Ahh yes...the good ole days (for many this will bring back fond memories)

[ispgeek]

I stumbled across a site recently that brought back fond memories of computing as it once was....where if it didn't exist...you just breadboarded and hard coded it as best ya could...

For those of us who were around and actively involved in those days...this will be a pleasant trip down memory lane....for the rest of you....it's a fun history lesson that will amaze you....there was a time when we bragged about 4k of ram!

http://www.old-computers.com/news/default.asp

[tommie gorman]

Some of my research found out that the first computers were actually slower than doing it by hand. Now that was slow. Good thing they did not give up! 

[ispgeek]

Some of my research found out that the first computers were actually slower than doing it by hand. Now that was slow. Good thing they did not give up! 

Some were actually slower than doing it by hand but because they would consistently produce accurate results in repetitive tasks they were still better than doing it by hand. 

[Roco]

Some were actually slower than doing it by hand but because they would consistently produce accurate results in repetitive tasks they were still better than doing it by hand. 

Yeah, I know some girls like that 

My first Puter win 3.1 with a massive 8MB ram , I nervously upgraded it to 16Mb , and put win 95 on, I could make a sandwich and a cup of tea while it booted up 

oh yes they were the days ...........................not

[biker9075]

I remember my first computer, she was a 95 packard bell, I even forget how much ram and HD space it had, I still have it in the attic, I'll have to hook it up to remember the good ole' days lol. (I had free dial up internet back then called bluelight, but then they started charging)

[ispgeek]

This was my first computer, built it myself....

http://groups.msn.com/RCACDP1802CosmacComputer

[Roco]

This was my first computer, built it myself....

http://groups.msn.com/RCACDP1802CosmacComputer

Wow, ISPgeek ,I guess that puts it all into perpective for me ,

$89.95 for a keyboard wired and tested, 

$100 in 1978 would have been 4 weeks wages for me, + being in the UK I could nearly double that price  , I didn't get started till 1999 , bought my first store puter from Staples ($1080) that was the last store built one , the rest have been brewed at home,

  Regards Roco  UK

[ispgeek]

What you don't see is that if you wanted to expand it with an s-100 bus and all the goodies you need buy a new cabinet and power supply which at that time was very pricey.  A real keyboard (vss the hexpad) was an additional $100+ and if you wanted a video display that was gonna set you back even more (not to mention you had to write your own video display drivers).  There was a tiny basic rom set for it for another $$ otherwise you did everything in 1802.  Applications....ha.....there were applications if YOU wrote them....otherwise there was little of nothing except for what fellow owners had developed and shared.  But it truly was great place to start for a 16 yearold (that would have been me at the time)

[tommie gorman]

$100 in 1978 would have been 4 weeks wages for me,

Wow Roco, guess you were not making much back then. In 1978 I was working on a delivery truck taking meals to the airlines at a little over  $200 a week. Not really much for 1978. Just one year out of high school. Or was that what you would have had to spare back then.