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Re: First computers . . .



On Fri, 15 Dec 2000 00:06:36 GMT, dev.null@personal.information.com
wrote:
...
>think of the first machine they ever used as being one of the most interest-
>ing."  And I am curious, how many of you started out on an Apple II?

The first personal computer I used was a CBM PET, with funny
"chicklet" keyboard and a built-in cassette drive, probably around
1978 (?).  It had a good built in BASIC, but a very poor built in
monitor program (TIM?).

The Apple ][+ that I got in 1981 was a very nice step-up, and it was
the computer that I learned the most about programming with.  It was
also the fist computer I could experiment with building my own
hardware for, as the PET's IEEE-488 was NOT a very teen-hacker
friendly interface!

The most "advanced" thing that I made for the ][+ was a sound card
that had 6 6581 SID chips (found in the C64) which provided a total of
18 synthesizer "channels" simultaneously, around 1984 or so.  

The Apple ][, and ][+ both stick out in my mind as perfect examples of
"less is more" which drive my approach to HW and SW development to
this day -- their influence is undeniable!

-tom