Recently spotted on the BoingBoing.net website…
….RETRO COMPUTING ADS! Check ’em out.
Awesome stuff, really, and it brings me back to the “good ol’ days” when computing was much simpler in some ways, and (of course) a whole lot more difficult in other ways!
Back in the early 80s, my family owned a MicroAge franchise computer store in Anchorage, Alaska. My Dad sold cutting-edge computers at the time. The IBM PC, the PC Jr, the Commodore 64, and, of course, the VIC-20, which is picture above. Harddrives? Bah. Dual low-density floppy drives was all you *really* needed. Honestly! Color monitor? Sure… as long as you only need 1 color: green or orange (amber).
Hmmm…what else can I remember?
<insert wavy lines onto screen as I slip into a dream sequence…>
- Playing Moon Dust on our Commodore 64. I never really did understand that game, but it had a schwanky cartridge!
- Entering code by hand from Byte magazine for hours (and hours) with my brother so that we could play awesome games like Graveyard Charlie. The goal? Don’t run into a gravestone before you exit the cemetery. The trick? You can’t see *anything* except when the lightning strikes. Scary!
- Playing and designing levels for Lode Runner! So cool…
- Writing a *secret* phone book with my good friend Aaron (Sprinkle) where we would enter in girls from school and give them a “rating” of how cute we thought they were! I know, I know — pretty tasteless. We were in junior high, for crying out loud! The phone book was password protected, I’ll have you know!
- The early versions of Castle Wolfenstein! No 3D stuff here, kids!! Hmmm…the box artwork was always a LOT cooler than the actual game. Hmph.
- Writing a text-based adventure game with my good friend Bob (Luton). It was called “Nightmare at McMurray Junior High” and we never got very far. It could’ve sold millions of copies, though!
- Putting the phone onto the modem cradle — a la WarGames!
- Load “*” ,8,1
- Other awesome games like: Impossible Mission, Racing Construction Set, Zork, Karateka, Hard Hat Mack, Dream House, and so many others…
</end dream sequence>
Y.I.P.C.A.N.J.O 