What was the very first computer you owned or used ?

[MK14]

Mine was, a Science of Cambridge, MK14, self build computer (effectively from Clive Sinclair's, Sinclair Radionics new venture).
It was based on the National Semiconductors, 8 bit SC/MP (also known as a 'scamp') microprocessor. With a huge 256 bytes of ram.
8 (or 9 if rewired) digit, seven segment (calculator) display, a membrane hex (plus a few more keys) keypad.

I did have access to some computers, before this. But it was the first that was all mine and owned by me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MK14

This is apparently the first new thread, since the new "Vintage Computing", sub-forum has started. Apparently a number of existing threads have already been copied into it.

[NivagSwerdna]

I used other peoples computers for a while (especially COSMAC ELF, PDP11, ICL1902T & PET) but the first computer I ever bought (after working the summer holidays) was https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangerine_Microtan_65

[blackbird]

The first computer I've owned was a Sinclair ZX Spectrum, it was a present for my 8th birthday back in 1982. At home we had already Zx80/81 and Commodore Pet amongst others I can't remember now.

[MK14]

I used other peoples computers for a while (especially COSMAC ELF, PDP11 & PET) but the first computer I ever bought (after working the summer holidays) was https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangerine_Microtan_65

I changed the title from 'owned' to 'owned/used', so it is more flexible.

I've heard lots of good things about the COSMAC ELF, but never used one. The Pet's were really fun at the time.
I've heard of the Microtan 65, but not had anything to do with them. But it looks like a decent/useful computer, for that era.
Amazingly low price, for something in such a big case, as well.

[pelule]

My first computer I used was a Siemens System 3003 (https://www.f10479.de/siemens_edv.html)
My first computer I owned was a z80 based self-made CPM80 system.
/PeLuLe

[AndyC_772]

Commodore 4032:
http://oldcomputers.net/pet4032.html

[nali]

First "proper" computer was probably a Sinclair ZX81. Followed shortly by a homebrew Apple ][ as someone at work managed to get hold of some  ripoff blank motherboard PCBs that were doing the rounds, probably around 1982/3.

[blueskull]

A Chinese brand called TCL (now out of computer business), with Pentium 2 on a slot card and huge 128MB of memory running Windows 98.
I've used older ones, but not at home. My primary school had a bunch of Pentium MMX Windows 95 machines, as well as 486s with DOS (which were the machines I learned C with Turbo C)

My first DIY computer was a Pentium 4 Prescott with a whopping 512MB (2*256MB) of DDR memory and latest Matrox (ironically, out of business, IP transferred to Seagate) SATA drive and an GeForce fx5200 (not Quadro FX5200) GPU, later Radeon X800 (last massively produced AGP Radeon, though some later PCIe GPUs also have AGP interface, but the physical cards are rarely AGP except for some niche market).

My second DIY was a Core 2 Quad 6600 with 2GB of DDR2 (later upgraded to 4GB) and a Seagate (later upgraded to Kingston 30GB SSD, then 64GB) and a GeForce 8600GT (first low cost CUDA card and first low cost Direct X 10 card), later 9800GT and GTX460.

My third DIY PC was a Xeon E3-1230v1 (then v2, socket compatible -- most stupid upgrade in my life) with a very entry level GPU, HD6670, and 16GB of RAM. Designed to run server apps in lab, crowdfunded by a few lab members, later acquired by me after their entrepreneurship had failed.

My fourth DIY PC was also a Xeon, this time E3-1271v3, with 32GB of true ECC RAM and server mobo, in a 11.2L tiny chassis, with a very low end GTX750Ti GPU, for use in my dorm. This machine was used through out my masters degree education and I did a lot of Altium works on it. This is my first SSD only PC with 256GB of SSD.

My fifth and current DIY PC is a great step up of my all previous PC, and I built this one to last at least 3 years as main workstation and another 2 years as secondary workstation. It has a 22 core Xeon E5-2596v4, 64GB of REG ECC RAM, 1.2TB of SSD and 4TB of HDD for backup. It also has a flagship Radeon R9 nano.

My plan for 3 years ahead is to build my next main workstation with single socket server grade (estimated 48 cores, 96 threads) AMD Zen generation 3. It will be my first AMD build, and I'm looking forward to it.

[bsudbrink]

Make up your mind!   

Used: HP-1000 E-Series
Owned (and still own): Ohio Scientific C1-P

[grumpydoc]

Used: TRS80, Exidy Sorcerer, RM380Z

The latter got me into slightly tepid water at school when a friend and I edited all the error strings in the basic interpreter to be, ahem, slightly more pointed.

Owned: Nascom 2

[awallin]

Commodore 64, with a tape drive 
BASIC programming, with mysterious PEEK and POKE commands.
later got a 5.25" floppy-drive, and also a Pascal compiler at some point.

The C64 was replaced with a 286 running at 8 MHz.

[sarel.wagner]

Mine were an Apple ][, Commodore Vic 20, Sinclair Spectrum, HP 150 and Apple Lisa. Also Later a Commodore 64 and Olivetti Portable    Still have a few of them today.

Rgrds

[CJay]

Used, whatever was at the end of the teletype at Manchester Uni and a Commodore PET with, I think, 8K or 16K memory.

Owned, Commodore VIC20

[NivagSwerdna]

I've heard lots of good things about the COSMAC ELF, but never used one. The Pet's were really fun at the time.

The Head of Physics at our school built one from the design in Practical Electronics.  It was awesome.  (I should probably build http://www.cosmacelf.com/gallery/membership-cards/ as homage if I ever get the time).  You programmed it via switches.. one bit x8 forming one instruction at a time.  The bootstrap to enable the external hex page he also built was around 100 instructions... it didn't take long one you had the hang of it an an assistant calling out the hex. 

[rolycat]

Used, Hewlett-Packard HP9810A from 1971 (at school in the late 70s):



Owned, Compukit UK101 from 1979:

[MK14]

I've heard lots of good things about the COSMAC ELF, but never used one. The Pet's were really fun at the time.

The Head of Physics at our school built one from the design in Practical Electronics.  It was awesome.  (I should probably build http://www.cosmacelf.com/gallery/membership-cards/ as homage if I ever get the time).  You programmed it via switches.. one bit x8 forming one instruction at a time.  The bootstrap to enable the external hex page he also built was around 100 instructions... it didn't take long one you had the hang of it an an assistant calling out the hex. 

The RCA1802 microprocessor, has some special (unique at the time), properties (if I remember correctly). It was both CMOS and certifiable for spaceflight/satellites.

That (or a similar variant) tiny computer you just mentioned, is just, so, so, cute! 

1802 Membership Card Powered Up by Todd Decker, on Flickr

[darrellg]

Commodore PET with the Chiclet keyboard and built-in cassette drive.

[nctnico]

A Yamaha CX5M MSX-1 computer with Midi interfaces (actually my father bought it)

[Astrodev]

I am afraid I went in the deep end, as at the time I was trying to get hold of an Ohio Challenger but they were in short supply so I ended up going with a TI TMS990/101 TMS9900 (16bit) based board with 2 serial ports and a massive 4K (2K x 16) of RAM, the unusual feature was that it would handle 2 users (provided you had 2 terminals) I am afraid that I had to run it from a Teletype ASR33 which meant that the storage medium was good old paper tape.

I still have both the board and the Teletype (don't really use either these days), might be fun to use a modern PC as a terminal to run 70's computer, it wont be the first time as back in the 80's I used a BBC B with a Tek 4010 emulation ROM to run a Data General Nova 820 that I also still have (64K of core memory) was part of an original EMI scanner.

[Halcyon]

Mine was the Sharp MZ-800 (released in 1985).

Z80A CPU running at 3.5469MHz, 64KB RAM and supported a resolution up to 640x200 (albeit in only 4 of the 16 available colours).

Mine had the tape drive, "Quick Disk" floppy drive (which could load 64KB of data in 8 seconds) and the 4-colour plotter printer. It was a pretty powerful machine at the time and the way it utilised sound and graphics hardware was pretty amazing.

I spent many hours as a kid playing on that machine. I even learned basic programming using Logo. I sold it all in the 1990's along with a box full of tapes and disks for $50 -- I now wish I hadn't.

[Astrodev]

Was that the plotter with the 4 colour biro refils

[Halcyon]

Was that the plotter with the 4 colour biro refils

It sure was! It drew one colour at a time.



The down-side was that it wasn't long before the pens dried out.

[tautech]

Commodore 64, with a tape drive 
BASIC programming, with mysterious PEEK and POKE commands.
later got a 5.25" floppy-drive, and also a Pascal compiler at some point.

The C64 was replaced with a 286 running at 8 MHz.

Very similar pathway with C64 and floppy drive added soon after.

First real PC was 486 @ 100 MHz (Otech Mobo) with 8 Mb 7ns RAM that cleaned up P100's running the same spec. 

[Jay_Diddy_B]

Hi,
The first computer I used was a KSR 33 teletype and an acoustic MODEM to link to a remote mainframe. This was around 1970. I believe the MODEM ran at 110 baud, which is 10 characters per second.

I used the RCA 1802 COSMAC ELF II as a summer student.

The first computer I owned was the Acorn Atom (6502) 4k RAM 4k ROM. I also owned a BBC model B. Acorn developed the Acorn Risc Machine. The Acorn Risc Machine later became ARM.

I was a late adopter of the PC, around 1987. My first PC was a 386 I paid $4000.00 it had a 68MB hdd, divided into three partitions. I later bought the 387 Maths co-pro ($750.00) , so I could run Intusoft SPICE.

Regards,

Jay_Diddy_B

 

[MK14]

Was that the plotter with the 4 colour biro refils

It sure was! It drew one colour at a time.



The down-side was that it wasn't long before the pens dried out.

That youtube-video/plotter looks, so cool now!
Pity that the pens would run out too quickly and maybe expensive and/or hard to obtain, these days.

I just love the way it plots out the schematic. The noise it makes is pretty fantastic as well.
I guess the modern day printers (especially Laser), whereby it comes out almost instantly (maybe 3 seconds per page, on a middle of the road, laser printing single sided, with lots of pages at the same time) and silently (in comparison).

I suppose I would get fed up with it, after a while, and go back to modern printers. I pity you, that you sold the lot for $50 a while ago. That's life I guess.