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What was your first PC? Mine was a 1996 Gateway 2000 with Windows 95 until in 2007, it was trashed!
I still currently have the keyboard however...

we had a commodore 64 with a tape deck. We were jealous of people that had a disk drive

Back in '79 or '80, my Dad bought what must have been amongst the first computers in Port Pirie - an Altos, with the processor and keyboard built into the same structure as its glorious monochrome monitor. Complete with an 8" floppy drive (you could practically fold the disks into planes). He had glimpsed the future and wanted to move the records for his legal practice into electronic storage, but was perhaps 20 years too early, as this thing practically defined useless. Even once we had moved to Adelaide and he was working for the Law Society, computer record management continued to be an ongoing struggle with technology. It's interesting to think back on that heartache and see what it is that we can (almost) take for granted now.

When it became clear that the plan to run his practice off that computer was pie-in-the-sky stuff, he donated it to a young guy he knew who was interested in learning about computing. He managed to get it to run a text-based Star Wars fighter combat game ( >< for x-wings, |o| for tie-fighters), which was really a pretty good accomplishment on that old thing. That chap went on to become the IT manager at the Adelaide City Council.

Prince George wrote:Back in '79 or '80, my Dad bought what must have been amongst the first computers in Port Pirie - an Altos, with the processor and keyboard built into the same structure as its glorious monochrome monitor. Complete with an 8" floppy drive (you could practically fold the disks into planes). He had glimpsed the future and wanted to move the records for his legal practice into electronic storage, but was perhaps 20 years too early, as this thing practically defined useless.

He could have held off a year or two and bought a Telecom Australia Computerphone, with twin tape drives. That did define useless, but it
was an early attempt at the connections we enjoy today. The only place I've seen 8" floppy drives & discs was at Robbie's in Queenstown.

The PC I currently use is a Dell Inspiron 9300 on Windows XP. Looking forward to using Windows 7!

Prince George wrote:Back in '79 or '80, my Dad bought what must have been amongst the first computers in Port Pirie

You used to live in Pirie?

Prince George wrote:Back in '79 or '80, my Dad bought what must have been amongst the first computers in Port Pirie - an Altos...

http://www.computermuseum.li/Testpage/ALTOS-PC-1981.htm

Respect. That would have cost a SHITLOAD. 20Mb hard disk drive was unthought of in my world until the Amiga came out with a 10Mb plug in drive in the late '80s. I still didn't get one as they were too expensive and only held 20 3.5" disks worth or so.

Hooligan wrote:

Prince George wrote:Back in '79 or '80, my Dad bought what must have been amongst the first computers in Port Pirie

You used to live in Pirie?

Yes sir, from right at the end of '74 through to '82. I was born in the UK, and it's hard to imagine how difficult it was to find opportunities back in old blighty back then. It came down to a choice between Birmingham (where they had lived for a while) and Port Pirie - and Birmingham was sufficiently bad to have them think that they would try their luck, sight unseen, with Pirie.

Mono, that looks like the one, but I don't recall it having a hard-drive. Mind you, I was too young to really get much value out of the mysterious squat object that couldn't do anything. I do know that it cost a bundle because, well, it's a funny story ...

The guy that Dad hired to get this thing set up for use in the office turns out to be a charlatan, defrauding a bunch of people like us. The police gather enough information about him to arrest him, but the local cops obviously knew my dad (small town legal communities are pretty tight) and knew how much skin he had in the game. Once they arrest and charge him, they're going to sieze the stuff in his house as evidence, and that would include the computer. They tip dad off that it's going to happen and hold off on gathering the evidence to give him time to effectively steal his own computer back.

Courtesy of North Shore Times:
SAFETY experts are investigating a children’s scooter which shoots out a trail of blazing sparks amid fears it could start a bushfire.
Fire authorities have expressed concern about the Razor Spark scooter which will be examined to see whether it should be supplied in NSW.
Emergency Services Minister Steve Whan said videos posted on YouTube showed children riding over flammable liquid, using the sparks to create a fire.
“That is just reckless beyond belief,’’ he said.
Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge warned parents who had already purchased a Razor Spark scooter to monitor their children closely and take note of the product warnings.
“The manufacturer states very clearly that you should not allow sparks near anyone’s exposed skin, eyes and hair,’’ she said.
“They also warn users to be responsible and to keep sparks away from clothing or flammable materials.’’
A safety review by the NSW Products Safety Committee - made up of experts from business, medical, consumer and government backgrounds - will be undertaken.
“Product safety is a number one priority which is why we need to assess the product very carefully,’’ Ms Judge said.
Around 7000 of the scooters have already been sent out to major retailers and toy shops around Australia.
But distributors have now stopped delivering them and are fully cooperating with Fair Trading pending the outcome of the safety review.

Prince George wrote:

Hooligan wrote:

Prince George wrote:Back in '79 or '80, my Dad bought what must have been amongst the first computers in Port Pirie

You used to live in Pirie?

Yes sir, from right at the end of '74 through to '82. I was born in the UK, and it's hard to imagine how difficult it was to find opportunities back in old blighty back then. It came down to a choice between Birmingham (where they had lived for a while) and Port Pirie - and Birmingham was sufficiently bad to have them think that they would try their luck, sight unseen, with Pirie.

I lived there 1990 until 1996.

I guess you would remember Pirie before the Kmart (Ellen centre) was built and the the train station was still in full working order?

the main street must have been busy before Kmart.

Hooligan wrote:I lived there 1990 until 1996. I guess you would remember Pirie before the Kmart (Ellen centre) was built and the the train station was still in full working order? the main street must have been busy before Kmart.

I don't really recall the train station (but yes it was working back then). I do recall when the shopping centre ("Pirie Plaza", right?) opened and we were all so excited it seemed like the town toured through the place; I guess the joke was on us. I was pretty young, the things I can really remember are stuff like swimming down on the black sands of Solomon Town beach (I think we lived in Solly Town for a while, before we moved to Risdon Park), or when they built the "Bridge to Nowhere". IIRC, that was the first set of traffic lights in town. Now that I think of it, I think that we were there when they built "The Stack".

I remember my dad telling us about when they knocked off on Fridays and headed down to The Federal Hotel (I think). It would be so crowded you couldn't get in past the door; so you tapped the shoulder of the guy in front of you and gave him your money and your order, then he'd tap the next guy and so on. A few minutes later your beer would come back along with your change. That's why they called it "The City of Friendly People".

Prince George wrote:

Hooligan wrote:I lived there 1990 until 1996. I guess you would remember Pirie before the Kmart (Ellen centre) was built and the the train station was still in full working order? the main street must have been busy before Kmart.

I don't really recall the train station (but yes it was working back then). I do recall when the shopping centre ("Pirie Plaza", right?) opened and we were all so excited it seemed like the town toured through the place; I guess the joke was on us. I was pretty young, the things I can really remember are stuff like swimming down on the black sands of Solomon Town beach (I think we lived in Solly Town for a while, before we moved to Risdon Park), or when they built the "Bridge to Nowhere". IIRC, that was the first set of traffic lights in town. Now that I think of it, I think that we were there when they built "The Stack".

I remember my dad telling us about when they knocked off on Fridays and headed down to The Federal Hotel (I think). It would be so crowded you couldn't get in past the door; so you tapped the shoulder of the guy in front of you and gave him your money and your order, then he'd tap the next guy and so on. A few minutes later your beer would come back along with your change. That's why they called it "The City of Friendly People".

That still works at Football Park if you're right in the middle of a row when buying drinks from the Coke sellers trawling up and down the aisles. Or at least, it did the last time I was there (mid last year).

HOT WATER BOTTLES FAIL COMPLIANCE TESTS:

THREE types of hot-water bottles which could leak and cause serious burns are being recalled.
NSW Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge said the products were being recalled after compliance checks across Sydney.
The three products are Home Master Brand two-litre hot-water bottle item number 74525, TRS Trading Group Pty Ltd hot-water bottle and a 1304 code two-litre hot-water bottle, with the barcode 9336153013040.
All three failed strength and thickness tests and could cause serious burns if they leaked, Ms Judge said.
"These products present unacceptable hazards and are being removed from discount variety stores, retail stores and pharmacies," she said.
"I urge consumers to check the make and model of their hot-water bottle and return them to the place of purchase for a full refund."

Here's a YouTube channel of Adelaide's old TV ads that you miss:
http://www.youtube.com/user/d0nkeyshines

Scooter Guy, it should be painfully obvious by now. Every time you start a new thread for just one link or one silly post, we're just going to merge it. Otherwise we'll have a few dozen threads of yours around with no replies.

The Beer Garden is for general stuff like this.