Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

I first got a computer (a Northstar Advantage) because I couldn't type. Get 3/4 thru, make a mistake. New paper- get halfway thru. GRRR! Calm down, deep breaths, type slow, make it thru. *sigh* OK, 3 more pages to go.
Got hurt, got into PCs and took 2 typing courses. One of the best things todo if you're getting into PCs, phone texting, etc.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

I remember NorthStar, Harry … they didn't last long - did they?

Back in those days … Compaq and NEC - were the ONLY IBM clone manufacturers …

Then, everyone and their brother was making them … now, it's all thinned out - Dell, HP, Lenovo … thassit!

DickC Loc: NE Washington state

I guess it depends what part of the country your in.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Oh, is THAT the problem, Dick?

Of course, I am aware of downsizing. Danbury used to have FOUR - now, there's only one. Brookfield had TWO - but, they're both gone now. New Milford still has one. Southbury still has one, too. Not sure about the Newtown one, as I haven't been there, in a while, but I think it's still there. Ditto for the one in Wilton.

I guess Connecticut is a haven for Radio Shack fans. Can't see ANY of them going out of business, in the immediate future. I think, they're all Franchise Operations, though. You know - you apply to use the name, rent the retail space, and then TRS in Texas supplies you with everything you need to operate ….

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

Well, a few years. Good all-in-ones, for the time. I used to change crystals and z chips to make them run faster, before I started gutting them and putting PCs / XPs in them. Like a lot of Corps, they pushed the proprietary thing, and it didn't work. They had hard sectored floppies- there was actual holes- used for timing and making sure you used *theirs*. I (and others) had a jig.

IBM made ATs, that we'd overclock. They got indignant, and the next model would only work at factory speed. Compaq wisely didn't do this- and it was well worthwhile to buy a decent Compaq and "fix" it. Just as reliable as an IBM, cheaper and 50% faster- win win.
IBM had lousy HDDs, and cheap controllers. I bought 5 copies of Spinrite for the department. The controllers' buffers couldn't keep up with the HDDs, so it couldn't read the sectors in sequence- the next readable sector might be 2 or 3 sectors away. 10% of their drives might be defective, and another 10% suspect. Spinrite's format tested the HDD and put the sectors in readable order.
Bad Hack: take your MFM drive, and put it on a RLL controller-50% increase in capacity. Use a data compression utility- another 50%. Buutt iitt waass sssooo ssllooooowww.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

I have Spinrite - used to have to use it on all my ATs and XTs … now, with today's drives - no need, anymore, as most of them check themselves - prompted by regular Drive Scans, & Win Updates. You know, you just reminded me - I bought a Commodore SX - which had two 5.25" drives, a small 5" screen and a keyboard built into the top. It was completely portable, but heavy. I loaned it to a friend - actually, I think he was going to repair it - and when I went back for it, found he'd ripped out the innards, and had replaced everything with parts from an IBM XT - so, it no longer read Commodore BASIC. I was so miffed, I told him to keep it!!!! … That thing cost me about six hundred bucks, too!!! … Oh, well ….

Popeye Loc: LifIno

That was about 1986 when the wife bought me the Tandy computer for Christmas. The civilian company I went to work for was using the TRS80's.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Popeye - I bought the TRS-80 in 1978 - at a local Radio Shack. Took it back after a month, as the screen was too small for me - for constant usage. Then, went and bought a Commodore 64, to which I could add any size screen I wanted. Never looked back. Added the Vic-20 (all of 4K, before I upgraded it to 20K) and then, the C-128. When Commodore abandoned those designs, and went with, first - their XT Clone, and then - their AT Clone - so did I. But, after awhile, I decided I might be able to build a faster machine, myself. So, I did - bought the cases, the motherboards, the CPUs, the RAM, the Video Card, the HD, and the CD/DVD burners, and I was away. Eventually, I'd built ten of them, before I decided to return to pre-built PCs, in the wake of the message handed down the pike - MS would no longer support home-brew machines. So, now - I have four Lenovos - all picked up for a song, at Staples. And now, my screens are mammoth!!!!

hassighedgehog Loc: Corona, CA

My first computer was a Commodore 64 then went to a 128. The first PC I bought was a (I think) a Gateway that came with the first version of Elements. Then came a Sony Viao with a 19" monitor. That came with version 3 of PSE. Since then I've bought laptops, currently with a Samsung I7 with 17" monitor and PSE 15.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

I recently bought a Canon camera case, from a local lady, who also gave me Elements 7, at the same time. I use it on my off-line computer, which uses a 24" Samsung. This one's a 22" Asus. I also use a 22" Toshiba on my server, and a 16" HannSpree G. Neat that you have the laptop with the largest screen, currently. How is it, to carry, though, Hassig? … Awkward?

hassighedgehog Loc: Corona, CA

Not awkward, but a little heavy. I have a case that fits it. The case has a shoulder strap and regular short straps. I consider it my weight training. But then I have always carried a heavy purse/backpack, so am used to it.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Oh, I see … I had looked at laptops with the 17" screen, a while back … but, it seemed to me, the CPUs in them were not that powerful, in the Video Graphics dept, anyway. Finally ordered an Acer with a 14" screen.

Never thought I'd EVER buy ANY kind of ACER PC - either desktop, or laptop, but this one has a 4-core 3.5Ghz equivalent AMD CPU with built-in 8-core Video Graphics, and was just barely over $200. Staples was running a Special, and with coupons, and everything - it actually cost me LESS than that. Boy, was I lucky!!!

hassighedgehog Loc: Corona, CA

Got mine on sale a few years ago, it is an I7, 8GH, 1 TB hard drive for about $1,000 at Staples. Came with Windows 8, now on 10. Only two things missing from my ideal computer, dedicated graphics and backlit keyboard. However, on an I7 still runs reasonably fast on PSE 15.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

This one's a 2.7Ghz i5, w/ 8GB RAM and a 1TB HD, and was under $400. The graphics are handled by an Intel Video chip - tied to the CPU. Most of the time, using the Task Manager's Performance Indicator - I see it's running at 3.15GHz or faster - depending on total tasks in use. I bought a pair of illuminated Adesso keyboards, later - this one has the separated key panels and the hump - ergonomic, yaknow? … and the other one is the straight kind - which I use on my off-line PC (which also has a 3.5Ghz equivalent 4-core AMD CPU with 8-core Graphics and 12GB RAM and a 2TB HD, I picked up for just $449 at Staples) and the lights can be changed from green - which I use most often - to red, or blue. It's neat! … BTW, this one - the Ergonomic one - doesn't light fully - behind the cursor controls. When I pointed that out to the Staples' reps - they checked their inventory, and found they're ALL like that. So, they wrote me back and gave me three options - a) I could send it back and get my sixty bucks back b) I could send it back and choose another one (all other illuminated ergonomic designs - Logitech and Microsoft - were twice as much) or c) I could keep it, and they would still refund the money I paid for it! … I chose C, naturally!

Popeye Loc: LifIno

My first work laptop in the early nineties was an Acer. Hate to say it, but it was one big piece of crap. Never had another Acer of any type.