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As we move into the Computing Section of this course I started thinking about my first computer it was the Commodore 64. What a purchase by my dad. At the time the C64's graphics and sound capabilities were rivaled only by the Atari (hopefully you know what Atari is). Also it was the best selling computer of all time (at the time). At the time I was five and playing some really lame games: Super Bowl Sunday, Frogger and Q-Bert.
What are the biggest differences between your first computer and your present computer?
What are the biggest differences between your first computer and your present computer?
These screenshots are pathetic and real. I remember these games, the lame controller and the 5in floppy disks. Oh yeah did I mention there was no internet. That explains my 15 year obsession with John Madden Football and the Internet.
As you can see, when you are an old timer a lot has changed. The biggest difference my my C64 and my MacBookPro is speed, size, power, storage, networking and graphics capabilities:
64KB of RAM (C64) vs. 2GB of RAM (my MacBookPro)
1.02 MHz CPU (C64) vs. 2.4 GHz Intel Core Duo (my MacBookPro)
16 Colors (Monitor) vs. Millions of Colors (Monitor)
Commodore BASIC 2.0 OS (C64) vs. Mac OS X Leopard (my MacBookPro)
$595 COST (C64) vs. over $2,000 (my MacBookPro)
18 comments:
It is interesting how our personal computers have upgraded and changed however there are still some major computers out there that are still very much in the past. I found this article yesterday: http://www.popsci.com.au/node/31716 that talks about the fact that the Space Shuttle is still running on 2 Mb of ram.
My first computer was a Compaq. It had a very small monitor and there was this program on it called print shop or something like that where i used to make birthday cards and signs for my parents. Now, I just upgraded last year from a Dell to a Mac and I lovee my computer. I use it for everything and Macs really have amazing programs that I use all of the time. I love learning how to use new things and I am very organized so I love that ical helps me organize my days.
That's the past, how about the future:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/020409-ibm-to-build-new-monster.html
The first computer I remember really using we got right when Win95 came out. At the time it was a beast. Cost about $2000 I think, complete with printer and scanner. 32 MB RAM, 1.5 GB hard drive...like I said, a beast. I think it even had a floppy drive. Oh, and it was in a full tower case. My laptop, which cost me about half what that computer cost, is 1/10th the size, more RAM than my first comp had HD space, wireless internet, etc. etc. I think the biggest difference between my first computer and my computer now is that I can pick up my computer and take it with me. Try doing that with a full tower, CRT monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc.
For me the biggest difference is what I use my computer for. Whereas it previously was merely a novelty that allowed me to play card games like Solitaire and create amateur pictures in MS Paint, my current Mac G5 desktop gives me the ability to create legitimate pro-quality artwork with Pro Tools, Photoshop, Final Cut, etc. Obviously this goes hand in hand with faster technology, greater processing power, larger storage and networking capabilities. It is amazing to me how evolving technology is putting these types of capabilities in the hands of everyone. It is truly lowering the entrance barrier to so many fields, creating an overwhelming influx of competition and confluence.
my first computer was a compaq presario 5528. My dad bought it because I guess he wanted to use it for work, but I don't think he could figure the thing out. (no IT people at the home office) and I ended up being the only person to use it. I remember really pissing off my parents by taking up the phone line for hours at a time signing on to AOL to go on to chat rooms and look at pictures.
http://www.computermuseum.li/Testpage/Compaq-PC.gif
I still remember how excited I was to open the box. It was Christmas 1997 and I received my first computer from my parents. It was a Packard Bell A940-TWR P200 MHz. The computer had a cd-rom, which I thought was awesome, as well as the "advanced' Windows 95 operating system. Much like Corey, I used to spend hours and hours on AOL, much to my parent's dismay. They subsequently opted to get another phone line installed.
A few years ago I asked my parent's how much they actually spent on it...apparently $1700, which is $500 more than what they spent on my current computer. Seriously though, even at the age of 10 I knew the computer was a pos. After going through two other pc's I finally got a macbook. This computer is so much better than the three relics I had before and I can't believe I actually had to endure Windows on 3 separate computers....I even had Windows ME on one..!!
http://www.recycledgoods.com/images/s_p_15613_1.jpg
Sorry Scott, delete the first anonymous post...stupid blogspot
I still remember how excited I was to open the box. It was Christmas 1997 and I received my first computer from my parents. It was a Packard Bell A940-TWR P200 MHz. The computer had a cd-rom, which I thought was awesome, as well as the "advanced' Windows 95 operating system. Much like Corey, I used to spend hours and hours on AOL, much to my parent's dismay. They subsequently opted to get another phone line installed.
A few years ago I asked my parent's how much they actually spent on it...apparently $1700, which is $500 more than what they spent on my current computer. Seriously though, even at the age of 10 I knew the computer was a pos. After going through two other pc's I finally got a macbook. This computer is so much better than the three relics I had before it and I can't believe I actually had to endure Windows on 3 PCs
http://www.recycledgoods.com/images/s_p_15613_1.jpg
I remember the first computer we had... Windows 3.1- it had maybe 2 gb hard drive, i think it was 32 mb of ram, and a floppy drive.
The most memorable thing for me about that computer was playing Doom (which I was far too young for at the time) by loading several floppy discs. The second most memorable thing was upgrading to Windows 95-- and how that computer then crashed.
I think the first computer my family owned was a Compaq as well as some others I can't remember. Eventually my father decided to upgrade and we got a Vaio PC. I can't remember which one we tried to download AOL on but it did not work, no matter how many times we called support.
My dad got this sweet monitor where you could be working on the computer and watch television at the same time. We were so amazed at how the monitor had multiple functions!
The computer was pretty good at first. A lot faster than what we were using. It did what we needed it to. It had a dvd burner and a regular cd player. I used Microsoft Office, the internet and IM.
My dad and brother had some flight simulator game and Myst. Holy crap those programs ran sooooo slow. I remember purchasing the SIMS and then realizing we didnt have enough memory on the computer to play. The memory filled up so quickly so we had to delete one game just to be able to play another.
Then my little brother decided to download Kazaa on the computer and it completely messed up everything. We had to have it completely cleaned out and reset and even then it didn't run very fast. I have been afraid to download music ever since for fear of screwing my computer up.
The first computer I had/used was my brothers old mac powerbook 540c. That thing was a paperweight compared to my Macbook Pro now. The processor was 33Mhz whereas this one is 2.4Ghz. The memory was 4mb of whereas this is 2gb. I remember that thing being rediculously expensive at the time as well even in relation to todays standards for computers. There was also a floppy disk drive in place. I remember only being able to play tetris on it and nothing else. This is a huge upgrade obviously. Computer technology has come a long way.
http://lowendmac.com/pb/art/powerbook-540-240.jpg
My first comp was a Gateway of some kind back in '93 I think. Had some sweet games on it like Commander Keen, Secret Agent, Treasure Mountain! (if you think you know what game I'm talking about you're probably right: http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/15469-81890-108691999200bmp-550x.jpg), Reader Rabbit, and all that Oregon Trail steez. Basically just used it for word processing. Had a killer joystick. I have no idea what the specs were but I'm sure it was a joke.
My first family computer was a new Macintosh Apple computer that came out in 1991, give or take a year. I have no clue the model or style. I remember all it had on it was some application to type in, a calculator, a 3.5 floppy disk drive for games and files, and solitaire! However, I do remember it coming with a printer that printed as quick as the printers in the computer facilities on campus.
Then at about 11 years old I got a Gateway desk top. It came with AOL 4.0 and Microsoft Word. It still had a 3.5 floppy disk drive but I used CD-Rom for games and things like Encarta Enclyclopedia for my homework.
Now, my lap top computer has everything that all of you would expect on a computer today.
I remember getting an IBM computer right around the time Windows 3.1 came out. I was in second or third grade and decided I wanted to program with Q-BASIC. Basically, I used the computer for 3 things. Playing Myst, using Q-BASIC, and looking up video game cheats on Nintendo's page on AOL. I actually set the computer up a few years ago to see if it still worked, and I somehow managed to use its 14.4k modem to connect to the internet.
It's also a little amazing that I was using a 14" monitor when my laptop has a 17" screen...
My very first computer of my own was an IBM Thinkpad. It was about 8 or 9 pounds and had a storage capacity of 2 GB. The screen was very dim compared with today's LCD standards. Furthermore it ran on 128 MB of ram. I do not remember the clock speed for the processor but it was in MHZ. My current laptop runs a 2.2 Ghz processor with 4 GB of ram and 250 GB of storage. Moore's law is clearly proven by the differences in laptop specs in just 10 years.
The first computer that my family got was a Compaq Presario. It had a big tower and a small monitor. I basically only used the computer to either play computer games or go on AOL, but the computer was very slow. It took nearly 10 minutes to fully boot up. Now I have a macbook laptop which I love. It is very fast and can hold a decent amount of memory. Its amazing to see how far computers have come since the first one that I had.
my first computer was an IBM, an i remember the major difference was the operating system, and how i had to use m-dos to play Doom! Its amazing how simplistic the game was compared to games that are played on computers today. windows XP is so much more advanced, graphics, processor, ram. you couldn't even run the simplest of programs on the computer back then.
I don't even remember the specs of my first computer as I was the younger sibling and my older brother was really the driving force behind getting a PC. But what I do remember was logging at least 4 hours a day to Reading Rabbit and that entire line of computer games aimed at helping kids learn to read, count, and other basics haha. Think about that now a days, the only learning computer games are aimed at 5-7 year olds any other age is only interested in first person shooter games or online role playing games. Let's bring back Reading Rabbit!
You guys should all feel lucky. My first computer was a 1986 Apple that I used up until 7th grade. Yeah Q-bert and Frogger were crappy but they sure as hell kicked the crap out of lemonade stand.
That being said the biggest difference I feel between any computer I have had since that is a mouse with a purpose. Being able to click on icons and have them open things was a genius invention. GUI is something that will always be important to me and I think most would agree that it is important to them as well.
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