I saw +Steve Karam write an article similar to this, and I thought I'd try my hand at something like this as well.
The Early Years
My parents bought a used Texas Instruments 99-4a, when I was in the 2nd or 3rd grade. We had a couple games, including a version of Kings Quest which had to be loaded via a cartrage AND a cassette tape in order to play. I recall the TI having some sort of BASIC interface to load games, or interact somehow via a command line.
Shortly after that, We got an Apple ][+, complete with AppleWorks, OKIData Printer and a handful of other games. As I entered my middle school years with this computer, I had to write several papers. If I learned anything from this system, it was this: Save First, Then Print. I lost many a paper on this system, but somehow still have fond memories playing Zaxxon and Oregon Trail on the green screen.
My First PC
As I approached high school, my family purchased an IBM PS/2, with a 486 processor, 25 mHz and 4 MB RAM. While this was the 'family' computer, it was really mine. It was in my room, I spent most of my waking, and non-school hours on this machine. Running Windows 3.11 for WorkGroups, I dialed into my first BBS, played Wolfenstein 3D and discovered the joys of Microsoft Office. I also discovered my hatred for managing memory, IRQs and DMAs.
So, what I learn here? I found myself using, exploring and tinkering with computers at an early age. I also found immense pleasure in solving problems. Learning through experimentation and exploration was helpful in understanding how things worked, and what how's I'd approach problem solving in the future.
The Early Years
My parents bought a used Texas Instruments 99-4a, when I was in the 2nd or 3rd grade. We had a couple games, including a version of Kings Quest which had to be loaded via a cartrage AND a cassette tape in order to play. I recall the TI having some sort of BASIC interface to load games, or interact somehow via a command line.
Shortly after that, We got an Apple ][+, complete with AppleWorks, OKIData Printer and a handful of other games. As I entered my middle school years with this computer, I had to write several papers. If I learned anything from this system, it was this: Save First, Then Print. I lost many a paper on this system, but somehow still have fond memories playing Zaxxon and Oregon Trail on the green screen.
My First PC
As I approached high school, my family purchased an IBM PS/2, with a 486 processor, 25 mHz and 4 MB RAM. While this was the 'family' computer, it was really mine. It was in my room, I spent most of my waking, and non-school hours on this machine. Running Windows 3.11 for WorkGroups, I dialed into my first BBS, played Wolfenstein 3D and discovered the joys of Microsoft Office. I also discovered my hatred for managing memory, IRQs and DMAs.
So, what I learn here? I found myself using, exploring and tinkering with computers at an early age. I also found immense pleasure in solving problems. Learning through experimentation and exploration was helpful in understanding how things worked, and what how's I'd approach problem solving in the future.
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