25th Anniversary

I found out from listening to Twit, episode 66, it was the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the IBM PC.  While I never own one, I knew a friend of mine who ran out and got one.  He got the floppy drive version and was it expensive.   Later, he plucked down more money and got a big 5 meg hard drive in it.

I was still in my TRS80 model 1 days, when the big excitement was installing 16K of RAM on you own.  I decided to make a quick list.  Not a Top Ten list of great computers, but rather what I've own over the last 27 years.

1.  TRS 80 Model 1 - My very first computer.  I got it a year after I quit Radio Shack to become a videotape operator.  I put up with the cranky audio cassette interface.  Then spent the big bucks to get the Expansion Interface so I could hookup to 2-5-1/4" floppy drives and use the RS232 serial port to hook up a Hayes 300K smart modem.  I signed up for an account on Compuserve.  Boy was I styling.

2.  LNW computer - A TRS 80 "clone".   Instead of cheap gray plastic, this computer was built with sheet aluminum.  Instead of separate components like TRS 80, everything was integrated into one box.  Not only did it run TRSDOS, it could run CP/M 2.2.  I added 2 - 8" floppy drives.  I hoped to add on the MSDOS expansion card, but the company went out of business.

3.  TRS 80 Model 3 and 4 - I got both systems almost at the same time.  These would be the last Radio Shack computers I would buy.  They worked well.  By then I was starting to become interested in the IBM PC.  Or more accurately, an IBM clone.

A number of companies jumped on the bandwagon to see PC clones.  I picked my system somewhere in an area called City of Industry.  As the name implies, it's a small city located southeast of Los Angeles which is mostly, well, industrial.  Many PC clone companies started up there.  Some are still there.  Thus began my vice of having a computer.

4.  AST 286 - As you might guess, it was a 80286 machine.  Very nice and well built but very expensive.

5.  Build your own PC(s) - Over the last 12 years, I learned to build my own systems.  I always thought I could do it cheaper and better.  At one point, I built 3 system within a year and half for my wife, daughter and myself.  Last October, I ended that streak by purchasing an Athlon 64 3200 system from PC Club.  Let's just say I was getting too old for that . . . you know what I mean.

I never owned a Mac or any Apple computer.  I always felt they were too expensive.  More to the point, I was too cheap.  I use Macs where I work but I've never caught the bug to buy one. 

Thank God for small favors.