Help me spec out a new home PC computer?

[jyl]

I recall adding my first hard drive to my PC, back when. I don't recall how big it was, 5MB maybe?. Then we could boot without using the 5 1/4 " floppy, how cool was that.

Okay, after a lifetime of Windows you should try out a Mac, just to explore a little. Get a Mac mini, it will be a howitzer compared to your current machine, and is the lowest cost way to try out the Mac.

A $300 netbook is as powerful as the hottest desktop PC from 2003.

[techweenie]

Pony up for the Mac now, or eventually pay that much and more on a Windows PC. Not to mention the wasted time.

A recent industry analysis determined that conficker cost $9.1 billion -- and that was before it started doing its thing.

Oh, and Apple sells a refurb (identical warranty to new) 20" iMac for $849. It comes with an impressive software bundle and no crapware.

[masraum]

Believe it or not, you can get some really amazing deals at

http://www.dell.com/outlet

I picked up a dual core w/500Gb HD, DVD burner, and 4 Gigs of RAM for $270 back before Christmas.

For $1000, you can get a very impressive Dell.

These would kick butt.
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/desktop-xps-430?c=us&cs=19&l=en&ref=dthp&s=dhs

Do you have a decent monitor. If not then you don't have to get a system with one which will save you some money.

[Danimal16]

Converted to Mac, love it.

[Don Plumley]

Originally Posted by jyl

I recall adding my first hard drive to my PC, back when. I don't recall how big it was, 5MB maybe?. Then we could boot without using the 5 1/4 " floppy, how cool was that.

I worked at a retail computer store in 1985 - was there for the introduction of the IBM XT which came with a 5mb then immediately a 10mb hard drive. The hard drive upgrade was $10,000. Then seagate came out with the 20mb half height drive for $5K. We sold copies of Lotus 1-2-3 for $495 at 50% margin.

Anyone remember EGA?

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by techweenie

A recent industry analysis determined that conficker cost $9.1 billion -- and that was before it started doing its thing.

Honestly most of conficker was media hype. It could be removed with freeware if you were moderately aware. The virus thing really isnt a problem Run a good free anti-virus and have fun.


I bought a pretty good Dell laptop last year for about 500 and it runs like a champ. Installed AVG and I havent had a problem yet. Between personal computer and my dads business we have 4 Dells and no problems out of any of them. We had 2 die but is because they got blasted by lightning.

[slodave]

Originally Posted by Don Plumley

I worked at a retail computer store in 1985 - was there for the introduction of the IBM XT which came with a 5mb then immediately a 10mb hard drive. The hard drive upgrade was $10,000. Then seagate came out with the 20mb half height drive for $5K. We sold copies of Lotus 1-2-3 for $495 at 50% margin.

Anyone remember EGA?

My first computer did not have a hard drive.

Yes, I remember EGA, CGA too.

[techweenie]

Originally Posted by slodave

My first computer did not have a hard drive.

Yes, I remember EGA, CGA too.

Okay, ancient history time. My first computer was an SDK80, which was a (then new) 8080 chip on a 4 X 4" circuit board that you had to solder the components to. This was 1977. Had to go to the local computer store in San Mateo to hook it up to a KSR33 Teletype, because there were no video monitors. I printed to an Axiom printer that used a spark to scorch the aluminum-surfaced paper. A couple months later, I started working with Jobs & Wozniak on the introduction of the Apple II. We introduced it at $2495 for a populated motherboard.

[Don Plumley]

The first PC I touched was a Commodore PET with a cassette tape storage drive. Physics teacher in High School had it in the classroom, taught myself to program BASIC during lunch periods.

About five years later I had a Fat Mac (512K Mac). 720K hard shell floppies.

Then PC's: Sidekick, Desqview, Norton Editor, Text and batch file menu system, yipes!

I'm pouring myself a bottle of Geritol, anyone else in for a hit...

[techweenie]

Originally Posted by Don Plumley

The first PC I touched was a Commodore PET with a cassette tape storage drive. Physics teacher in High School had it in the classroom, taught myself to program BASIC during lunch periods.

About five years later I had a Fat Mac (512K Mac). 720K hard shell floppies.

Then PC's: Sidekick, Desqview, Norton Editor, Text and batch file menu system, yipes!

I'm pouring myself a bottle of Geritol, anyone else in for a hit...

Kewl. A DESQview user. Quarterdeck was my client for years. Here's a DESQview ad from the history vault:

[Don Plumley]

My first portable:


When I started my first company back in ~87, I took almost 1/3 of my funding to buy one of these:


A GRiDCase 1520 with a plasma screen. The 1510 was the backup nav computer on the shuttle.

That computer was the coolest piece of engineering. Magnesium case, pop-out batteries, boot eprom.

[techweenie]

My first portable:

[Don Plumley]

I was an early VAR for this kid in Austin who sold this barn-burner 8MHz 286:



They were just transitioning out of the PC's Limited brand into Dell.

[JavaBrewer]

In Jr. High I had my Mom drive me to the Computerland store just to see and touch this:



My first working computer was an Apple II that a neighbor loaned me. My H.S. math class had 2 Commodore PET computers with audio cassette storage. We would write our programs and save them to the cassette. Good times.

[nostatic]

If we're going nostalgic, my first computer was an Apple IIe with acoustic coupler modem that I dialed into the SDSU (was called San Diego State College back then) for an APL course. Then got a Mac 512KE in '85.

We still get BSOD on some of our XP machines at work. If you really push them it happens (this is mostly running Maya, PS, and game dev environments like Gamebryo, Unreal and VBS2). I actually have a Sager notebook coming soon so I can run VBS2. But it is $3K - costs more than my MacBookPro.

[Dottore]

My first computer. Anyone remember these??

[techweenie]

Dottore, there's an old 60 Minutes episode where all the smug young Osborne employees are going on and on about their newfound (paper) millions. Then Adam Osborne pre-announced a new model 6 months in advance of delivery and put himself out of business.

I remember going to "pitch" the IMSAI people in '76 about doing their advertising, and they were all so deeply into "est" that if you didn't pick up their est catchphrases, they couldn't give you the time of day... Also visited the Commodore people, but they were basically toy merchants without a clue. My first client in the category was the Byte Shops, then a month later, Apple. It was pretty cool being in Silicon Valley when all this was happening. "Computer Lib" was the book to read back in the day.

[kach22i]

I just picked up a Lenovo 3000 N500 notebook/laptop computer, it rocks. It will run AutoCad 2008, came with XP operating system. About $800.

My local full service source.
http://www.mcrs.com/

[TimT]

this is the first laptop I owned..

http://www.toshiba-europe.com/bv/computers/products/notebooks/t1000/picture.shtm



I had one of those Compaq "luggables" at one point also...