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Geek Culture / What was your first computer?

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Xsnip3rX
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 09:30
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i tore it apart and made it into a light-up circuit board then i got a fishtank mac.

from there i started building my own PC's gradually went up in processor speeds, first was a 486, then a 150Mhz P1, then a 233, then a 133 (ironic), that broke, i went back down a notch to 90Mhz, then i got lucky a found a 500MHZ chip, then a 800Mhz chip, stayed there a while, then went to 1.6Ghz, now i'm running on a dual 2.7Ghz AMD Athlon 64 X2. xD

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Van B
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 09:47
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Spectrum 48k





Games were really expensive for it at first, and usually not worth the money so magazines started featuring full game program listings that you would have to type in. Sadly these were more like raw games than what you would call a tutorial, but at least the basic language was easy. There was a vibe about programming on the speccy, even if you had no clue about what you were doing you still had a go. It was my neighbor who got me into programming really, he wrote a load of speccy games and a book on how to make your own graphical adventure. I followed this book with my dad, which ended up with quite a decent RPG, a lot like the old Ultima games.


Health, Ammo, and bacon and eggs!
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El Goorf
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 09:56
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dam you lucky generation, growing up into a world where computers were made for hacking

my first pc had windows 98 on it >.<

http://notmybase.com
All my base are not belong to anyone.
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Benjamin
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 10:00
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Quote: "my first pc had windows 98 on it >.<"

Same. Mine had a 300mhz processor or something really powerful like that.

Multisync - TCP Server/Client Multiplayer Plugin (DBP/DBCe)
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Grandma
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Location: Norway, Guiding the New World Order
Posted: 29th Jan 2009 10:25
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My first computer that I paid for myself had 1.3ghz and WinME.
The first one that I got had a whopping 50mhz, and I installed Win95 on it. Things went slow, but was not that bothersome at the time.

This message was brought to you by Grandma industries.

Making yesterdays games, today!
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Thraxas
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 10:42
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My first computer was an Acorn Electron...

My favourite games were Thrust and the awesome Chuckie Egg

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Toasty Fresh
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 11:14
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Quote: "then i got a fishtank mac."


Oh man, that's just reminded me how crappy the mouses were back then.
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Green Gandalf
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Playing: Malevolence:Sword of Ahkranox, Skyrim, Civ6.
Posted: 29th Jan 2009 11:24
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Atari 800 - well it was my son's really.

When he could keep me away from it that is.

My Dad had one of those computer chess games back in the 1970s. It was like a chessboard with a built-in computer. You had to type in your move and the computer would give you it's move on a simple alpha-numeric display. You had to move the pieces yourself on the board though. He had many hours of fun with that. You couldn't program it though.
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AndrewT
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Location: MI, USA
Posted: 29th Jan 2009 12:38 Edited at: 29th Jan 2009 12:39
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You guys are old!

Hmmm...the first PC I ever used had Windows ME on it. And we got XP very shortly after.

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Kevin Picone
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 12:43 Edited at: 21st Apr 2011 09:04
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My first was the Vic 20, although we had the Apple II before that.


Hmm, I wonder what's coming in 2011?
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HowDo
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 12:52
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my first time on a computer was a UK101 and you think it takes a along time to load a game today, 10mins just for it to say error reload, then I got a ZX81.

Dark Physics makes any hot drink go cold.
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MSon
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 12:56 Edited at: 29th Jan 2009 13:05
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Spectrum ZX81, Then Atari ST, Then Amega 1200, Then my first PC running Dos, Then Window 3.1 Workgroup Edition, (Was about 18 by this time), and so on.

Best games ever where on the Atari ST, Shadow of the Beast and Gods which at the time where excellent graphics, And i use to Love programs like Sound Tracker, preferred Cubase, But that only worked with the Optional Hi Rez Monitor which only showed shades of Green.

Everyone Be Cool, You, Be Cool.
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puppyofkosh
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 13:02
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My first was a windows 95, and all I'd do is play treasure mountain on it.
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Errant AI
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 16:15 Edited at: 29th Jan 2009 16:15
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G3 Powerbook/Wallstreet 333Mhz

Still have it but it thinks the year is 1700-something every time I power it up, the shift doesn't work for all the keys (have to use keycaps for @ symbol)and the batteries won't charge. Someday, I'd like to rehabilitate it.
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Vickie
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 16:48
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My first computer was the VIC-20; I got it when I was 8 years old for Christmas. My Mom and Dad wanted to get me the big Barbie house that came out that year but I begged them into getting me the Vic-20 because I was a huge Star Trek fan and William Shatner (Capt. Kirk) was promoting the product. I still have it

Always~
Vickie

~About Me~
http://www.caligari.com/news/news_june2006/cpcp3.html
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Roxas
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 17:07 Edited at: 29th Jan 2009 17:09
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My first computer was Commodore 64, it had also tape player =) I had both the newer Commodore and Older, Newer one had hole in keyboard for Cart based games, i also had tape player for it too.



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Lucifer
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 17:55 Edited at: 29th Jan 2009 20:23
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My first pc was one of those old IBM computers with dos, then i got a 386 one (i think, or a 286)

in Austrlia, there is a really red sun, u got a red sun in sky too?
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Quadrazar
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 19:53
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My first computer was a Amiga 500 (thanks mom and dad). First computer I bought was a Silicon Graphics 320. I had a VJact and was in desperate need of computing power. Between 2002 and 2004 I had 12 computers runing 24/7 in my bedroom. Even now I can't sleep in total silence. I need the snoring of at least one computer or else I get the feeling that there is someting missing.

Amiga 500 - 68000 processor / 7 Mhz, 512 Kb RAM, 4-channel PCM synthesizer (stereo)
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General Reed
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 20:09
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My first computer was one of the old apricots. I then sort of downgraded to a Sinclair 48k which was a bit strange.

CPU: AMD X2 6000+ 3.0ghz GFX: NVIDIA BFG Geforce 8800GTS 640MB OC-550mhz core RAM: 2048mb

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Phaelax
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 20:26 Edited at: 29th Jan 2009 23:27
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My first computer was an Amiga 500. We bought an external floppy drive and some kinda MIDI box to connect my dad's keyboard.


I used an Apple 2e in grade school before they got CD-Roms.

Your signature has been erased by a mod because it's larger than 600x120
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Robert F
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Posted: 29th Jan 2009 22:49 Edited at: 29th Jan 2009 22:50
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My first computer, well the family's computer was a windows 95 computer. At the time it was SOO Cool. Now I think it is really stupid. Except the brown turnoff screen they used to have. The first game I probably remember playing was Doom.

http://milestogo.in/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/win95.png

"It is now safe to turn off your computer"


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Zdrok
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Posted: 30th Jan 2009 00:28
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My first PC was a Packard-Dell or something like that, it has Win95 on it.

Then we got a Gateway "Cow" PC (I called it that because it had a cowskin paintjob on the mousepad) with WinME; the first online game I had is BF42 and I still play it to this day.

Then we got the XP. Then a Vista. Then I got n XP for myself, I'll put it in my will.

Kola
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Zuka
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Posted: 30th Jan 2009 00:40
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Those things scare me. My first was a Dimension 8100 with Windows ME on it. Then I got an 8200, 2.53GHz processor - still have it. The 8100 is in a billion pieces in my garage.

And now I'm on my third computer, an XPS 600, it's temporary. It has Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit.

Soon enough, I'll build my own.
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Kohaku
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Posted: 30th Jan 2009 00:56 Edited at: 30th Jan 2009 01:01
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My first "computer" would be the Dragon 32.

My favourite game on it was probably UGH where you'd run around a track stealing eggs and avoiding dinosaurs iirc.

After that I got a system with Windows 3.1. Used to play a few dos games on that like Prince of Persia and the Blues Brothers. There was a game that would let you make a colony on the moon too, which I really enjoyed.

Then windows 98 (still have that one here). Used to play Age of Empires 2 and total Annihilation on that one a lot. I started using DBC on this system.

Then an XP system which I've played a tonne of games on and upgraded quite a bit. This was when I started using DBP. I still use it today for Counter Strike Source.



Then a Vista laptop. This was mainly so I could code and game on the move. I started looking into other languages with this like C++ with the GDK.


And now I'm using an XP notebook; an Acer Aspire One.

I really love this little thing. :')

Oh wait; you only want the first computer?



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revenant chaos
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Posted: 30th Jan 2009 01:25
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Quote: "It is now safe to turn off your computer"

Oh yeah, I remember that. That screen was really just a bitmap with a mis-labeled file extension. When I was a kid using the schools computers I would modify the start up and shut down screens to say dirty things. Those were good times....
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Van B
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Posted: 30th Jan 2009 01:32
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Damn Roxas I would have killed for that setup 20 years ago!

My favorite computer had to be the Atari ST though, I went from the C64 to the ST, both really great machines to code on. I just wish I'd gotten more done on the ST, back when the most we could hope for is a mention in ST Format or getting something on a PD catalogue. I must have made a dozen games and 3 dozen demos that hardly anyone saw, the ST died out before I could get something substantial done. GFA Basic and TCB Tracker ruled .


Health, Ammo, and bacon and eggs!
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Robert F
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Posted: 30th Jan 2009 01:35
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Quote: "Oh yeah, I remember that. That screen was really just a bitmap with a mis-labeled file extension. When I was a kid using the schools computers I would modify the start up and shut down screens to say dirty things. Those were good times.... "


lol!


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Jeku
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Posted: 30th Jan 2009 02:06
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This beauty, my dad bought 2 of them when they came out




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Robert F
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Posted: 30th Jan 2009 02:36
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looks like a keyboard to me...


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Zuka
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Posted: 30th Jan 2009 02:47
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Oh, those are nice, Kohaku. But how the heck can you manage the mouse buttons? My brother has one, I have tons of trouble with it.
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UnderLord
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Posted: 30th Jan 2009 04:24
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My first computer was a PIII which i bought with my own hard earned money from my dads work (and not even a discount). costed me like 500$ when i was 16. Then i ended up putting atleast another 500$ into it like new gfx card, memory, hard drive etc. ran windows xp fairly decent from there i built all my computers myself.

"I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road."
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SageTech
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Posted: 30th Jan 2009 05:38
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My parents were divorced, so I honestly think I had two "first" computers. My dad's was a craptacular 486 running windows 95. The other was a "beast", windows 98, i think maybee 500mhz. I remember spending hours on mspaint, and later, roller coaster tycoon.

I convinced my dad to upgrade later on and we got a emachines 733mhz computer running ME *shutters*. Seriously, was it not the worst piece of crap ever out by microsoft?

I got my first personal computer when I was 8 or so, it was a compaq presario 700 laptop i think. It was really cool, I would always bring it to school (I was in third grade) and combined with some old cellphone my grandma gave me, pretended I had a business. Real funny stuff looking back, but i guess its what got me into computers as much as I am now.


The world is doomed...unless you >>>>>> Click Here <<<<<<
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trogdor
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Posted: 30th Jan 2009 05:54
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My first computer was a SVI328 MKII.

It came with a tape deck, and later I got a MSX cartridge expansion for it.



If you give someone a program, you will frustrate them for a day; if you teach them how to program, you will frustrate them for a lifetime.
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bitJericho
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Posted: 30th Jan 2009 07:01 Edited at: 30th Jan 2009 17:44
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Wow, full keyboard. Nice.

I had a TRS-80 CoCo 2 with Extended Color BASIC (on the eprom)



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Kohaku
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Posted: 30th Jan 2009 16:18
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Zuka: I usually use my left thumb to left click, as strange as that may sound. My other four fingers then go behind the keyboard. If I'm doing a lot of typing though then I just use my right hand and click by tapping the touchpad; though I know a lot of people hate that feature. When I'm at home though I'll plug the mouse in.

Can't beat a good old mouse!



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NeX the Fairly Fast Ferret
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Posted: 31st Jan 2009 01:21
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My first PC was a Trigem Lite laptop... an Intel 486 @ 25mHz with 4Mb of RAM and a 260Mb HDD. It had a greyscale 640x480 display and ran 3.1 by default, but installing 95 was easy enough. The Western Digital HDD crapped out repeatedly though. I still have the burnt out chassis that remains after my 500mHz overclock that toasted pretty much every component on the board.

No longer a member of this forum.
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Iain
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Posted: 31st Jan 2009 02:16
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My first computer was a spectrum, then i had an amstrad that i learnt a lot of programming on, also had a c64, my first ibm pc was amazing lol, It was a 386 20mhz with 2mb ram and a 20mb hard drive, it also had a ega graphics card with 16 colors, man those were the days lol
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Alucard94
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Posted: 31st Jan 2009 10:52
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Some Apple computer way back, can't for the life of me remember which one.


Alucard94, the member of the future of the past.
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Blobby 101
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Posted: 31st Jan 2009 13:16
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mine was a shatty old Acorn Archimedes, then my parents got a win 95 PC which i later got them to upgrade to 98.

NaGaCreMo:
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RalphY
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Posted: 31st Jan 2009 15:18 Edited at: 1st Feb 2009 20:04
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First computer we had in our house was an Amstrad PPC512.




Oh boy! Sleep! That's when I'm a Viking! | Super Nintendo Chalmers!
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