We had a Timex Sinclair and a TI-99/4a as well (Light grey, named it Arthur because the fist one was "Sinclair" in conversation) but I didn't really get "into" the computer thing until the Atari 520ST, on which I pretty much used four programs: Sundog (to this day, I call any broken gizmo or one that's useless without parts I don't have a "Jjunk Module," pronounced "je-junk") in which I completely missed the whole plot of the game and just became a gun runner between one planet where I could buy them cleap and another where they sold dear. It meant pirates never attacked in space, and I was the baddest muthafucka in the street when gangs tried it. Missing the plot meant there wasn't much to keep me there beyond slowly building up credits, though, so over all it was what I put the least time into.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SunDog:_Frozen_Legacy
http://www.sundogresurrectionproject.com/
By increasing order of use, there was another one that was a collection of various classic arcade games with the serial numbers filed off and a world map you could run the hero character around on to go between them, an art program I can't remember the name of that also had animation capabilities, in color-cycle, sprite based, and full-frame varieties, and Music Shop, a composition program where you could use a MIDI keyboard for input, or manually set notes on a staff with the mouse. I spent so damn much time producing semi-random tunes on that last one, and still never learned to read music
I suppose it doesn't really count, but I also bought a ColecoVision years later at a yard sale, because the Super Action Controller was so freakin' awesome looking. I mean, it was like a basket-style sword hilt with buttons for all for fingers on the grip, plus a scroll wheel and number pad on top with a joystick that looked like the emitter ball for a Tesla sword. Pity the games were kind of crap, and I might be misremembering that it was programmable at all, but that controller was awesome.
http://www.colecovisionzone.com/page/ac ... oller.html
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... CF0353.JPG
There was an IBM PC (as in the actual model named "PC") and AT, Apple III (yes, three) Mac Plus (with a huge, 20 megabyte hard drive that it sat on top of!) and Apple IIGS (Wozniak signature edition) around at various points as well, the latter with a 1MB RAM expansion card so it could use Claris Works and not just Will Harvey's Zany Golf.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zany_Golf
http://www.myabandonware.com/game/will- ... ny-golf-kg
Internet didn't become a factor until the PowerMac 8100, by which time 28.8k modems were about even if my phone connection never made it above 14.4, and usually more like 9600 baud. All told, I was a latecomer to the scene.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SunDog:_Frozen_Legacy
http://www.sundogresurrectionproject.com/
By increasing order of use, there was another one that was a collection of various classic arcade games with the serial numbers filed off and a world map you could run the hero character around on to go between them, an art program I can't remember the name of that also had animation capabilities, in color-cycle, sprite based, and full-frame varieties, and Music Shop, a composition program where you could use a MIDI keyboard for input, or manually set notes on a staff with the mouse. I spent so damn much time producing semi-random tunes on that last one, and still never learned to read music
I suppose it doesn't really count, but I also bought a ColecoVision years later at a yard sale, because the Super Action Controller was so freakin' awesome looking. I mean, it was like a basket-style sword hilt with buttons for all for fingers on the grip, plus a scroll wheel and number pad on top with a joystick that looked like the emitter ball for a Tesla sword. Pity the games were kind of crap, and I might be misremembering that it was programmable at all, but that controller was awesome.
http://www.colecovisionzone.com/page/ac ... oller.html
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... CF0353.JPG
There was an IBM PC (as in the actual model named "PC") and AT, Apple III (yes, three) Mac Plus (with a huge, 20 megabyte hard drive that it sat on top of!) and Apple IIGS (Wozniak signature edition) around at various points as well, the latter with a 1MB RAM expansion card so it could use Claris Works and not just Will Harvey's Zany Golf.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zany_Golf
http://www.myabandonware.com/game/will- ... ny-golf-kg
Internet didn't become a factor until the PowerMac 8100, by which time 28.8k modems were about even if my phone connection never made it above 14.4, and usually more like 9600 baud. All told, I was a latecomer to the scene.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows