A Chronology of personal computers - What have you purchased?

Discussion in 'The Lounge Bar' started by spidge, Jan 2, 2011.

  1. sapper

    sapper WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Computers ever since they started. Use to use the Pre PC Telephone software.
    I have Three laptops and a 19 inch desktop. One is built into the bedroom furniture plus one I pod... XP ....windows Seven.... and Vista.

    I prefer XP to anything that came later.
    Sapper
     
  2. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Old Hickory Recon

    1st was a tandy 1000, in 1988 or 89. No HDD, just two 3.25 floppys and 768K of memory. DOS 3.3 then DOS 6.0

    Next was a 286 I put together myself, no sound card and 40meg HDD. But, it had VGA graphics and a ripping external 14.4 modem It ran Windows 3.1

    Then a 486 I built also. Still no sound card, but the HDD was a monsterous 250mb. It ran Win95

    After that, a Gateway something running Win 2000. It was a POS, but did have a 20g HDD that I added a 40g drive to.

    I'm now running an ancient Dell 280. I have all memory I can cram in it and better sound and video cards. I really need to get a new one, but after working on machines all day, I really don't want to fiddle around with hardware. I did finally suck it up and buy a new flat monitor to replace 21in CRT with the humongous case I did have. It took up most of the desk.

    I also have the Wii hooked up to browse the web, but it is a pain in the buttocks to use. Wife and eldest daughter have one of those phone that has a web connection. I can't believe that we pay what we do for the connection, when compared to what the house costs. My phone makes calls and that is all I need it to do.
     
  3. Tom Canning

    Tom Canning WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Geoff501 -
    This pioneer hero of yours - Tom Kilburn - lived in West Moors - Ferndown Dorset ? sales mgr for Nestle's ?
    Cheers
     
  4. The Q

    The Q Junior Member

    I started With RAF transistor computers, connected to valve powered radar equipment
    Then came
    UK101, a solder it together yourself computer which after much modification got broken during travelling to a new posting.
    A ZX spectrum 48k, very modified to double memory and decent keyboard and microdrive.
    A Sinclair QL, (eventually 3 of them) with microdrives 5 1/2inch disk drive, a weather sat receiver. (it could run early microsoft DOS) I did my open university on that.
    With GEC working on systems with two computers and programmed in ATAL with big lift out disks)
    a very early PC with double-spaced hard drive to 60MB(second hand)
    An Apricot with it's own not quite compatible DOS
    A, 286
    A 486
    An Athlon 600 (five hard drives)
    A Athlon 1.2
    Three different PDAs
    And now AMD quad core with 3 terrabites of disk-drive (the wife does painting and manipulates lots of pictures.)
    but I can't get broadband where I live!!

    At work now I use anything up to 10 computers a day mostly running/ calibrating test equipment, all networked anything from a 286 upwards and some of the test equipment has computers in as well.

    The Q
     
  5. geoff501

    geoff501 Achtung Feind hört mit

    Geoff501 -
    This pioneer hero of yours - Tom Kilburn - lived in West Moors - Ferndown Dorset ? sales mgr for Nestle's ?
    Cheers

    Tom,

    Tom Kilburn CBE FRS worked on the world's first stored program computer, constructed at Manchester University.

    Tom Kilburn Summary

    Tom Kilburn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Cheers,

    geoff
     
  6. Tom Canning

    Tom Canning WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Geoff501
    thought not as my Tom Kilburn was a rabid Everton supporter - his biggest shock was having his daughter marry an Arsenal supporter - didn't last though as Everton prevailed and they divorced !

    I flew back to the UK for his funeral but was held up as the aircraft turned around at Calgary to let a Sick Sikh off with all his three tons of duty free stuff -plus re-fuelling - thus making me late for the funeral !
    Cheers
     
  7. blacksnake

    blacksnake As old as I feel.

    Wow! How old do I feel?

    ZX Spectrum... Commodore 64... Amiga...

    Ah! Those where the days... Green screen, block graphics, less memory than a gold fish!

    Games where the only reason I had a computer back then, so, when the first purpose built games console was released I put down my keyboard and opted for a Sega Master System (8bit) from there it was the Mega Drive at 16bit... Nintendo was the enemy in the Sonic vs Mario war of the 80's & 90's... I still can't call it the Nintendo Wii, it's just the Wii... :huh: ...The nail in the coffin that was the Dream cast was the end of my loyalty to Sega.

    PS1, PS2 then switched to the X-Box 360...

    Somewhere in between got given an ex-school PC with a 6G HHD (yes... 6G)... Then bought a used Tiny PC that was "steam powered" followed that with a Dell that had an "Intel Inside!" ;) Re-built it, upgraded HHD & Ram, converted from steam to diesel power, finally broke it. Currently have this one I bought off my Bro-in-Law that he had custom built, cost him £1,000 3 years ago I got it for £70...:D... Toooo many specs to list, but I'm burning Nos compared to the rest I've had.
     
  8. 26delta

    26delta Senior Member

    I think I have you all beat. My first purchase was an Altair. Intel couldn't keep up with the demand for the 8080 processor, so they sold the design to another company (Zilog) who improved it and produced their own Z80. As a contractor for Zilog, I managed to score a few bargains. My best was a hand-built prototype by a young upstart named Steve Jobs.
     
  9. PsyWar.Org

    PsyWar.Org Archive monkey

    I think I have you all beat. My first purchase was an Altair. Intel couldn't keep up with the demand for the 8080 processor, so they sold the design to another company (Zilog) who improved it and produced their own Z80. As a contractor for Zilog, I managed to score a few bargains. My best was a hand-built prototype by a young upstart named Steve Jobs.

    Ooh an Altair, very nice. Did you build it yourself or get the pre-assembled one?

    Lee
     
  10. slaphead

    slaphead very occasional visitor

    All of these were mates computers... we couldnt afford a colour TV till '84...
    Atari 8080 (I think) then ZX80, ZX81
    Dragon 32 (to play Donkey Kong)
    RM Nimbus (at the girls school next door I left before our school got any)

    The first one I bought was an Atari ST for Sternberg music sequencing software.
    Then at work the mighty Symbolics 3650.
    Symbolics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Now there was a machine. It had a little computer that watched the main computer. If the main computer crashed the little computer captured everything and asked if you wanted to reboot the main computer. Once this was done the little computer put the memory of the main computer back in place and you carried on as if nothing had happened... Stick that in your pipe and smoke it DOS 3!
    When they went bust I bought a £180,000 machine for £3,000. and used it for graphics work and to heat the house (it took 2 kilowatts to run... (what environmental impact?) :D)
    Then a 386, 486, pentium, pentium 2, Athlon 1200... pc.. pc.. yawn pc..
    My last machine is 4 years old and can barely run modern 3D animation software. :(
     
  11. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Following on a purchase of an Apple iPad I have just received an e-mail from Apple asking me to complete a short survey on it's attributes.

    No problem there, but after ticking the box that said I was "Over 65" I came to another page that asked me if I had any problems relating to "Work e-mails".

    As I have been retired some 25 years and don't receive any such correspondence I didn't feel it necessary to tick any of the options on this particular question at which point the survey just wouldn't let me answer any more questions.

    Now I suppose I will get a further e-mail asking my opinion on how well designed their surveys are :)

    Ron
     
  12. Vitesse

    Vitesse Senior Member

    Now I suppose I will get a further e-mail asking my opinion on how well designed their surveys are :)

    Ron
    I'm on a Discovery Channel viewer panel - that's always the last question :lol:
     
  13. sapper

    sapper WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    HUGE GRIN...
    I have been around computers since they were in nappies. I also used to do all the programming for computer driven machinery. After 21 years....They sacked me. Then sent a load of drawings down to the programmer to get them ready.

    They were sent straight back; with the message "You sacked him"

    To quote a Shakespearean phrase "Shit Street" EVEN BIGGER GRIN! Then to top it off....I knew the ins and outs of everything in that company. When they replaced me I was informed that they employed 7 men, and split the duties...

    Even funnier.... I had a deputation from those that worked under me, pleading for me to return. Sorry lads...I'm sacked (they were losing money hand over fist on their piece work)

    Thanks Les J....

    Many years later now working for the Government. I was invited to tour the very same company. The young man tried to impress me with the jigs and fixtures made to high spec. Not knowing I had made them; many years before. Still had my personal stamp on them..

    Finally: further up the workshop there was terrible screeching noise like a tortured banshee.

    All the technical bods stood around discussing the problem. About seven of them. I knew exactly what to do to prevent that ear splitting noise...But then I thought "Balls to you get on with It"...


    By the way... anyone that does workshop programming? There is a book, very Old! called the Woodworth tables...The thing in engineering most used, is circles of holes with various numbers and on different Pitch Circles.

    With these table you overcome all the trigonometric functions, and just multiply the given constant number, for the number of holes on any PCD (It will make sense to an Engineer) Computing And computers.... And programming... But at the age of 86 it is not so easy..... Even bigger grin!
    Sapper
     
  14. PeterG

    PeterG Senior Member

    Currently I'm running an Acer Aspire 8920G laptop with Vista, on which I'm typing this, and set beside it, I have an iMac running Snow Leopard. The iMac is rock steady and is as reliable as a TV, but I still prefer PCs and the thousands of excellent free programs.

    My earlier computers, starting with a 1982 Model B BBC microcomputer, are listed here: Technology: Ancillary fields: Computers.
     
  15. geoff501

    geoff501 Achtung Feind hört mit

  16. Jonathan Ball

    Jonathan Ball It's a way of life.

    I started with a Spectrum, then an Amiga and then a variety of PC's from Windows 95 onward. I got sick of malware, spyware, trojans, viruses, Norton and McAfee and bought an iMac which now runs on Snow leopard. These days Windows are just for for looking through :D
     
  17. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Member

    I go back to 1981 with a Texas Instruments TI=99/4A. It had no floppy drive, but I worked up a Basic program to calculate grades for my students. In 1984, I "graduated" to an Apple IIC, since it was compatible with the computers at the school I taught in. Moved on to a variety of 286, 386 and 486 machines. Started with Windows 3.1, then 95, 98, XP, Vista, and now Windows 7. Now use a Compaq with 2.2 GHz processor and 2 GB RAM. Also have a Compaq CQ-62 laptop.
     
  18. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Hot air manufacturer

    Seen in an Royal Air Force Review of 1968.

    Clipboard01.jpg
     
  19. jacksun

    jacksun Senior Member

    Started with a vic20, then a Tandy TRS80 (still have it complete in the box downstairs), upgraded to an Apple IIe with dual floppies, then I bought a XT286, dual floppies, 640k, then a 386 with 2mg ram and 40mg hard drive, vid card was 512k or 1mg, can't remember. Then went to a 486, 8meg ram, 120mg hard drive, then a pentium precursor 586, can't remember the specs though but it was fast. I've had a couple of pentium units, my current is a quad core with 16gb ram, dual video cards and 2 500gb drives, the dual vid card are hooked up to 8 monitors.
    I also have a Dell Latitude 620 laptop but it is actually my work machine
     
  20. PsyWar.Org

    PsyWar.Org Archive monkey

    ... my current is a quad core with 16gb ram, dual video cards and 2 500gb drives, the dual vid card are hooked up to 8 monitors.

    Eight monitors? Blimely! you like to multi-task :D

    This is my latest PC purchase, back to basics...
     

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