CaliValleyGirl recently posted about her memories of her first home computer, an Apple which he kept in an old refrigerator. Sounds a little funky, but go read it and it will make sense.
It made me think about our first home computer. Of course, my Dad had his 'business computer' which we were only sparingly allowed to use. It was an XT (eXtended Technology), with 640kb of memory and a 10MB hard drive. What I remember most was the monochrome orange and black screen of the monitor. I spent HOURS on that thing with a computer magazine learning Basic. If only I'd kept that talent up....but I was just a little too aware of my geekdom as a teenager so I let it go.
The next year though (1983 I believe), we got our first family computer. This was the one we were able to play games on as well as do office type work and was known as the Coleco Adam. I remember that Christmas well...seeing that HUGE 3 and a half foot long box under the tree, ripping it open to reveal the latest in computer technology.
The Adam didn't have an operating system, but came with little cassette tapes that held games, or programmes like SmartBASIC. There were some very cheezy little games like Root Beer Tapper - which you served Root Beer to customers. It also had 80KB of RAM, a daisy wheel printer (much like a typewriter but automated), and a video card capable of 16 (count 'em all!) colours. I spent absolutely hours typing out little coded programs from computer magazines of little coloured figures that would walk across the screen.
Not long after, I started babysitting for a family down the street. They had the absolute LATEST in technology, which included a modem. Just the mere thought of calling somewhere and playing a game through the telephone lines was far too amazing for my little 15-year old brain. I must have played Zork! for hours. Wait. I did. No wonder I didn't last long there as their sitter.
Soon after, I became less interested in the computer end of things and more in the teenage drama of high school. It wasn't until the internet truly came along and in 1995, I re-found my interest in computers and haven't looked back since.
