When did you get your first computer? Do you remember life before?
By snowy
@snowy22315 (181942)
United States
February 24, 2019 8:39am CST
For the younger mylotters, they may not even remember life before computers. 
My son, had just turned 6 when we got our first one. We got a cellphone when he was 5..(one of those big, brick ones.) I remember he called his dad on one. The next year friend determined we needed a computer and brought us one. Although, it was one that just had DOS and we didn't do much on it, other than play games on floppy disk, Lemmings and Ninja Gaiden. The next year though, I had a temp job in the Child Support Enforcement Office. They sent us to computer training for a few weeks, and learned how to use the mouse, and an early windows based system I believe. It must have been 3.1. When did you get your computer?
My son, had just turned 6 when we got our first one. We got a cellphone when he was 5..(one of those big, brick ones.) I remember he called his dad on one. The next year friend determined we needed a computer and brought us one. Although, it was one that just had DOS and we didn't do much on it, other than play games on floppy disk, Lemmings and Ninja Gaiden. The next year though, I had a temp job in the Child Support Enforcement Office. They sent us to computer training for a few weeks, and learned how to use the mouse, and an early windows based system I believe. It must have been 3.1. When did you get your computer?34 people like this
36 responses
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
24 Feb 19
All my computers except the first were windows based, but I have worked on MAC's before.
2 people like this
@DianneN (247186)
• United States
24 Feb 19
@snowy22315 I have a Windows computer up north. Here in Florida I have Apple products. Crazy, but that's how it goes. lol
2 people like this
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
24 Feb 19
I think it was about 15 years ago and have been hooked ever since. It is like a window to the whole world and I am able to see what is going on anywhere, anytime.
3 people like this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
24 Feb 19
Yes, honestly it is like my right arm.
2 people like this
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
24 Feb 19
@snowy22315 A computer is so useful these days.
2 people like this
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
• Valdosta, Georgia
25 Feb 19
We did not have a computer until I was around 16 years old so yes I do remember life before one. I took computer class in school where I learned to type and we played games on it, but didn't have one at home for a long time after that.
3 people like this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
25 Feb 19
I life remember life well before computers,,as I lived almost the first half of my life without one.
2 people like this
@rebelann (112959)
• El Paso, Texas
24 Feb 19
I started my career as a Keypunch Operator in 1970. Many of the programmers for whom I would keypunch their programs would talk about a day when there would be computers in everyone's home and from that point on I dreamed of owning a computer. I finally got a rare birthday/christmas gift from mom and her best friend, they chipped in to help me buy my first computer in 2000, it had Windows ME on it.
I had hoped to get a PC with Windows 95 but they weren't selling those anymore.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
24 Feb 19
I took keypunch as a summer course one time, just after HS. I never used it though, except one summer, I worked for Neilsen, and they were using a variation of a keypunch program..I am not sure what year that was though. I think it was in the early 80's.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
24 Feb 19
@rebelann Yes, I didn't really know anyone who had a home PC until the early 90's. I think the Neilsen thing was on a PC, but it seemed a lot more like keypunch..with the auto skip and auto dup fields..but they had different values in them.
2 people like this
@rebelann (112959)
• El Paso, Texas
24 Feb 19
Keypunch machines became obsolete in the 1980s, that's when I became a data entry operator using the floppy disc systems that they came out with @snowy22315 the Computer world back then was still dominated by IBM although I did use Honeywell and NCR Keytape machines in the late 1970s.
The whole computer world was so different back then and desktop computers didn't really come on the market until about 1982 with price tags only the rich could afford.
2 people like this
@andriaperry (117130)
• Anniston, Alabama
24 Feb 19
In 2000, I knew nothing and taught myself everything, I couldn`t even type.
Life was good then too.
3 people like this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
24 Feb 19
I have been typing since HS, but I have never been that great at it!
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
24 Feb 19
For years, I had complete access at work so didn't have one at home. In the beginning the computer was just a "toy" and not the ridiculously overbearing and dominant "thing" it is today. My first PC was a cheap Dell purchased through work.
3 people like this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
24 Feb 19
I don't remember the brand of the first PC I had.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
24 Feb 19
Wow, you were an early adopter! I didn't know they really existed outside of business at that time.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471969)
• Switzerland
24 Feb 19
@snowy22315 We bought it because of our business and it helped a lot. The first one was extremely expensive.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
25 Feb 19
When was it? the early to mid 90's or before?
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
25 Feb 19
@JudyEv Oh a very early adopter too!
2 people like this
@JudyEv (341742)
• Rockingham, Australia
25 Feb 19
@snowy22315 It would have been between 1980 and 1984. We left there in 1984.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
25 Feb 19
Yeah, big bucks in those days, but the Apple computers you can still pay that much for.
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (26762)
• Singapore
25 Feb 19
@kepweng I was in Indonesia during that time and after using it for two years I managed to sell it at a discount of 50% when I left the country. It was a locally assembled brand.
Desktop computers were priced that high during that time but now we can get them for as low as $500! siva
1 person likes this
@redurnet (1798)
• United Kingdom
25 Feb 19
I had a gaming computer in the 80's but as far as an internet connected computer I got my first one in 1996. It was a work related computer which I didn't have to pay for and I was totally new to the internet and how to use it. I remember AOL was a big thing for me at the time and using floppy disks to save files.
1 person likes this
@redurnet (1798)
• United Kingdom
26 Feb 19
@snowy22315 Yes, I can even remember the weird modem sounds as it connected. Also, back then we used to say "the web" or "the net" or "cyberspace" a lot.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
25 Feb 19
I was pretty into computers at that time, but I didn't know how to do that much on them.
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
24 Feb 19
I don't know, for some reason I was more interested in getting a cell phone than a computer.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
25 Feb 19
@CarolDM The office staff had computers where I worked..but we didn't have them onsite. We did most of our work the old fashioned way.
2 people like this
@CarolDM (203422)
• Nashville, Tennessee
24 Feb 19
@snowy22315 Not me, I guess because at work I had one and learned so much.
2 people like this
@didinedhia (8470)
• Algeria
25 Feb 19
yesss i remember when my father bought the first computer in our house !!! it was p3 . 128 miga ram loooooooooooooooooooooooooooool
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
25 Feb 19
I don't know what that is, but sounds memorable!
2 people like this
@didinedhia (8470)
• Algeria
25 Feb 19
@snowy22315 yes looooooooooooooollll i think it was in 1999
2 people like this
@Nana49 (3399)
• United States
25 Feb 19
I got mine the year after i graduated high school in 1989. I remember my dad paid quite a penny for that computer . i remember getting on the web site ICQ back then to try and meet people .. We also got our first cell phone the same year it was a car bag phone i use to sit im my. Dads car and talk on it .. It had to stay in the car ..
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
25 Feb 19
Yes, car phones were fairly common before everyone had a cell.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
25 Feb 19
@Nana49 As far as I know, Cellular One was the only dealer back then, and they went out of business at some point, or were swallowed up into some other provider.
1 person likes this
@Nana49 (3399)
• United States
25 Feb 19
@snowy22315 best i remember with them back then you had to have good credit to get a bag cell phone ..which my dad did have ..luckily
2 people like this
@May2k8 (18389)
• Indonesia
21 Mar 19
The first time I had a computer in 1998 with a speed of 66mhz and still using DOS 3.00 and a 3.5-inch floppy disk, a year later I was upgraded to Pentium II and it was using Windows 98 ME, and continues to develop so I currently have Intel with a dual core processor.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
21 Mar 19
Yes the old ones for outdated fast.vTruky, we live in days of a technological revolyrion.
1 person likes this
@Juliaacv (51458)
• Canada
25 Feb 19
We got our first computer when our son was about 3 years old.
And we got it because of him, wanting to give him all that we could especially knowing that he was going to start school a year later.
I think that it would have been the early 90's when we bought that.
We had one of those big awkward cell phones that you mentioned also, we got that in 1996.
Electronics were big in size and big in price in those days compared to today.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
25 Feb 19
Yes, I got that big clunky cell in about 1993. I kept seeing the booth at the mall, and then I succumbed. It was Cellular One. The computer was in 94.
1 person likes this
@janethwayne (5191)
• Philippines
25 Feb 19
I buy my laptop in the year of 2013 and until now I'm still using it.It is bought because I joined Bubblews.
1 person likes this
@jvicentevalera (13671)
• Santiago, Chile
24 Feb 19
I do remember when I frist had a computer. It was in 2004, I was 12 years old. I had no clue how to use it, then time went by and I became an expert. I even remember that USB devices did not even exist back then, we used to save our information in floppy disk, while remembering that I am laughing lol. In fact my current computer is the one I had in 2004 but it has been updated several times, the only thing I changed is the monitor, the one we had it was big one that it looked like an old tv from the 80's, that's a NO!
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
24 Feb 19
Yes, they used to have those big, clunky monitors.
1 person likes this
@LowRiderX (22903)
• Serbia
24 Feb 19
@snowy22315 I bought a computer relatively late, but I really can not remember even a year
1 person likes this
@herre01 (119)
• Venezuela
25 Feb 19
Well, probably I am too old, I remember that my first computer had a monochrome screen and I used one that was not based on the window, hahahah, I used to write my thesis and play some very old games.
Before that my life was very simple and fun with many activities away from home and many friends, my two daughters have grown up surrounded by technology, and are my teachers of this. Hahaha.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (181942)
• United States
25 Feb 19
Oh yes, my son knows much more about computers, and especially coding than I do.
