Re: First computers . . .

[obsbedia2@aol.com (Obsbedia2)]

I don't know the name of it, but it was a Christmas vacation around 1968.  Dad
taught advanced math courses and his junior high students worked with a laser
the year after it was made and used the power company's computer to run
programs.  Christmas, he brought home the class' first computer:  no monitor,
no printer, no keyboard--just lights and cables!   You hardwired in each
program.  Fifteen programs were included, culminating in programing the
computer to play a game of tic-tac-toe.

Punchcards came next off of a college's mainframe (oh, how I hated them), then
another college's mainframe with dumb terminals (better than cards, but not
much).  I wrote a lot of programs that never worked and a couple that did. 
Yes, I think that I still have my notes and printouts.

At home, Dad bought a used Tandy clone computer that I used to write my reports
using a little program called Electric Pencil.  (Ok, I did play some arcade and
adventure games, but since I never figured out any of them, the best said, the
better.)  I had my first real taste of how quickly some people become
unsatisfied with what is.  I turned in a report and had a professor go gaga
over the quality of the print.  He insisted on knowing the model so he could
buy one.  Two years later, another prof almost refused to accept my paper
because of the low print quality.  Yep, same printer.

Dad upgraded to a HP286 that worked with FOUR colors!  The colors didn't make
me a better writer, but the spell checker was nice.  I didn't touch another
computer, except in the office environment, until I started teaching.  Yes,
Apple IIes!
I could have the one on a cart in my classroom for three months of the year.  
I traded that for an extra 30 minute visit to the Chapter One's computer lab. 
So my students actually had a chance to work on a computer for half an hour
each week.  Those kids learned a lot about spatial awareness and planning using
LOGO.

I started in a new district and asked for a computer for the classroom.  The
clerk escorted me down a series of halls into an unused classroom that had
become a junk room for extra/abandoned equipment.  "You can have this.  I think
it works.  The last teacher never used it all year.  Don't tell anyone I gave
it to you."

I spent so many late nights at school (6, 7, 8PM) that I broke down and bought
my own Apple IIe from an ad in the newspaper.  It's still on my desk and I
still use it every day.  In fact, I refer to every other computer as a
peripheral for my Apple //e -- with the iMac being my worst investment!

Jay Edwards