How was the 1st day that u got your 1st computer??

[revgiblet]

A few years later, I'd changed the NES for an ST and got a printer for Christmas. I'd only had it for about 10 minutes when I took off a bit of the plastic case in order to install the ink ribbon (remember those!?) and promptly sat on the bit of plastic case and broke it! I was gutted, until my dad put it back together with super glue!

Yeah, dads are great aren't they.

[big1aust]

My first (and only) real retro computer was a VIC-20 which I got when I was about 14 or so. It was 139.99 from argos and unlike some of the other lucky people on here I had to have it as joint birthday and Xmas present AND I had to save £40 to put towards it myself as my parents didn't belive in spending more than 50 quid for either a birthday or xmas present.

Sadly I was one of the only lads at my school that had a VIC which meant seriously limited swapping and borrowing opportunities - I should have got a Spectrum like everyone else but was influenced by my older brother's best mate who told me that the VIC was a much better computer.

I still have some fond memories of type-in programmes (all that POKEing and PEEKing) and also remember the superb GORF cart that it took me nearly 4 months to save up for (I think it was about 40 quid or something ridiculous!!).

Sadly the VIC so unreliable that it spent 8 out of the 12 months warranty period back at Argos while various bits (powerpack , RF unit and probably the computer itself) wre sent back and forwards to Commodore .

Suppose it could have been worse - my mate had a Texas TI and was the only one in the school and seemingly the surrounding area to have one with virtually no software available at local outlets - it was nice and shiny though

Cheers
big1aust

[Kai]

My first computer was an AMIGA 500. That was back in 1991. It came with the monitor, a dot-matrix-printer, 2 Joysticks (blue-silver "Competition pro"s), 2 mediocre games ("Snowstrike" and "Conqueror" - I guess my parents shouldn't have listened to the seller - he obviously didn't know much about good games) and was "presented" on a computer desk (christmas was cool ).

But I also had the first "GURU MEDITATION" on that evening

[Xtatic]

When I said that I got a ZX Spectrum for Xmas, I forgot to mention that it was a TIMEX Sinclair 2068 model.

It was a great computer but incompatible with some 48k games... Never knew why... :/

Will Retro Gamer talk about these??

[andjs]

I remember my first computer like it was yesterday.
Back in 1982 my parents were persuaded to buy me and my brother a Vic20.We were both so excited and within minutes of them getting it home , the machine was set up and loading Metagalactic Llamas Battle at the Edge of Time.God knows how many hours were spent playing that one game??!!!

Over the following years, we progressed through Spectrum 48+,Atari 520st,Amiga 1200(by which time my bro lost interest)so i continued on alone through Megadrive,Snes,Gameboy,Playstation,Gameboy, color,N64,Dreamcast,Ps2,Xbox,Imac,Pc,Gameboy Advance and Advance SP.
I still have all of them except the SNES which i stupidly sold (idiot!!!!).
Hope to get a 360 soon.

[paranoid marvin]

Hope to get a 360 soon.[/quote]

You'd be better off just buying another SNES

[miner2049er]

It was a nightmare.

I got a C64 for Xmas and I set it all up but when I switched it on the cursor started racing across the screen and wouldn't stop printing 2s and 0s and 1s and spaces.

It took me over an hour of ringing round and switching off and on before I realised my Quickshot 2 was plugged into joystick port 2 and Autofire was switched on.

After that it was Hunchback, Denis and Hexpert all day.

[sack]

A few years later, I'd changed the NES for an ST and got a printer for Christmas. I'd only had it for about 10 minutes when I took off a bit of the plastic case in order to install the ink ribbon (remember those!?) and promptly sat on the bit of plastic case and broke it! I was gutted, until my dad put it back together with super glue!

Yeah, dads are great aren't they.

when they get it right they are...

About the same age, possibly younger, I had one of those translucent laser guns with the flywheel inside that made a noise and emitted sparks which I really liked at the time.. until it seized up.

My dad is a motor mechanic by trade who subscribes to the traditional 3 step diagnostic process:

* If it moves and it shouldn't you need gaffertape
* If it doesn't move and it should you need WD40
* if neither is true tinker with it - eventually one or the other will become true

So in this case rule #2 applied and the flywheel,gears and trigger mechanism were all nicely soaked in WD40. He made sure the parts were free to move and handed me back my then favourite toy for the first pull of the trigger...

... and bloody hell did that go with a bang!

So there was a bang, a few flames and a sense of disappointment as my slightly nonfunctional but still loved toy was now...well... blown up.

Gutted.




Luckily he generally gets things right though and ironically if you offered me the chance to blow something inanimate up in a (relatively) safe way* for laughs from my teens up until now I'd probably find it funny.





*Disclaimer for our friends in charge there - I'd like to point out that I'm an immature idiot rather than a terrorist and have more in common with Beavis and Butthead than Bin Laden so whilst I condemn terrorism I'd probably still reenact the Amiga game 'scorched tanks' using fireworks and drainpipes on an empty field given a chance. Thank you for understanding and not locking me up for a long, long time.

[RandySparks]

This kid seems fairly chuffed with his new N64

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/03/27/ninte ... kid-crazy/

[Xtatic]

[paranoid marvin]

I'd like to see the look on his change when he plays Turok , or Fifa...

[revgiblet]

This kid seems fairly chuffed with his new N64

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/03/27/ninte ... kid-crazy/

Imagine if had been a PlayStation. He'd have probably exploded.

[Steve Halfpenny]

Weird when I look back because the games I got with them were crap!

Atari 2600 with Pac-Man. Obviously being extremely young I couldn't understand its crappiness. Some time later though I got Asteroids and the balance was restored somewhat.

Years later I got a Spectrum +2, which I believe was in one of those old Dixon's packs. Obviously all the games were terrible but I loved Oh Mummy (for some reason) anyway.

[psj3809]

After many months of begging i finally got a Spectrum +, forgot what year it was. Use to salivate over the pics of the computers in the old catalogues my mum used to get.

I remember using it for the first time, typing in some basic programs and thinking it was just so cool, even the basic games on the starter tape i thought were brilliant and then buying my first game - Jet Set Willy, i was totally hooked. Great times back then

[comicalgames]

My brother had a Speccy 128k+2 which I used to mercilessly create huge basic programs that were compilations of the code provided in the chunky manuals. He then sold it and traded in for a C64.

I then got an Amstrad 6128 followed by an Atari 65XE. To my utter shame and idiocy they were stored in a crap damp environment and became basically ruined. stab stab.

The first I ever bought though was a Master System. I was quite young and saved for aaaaaaages all my pocket money until I had about £30 (unattainable riches), but I was still only halfway towards the £79.99 price tag.

One day I came home and found my money gone!!! I correctly suspected that my dad had taken it, and when he came home with the SMS (Alex Kidd + Sonic cart) I can honestly say I've never been happier. Whoever said it was right, dad's are ace.