I bought the first computer I ever wrote a program on

Timo Geusch — Fri, 01 Jan 2021 16:14:39 +0000

I don’t usually do Happy New Year posts, but given how “well” 2020 went I thought it was appropriate to start 2021 with a whimsy post. This post is probably going to date me since it’s been a few years - OK, decades - since these were current.

Well, it’s not the actual computer, but the same model. I was first exposed to computers during the personal computer heyday of the early 1980s. Back then, my school had two computers, one TRS 80 Model 3 and one Sinclair ZX81. The ZX81 was used to teach pupils rudimentary programming. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the teachers actually built it from a kit as that was the cheapest way to get into one.

Keep in mind that I grew up in Europe where computers like the Apple ][ were very expensive and didn’t gain much traction in the educational field. Or with hobbists, either. Yes, there were some around but you saw a lot more VIC20s, C64s or Ataris. A lot of schools including mine bought European manufactured computers like Sinclairs and later, Amstrad/Schneider CPC 464s.

Retro Computing on The Lone C++ Coder's Blog

I bought the first computer I ever wrote a program on