My First Computers

My First Console

I just wanted to share my history of computers. The first computer I remember was when I was very young. I was lucky to have an older brother and sister so I got to see the games they played and the technology they got that was above the things more suitable for my age.

The very first console was a cream and brown box with two controllers that had dials on. There was a switch on the console which allowed you to choose between the different games. I think there was also a gun. It looked something like this:

I think the games included were fairly simple; Pong and variations of. We had fun playing it but like I said I was very young so my memory of this console is a little bit hazy.

ZX81

The next computer I remember was my elder brother’s ZX 81:

By Evan-Amos – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18300824

I don’t remember playing games on this but I do have a memory of lying on the bedroom floor and typing out a program in BASIC. I think it was 20 questions or a guessing game something like that. That’s my earliest memory of programming games.

ZX Spectrum 48k

Keeping with the theme, the next one we had as a family was the ZX Spectrum 48k:

By Bill Bertram – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=170050

This was the time when the computer really became my toy, my elder sister and brother weren’t as infatuated with computers as I was. There were many great games for the spectrum, I’ll do a separate post on my favorite games. Again there was ample opportunity to program the ZX spectrum and I tinkered around with that almost as much as I played the games.

ZX Spectrum +2

Being faithful to the brand, the next one was an upgrade of the ZX Spectrum 48k. The Sinclair 128k ZX Spectrum +2 with built in datacorder (I’m singing this in my head!):

No more worrying about connecting the tape recorder and switching cables around and getting the volume right. There was less alchemy involved in getting this to work but it was a great computer.

Amiga 600 and Sam Coupe (almost!)

After the ZX spectrum went out of fashion it was time to find a new computer. We found an advert in the local newspaper for a new kind of computer. We ordered it but the company went bust before we got the computer. We ended up losing our money and having a collection of new games we couldn’t play. Can’t for the life of me remember the name of that computer (Edit: It was the Sam Coupe). Major disappointment! The along came the Amiga 600:

I can’t remember how many different kinds of Amiga I had but the A600 with built in floppy drive is the one that stands out in my memory. No more tapes and loading noises. This was the future. I was a teenager back then and my best friend often came round to play. My older brother and sister had moved out at this point so I had many fewer opportunities to play on the computer with them. As well as playing games, I also enjoyed creating them. I used a language called AMOS and could build much more appealing games with decent graphics and sound.