To help keep the median age down: I became on 1971 (34) First PC was a VIC-20 in early 1982, because my Dad would not let me buy an Atari 2600. Fate just seemed like a mean Dad back then. Paid for it myself. $300 got me the unit, 2 games, no storage. Played the games, put it in a box, and forgot about it until late '83, where I found my 7th grade homeroom filled with VIC-20's. The math teacher (it was his room) took me under his wing, showed me the PET 8032's in the high school with a 300 bps direct connect TNW-103 modem. Dialed my first BBS at the time. That was the start of the love affair. Bought a 64 in 1984/5, and used it until my senior year in college, 1992, where I had to break down and get a PC. The University of Illinois got me exposure to Sequent (undergrad accounts) IBM RT-11, RS-6000, and PLATO, for those who know what that is. Used to dial into the local modem bank to the machines from the C64 using Novaterm to do homework, and had a PLATO emulator for the 64, but can't find it anymore. I also developed a taste for UNIX in college. I managed a student lab at one point. Before I took over, we swapped out some funky 80186 3Com server hardware running the lab for OS/2 1.3 (No workplace shell). Later, MS came and talked to us about the greatness they felt was Windows NT for powering the labs. Left UIUC with a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering, but software jobs paid more, so went that route. I skipped the Amiga train (paid for AmigaWorld magazine for years, but never got an actual unit), so mainly I collect CBM 8-bit stuff. I had some Northstar stuff for a while, but never got into it. I try not to buy new PCs, creating Linux boxen at the house from parts I get upgrading other's people's PCs. They make great peripherals for my CBM units. I've never seen a real PDP of any vintage, though I did get a private tour of the NCSA building with the Cray and the Thinking Machines hardware (NCSA hired undergrads to admin the boxes) Jim -- Jim Brain, Brain Innovations brain at jbrain.com http://www.jbrain.com Dabbling in WWW, Embedded Systems, Old CBM computers, and Good Times!

Born 1973, currently 31. First experience/sight of a computer was at around age 9-10 at primary school, when the class got to use a loaned BBC 'B' for a day. I was hooked there & then. I didn't see another computer until I went to secondary school. The computer lab there had: about 8 ZX Spectrums in a network (of sorts), 1 BBC 'B' (which spent most of its life playing Revs), and one Sharp MZ-80K (which I acquired a few years later). Sometime between 1982 and 1985, Dad had an Apple ][ Europlus on loan from works; he learned DBase, I learned Apple Basic - which I've long since forgotten. I do recall a rather good helicopter game though (one rescued soldiers or somesuch from burning buildings. Also a flight simulator game, which ate many a child-hood hour. In February 1984, Dad ordered a Sinclair QL, which eventually showed up in about June or July. I used that in its barebones 128k twin MDV setup for about seven years, before finally buying disk drives (Well, a 5.25" single drive), then extra memory, then a Gold Card, then twin 3.5" drives, before finally retiring it for good in about 1994. I still have that QL, & most of the accessories I ever bought/acquired. Between 1986 and 1990 - I have long forgotten the actual dates, and I almost forgot the actual machine! - I owned a ZX Spectrum - which I later swapped for a CBM Plus/4 + games. During the same period, I had a BBC 'B' on loan; with a very flakey keyboard connector which I eventually had to replace myself, using ordinary stranded ribbon cable. Euch. It never was quite the same after that. At sometime between 1990-1992, someone (I never met them) asked me to write some software on a Commodore PET 8032SK; I got to play with the complete system (it included an 8040(?) double drive unit & printer). Around this sort of time I made the fatal error of selling the Sharp MZ-80K for ?10 to a mate. Oops. The PET system eventually went back to its owner in about 1993 (I think) - software un-written. In 1994, I finished college & went to work, starting on a 486DX33. I got my own PC the same year (a DX2/66), and have used PCs to work on ever since. My classic comps collection, though, didn't really get going until 2000, when I bought another QL. And another one.... I have about 7 now. Also a BBC B, a BBC Master, a Spectrum or 4, a ZX81, a pair of Osborne 1's, a collection of PETs (including an 8032-SK), a pair of MZ-80K's, 2 -80A's and an -80B, and so on. Big iron wise, I would covet a Vax 8800 (as used at N. Staffs Polyversity), but have to make do with an HP 1000F & an A700. So there you go... I am currently slimming down my oversized collection somewhat, as it's getting to be a PITA to haul around everytime I move house (4 times in 5 years so far). Cheers, Ade.

Age: 0011 0010 (BIN), 62 (OCT), 32 (HEX) or 101011 (Excess-3 Gray Code).. Systems came online 1954. First computing device (circa 1973) HP-35 (still works perfect) First computer to program (circa 1973) GE-210 donated to our College by a bank. Languages ingested: BASIC (various including "TINY"), FORTRAN, COBOL (yeech!), FORTH, TILE, LISP, LOGO, and Assembly for 8085, 1802, 8751 and 6502. First home-built computer 1802 COSMAC, Second one used the Rockwell FORTH chip used for various robotics projects. Working (now) on a "cluster" for sh!ts and grins. Most early College classes used IBM punched cards and "batch" processing overnight. Early professional programming used ASR-33 with a $100 an hour mainframe at the other end running SPICE plus my code (BASIC) for RF scattering parameters and polar / rectangular conversions. I'm primarily a hardware guy and not a code pig. First "real" computer was an ATARI 400, then 800, 1200, etc.. 20 year run at Hughes Aircraft; used an Intel MDS-800 (ISIS), Tek 8550, PC-Base "ICE" developing code in Assembly and Micro-FORTH (later FIG-FORTH) for processors above. Engineering consultant for the last five years. Best regards, Steven Canning