My first home computer was something made by Tandy (not a Trash 80, this thing was more like a C64). We had some games, but what sticks out in my mind was a game called “Poltergeist.” It sucked. My dad quickly realized just how crappy the thing was, and exchanged it for a C64.
Initially, we had our C64 connected to our main television. I remember when you wanted to play it, you had to change to channel 4 then slide a switch on the back of the TV to see the lovely lovely blue (back when a blue screen was what you wanted). Later, my dad invested in an actual monitor for it, so we could move the thing into an actual office.
I remember those early games well. We didn’t have joysticks when we first got it, just paddles. You know…kinda like a crappy driving wheel with a single button. All of the games were on these HUGE cartridges and the slot was ALWAYS in a dumb place.
Then came the tape drive. It was glorious. All I had to do was pop in an audio cassette, type in a few commands, and in 15-30 minutes I was off and running with games that put the cartridges to shame. Plus you could put them in a tape deck and jam out the whines, whistles, and buzzes. “Borrowing” from a friend was easy by just dubbing the tape, as long as you didn’t get too many generations down the line.
It wasn’t long before “PRESS PLAY ON TAPE” became too much to bear. I don’t know how much data the thing held, but it was WAAAAAY too slow. Enter the 5¼” floppy. This bad boy held 320KB of data. With a cheap little device you could add another notch, making it double sided (that 740KB for the mathematically challenged).
The 5¼” evolved into the 3½”. 720KB standard. 1.44MB if you got the high-density. I could hold virtually everything I had collected over the years on just a handful of disks. You could put this thing in you pocket, and it has a nice hard plastic shell to protect the gooey center. Life was good.
Back in those days, there was a magazine called Compute Gazette. Each month brought new information to my eyes. But, the real catch was the back of the mag…several applications you could enter manually and would work…usually. That’s what started my computer fetish. Blame them.
In the end, I had upgraded the C64 to a C128. I had a 512KB RAM expansion unit (for a total of 640KB). I had two 3½” drives, one 5 1¼” drive, and two printers, a mouse, two joysticks (killed the paddles years ago), and a 1200 baud modem. I was able to do somewhat some nice desktop publishing and research online using Q-Link. I got so productive my parents were accused of doing my homework for me. My dad’s reply, “I don’t know how to do that stuff.”
No matter how pimped out my C128 was, there was always a bit of jealousy running through me. I had friends with PCs and Amigas that put mine to shame. All magazine adds showed screenshots from OTHER systems. Why? Let’s not forget the C128 was overshadowed by the Amiga, so it didn’t get much attention or software.
Eventually, the C128 had to go. It was given to a nice family that would treat it well. I remember as we drove away seeing it looking out the window at me. I waved. It did nothing. Stupid computer…couldn’t even wave after all I had done for it!!!
Since then, I’ve checked out a few emulators. When that blue screen flashes to life, I can’t help but think of those carefree summer days spent typing away…just my C128 and me. I like to think it’s still out there somewhere and not under tons of garbage, maybe in a collector’s closet. I know I’ll never see it again. It lives only in my heart. POKE 53281,0 good buddy.
Inspired by the I'll give *you* a religious debate - Retro games, Amiga emulation, and more... posting on Rory's BLOG.