• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

1st touch on a Computer

oldMohawk

gone but not forgotten
We all use computers and I thought about the first one I ever touched at work in (history bit) 1979. It was a Commodore Pet with a programing language called Basic. We had it to do quotes and other calcs, but for a week or more we could not stop playing with it and very little real work was done, we even stayed late to play with it. We found out everything we could about a Secretary in the Buying Office, loaded it in the computer, and told her it could read her palm, know all about her and tell her future, if she placed her hand on the keyboard. She couldn't resist, and was amazed to see 'Hello Betty' appear on screen and it knew all about her. She was astounded and wanted all the Office Girls to try it, but it only had 32K of memory so we had to say she was special and it only knew about her. When it put a message on screen saying it was in love with her, she guessed what we had done and our nice little Pet nearly got smashed. We took a photo of it doing some 'real work'.
img003.jpg
 
Last edited:
1965 was the first time I touched a Honeywell Computer. And we thought it was fun to print out Eskimo Nell.

Ann
 
I think about 1985 at work we changed from using CNC lathes to proper PCs ( lowly 285 chips ) to control new machinery. Could not do it now, how quickly one foregets
 
Hi, Jean,
I wouldn't laugh, you seem to have learnt a lot in those 3 yrs, you use more features on the forum than I do. I bought my wife a wireless Laptop 3 years ago but she hardly used it. Lately though she's taken a like to my Desktop - big screen etc, and I have to use 'her' Laptop, but it keeps my legs warm !
oldmohawk :)
 
Last edited:
Old mowhawk have only been on the internet for 13 months after getting nagged by Patty to do so but glad I did. Before then I was blooming good at games. Jean.
 
Bought my first computor from Curry,s Solihull 1980 it was an atari,to load up you had to type the command cload the bundle came to around £700 sold it 12 months later becausr i thought they would never catch on,how wrong can you be?Any body else got things wrong?
 
Bought my first computor from Curry,s Solihull 1980 it Any body else got things wrong?

Yeah .The Sony Beta Max video recorder. Better than VHS but to late on the market. Anything with Phillips name on it. Love the designs but they all give me heartache.:cry:

My mrs gave me her old laptop to keep my legs warm in the lounge. It was said I spent to much time in the spare bed room with my own computer.
 
Last edited:
I bought my 1st home computer from Boots the Chemist in 1984. It was a Commodore Vic 20, it's still in the loft - probably could go on the Antiques Road Show in a few years time. Those Atari's were good in their day. I wanted one but my wife didn't ! Jean I've only had Broadband 9 months, only ever tried buying one thing - my TV licence - told my wife to watch it come out the printer as advertised on BBC. Guess what, it didn't - it came by post !
 
B.A.S.I.C.

Now there's a blast from the past!! :p

Beginners All purpose Standard Instruction Code - if I remember right!
 
B.A.S.I.C.

Now there's a blast from the past!!

Yes good old Commodore Basic V2 and only 3k ram on a Vic. On my previous PC, I downloaded a Commodore64 emulator complete with basic. Ran a game called Boulderdash which I use to play on the C64. Wonder if it's still around ?
:)
 
Last edited:
Nick I had an Aunt Nell but it couldn't have been her cors she lived in an house an not an igloo. Jean.
 
I had the one of the first on the market, Clive Sinclair's ZX81 with all of 1k of memory. I later bought the 16k expansion pack. After graduating through all the computer technology of the ensuing years all 29 of them and acquiring new machines as I went, I still know as much about them now as I did back then with my ZX81.

Phil
 
My 1st computer was a laptop in 1990 and cost my old company UB about £7k. It was japanese Toshiba 4 GB of course and when I first took it with me on my 1st morning I put it on the roof of my company car!!
Yes you guessed it, I put my brief case in the car as normal and drove off.
I came to the 1st corner and my 1st laptop came of the roof for the 1st and only time. Yes it was brown bread on its 1st outing!! and yes it was a company 1st!!
 
I had the one of the first on the market, Clive Sinclair's ZX81 with all of 1k of memory. I later bought the 16k expansion pack. After graduating through all the computer technology of the ensuing years all 29 of them and acquiring new machines as I went, I still know as much about them now as I did back then with my ZX81.

Phil


I cut my (computing) teeth on a Sinclair ZX Spectrum 16K in the early 80's. I proudly bought and fitted the chips to upgrade it to 48K!!!!!! wow!!
 
Tried my hand on computer about 4 yrs. - an old one of my son's but I couldn't handle the mouse - still learning. I am afraid I don't understand a lot of the 'speech' that is used so get in a mess.

Jean - people used to call my mother Aunt Nell - although her name was Ellen. don't think we are connected!!!!! Miriam.:D
 
1965

ICT (later ICL) 1902 mainframe. Trainee programmer and operator.
It had 16K (yes K!) of core store. RAM was a later invention.
And 4 reel-to-reel magnetic tapes (like you always see in films).
Input was 5-track paper tape for data and 8-track for programs.
No high-level languages then (like BASIC, COBOL, C) - just an assembler called PLAN. I can still remember most of the instruction set.

And I'm still programming a bit in retirement, just for amusement.

[end of bore, sorry]

Stan
 
Back
Top