Tell Us About Your First Time!

[Hubris Boy]

On a rainy Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks ago, I watched my 7 year-old daughter trying to amuse herself. Very casually, she plunked herself down in front of a computer, opened up a browser window, and headed off to the harrypotter.com website. I was struck by the vast divide that separates me from my daughter, in our attitudes toward computers. Sara has never lived in a world without fast, cheap computers or the Internet. They've always been a part of her life, and she treats them like part of the landscape. In her young mind, I suspect, computers get lumped into the same category as toasters and televisions: just another appliance.

It's so much different for me, probably because I CAN remember a time without computers. I was born in 1963, and came of age just about at the time when the "computer revolution" really got started. Geeks my age, and a few years on either side of it, got to "ride the wave" of computers for the masses. We were old enough to enjoy it, and young enough not to be intimidated by it.

So many firsts: the TRS-80, the Apple II, cheap modems, the BBS scene, Usenet... the list goes on and on. It's amazing we didn't all go mad. But there was always a sense of wonder that went with each new discovery, at least for me. Even now, twenty or so years later, it's still there. Computers occupy a large part of my waking life; it's how I earn my bread and butter. But the sense of "Gee Whiz" lingers. Maybe not as strong as it once was, but the magic's still there, lurking just below the surface. I don't think they'll ever be "just another appliance" for me.

The reason I bring this up is because I'd be interested in hearing about how other people remember their first exposure to computers. Tell us about your first computer. About the first program you wrote. About the first time you made your computer talk to another computer across a phone line. About the first time you got email, or found the Internet. What did you think? How did you feel?

Hopefully, this will turn into our own little Gilgamesh epic of the computer age. Share whatever you feel like... got some old t-files or ASCII art? Post 'em here! Got a fond memory of your first 20 meg hard drive? Please share! Commodore-64 stories? Go somewhere else, you filthy heathen. (Just kidding.)

And you younger Cellar Dwellars jump in, too. It's not my intention for this to turn into a Geeze-fest for old people like me to share "Back In The Day" stories. Tell us about how things look from the other side of the divide.