Also, I own two working Commodore 8032s.
My school time computing was done on the Commodore machines. These were much too expensive for us to have one at home.
At home, my first computer was a Sinclair ZX81. These machines did not have a built-in screen. The ZX81 display was on a TV. Additionally, they did not have a "proper" keyboard. It had a "membrane" keyboard which was supposed to be touch sensitive. Programs were loaded onto the ZX81 from a standard music cassette player.
Currently, I own 2 working Sinclair ZX81s.
No start button ... no menu ... not even any words on the screen. All you had when a ZX81 was first turned on was a small black square with a white K ...
After the ZX81, I owned a Commodore VIC-20. This must have been around 1982 or 1983.
The VIC-20 had to be plugged into a TV for it's display. This time though ... colour.
The "operating system" on Commodore PETs and subsequent Commodore machines was Commodore Basic.
Commodore Basic was part written by Bill Gates who formed a company in the 1970s called "Micro-Soft".
Every machine I have owned or worked on since my VIC-20 in the early 1980's has had an operating system produced by Micro-Soft or Microsoft.
The next picture shows what a VIC-20 displayed when it was first switched on ...
I currently own 3 working Commodore VIC-20s.
This one is a "flat key" early one.
After my VIC-20, I can't remember if my next machine was a Commodore 64 or a Commodore 128 ... my memory is a little hazy.
Currently, I own a working Commodore 64.
I have also owned Commodore Amiga computers.
After my Commodore era, I got my first machine with a Microsoft Windows operating system installed. A Personal Computer that everyone will recognise today. The first new one I bought had a 486 processor that ran at 66MHz. It had either 4MB or 8MB of RAM and a 120MB Hard Disk Drive. It had Windows 3.1 installed.
Then started my realisation that I could have a career working with computers ... they said it would never catch on ... ... ! !
More to follow here ... ...#
--------------------------------------------------------------
1024 Bytes = 1KB
1024 KB = 1MB
1024 MB = 1GB
Today, my business server (a Dell PowerEdge 2900 III) has got 8GB of RAM ... this is
8,000,000 times more memory than my ZX81 that had 1kb.
It has got the capacity for up to 10 1TB hard disk drives. None of my early 1980s computers had a hard drive.