My First Computer - Commodore VIC-20

Specifications:

• Memory: 20 KB ROM + 5 KB RAM (up to 32 KB), 3.5 KB for BASIC (up to 27.5 KB)
• CPU speed: 1.108404 MHz (PAL) / 1.02 MHz (NTSC)
• Storage: Cassette tapes and floppy disks

(More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_VIC-20)

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Just look at this beauty. Isn't that the most beautiful device in the world? That is exactly how I felt when I was 8 years old :) I couldn't believe my eyes when my father brought me and my brother this fascinating machine. He bought it in a second hand shop and it was without any external storage device. True, we didn't receive along any floppy drive or cassete drive, nothing!

So, how could I use this computer? I could connect it to the TV set and use its programming language - BASIC. Oh, how I enjoyed writting code with this machine. I was programming all sorts of calculations etc. But when my time for using the device was over I had to turn it off. How did I save the written program? I didn't, I couldn't.

I had to write the code each time anew and this was a real fun for me, believe it or not! This is how my fascination and love for the computers began. Of course, after some time, I came to a realization that this computer wasn't enough.

I urgently needed an upgrade...

My Second Computer - Commodore C-64

Specifications:

• Memory: 64 KB (65,536 bytes) RAM + 20 KB ROM
• CPU speed: 1.023 MHz (NTSC version) / 0.985 MHz (PAL version)
• Connectivity: 2× CIA 6526 joystick, Power, ROM cartridge, RF, A/V, CBM-488 floppy-printer, digital tape, GPIO/RS-232

(More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64)

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Yes, since I was a kid I needed to upgrade to a device capable of playing beautiful games (64 KB of memory was a huge upgrade) and joysticks were an obligatory equipment :)

I remember that my brother and me were so persistent that we finally convinced our father that we can't live without the REAL computer! So we drove to Austria, a neigbouring country, and bought a brand new computer with an accompanying tape drive!

Finally we were able to do the real stuff! Playing all sorts of games with beautiful graphics was my new addiction. I still remember many games that we played, but one particular game sticks in my mind to this day. It was called: Terry's Big Adventure. Here you can check out for yourself how beautiful the game was:

But I was not just playing games, but also wrote programs in BASIC, also some simple games using simple graphics. I still remember those PEEK and POKE commands :) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PEEK_and_POKE)

These were my very beginnings in the computer science. Nowadays these machinces may seem very basic and odd, but believe me: they were magical!

I hope you enjoyed this lesson of computer history :)