What was your first computer?

[Paul]

For some of you, this might be a two part question: What was the first computer you used, and what was the first computer you owned?

I've always maintained that the Commodore PET was the first computer I used, but I've come to realize this isn't entirely accurate.  We had Commodore PETs at my school, but my father worked for NCR, and as such I had an opportunity to play with an NCR Tower supermicrocomputer system in 1982.  Dad would bring me to work with him, I'd get to play with NCR's new toys...those were the good old days.  I still have an NCR system 3230; a little beat up and worn, but very solidly built and reliable, as every NCR product should be.

That said, the first computer I owned was a Commodore Vic 20.  At the time, a Vic with a Datasette could be had for around $100 (Xmas 1983, IIRC).  We had PETs at the school, but I never got enough time on them.  I concluded that I could write programs on the Vic 20, to later load onto the Commodore PET.  I have many great memories of the Vic 20, and started vic20.ca as a tribute to that computer.  When that domain expires, I will probably merge that site with retro-link.com.

What's your story?

[Rorshach]

mines not a far off storey. I had used pets in school starting in 1980. I was interested in getting an atari 8bit or a commodore of some kind. By april of 1984 with help from parents I went to agincourt mall one wednesday night. I'd decided on a Commodore 64 or Atari 800XL. Well they had no Atari units in stock at the Woolworths or Woolco so I my $400 got me a 64 with datasette. A 1541, printer, software, modem all came later. A while after that I also had myself an Atari setup as well which was actually my 3rd computer as I had a Radio Shack MC10 for a short while.

These days I have a Plus/4, 3 C16's, 3 working 64's, TI 99/4a, TS1000, Atari 600XL, 130XE & 800 and several ST's and an Amiga 500. At least one of these gets used every day here.

[RobertB]

For some of you, this might be a two part question: What was the first computer you used, and what was the first computer you owned?

    The first computer I used was during teacher training in computers in 1981 or 1982.  It was a Tandy TRS-80 Model III, and during that all-day course, we were taught to floppy-disk LOAD and SAVE, and do simple word-processing.
     The first computer I owned was the Commodore 64 which I bought in early August, 1983.  It was on sale for $199.95, not including tax.  I was such a poor teacher that I could not even buy a mass-storage device until the next month, and that device was cassette drive.  (I couldn't afford the 1541 disk drive.)

                          Truly,
                          Robert Bernardo
                          Fresno Commodore User Group
                          http://videocam.net.au/fcug
                          Notacon 6 / Blockparty 3 on April 16-19
                          http://www.notacon.org , http://www.demoparty.us
                          

[harbitk]

The first computer I used was a Univac, I forget the designation. It was part of the Navy Tactical data System. It fascinated me because I watched the programmers open it up and press  these little LED switches to run a short program. These things had little pencil tubes in them, thousands of them. I used to trouble shoot by turning out the lights to look for a tube that wasn't glowing.

The first computer I owned was A 256 byte COSMAC ELF that I built from a Popular Electronics magazine in 1977. ... I still have it.

[SmallCleverDinosaur]

The first computer I used was a Commodore PET 3032 that my father bought in 1980 for his small business (a toy shop). He also bought a dual discdrive 3040 and a dot matrix printer 3022. In total, about $3000.

That's where I learned everything there was to know about BASIC (at least the version of BASIC found in the PET 3032). I later moved on to a C64 (co-owned with my brother) until I finally could buy my own computer in 1986; a Commodore 128. Ahh... glorious days

[RobertB]

The first computer I used was a Commodore PET 3032 that my father bought in 1980 for his small business (a toy shop). He also bought a dual discdrive 3040 and a dot matrix printer 3022.

     I have never seen a PET 3032, 3040, or a 3022.

In total, about $3000.

     Ouch, something I couldn't afford as a beginning teacher back then.

                            Truly,
                            Robert Bernardo
                            Fresno Commodore User Group
                            http://videocam.net.au/fcug
                            Notacon 6 / Blockparty 3 on April 16-19
                            http://www.notacon.org , http://www.demoparty.us

[Rorshach]

As I remember the 3032 was in Europe what was called 4032 in North America same as 3022=4022 and 3040=4040. I had used these in School the 40XX series that is being from Canada. But I never owned any of these except for an 8050 I now have connected via a Buscard II to a 64. Just deciding if I will keep its original use I had planned or do something else with it.

[RobertB]

As I remember the 3032 was in Europe what was called 4032 in North America same as 3022=4022 and 3040=4040.

     Ah, tricky!    No problem then, because I have a 4032 and a 4040.

                      Truly,
                      Robert Bernardo
                      Fresno Commodore User Group
                      http://videocam.net.au/fcug
                      Notacon 6 / Blockparty 3 on April 16-19
                      http://www.notacon.org , http://www.demoparty.us

[SmallCleverDinosaur]

As I remember the 3032 was in Europe what was called 4032 in North America same as 3022=4022 and 3040=4040.

Yes I think that's true, I keep forgetting that Commodore for some strange reason sometimes used different names on their computers depending on where in the World they were being sold

But I never owned any of these except for an 8050 I now have connected via a Buscard II to a 64.

Did the 8050 use IEEE/488? Is the Buscard II an interface between the C64 and IEEE/488? I've never seen one of those, do you have any pictures?

     Ah, tricky!    No problem then, because I have a 4032 and a 4040.

Of course you do, you have everything

[RobertB]

Did the 8050 use IEEE/488?

     Yes, it does.

Is the Buscard II an interface between the C64 and IEEE/488?

     Yes, it is.

I've never seen one of those, do you have any pictures?

     No, I don't have any photos of those right now.

Of course you do, you have everything

     A myth! 

                 Truly,
                 Robert Bernardo
                 Fresno Commodore User Group
                 http://videocam.net.au/fcug

[Ruud]

What was the first computer you used, and what was the first computer you owned?

I haven't any idea what brand the first computer was I ever used. But it was in 1977 in the Royal Dutch Navy and we used teletext typers to communicate with this thing
The first computer I owned was a Commodore 64.

[Ruud]

As I remember the 3032 was in Europe what was called 4032 in North America same as 3022=4022 and 3040=4040.

Nope. The 4032 is a almost completely different computer. The 3032 uses Basic 2.0, the 4032 uses Basic 4.0. The 3032 has no video chip, its video circuit is made of TTl-IC's. The 4032 has the 6545 on board, a derivate from the well know 6845. The 4032 came with the small 9" screen (40 columns) and the big 12" () screen, 80 columns. The last one was known as "Fat Forty".
The 3040 and 4040 are the same except for the ROM's and disk layout. The 3040 has seven sectors more the the 4040. But because of problems with these 7 extra sectors, C= reduced the number. The layout of the disks for the 1541 is a derivate from the 4040 again.
I own some IEEE printers, two ending with 22 but I'm not sure which ones. So I cannot inform you on this one.

[Rorshach]

Ruud,

The 4032's did indeed have Basic 2.0.  I was a kid when these were out and my neighbours 2 doors down had access to many of these on nights and weekends as their dad was a school principal, many schools here used Commodore. So I had a chance to use them regularly and I know with certainty PETs in the 40xx range including 4032 did have Basic 2.0. A good book to check out if you can still find it is "The whole pet catalog" which is an early compilation of the midnight software gazette. Among the articles there are Pet / CBM rom revisions among other variations.

[Arkhan]

Mine was an Amiga 500!

oh the memories.

heh.  Mindwalker and Space Harrier.

[Badders]

The first computer I used was my friend's VIC-20. I can remember sitting on the floor in his living room with it hooked up to a colour TV (wood effect case, big push buttons and the remote was connected via a cable).

The first computer I owned and still use is my good old C64.

Pete.