What was the first computer that you owned?

My first computer was a laptop.

I forgot the laptop/ desktop question! Arggh!!

Intertec Superbrain.

Color TRS-80 64K with the tape back-up. And the only BASIC I still remember is a complex loop.

Commodore 64 or an Atari(1200 I think)... I guess the Atari came first..

Atari 800XL (a sequel to the 800), it had a 5 1/4" drive, it also hard a cartridge slot (though I never used it). I had a ton of pirated games for it (pirating is wrong and I feel bad about this - but I was young), it had normal Atari joystick ports (just like the 2600 game system), it used a TV screen (I still own this TV) - I gave the 800XL to Glen though.
I think you missed Timex Sinclairs. And isn't the low-end graphics CGA (not SGA)?

CGA is correct I remembered it wrong. I wouldn't mind a correction on that point. I did forget the Timex Sinclairs and a few other of the small ones. I think Brother had a computer system as did Wang at one time. I knew I wouldn't remember them all so I included a "minor manufacturers" category.

I sort of had two first computers. The first one that I was the only person who used it was an Apple IIc, but the first one I actually owned was a Macintosh SE

Don't forget EGA! (640x350, 16 colors of 64) My first PC (286) had that.

The first computer we had at home was an Osborne Executive: 7" amber screen, two 360k floppy drives, CP/M.. one of the first portables. Later I bought a C64 for myself.

My first one was a trash-80, but I found it ammusing that "I have never owned a computer" didn't occur to you after this long list-- kind of telling about this community (remember, people could be logging in only from work, for instance).

topper---Doesn't everybody own a computer?

Handle... until just recently, I had a webtv.

I always forget that not everyone owns a computer. I own two and most of the people I associate with own one, some more than one. When your inner circle all own computers you just assume that everyone does. Very bourgeois of me.

I nearly bought a Timex/Sinclair (the most notable machine that's missing from this survey), but didn't at the last minute and wound up with a VIC20 instead. I had a home-made interface for a cheap tape drive for it, which while reasonably reliable was completely incompatible with any other tape interface in the universe.

The TI99-4A. With 16K of memory, but you could buy a cartridge to upgrade to 64K!

It's also the only computer I've ever owned. (I don't know what ever became of it; I don't own a computer now.)

I had a TRS-80 Color Computer (no idea what kind of memory capacity it has). It's the only computer I've owned. (I still do own it, but it's in Sweden and I'm not.)

The first computer I owned was a Texas Intruments 99a, and I loved that thing to the day it died.

It was a Sinclair ZX81 - from the year 1981. Sinclair was a British company that started making kit computers. The ZX80 was the last of these. The ZX81 had a membrane keyboard and a 1k memory but was easily expanded. The ZX Spectrum was its successful successor. It was with the ZX81 and its very good manual that I learned the concepts of programming in the BASIC it provided.

I was going to say my TI 58-C, but then you said it had to have a full keyboard.

where is monochrome? or the even more advanced RGB? we had one of those, it was so spiffy.

The Coleco "Adam", baby-- can you say "cassette drive"?

I had a TRS-80 Color.

I really couldn't tell you. It was so long ago, my dad worked with computers, so we've had them as long as I can remember, so some 25 years.

That's what I had! a Timex sinclair that my brother took apart and rebuilt for me. Cassette tape storage and all. thanks for jogging my memory, Bill.

Actually, my first computer was an Apple II clone, but we sent it back to the manufacturer when we discovered it was black and white. Then we got a C64 instead, which I consider my first "real" computer.

Black & white TV... Commodore 64... tape drive... those were the days

Timex Sinclair with the membrane keyboard, and we even bought the extra 64k (I think) memory expansion which was amazingly large at the time. It used a cassette tape for storage and hooked to the TV.

I heard that if you pressed on the Sinclair's membrane keyboard too hard the expansion memory would pop out (a bad thing). ...any truth to that?

Go go CoCo! TRS-80 32K Color Computer I.

Handle: I do not currently own a computer and have not for several years. That CoCo was also my *last* computer.

Bill: As I recall the 64k was a cube that weighed about as much as the keyboard-thing, and only stuck in with a 3" long thin connector piece. It tended to fall out all by itself if you weren't careful.

You missed it. Sinclair ZX-81. I don't count the 8080 machine my father built in 1977 because it didn't have a full keyboard (It was full in the sense it had all the keys you needed. You don't need so many keys to program in octal machine code ;) )

My first computer was the TI-99/4A. Myself and several of my cousins all got them one Christmas.

I'll go by the first that my father owned. He got it in '80, I think. I was rather young at the time and only vaguely remember it, but it was some sort of Apple. Actually, I think it's still in the basement somewhere. I may have to try to find it next time I'm there :)

First computer I actually owned was (and is) a HP Statesman Notebook. First computer I ever used was a TRS-80 (in high school.) First computer we ever had at home when I lived with my parents (ie. I did not own it.) was an IBM clone with 5.25 floppies and a green on black monitor.

TRS-80 -> IBM 286 w/HD -> clone 386 ugraded to 486, 64mb RAM -> Pentium 166, HD, backup tape, 3D SVGA, 96mb RAM, SB AWE32, CD

My first computer didn't have as many options as this survey. Sheesh!

My first was a Tandy Color Computer (CoCo). Wonderful machine, one of the only 8-bits to have a true preemptive multi-tasking OS available (OS-9).

C64. I also love my Atari 2600.

Macintosh Power PC purchased three? years ago....now I own an iMac...grape flavored...the Performa is now our
secondary compute