Computers
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- Olivetti
Programma 101: This PC was donated to Fraser High School when NASA upgraded
their devices in 1969/70. It had only a tape output for a display. I spent
many of my after school hours learning how to use and program the 101. The
101 was nothing more than a programmable calculator with programs that were
saved on a magnetic card strip. But is regarded as the precursor of
the Personal Computer
- DEC
PDP 11/45 & 55: When I worked on
helicopter flight simulators (Chinook & Cobra) in the late 70's, they
used these mini computers. I eventually learned the complete schematics and
programming of the 11/45. And even taught troubleshooting and programming
classes. This computer was my life for 4 and a half years. This computer was
programmed in machine language. Sometimes a program would have to be
manually loaded using the switches on the front panel. Each of the first 16
switches represented a binary one or zero.
- Commodore Pet
1Mhz, 8k memory, Cassette tape: The first PC I owned. When it was released
it was twice as fast as anything else, but Commodore had poor marketing and
Apple beat it out. Played some nifty games. I was in the Cassette Software
club of the month and got some good programs, but never had a printer. It
also had an overheat problem and I had to add a fan. This kept it alive for
another year and a half.
- Commodore C64,
1MHz, 64k memory, 2 Indus GT floppy drives: When my employer offered an
interest free loan to buy a computer, I jumped and got this while everyone
else got IBM PCs. It had a good word processing program and a printer option
that cost more than some computers today. While I no longer have the C64, I
still have the fancy shipping/disk storage cases the Indus drives came in.
- My first IBM compatible was a XT Clone, 8MHz, 640k memory, 30M hd: Finally
gave up and switched to the IBM clone world. The PC's were cheaper, easier
to upgrade and repair and had lots of freeware and shareware software.
- My current PC: Keeps changing faster than I update this page. I usually
only upgrade parts until software requirements finally force me to upgrade
the motherboard and processor.