seaken
Veteran Member
Happy to have found this nice forum. I've read all the stickies and think you've done a very nice job setting this place up. I go back as far as dialing in to BBS systems to learn all I could about CP/M. That was in about 1987.
Yes, I came late to the game. I was born in Seattle, WA in 1964 and touched my first computer in school, in 9th grade in about 1979. It was a Commodore PET 2001. I wanted a C64 when they came out but I didn't have the money to buy a computer. I worked downtown and took the bus and I saw an Apple Lisa in one of the windows near the bus stop. I thought it was cool. When I found out it was $10,000 I realized computers were out of my reach.
I had a room mate who had a C64 and I played with it a little but mostly was busy with other things back then. I had another friend who had an Apple II. I was now in my early twenties and my parents were encouraging me to pursue goals other than computers. But I kept an eye on what was going on and I was trying to figure out how I could get my own computer.
In 1984 I moved to New York state. I met my wife and was married in 1987. Her family had a small business and they had purchased a business computer previously but were not using it. I asked if I could take it home. They said yes. It was a Northstar Advantage.
I went to the library (no internet yet) and read. I figured out how to hook it up to the phone lines and I was then using Bulletin Boards to learn about this CP/M paradigm, which was new to me and very interesting. I soon realized that my in-laws had missed the boat. They had a fantastic tool for their business that they had never utilized. Before long we were using the N* and Wordstar to write contracts, printing on a daisy-wheel printer.
I had finally got my computer! It was a hand-me-down, but I was finally back on my road to computers, which I had briefly started in 9th grade. Most of my computer hobby has revolved around business use until now but I have recently begun refurbishing non-business systems and looking at some games. I am now in the process of catching up to what I have recently discovered is a long-standing hobby in retro computing.
Happy to be here and I hope I can contribute. I found this place through a suggestion on "Tezza's" web pages while looking at his collection in New Zealand. His recommendation to visit has been "spot on" as they might say. (Not sure actually - may be more of a British thing).
See you in the forums.
Sean
Yes, I came late to the game. I was born in Seattle, WA in 1964 and touched my first computer in school, in 9th grade in about 1979. It was a Commodore PET 2001. I wanted a C64 when they came out but I didn't have the money to buy a computer. I worked downtown and took the bus and I saw an Apple Lisa in one of the windows near the bus stop. I thought it was cool. When I found out it was $10,000 I realized computers were out of my reach.
I had a room mate who had a C64 and I played with it a little but mostly was busy with other things back then. I had another friend who had an Apple II. I was now in my early twenties and my parents were encouraging me to pursue goals other than computers. But I kept an eye on what was going on and I was trying to figure out how I could get my own computer.
In 1984 I moved to New York state. I met my wife and was married in 1987. Her family had a small business and they had purchased a business computer previously but were not using it. I asked if I could take it home. They said yes. It was a Northstar Advantage.
I went to the library (no internet yet) and read. I figured out how to hook it up to the phone lines and I was then using Bulletin Boards to learn about this CP/M paradigm, which was new to me and very interesting. I soon realized that my in-laws had missed the boat. They had a fantastic tool for their business that they had never utilized. Before long we were using the N* and Wordstar to write contracts, printing on a daisy-wheel printer.
I had finally got my computer! It was a hand-me-down, but I was finally back on my road to computers, which I had briefly started in 9th grade. Most of my computer hobby has revolved around business use until now but I have recently begun refurbishing non-business systems and looking at some games. I am now in the process of catching up to what I have recently discovered is a long-standing hobby in retro computing.
Happy to be here and I hope I can contribute. I found this place through a suggestion on "Tezza's" web pages while looking at his collection in New Zealand. His recommendation to visit has been "spot on" as they might say. (Not sure actually - may be more of a British thing).
See you in the forums.
Sean