Being a computer geek,
I've had quite a few machines through the years
and thought I should
make a list of them.
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| 1 - TS 1000 |
| My first computer was the
Timex-Sinclair TS1000 (somewhere around 1980), housed in a small
black case with a membrane keyboard. Looking back, I'm amazed at how
little this computer had in it's system. The Z80a processor ran at
3.25MHz and had only 8KB RAM!! |
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This computer used a TV as the
monitor to display 24 lines x 32 characters, and programs were
stored on cassette tapes. I even had the small printer, that printed
like a thermal fax |
| 2 - TS 2068 |
| Around 1983, my second computer was
another Timex product, the Timex-Sinclair 2068. Although it still
used the TV as a monitor, this 48K machine had more memory, color,
sound! |
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This computer still used cassette tapes
for storage, but had tiny ROM cartridges with pre-programmed
applications! |
| 3 - TRS-80 |
| I actually took a step back
computer-wise for my next machine; but I gained more usability. The
next machine was the Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 computer with a Z80
4MHz processor and 16k of RAM. Though it had less memory, this
computer was more popular, so there were more manuals and more
software (DOS) for this computer. It came with it's own monitor (64
x 24 text, 128x48 graphics, no color) and used cassettes and 5.25"
floppy disks for storage. |
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| 4 - Commodore 64 |
| After I moved out from my parents
house, my next computer was a Commodore 64 using a MOS 6510
processor and 64 KB of RAM. This computer had (for that time) great
color, and even sound! |
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| 5 - Apple II+ |
| Before I moved from my parents' house, my Dad had gotten
an Apple II+, so I got a similar computer next. This computer had a
1 MHz Motorola 6502 Processor and 48K RAM and with an upgrade, I had
two 5.25" floppy drives. |
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Now most everyone is using CDs for
computer data storage, but in the past, 5 inch "floppy discs" were
used. Eventually, everyone moved to the next format, the 3.5 inch
"floppy" (which weren't floppy, but hard - only the name stayed the
same). |
| 6 - Franklin ACE 500 |
| Several years later, after Randy and I
had moved to Ohio and opened our pet store, we purchased a Franklin
Ace 500 computer. The Franklin ACE was a 100% Apple IIe and Apple
IIc compatible computer with a built-in 5.25" disk drive and 256 KB
of RAM. running a MOS 65C02 processor at 1.022 MHz. The Franklin
company was sued in 1982 by Apple for copyright and patent
infringement and ceased making computers around 1987. |
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Our Franklin finally died when the
power supply burst into smoke and flames. When we found out it would
cost nearly $500 to replace just the power pack, we trashed the
whole thing. |
|
. . . . |
| After the Franklin died,
we didn't replace the computer and nearly a decade went by before I
got another computer. One of my roommates moved in with a
Packard-Bell computer running Windows 95. That machine was a piece
of junk! But it did make me want another computer, especially since
that "Internet thing" was really starting to get important. |
| 7 - Hewlett-Packard Pavilion |
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I named my HP Pavilion "Titania", and
was very proud of it's 133 processor and only 1GB hard drive. Of
course, at that time, the 56k
modem was great for my Prodigy connection that I had for about 6
years. This machine cost me about $2800. |
| 8 - Compaq Presario Laptop |
| The next time computer I got was a
laptop, and boy, do I miss it! It sure was convenient for taking all
my files with me, even if it was just to the couch in the living
room. LOL Running Windows 98 with a 333 MHz Intel Celeron Processor
and 128 RAM, the laptop had a 6 GB hard drive and a built-in
CD-ROM, and a 56k modem. |
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| Unfortunately for this computer, me, a
glass of Coke, and a dog all collided at the same time over top of
the laptop (Feb 1999). It took several months of repairs before
BestBuy refunded the money and I purchased a new one. |
| 9 - Compaq Presario 7594 |
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To replace the laptop, I decided to go
back to a desktop machine for the extra memory in RAM and the hard
drive. This Compaq has a 566 MHz Intel Celeron Processor running
with128 MB (SDRAM), Windows 98 SE, a10 GB
hard drive, and a 40x CD Drive. |
| 10 - Dell Dimension 2350 |
| My next computer, which lasted several
years, was a
Dell Dimension 2350, running a Celeron 2.20 MHz Processor, with 256
MB DDR RAM, a
40 GB hard drive, two CD drives (48x/24x/48x CD-RW Drive, CD-DVD) running
Windows XP. |
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| 11 - HP Pavilion a420n |
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AMD Athlon XP 2.167 GHz
Installed Memory 512 MB (DDR SDRAM)
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
RAM Technology DDR SDRAM
Installed RAM 512 MB
Max Supported RAM 2 GB
Installed Cache Memory 512 KB
Hard Drive
Hard Drive Capacity 160 GB
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