Are you getting old?

[Teechan]

 

This is a screen from vMac, but we had Shadowgate on the Mac Plus when I was a kid, in all it's black and white pixelated glory.

[AgentChicken]

 

 

My first video game. I feel very old

[Teechan]

YES! Commander Keen was one of my favorites!

 

Then there was Monster Bash, an Apogee side scroller -

 

[cereburn]

I remember one of the first computers we had in our house didn't have a disk drive of any kind.  We could either plug in a cartridge, type in the program manually or load a program by playing what looked like a regular audio cassette in a special tape deck.  I'm sure it was one of the early Atari PCs, probably the 400, but I'm not sure.

We didn't get a single sided 5.25" floppy drive until my dad found a used one at a user group swap meet.

 

Are there still any good computer user groups still around that meet face to face?

 

 

[Chbaakal]

My first console game was Pong on a Magnavox Odyssey, which only kept my attention for a week (1975).

 

Found a pen and paper game called Chainmail, and spend quite a few days playing with a group of friends until  D&D came out.

 

Built tons of model cars, military vehicles, a biplane, and spent over three months building the USS Constitution, with real cloth sails and hand tying knots for ALLLL the 'ropes'. Won 1st place at a hobby store over four adult modelers (this is not mine in the pic):

 

 

No PC for me until 1992, my first a Zenith 8086 'stocked' with a 28.8 modem, 124k ram (found the HUGE memory card at a  thrift store), and was a member of the Prostar BBS for awhile playing Conquest (when I wasn't drunk or stoned).

 

Now at the age of almost 46, I still have my extensive imagination, but very little patience to be creative away from the PC. Even then, I'm getting either lazy or stupid in my old(er) years. Damnit!

 

[cereburn]

 

 

No PC for me until 1992, my first a Zenith 8086 'stocked' with a 28.8 modem, 124k ram (found the HUGE memory card at a  thrift store), and was a member of the Prostar BBS for awhile playing Conquest (when I wasn't drunk or stoned).

 

Now at the age of almost 46, I still have my extensive imagination, but very little patience to be creative away from the PC. Even then, I'm getting either lazy or stupid in my old(er) years. Damnit!

 

I don't want to get weird about it, but what you listed above doesn't make sense.  Modems at 28.8bps didn't release till '94-95.  Also by 1992, 80386 was on the down curve with 80486 becoming standard for new PCs along with pentium/586 starting to float around the magazines.  I don't think anyone was actually selling Intel 8086 boxes past the early-mid 80s.

 

My first IBM clone was a 386SX/20 that we got in 1989.  For a few years before that, whenever my Dad had to do work over the weekend, I'd see him bringing home some giant 20lb (at the time we thought it was pretty cute and small) transportable PC made by Compaq.   However, with the way his work required those PCs to be checked out and back in, it became less and less convenient for him to work that way.  So, by the time he was ready to pay out for a home PC, I was the official computer geek of the house and had been going to lots of Atari computer users group meetings and also hearing about games and tech for IBM clone PCs from friends.  Out came all the big thick computer magazines and I started researching what we could get for less than $1000.  After much searching and trying to explain the options, we settled on a custom built PC from a shop down the road from us(A new shop run by some pakistani guys that were really hungry for business) that included the PC, keyboard and 15" SVGA monitor (not a huge monitor at the time, but bigger and higher res than many my friends had ).  NOTE: No mouse and it did not include windows(which was not a contender at that point).

After we got it, a week later, it fried and we had to take it back to get it fixed.  It turns out that we needed the motherboard replaced.  We didn't have to use surge protectors with our old Atari computer, it never occurred to us to do so with this one.  Luckily, they decided to cover it under the warranty after we bought a surge strip from them.  Funny how things both change and stay the same.

Later we also joined up with the Houston Area Computer Enthusiasts club and their BBS(our old 1200bps modem was compatible with the new computer).  We had had good experiences with computer user organizations and were not disappointed with the huge group for IBM/PC clones.  The swap groups were much more fun for me, other kids my age to stand around and be shy with.

This is also where I made the realization that all real computer gurus were: A) old had beards or beard-lets and C) long gray ponytails.  

I started growing my hair out immediately.  Sadly, the hair didn't make it past my first corporate job in '97, but i do have the beard-let.

[Chbaakal]

I don't want to get weird about it, but what you listed above doesn't make sense.  Modems at 28.8bps didn't release till '94-95.  Also by 1992, 80386 was on the down curve with 80486 becoming standard for new PCs along with pentium/586 starting to float around the magazines.  I don't think anyone was actually selling Intel 8086 boxes past the early-mid 80s.

 

Sorry about that on the modem. I'd had a brand new 14.4, not the 28.8. And It probably was the Heath/Zenith z-100/110, with an 8085 or 8088 dual core. Not too sure, because I got it at a thrift store (as/is) for $40, and I scrounged a hard drive from another case, but here's what it looked like:

 

 

I told ya I'm getting stupid in my older age, didn't I? Or my memory is shot to hell, but at least the picture shows what I had (I switched around a few cases, MBs and monitors later on, since a few friends of mine found a computer dump site for old systems behind a warehouse, and we raided that for days before it was removed. They were the gurus, not I).

[Kamen Rider Kuuga]

Jesus Christ, I remember using a 14.4 modem... those were bad days, especially when trying to use Napster. Oh God, Napster before they were closed down and then went le- wait, does Napster even still exist?

 

No, it's part of Rhapsody now.

[Jerbsinator]

There is a 100% probability that we are indeed getting older.

 

On a related note, I remember when kids shows were actually good and taught you meaningful lessons, unlike the politically correct bullshit on tv nowadays. Cartoon Network And Nickelodeon were amazing in the 90's. It was great to be a kid back then. Also X-Files, can't forget about that, the best show ever made! (IMO anyway)

[Rayblue]

Yeah, I'm getting old.

 

Used to be that nearly 20 years ago you assembled a PC simply to get the job/homework done and then play a little game (say, Gunship or Ultima); you didn't fuss over anything then (well, except you wished Windows was any easier to install, and opening up an issue of Byte, eyeballing that new Creative CDROM drive or a single-speed Philips SCSI disc burner -- which goes for thousands back then), put them together and it works like a charm.

 

(At one point and as late as 1996 I had a Packard Bell 8088 with a color CGA display, a huge-ass 5.25" 10mb drive, 360kb double density floppy drive, XT keyboard -- this dinosaur I used for DOS, assembly language, COBOL and Turbo Basic programming -- it was better than nothing, except that back then I wanted to replace the floppy drive for high-density disks.)

 

Today, trying to assemble a PC is... suffice to say it's fucking intimidating when it's a gaming PC, in that you need to do a lot of research work, trying to pick the correct components or the whole rig wouldn't work for you and have to go back to the shop.

[cereburn]

Honestly, I think assembling a PC now is way easier today than then.  I remember having to cycle through configurations for hours trying to get a sound board, video card, IO/Serial card and IDE HDD controller to all work together and not conflict on IRQs and DMAs.

Then, working out the proper order for config.sys and autoexec.bat to load the drivers to open up extended/expanded RAM and load the other drivers for the cards you'd been fighting with.  

Yeah, more variety and now and the whole gamut of processor vs motherboard vs memory vs power supply options is confusing, but once you pick your parts - Pssh... easy peasy.

I cannot successfully communicate how grateful I am to use SATA cables over the old Floppy, IDE and SCSI ribbon cables.  Even the ones that had been de-ribboned and wrapped in a round sheath were a thick pain to route.

 

if I had to go back to using dialup, I know my life would change - but would it all be bad?

[Happysparkles]

Hmph I remember DOS. But I can't say I miss it at all.

That OS was a nightmare. But I guess because of it we got the new OS's.

 

I also remember Prince of Persia when it was 2D. ><.

[Happysparkles]

Actually to add I remember this system @_@.

 

[Cozy]

Actually to add I remember this system @_@.

 

 

Yeahhhh my cousin had one, not sure if it's the exact model, but I remember Atari. I also remember when you could get candy and bubblegum cigarettes from the ice cream man, before they got banned. Johnny Appleseed, redhots, why am I getting all nostalgic for Ice Cream man junk? Probably because I hear an Ice cream truck in the distance. Meh...

 

[Happysparkles]

 

Actually to add I remember this system @_@.

 

 

Yeahhhh my cousin had one, not sure if it's the exact model, but I remember Atari. I also remember when you could get candy and bubblegum cigarettes from the ice cream man, before they got banned. Johnny Appleseed, redhots, why am I getting all nostalgic for Ice Cream man junk? Probably because I hear an Ice cream truck in the distance. Meh...

 

 

 

The 80's Freaking Rocked.

Everything was so less... censored.

I missed those cigarette gums. I had some good times with those.

Sigh maybe I am a nostalgic person myself but I kind of missed that period of time.

Even movies kicked ass even if some of them had some funny off cue music

[Rayblue]

Honestly, I think assembling a PC now is way easier today than then.  I remember having to cycle through configurations for hours trying to get a sound board, video card, IO/Serial card and IDE HDD controller to all work together and not conflict on IRQs and DMAs.

Then, working out the proper order for config.sys and autoexec.bat to load the drivers to open up extended/expanded RAM and load the other drivers for the cards you'd been fighting with.  

Yeah, more variety and now and the whole gamut of processor vs motherboard vs memory vs power supply options is confusing, but once you pick your parts - Pssh... easy peasy.

I cannot successfully communicate how grateful I am to use SATA cables over the old Floppy, IDE and SCSI ribbon cables.  Even the ones that had been de-ribboned and wrapped in a round sheath were a thick pain to route.

 

if I had to go back to using dialup, I know my life would change - but would it all be bad?

 

Some things don't change, and there's always a tradeoff. (To build my gaming rig alone took me weeks to study and choosing the right parts before buying, but even on payday, I still had to find the right parts because the dealer didn't had any what I wanted on stock, despite that I made several phone calls. )

 

@2600: Used to be that console was the best there was. On Christmas Dad bought one with dozens of carts to go with it, including the Activision carts, and I thought it was friggin cool -- broke my gaming cherry there.

[pantherlux]

looking back the timeline... internet, smart phones, flat screens, the first mp3 players, at least two announced doomsdays or so and the the "y2k" problem, that never came along. so many things our kids can never really imagine when you talk about it.

yeah 80s were cool.. our toys had guns, they were shooting lasers and our heros told us what is wrong and what is right (remember heman or brave starr and so on) compared with todays tv shows.. ultra violent^^ those good old days

still got a  n.e.s (with 4player connector in perfect condition ) a tape recorder and even a turntable (for the youngers reading: a player for those really big black cds, where music is magically stored in a groove;) )

so yes, i think we are getting older, but we have soemthing the generation "now" doesnt have: we know how to play board games... offline and without steam (real hardcore right? )

and a very cool thing most kids used to have... in our ancient times... presenting: *the freaking old stick from a tree* a machinegun with caliber "what ever fits" from "tree round the corner" ^^ haven't seen those around in years *sigh* we are generation "before-iphone"

seeing the atari brings back memories.. anyone here remember when "multiplayer" meant "grab a controller or joystick and kick ass with a person to your left/right while eating chips" ?

[medic975]

I was trying to explain to my interns a few things the other day. One that there was a time where you hated people who had a 8,9,0 in their phone numbers, the 50 foot phone cord to have private conversations away from the parents. The I'm drinking Milk and one day I'll... commercials. Oh and that porn came one line on a jpeg at a time and was almost like an involuntary strip tease. (That part I didn't explain to the interns.lol)

[Dude500X]

Hanson, Mmmbop.. just played on an old person music channel.

 

Yes, I feel very old right now

[cereburn]

Wasn't sure how to frame this, so I'll just start with the past.  When I was growing up, photo albums were big books with pictures of vacations and babies and what not organized according to the event and usually in order with all the bad ones plucked out and dumped in a box of pictures to be album'ed or trashed later.

Now, after looking through a few ripped photobuckets on skch.me, I think that kids would be mentally scarred looking through a modern photo album to see their baby pictures mixed in with pictures of what I can only assume was the conception and lots of later shots.

Does noone see any importance to at least sorting the porn from the not porn in your online gallery?

[Scramagon]

So, Bethesda posted some new teaser pictures for their new game, without stating what the pictures were of or what the name of the game was.  These were all pictures from a pre-rendered cut-scene.  There were some machines, some people walking around in the background of some factory, and some drill-looking piece of equipment.  

 

My first guess was that it would be a space exploration sim, or a mecha combat game, or some sort of robot building game; maybe a futuristic strategy game.

 

Then I thought, "What is this, 1995?  It's a first person shooter, duh!"

 

That game turned out to be the next Wolfenstein.  

[cereburn]

That'd make it the 3rd? remake of wolfenstein?

[Soap desu]

Sigh I'm super old for my age, I never really got into the party scene/getting smashed at clubs or what not, I had multiple bone/joints injuries during my youth years.

During cold/winter seasons I do notice my joints/bones hurt, lots of snap crackle and pops occur when stretching LOL.  

 

I miss the good old days where games were actually challenging even if it was challenging for all the wrong reasons. 

 

Grew up playing NES, but did dabble in Atari back in the day as well. 

[DoctaSax]

I see "Wolfenstein", my mind cries out "Mein Leben!" Repeatedly. Like a Pavlov reaction.

[cereburn]

Wow, talk about knocking some dust off old memories, totally had that sound bite pay back in my head when you mentioned Mein Leben.  Never knew it was spelled that way.