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   CLASSIC_COMPUTER      Classic Computers      1,530 messages   

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   Message 895 of 1,530   
   Daryl Stout to Mike Dippel   
   Re: My First Computers   
   16 Mar 21 13:21:00   
   
   TZUTC: -0500   
   MSGID: 40.fidonet-classicc@1:19/33 24b62db9   
   REPLY: 3:640/1116 66567100   
   PID: Synchronet 3.18c-Win32 master/b9d38a71c Mar  8 2021 MSC 1928   
   TID: SBBSecho 3.13-Win32 master/b9d38a71c Mar  8 2021 MSC 1928   
   BBSID: TBOLT   
   CHRS: ASCII 1   
   Mike,   
      
    MD> My first PC was a Packard Bell 286 with a very slow modem.  I purchased   
    MD> Wildcat DOS version from Mustang Software and had 4 phone lines   
    MD> connected to it. I was able to share my internet connection because one   
    MD> of the phone lines was on an auto-dialer to an internet provider.   
      
     My first PC was a Radio Shack TRS-80 MC-10 Micro Color Computer, with    
   the 16K RAM expansion pack. Programs were loaded and saved via cassette   
   tape, and I had a 300 baud modem that you flipped the switch to ANSWER   
   or ORIGINATE (the latter if calling a BBS, CompuServe, etc.) once you had   
   loaded the software, then manually dialed the phone number. You'd "hang   
   up" once you connected. I had a portable TV as a monitor.   
      
     The next computer was a Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 100 (then 102) laptop.   
   I found 2 programs in the Model 100 Special Interest Group when I was on   
   CompuServe, that let you run a BBS on the Model 100...but you could only   
   run it at one baud rate (I chose 1200 baud). I no longer have those two   
   computers, but the program is on the files area on my BBS.   
      
     For my birthday 29 years ago in 1992, a friend of my brother's (I    
   originally didn't know him) was an employee at Arkansas Children's    
   Hospital in Little Rock. They were getting rid of their old computers,   
   so I got it as a present. It was an 8088 XT, with a monochrome green   
   monitor (you could see the burn in), with DOS 3.2, a mouse, a 3.5"   
   and a 5.25" floppy drive, with 640K of RAM, and a 20 Mb hard drive.   
   That was the birthplace of The Thunderbolt BBS, running GT Power 15   
   on dial-up.   
      
    MD> We've come along way since then!   
      
     Every time I look at the bulletin of the history of the BBS, it   
   brings back a lot of memories.   
      
   Daryl   
      
   ... I finally got 8 hours of sleep. It took 3 days, but whatever...   
   === MultiMail/Win v0.52   
   --- SBBSecho 3.13-Win32   
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