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General Vintage Technology Discussions For general discussions about vintage radio and other vintage electronics etc. |
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24th May 2020, 8:27 am | #61 |
Hexode
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Newport, South Wales, UK.
Posts: 278
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Re: Early personal computers - what for?
I was earning fairly decent money but still living at home in the mid 1980s so had the cash to splash on home computers like the ZX81, Spectrum, BBC Micro and Commodore 64. For me, the most important development was the modem, allowing access to social media (bulletin boards), banking and online ordering. Literally decades ahead of their time.
At work, the departmental budget stretched to a Commodore Pet so we could write our own software instead of having to go to the 'Data Processing' Department, custodians of the mainframe. |
24th May 2020, 5:25 pm | #62 |
Heptode
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Wellington, New Zealand.
Posts: 653
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Re: Early personal computers - what for?
I bought a ZX 81 when they came out to try my hand at programming after getting some idea from my 1969 maths master who really had some advanced ideas on it. The value I saw in it was as an advanced calculating machine you could put a set of figures into a general formula and solve a problem - then there was the games which were fun and never loaded properly from the cassette player half the time and well as the wobbly picture on a B & W TV. But later I started hearing about things like bulletin boards and word processing from my Electrical Engineer wife. Next they appeared at work and we were encouraged to get used to them - previously there were just terminals to a mainframe you just logged into but we'd found out that you could use the terminals as typewriters when not logged in plus they had a printer - ooh great fun. Anyway then a change of career saw me writing a thesis for Uni and I had to have my own one - think it was close on $3000 at the time (early 90's) 386 DX I recall with Windows 3.2, Word, Borland paradox and a HP printer. The original ZX 81 languishes up in the attic somewhere.
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24th May 2020, 6:30 pm | #63 | |
Dekatron
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 9,643
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Re: Early personal computers - what for?
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24th May 2020, 10:55 pm | #64 | ||
Nonode
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Stockport, Cheshire, UK.
Posts: 2,004
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Re: Early personal computers - what for?
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