Author Topic: Feeling Old (again)  (Read 6272 times)

Offline packetbob

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Re: Feeling Old (again)
« Reply #15 on: February 26, 2015, »
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My first computer was 1802-based.  Now that's an odd architecture.
/mike

Same here! Cosmic Elf baby all the way!

RJ

Comic Elf... Woah, that does bring back memories... I didn't actually build one but remember following the articles in Popular Electronics (had a subscription at the time) trying to figure out what a computer processor actually was....

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Offline jhoybs

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Re: Feeling Old (again)
« Reply #16 on: February 27, 2015, »
I'm not as old (mid 40's now), but I still laugh because as a teenager, I ran an Atari BBS off floppies with a 300 baud modem.   <fp.   At the time, it was pretty cool...
Jim H.
Muskego, WI
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Offline caretaker

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Re: Feeling Old (again)
« Reply #17 on: February 28, 2015, »
My first computer was an Commodore 64 that I put together myself. Someone gave me the main board and I was able to buy a keyboard and power supply at a ham swap. I built a clear acrylic case for it then picket a monitor and floppy drive. After a couple years I picked up a 2400 buad modem a 20meg Lt. Kernal hard drive and ran a  BBS on it for 3 years using Image software. Yep those were the good old days.
Jeff Squires
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Offline arw01

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Re: Feeling Old (again)
« Reply #18 on: February 28, 2015, »
I love the stories that come out every year about seniors in highschool have never seen a brick phone, don't know what a vinyl album is etc.

Not from the days of punch cards and individual magnets wrapped in wire in a matrix to store 1K of data at a time!  Do recall sitting down at an Apple II and teaching myself Pascal as the first language with the little turtle, once in a while a teacher would come by to see what I was upto, but none of them knew how to do what I was teaching myself.

Got paid by a couple of magazines as a high school student for articles or services anyone remember the Open Apple newsletter, I made the Britannica style index for that for years.  I do miss the ProDos in the apple II scene and the Dos Bros if I recall their wacky adds.

Endless hours programming in Orca/M assembly, playing Origin in monochrome orange and thinking this is just the Ultimate!

Skipped the sinclair, but did have a Ti 99/4a with the cassette drive..  Had the Apple IIc until a few years ago, just got tired of storing it.

Offline rrowan

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Re: Feeling Old (again)
« Reply #19 on: February 28, 2015, »
Hmm,

My brother brought a Commodore Vic 20 with tape drive.
I brought my first computer out of high school an Apple IIe Professional model (Duo 5.25 drives, 140kb each) green monitor
Next was a PC 386dx2 with a Hard Drive, strangely it had a server tower, lots of internal bays (Still have the invoice sheet - at work in my desk)
Had two Sinclair to play with

Had 300 baud to 1200 baud modems. I can still hear the connection tones.
I did have an acoustic modem

Rick R.
Light Animation Hobby - Having fun and Learning at the same time. (21st member of DLA)
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Warning SOME assembly required

Offline tbone321

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Re: Feeling Old (again)
« Reply #20 on: February 28, 2015, »
My first IBM clone was a 33Mhz 386 with a 200MB IDE HDD, 1M of RAM, both a 5 1/4 and a high density 3 1/2 floppy drive and a Super VGA card with a whopping 64K of RAM.   At the time, the average PC was a 16MHZ 286 with 256K ram, a 40MB RLL drive, a CGA graphics card,  and a 5 1/4 floppy drive.  I was a real power user at the time and that machine did cost some serious $$$$$$.
If at first you don't succeed,
your not cut out for sky diving

Offline caretaker

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Re: Feeling Old (again)
« Reply #21 on: March 01, 2015, »
Oh boy memories of my first PC a 386SX with a 512k of ram which I quickly replaced with a 386DX then a Pentiuim 3. When I moved last Feb. to my new place I found a bunch of old receipts for computer stuff like $468 for 16 Megs or ram, $180 for a 420 meg hard drive. Prices where crazy back then.
Jeff Squires
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Offline tbone321

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Re: Feeling Old (again)
« Reply #22 on: March 01, 2015, »
Yea, the prices were high but it was fun back then.  So many new and different devices and when a new processor came out, you could really see the difference in speed, almost night and day from the previous ones.  I used to live at the computer shows back then.
If at first you don't succeed,
your not cut out for sky diving

Offline rrowan

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Re: Feeling Old (again)
« Reply #23 on: March 01, 2015, »
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Yea, the prices were high but it was fun back then.  So many new and different devices and when a new processor came out, you could really see the difference in speed, almost night and day from the previous ones.  I used to live at the computer shows back then.

I Totally agree. It was a lot more fun and I do miss the shows and flee markets which around here are totally gone.
I think the older games were more fun.

Rick (still recovering from the flu) R.
Light Animation Hobby - Having fun and Learning at the same time. (21st member of DLA)
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Warning SOME assembly required

Offline tbone321

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Re: Feeling Old (again)
« Reply #24 on: March 01, 2015, »
Yea, there is not much need for the shows anymore.  You can get close to the same prices on line or at Tiger Direct which is about 20 minutes away from me.  There is also really nothing new anymore in the PC world.  At the shows, there was always something new that was really cool or deals that were hard to resist.  I bought all of my laser printers at the shows.  An HP2, HP3 and a HP4.  All were used but back then, they were built to last.
If at first you don't succeed,
your not cut out for sky diving

Offline CaptainMurdoch

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Re: Feeling Old (again)
« Reply #25 on: March 01, 2015, »

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An HP2, HP3 and a HP4.  All were used but back then, they were built to last.

I still have a working HP LaserJet 4L sitting on my desk at home that is going on 20 years old in a month or two.  I remember buying it to print resumes when I was looking for a job back in 1995.  I am considering taking it out of service but that is only because of the cost of the next toner cartridge it will need soon.

Offline tbone321

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Re: Feeling Old (again)
« Reply #26 on: March 01, 2015, »
If we were to have has this conversation a few months ago, I would have sent you the unused one that I had. 
If at first you don't succeed,
your not cut out for sky diving

Offline lrhorer

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Re: Feeling Old (again)
« Reply #27 on: March 05, 2015, »
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Skipped the sinclair, but did have a Ti 99/4a with the cassette drive..

Yeah, I also skipped the Altair, IMSAI, and the Sinclair, but after the TI came out, I was able to save enough pennies to buy the 99/4a with an expansion chassis and - oh my gawd - a Floppy Drive!!  Of course I also had a blazingly fast 300 Baud modem.  Fancy bugger - I didn't even need to place a phone receiver in a cradle.
« Last Edit: March 05, 2015, by lrhorer »

Offline lrhorer

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Re: Feeling Old (again)
« Reply #28 on: March 05, 2015, »
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I remember buying it to print resumes when I was looking for a job back in 1995.
Believe it or not, I haven't looked for a job since 1975.