, trying out various little things.

I don't know how awful the C64's basic was, but the TRS-80 basic was
actually fun to work with even though:

 * It had only 4 kB RAM.

 * There were 26 numeric variables: A thru Z.

 * There were only two string variables: A$ and B$.

 * There was only one (numeric) array variable: A().

 * No line renumbering support.

We shared one TRS-80 in our high school's computer club, and made all
kinds of fun programs. For example, one of us created an elaborate
graphical solitaire program that let you observe the computer play the
game by itself in real time. Pointless but impressive and fun to watch.

In fact, the TRS-80 experience gave me a conviction that I knew
everything there was to know about software development. I went on to
study computer science but was wondering what they could possibly teach
me about the subject anymore...


Marko

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#13533

Marko Rauhamaa wrote:
> Anssi Saari <as@sci.fi>:
>
>> Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> writes:
>>
>>> Ok, all this hardware. What did you do with it?
>>
>> I had a Commodore VIC-20 and then 64. Mostly I played games. I did do
>> a little programming (on the Commodore 64), using the awful included
>> basic and also assembler but I don't remember doing any specific
>> project. Just tinkering, trying out various little things.
>
> I don't know how awful the C64's basic was, but the TRS-80 basic was
> actually fun to work with even though:
>
>  * It had only 4 kB RAM.
>
>  * There were 26 numeric variables: A thru Z.
>
>  * There were only two string variables: A$ and B$.
>
>  * There was only one (numeric) array variable: A().
>
>  * No line renumbering support.
>
> We shared one TRS-80 in our high school's computer club, and made all
> kinds of fun programs. For example, one of us created an elaborate
> graphical solitaire program that let you observe the computer play the
> game by itself in real time. Pointless but impressive and fun to watch.
>
> In fact, the TRS-80 experience gave me a conviction that I knew
> everything there was to know about software development. I went on to
> study computer science but was wondering what they could possibly teach
> me about the subject anymore...

ROTFL.  Did you find out that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing?

/BAH

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#13540

On Fri, 21 Apr 2017 15:00:21 +0300, Marko Rauhamaa wrote:
>
> Anssi Saari <as@sci.fi>:
>
>> Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> writes:
>>
>>> Ok, all this hardware. What did you do with it?
>>
>> I had a Commodore VIC-20 and then 64. Mostly I played games. I did do
>> a little programming (on the Commodore 64), using the awful included
>> basic and also assembler but I don't remember doing any specific
>> project. Just tinkering, trying out various little things.
>
> I don't know how awful the C64's basic was [...]

It didn't had dedicated commands for video (like "draw" or "plot") or
sound. You had to POKE into registers directly.
-- 
Andreas
You know you are a redneck if
you've ever shot somebody over a mall parking space.

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#13542

Andreas Kohlbach <ank@spamfence.net>:
> On Fri, 21 Apr 2017 15:00:21 +0300, Marko Rauhamaa wrote:
>> I don't know how awful the C64's basic was [...]
>
> It didn't had dedicated commands for video (like "draw" or "plot") or
> sound. You had to POKE into registers directly.

Oh, how nice it would be if that worked with modern computers.

In these days, one of the last and most advanced things for an aspiring
programmer is to place a colored dot on the screen. It used to be the
first and simplest thing in the time of the early home computers.

It was that colored pixel that gave the early excitement to the Apple II
owners. How disheartening it is to have to be buried under tons of
frameworks in modern computing.


Marko

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#13471

On Tue, 18 Apr 2017 11:45:25 +0100, Ian McCall wrote:
>
> On 2017-04-17 19:05:57 +0000, Andreas Kohlbach <ank@spamfence.net> said:
>
>> On Mon, 17 Apr 2017 11:01:58 +0000, RS Wood wrote:
>>>
>>> We've recently seen stories about old computers and sys-ops resurrecting 1980s
>>> BBS's, but now an anonymous reader has a question for all Slashdot readers:
>>> Whenever I meet geeks, there's one question that always gets a reaction: Do you
>>> remember your first home computer? This usually provokes a flood of fond
>>> memories about primitive specs -- limited RAM, bad graphics, and early versions
>>> of long-since-abandoned operating systems.
>>
>> This depends on the point of view. For many of us Commodore 64 users
>> (my first love btw.) with its 64K (while many others had still 16K) was
>> top of the line. And have you seen this smooth scrolling in Game XYZ?
>> Awesome!
>
> Commodore pulled a bit of a con trick here though - it had 32k by most
> system's standards, with the other 32k being ROM. In terms of usable
> memory 32k put it on a par with the BBC B and behind my own first
> computer, the ZX Spectrum 48k.

The ROM was "shadowed" into the RAM, no?. But if you wanted you actually
have far RAM for you own. Assuming you wrote your own service routines
and stuff the C64 usually does itself you might get some 60K.

BASIC announced "38911 BASIC BYTES FREE", which is already more than
32K. If you don't need BASIC (thus the "C64 command line") at all you can
use this space too. Don't need screen output? You can blank the screen so
no one sees the garbage writing program data into screen RAM at 1024-2023
($0400-$07E7) and have yet another 1K RAM for yourself. Plenty of more
options.
-- 
Andreas
You know you are a redneck if
you ever been arrested for relieving yourself in an ice machine.

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#13476

On 17/04/2017 20:05, Andreas Kohlbach wrote:
> On Mon, 17 Apr 2017 11:01:58 +0000, RS Wood wrote:
>>
>> We've recently seen stories about old computers and sys-ops resurrecting 1980s
>> BBS's, but now an anonymous reader has a question for all Slashdot readers:
>> Whenever I meet geeks, there's one question that always gets a reaction: Do you
>> remember your first home computer? This usually provokes a flood of fond
>> memories about primitive specs -- limited RAM, bad graphics, and early versions
>> of long-since-abandoned operating systems.
>
> This depends on the point of view. For many of us Commodore 64 users
> (my first love btw.) with its 64K (while many others had still 16K) was
> top of the line. And have you seen this smooth scrolling in Game XYZ?
> Awesome!

As you say, it depends on your point of view/definition.

If it is something people would probably recognise as a computer- ie 
with a QWERTY keyboard and a decent display (even if it was a TV), then 
a UK101- built from a kit.

If, on the other had, you count a very basic uP system, with a simple 
display and keypad as found on a cheap calculator etc, then various home 
made beasts- an SC/MP was the first as far as I recall.


-- 

Suspect someone is claiming a benefit under false pretences? Incapacity
Benefit or Personal Independence Payment when they don't need it? They 
are depriving those in real need!

https://www.gov.uk/report-benefit-fraud

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#13454

RS Wood wrote:

> Do you remember your first home computer?

In 1976 I did a project using the Intel 8008, using commercial development 
boards.  I then made an 8008 system with 256 bytes of SRAM and a keypad/LED 
console.  Obviously pretty useless, but I proved I could actually build a 
working system.

Then, I got an S-100 backplane, an 8080 CPU board and some memory boards.
I slowly built up the system.  I started with paper tape, then got a floppy 
controller and floppy drives, upgraded to a Z-80 CPU, more memory, etc. and 
CP/M.
By 1981 I had a 10 MB Winchester SASI hard drive, and by 1982 or so, 9-track 
mag tape backup.

Jon

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#13455

On 04/17/2017 04:01 AM, RS Wood wrote:

> Whenever I meet geeks, there's one question that always gets a reaction: Do you
> remember your first home computer?

Of course!

In 1974, I had been following microcomputer computer developments for
about two years, starting with the Intel 4004, followed by the 8008.
My employer, NCR, was one of the first customers of the 8080, and I
was programming it even before the public announcement in April, 1974.

Since native development tools were almost non-existent then, we did
all our development on the DEC PDP-11.   This would have a significant
influence on my later purchase.

In November, 1974 I got my issue of Popular Electronics with the Altair
8800 on the cover.   The list price of the CPU (in single quantities)
at that time was $360, and the price of the case was almost the same,
so the advertised price of $439 made it a no-brainer -- I ordered one.

However, deliveries were delayed, which changed the course of my
computer hobby.   In February, 1975 DEC announced the LSI-11.   Since
I was already in love with the PDP-11 and its considerable capabilities,
I called MITS and canceled my order for the Altair.

It wasn't until late that year that I was actually able to take delivery
of my DEC LSI-11 boards: CPU with 4K 16-bit words memory, one serial
interface, one parallel interface. and a backplane.   A piece of
surplus TRW equipment provided a power supply and a case.   I bought
DEC's paper tape software kit and joined DECUS (the DEC user's group).

My paper tape reader was a little box with a wire frame to guide the
tape, an optical sensor for the holes, and a desk lamp to illuminate
the tape/sensor.   The tape was drawn through by hand.   You had to
be careful to not pull the tape too quickly, as end-of-line processing
might cause you to skip a character or two.   I didn't have a punch,
but did my development and punching at work during lunch and after hours.

I had hard-copy output in the form of an IBM Selectric I/O-Writer I
had found at the Dayton HamVention swap meet.   I built a device to
convert from ASCII to Selectric Tilt/Rotate code.   Keyboard input
from the Selectric was too difficult (half-duplex only), so I used a
surplus ASCII keyboard.

Eventually I upgraded with a Chrislin 32 KW memory card.  By that
time my new employer (Xerox) offered employee discounts on Shugart
floppy disk drives, and I was able to get a deal on a controller
from Andromeda Systems, the start of a long relationship.   I never
stopped upgrading whenever I could find a "deal", rarely spending
list price, and usually buying surplus.

Over the years, my original LSI-11 system evolved through the 11/73,
a MicroVAX-II, several DEC Alphas, and an Itanium (IA-64).   Yes,
I do have multiple PCs, but the DEC systems are still my first love.
And yes, I still have that original LSI-11 system!

Alan Frisbie

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#13456

On Mon, 17 Apr 2017 11:01:58 +0000, RS Wood  <rsw@therandymon.com>
wrote:

[snip]

>We've recently seen stories about old computers and sys-ops resurrecting 1980s
>BBS's, but now an anonymous reader has a question for all Slashdot readers:
>Whenever I meet geeks, there's one question that always gets a reaction: Do you
>remember your first home computer? ...

[snip]

     A TRS-80 Model I.  Later systems could do a lot more, but there
was a sense of community that I have not seen since.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

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#13484

On Mon, 17 Apr 2017 20:06:25 -0700, Gene Wirchenko <genew@telus.net>
wrote:

>On Mon, 17 Apr 2017 11:01:58 +0000, RS Wood  <rsw@therandymon.com>
>wrote:
>
>[snip]
>
>>We've recently seen stories about old computers and sys-ops resurrecting 1980s
>>BBS's, but now an anonymous reader has a question for all Slashdot readers:
>>Whenever I meet geeks, there's one question that always gets a reaction: Do you
>>remember your first home computer? ...
>
>[snip]
>
>     A TRS-80 Model I.  Later systems could do a lot more, but there
>was a sense of community that I have not seen since.

     Morten mentioned his was a TI-59.  I was thinking of more
conventional computers.  I had a TI-58 then a TI-59 before the TRS-80.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

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#13494

On Tue, 18 Apr 2017, Gene Wirchenko wrote:

> On Mon, 17 Apr 2017 20:06:25 -0700, Gene Wirchenko <genew@telus.net>
> wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 17 Apr 2017 11:01:58 +0000, RS Wood  <rsw@therandymon.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> [snip]
>>
>>> We've recently seen stories about old computers and sys-ops resurrecting 1980s
>>> BBS's, but now an anonymous reader has a question for all Slashdot readers:
>>> Whenever I meet geeks, there's one question that always gets a reaction: Do you
>>> remember your first home computer? ...
>>
>> [snip]
>>
>>     A TRS-80 Model I.  Later systems could do a lot more, but there
>> was a sense of community that I have not seen since.
>
>     Morten mentioned his was a TI-59.  I was thinking of more
> conventional computers.  I had a TI-58 then a TI-59 before the TRS-80.
>
In the early days of "home computers", Byte would cover the programmable 
calculators coming to market.  It was all kind of vague then, so news of 
the LSI-11 (and a group buy from a California club) was news, as were the 
TI programmables etc.  The calculators lacked I/O, but if you had specific 
things to do, they might be the best choice at the time.  A bit later, it 
was all sorted out, and calculators were seen as calculators, not 
computers.

About 20 years ago I was finding early programmable calculators at garage 
sales.  So I spent about five dollars on a TI-58 complete with the 
printer.  I also have an HP programmable from about the same era, plus a 
few early scientific calculators, all bought for about five dollars each. 
And then I no longer found them at garage sales.

   Michael

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#13457

In article <5ujesd-n64.ln1@raspberry.therandymon.com>,
 RS Wood  <rsw@therandymon.com> wrote:

> From the «guy in the back with the Cray, sit down please» department:
> Title: Ask Slashdot: What Was Your First Home Computer?
> Author: help@slashdot.org
> Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2017 00:50:00 -0400
> Link: 
> http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/R-8G1BsgeRw/ask-slashdot-what-
> was-your-first-home-computer
> 
> We've recently seen stories about old computers and sys-ops resurrecting 
> 1980s
> BBS's, but now an anonymous reader has a question for all Slashdot readers:
> Whenever I meet geeks, there's one question that always gets a reaction: Do 
> you
> remember your first home computer?

Homebrew CP/M box using an S-100 backplane with a Z-80, 56k(!) of memory 
and a dual PerSci 8" floppy drive. Later added a homebrew 300 baud modem 
with acoustic coupler (ultimately modified to direct connect), a Calcomp 
30" drum plotter (gutted and reworked with homebrew drivers to make it 
listen to something like HPGL), and a hacked IBM Selectric terminal used 
as a printer.

Isaac

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#13458

Texas Instrument (TI) 99/4A. My parents bought me one back in the 80s. I 
was scared of it. And then, I found out it could do computer games like 
my Atari 2600 and arcades. Haha. Then, came more computers later on as 
shown in my http://zimage.com/~ant/antfarm/about/toys.html history. :P


In comp.misc RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> wrote:
> From the «guy in the back with the Cray, sit down please» department:
> Title: Ask Slashdot: What Was Your First Home Computer?
> Author: help@slashdot.org
> Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2017 00:50:00 -0400
> Link: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/R-8G1BsgeRw/ask-slashdot-what-was-your-first-home-computer

> We've recently seen stories about old computers and sys-ops resurrecting 1980s
> BBS's, but now an anonymous reader has a question for all Slashdot readers:
> Whenever I meet geeks, there's one question that always gets a reaction: Do you
> remember your first home computer? This usually provokes a flood of fond
> memories about primitive specs -- limited RAM, bad graphics, and early versions
> of long-since-abandoned operating systems. Now I'd like to pose the same
> question to Slashdot's readers. Use the comments to share details about your
> own first home computer. Was it a back-to-school present from your parents? Did
> it come with a modem? Did you lovingly upgrade its hardware for years to come?
> Was it a Commodore 64 or a BeBox? It seems like there should be some good
> stories, so leave your best answers in the comments. What was your first home
> computer?

> [image 2][2][image 4][4][image 6][6]

> Read more of this story[7] at Slashdot.
> [image 8]

> Links:
> [1]: http://twitter.com/home?status=Ask+Slashdot%3A+What+Was+Your+First+Home+Computer%3F%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F2pE7IRH (link)
> [2]: https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png (image)
> [3]: http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fask.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F17%2F04%2F15%2F0546240%2Fask-slashdot-what-was-your-first-home-computer%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook (link)
> [4]: https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png (image)
> [5]: http://plus.google.com/share?url=https://ask.slashdot.org/story/17/04/15/0546240/ask-slashdot-what-was-your-first-home-computer?utm_source=slashdot&utm_medium=googleplus (link)
> [6]: http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png (image)
> [7]: https://ask.slashdot.org/story/17/04/15/0546240/ask-slashdot-what-was-your-first-home-computer?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed (link)
> [8]: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/R-8G1BsgeRw (image)

-- 
Quote of the Week: "I like ants, in chocolate. Crunch, hummmm." --unknown
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
  /\___/\   Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.home.dhs.org (Personal Web Site)
 / /\ /\ \                 Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o   o| |
   \ _ /    Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail privately. If credit-
    ( )     ing, then please kindly use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.

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#13459

1977, an 8080 machine put together by a local company called Computer 
Power & Light.  Details to be provided later by my beloved husband...

We narrowly escaped buying an Imsai because the Byte Shop guys kept 
selling the machine they were building for us to someone who -- 
presumably -- was willing to pay more.  After a month or so hubby 
threatened to throw a chair through their plate glass window unless we 
got our money back.  We cashed the check immediately.


-- 
Cheers, Bev
    "In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime
     is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin
     is stupidity."                              -- H.S. Thompson

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#13466

On Mon, 17 Apr 2017, The Real Bev wrote:

> 1977, an 8080 machine put together by a local company called Computer Power & 
> Light.  Details to be provided later by my beloved husband...
>
That's true.  Everyone talks in terms of a specific brand, but soon after 
the Altair came out, there were so many boards and replacement parts 
available that one could put together a generic S-100 system.  All those 
Godbout and Morrow boards.  I have a Processor Technology board from about 
1977, I got it free much later, that's 16K of RAM, a pretty penny when it 
came out.  But it used the S-100 bus, so I assume it would work in any 
S-100 system, and I gather they were better at dynamic ram than Altair.


> We narrowly escaped buying an Imsai because the Byte Shop guys kept selling 
> the machine they were building for us to someone who -- presumably -- was 
> willing to pay more.  After a month or so hubby threatened to throw a chair 
> through their plate glass window unless we got our money back.  We cashed the 
> check immediately.
>
IN the mid-eighties, Jerry Pournelle in his endless column in Byte wrote 
about one 68000 based system where one of the programmers screwed the 
computer to the side of their desk, because otherwise someone would come 
along and grab the computer, and ship it out, demand was so great, but 
each time that meant software was delayed.

   Michael

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#13465

My first home computer was a PDP8 home made clone.

I then bought or built a number of other computers from evaluation
boards or kits. KIM-1, a M6800 around a Motorola evaluation board,
an OSI kit with three processors and a M68000 built around a
Motorola 68K evaluation single board.

Later (1979) I bought a PDP-11 from the assets of a company that had
gone bankrupt. Finally a real computer that I used for software development.

In the middle of all of that I built the worlds simplest 300 baud modem
I am sure it wouldn't have passed any standards tests but actually
worked quite well. It had FSK going out (at more or less the right
frequencies). To decode it had a filter whose center frequency was
between the two tones and used the filter to clock a D latch sampling
the incoming signal. The phase shift across the center frequency was
used to resolve the data.

w..

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#13480

Home? In 1965 when college was my "home", an IBM 1620. The computer 
operator taught us the startup routine and showed us what window to 
climb through if the center was locked. (Also introduced us to the 
term "chad", a candy jar of which sat on top of the console.)

After that, mebbe 1984, a Morrow MD-3 (CP/M) after I started lusting 
after the boss's Ozzie. I had to be able to justify it as a business 
expense, and Apple wasn't in the running as the keyboard was crappy 
and lowercase was an extra-cost option (the Xerox was just too 
expensive). And I did write a few games using character graphics on 
the ADM-31A monitor (with an aftermarket PROM), as well as a few 
commercial programs. Then, of course, IBM swamped everything else.

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