Our very first computer was a Commodore VIC-20 purchased in 1981, I always was an early adopter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VIC-20

ZX81 with the massive 1k then the 16k ram pack. Anyone remember the infamous ZX81 ram pack 'wobble'? (Hours spent laboriously entering a basic programme on the touch keypad for the ram pack to wobble and delete all your work)

The a BBC 'B" Micro where I rapidly wore out the space bar playing 'Planetoid'. Finally the Atari Mega ST & then as I say it was downhill all the way with PC's. Still, at least I got that computer nerd thing over and done with early on.

I think Apple seem to have a bigger market share in Canada than the UK, or at least they seem to on the West Coast - most people I know here seem to have a Mac (I'm no exception, and I won't be switching back). Being able to run Windows (when I have to) on my Mac was the nail in the coffin for my PC owning days.

I still miss my atari st 520. SOmewhere in the barn is a vic 20.

But I got started on an ABC 80 learning how to program Basic.

Those were the days.

My very first was a Commodore Plus/4. I don't understand half of what the Wiki says about it, I just know my parents were too mean to buy something you could readily get games for... still, it did teach me how to get all the computers in Dixon's saying "my parents are mean" on constant loop, so it wasn't all a waste.

Does that ever really go away or does it just get suppressed.

I'm considering moving to Linux. One of the doctors where I volunteer has switched and is trying to convince me to give it a try.

I've got an old PC in the basement I can try it out on. I'll perhaps download it from here and give it a go. www.ubuntu.com

Oh jeesh! Don't. Ubuntu isn't the most userfriendly to start p with.

Have a look at Mandrake instead.

For sure, it must be all the west coast creative/techy niche types. No doubt if I wasn't living out here I'd be running a bloatware PC..now I have the luxury of living a Mac-life.

There is definitely a creative/leftfeld/green mentality out west......Viva Cascadia !

R.

Snap. VIC-20 was the first I bought for myself, although I'd been using an Apple II for a year or so at work already.

I actually made my living writing assembler code for a 65C02-based instrument control computer in 1982/3. Happy days. 16K of RAM, luxury!

Top floor at John Menzies on a Spectrum 28K:

10 My name is John
20 Goto 10
30 Run

Muaw ha ha ha ha ha - Nope never did make it as a programmer and my degree is in SD.

But it'll never get to line 30.

5K and we thought who would ever need more than that.

We added a tape drive after not too long.

I remember spending hours typing in programs in basic and spending an equal amount of time sorting out my typos.

Read the aforementioned in bold above. I know my (rather low) limitations.

<spitting hot chocolate all over>