Vintage, Retro, Old and Fun: A Journey to the First Days of the PC

Those were the days. The Apple ][e is the best computer ever made. Hours playing Karateka. The sound of the Commodore tapes. When 4 colors were an amazing thing on a screen. When they still made TV commercials for PCs. When Internet was only BBS. Those were the days.

Here are some clips that will take you back to the old days, the first days of personal computing - from Amiga to Commodore to Apple ][e and much more:

Apple II forever! (Hell, yes!)



100 Amiga games in 10 minutes



100 Commodore 64 games in 10 minutes



Karateka - This game never gets old!



Another Classic: Tapper!



Browsing the web with an Apple II - AMAZING!



Mac classic



Alleycat! No more explanations are needed.



Beyond Castle Wolfenstein Gameplay (More of a speedrun, really)

How the HECK did I miss THIS: Vintage Computer Festival

Man, oh man. I swim around the net ALL FUCKING DAY, and I had no clue that there's a thing called "Vintage Computer Festival", that's held every year.

How did I miss out on something as cool as that? After all, I hold the firm opinion that Apple ][e is the best PC ever made! I was born BEFORE the Commodore 64, for crying out loud. I am a child of the 80s! I grew up on EGA graphics and computer without Hard Drives. Sheesh.

Well, anyway, Wired has a gallery portraying the festival, that was held in Mountain View, California, USA. Too bad most of the pics are in some weird, twisted, fish-eye form.

It was the 10th annual festival, and turns out there is a European version of it in April. So, if all goes well - I am GOING! It's about time I start showing my face in geeky cons and fests. I might even dare a glance at something really extravagant, like DragonCon or FedCon, heaven forbid!

And next time, will someone please inform me about such important events?! Please? Isn't there a web 2.0 site dedicated to geeky events or something?

10 Reasons why the Apple ][e is the Best PC Ever Made

Computer nostalgia is one of my favorite subjects. I suppose that growing up in the 80s had its effects on me. I got my first computer at age 6 - it was a hand-me-down from my uncle. And, you guessed it - the machine was a fabulous Apple ][e.

It was the best PC I have ever owned or worked on - and I have tried and typed on many different kinds of computers: from original IBMs to Mac Classics, through horrible Compaqs and wonderful ThinkPads. Still, no matter what happened, I can't forget my first ever personal computer.

Discovering the existence of emulators, some 10 years ago, was a very happy moment for me and my 80s friends. Hearing the old beeps again made us really jump for joy - and I still play the Apple ][ emulator every now and then.

So, why is the Apple ][e so grand? Trust me, it's not just because of the memories:

1. My TV was my monitor: A computer wasn't a cheap thing in the 80s. A computer monitor was pricey. I don't remember how exactly, but my Apple ][e was connected straight to my TV set. I bet I was one of the few who enjoyed a 19" screen back then.
   
   
2. It hardly ever crashed: I don't really recall it getting stuck, frozen or slow. It worked all the time, and it was very reliable.
   
   
3. Instant Boot: Turn it on and it was on and ready for you. That's about it. No waiting.
   
   
4. All in the keyboard: The entire computer was inside the keyboard! If I needed to open it, I just did - and every card and chip was right there in front of me. Easy, small, convenient. No ducking under the table and eating dust just to hook up a pair of speakers.
   
   
5. It taught me English: There was only one language on the Apple ][e - and it was English. I needed to learn the language pretty quickly in order to operate the computer and enjoy the games. So I did. How many Hebrew-speaking 6-years-olds can spell "catalog"?
   
   
6. Gaming was GOOD: This marvelous piece of work came with 2 floppy-disk drivers and a joystick, which made for a mean, lean, gaming machine. The games were sophisticated and cool - still, most of them were no larger than 50 KB. I remember "Summer Games" and hours of fun trying to make the perfect pool dive. The games were also cracked, which was amazing by itself.
   
   
7. Hundreds of games: I think I had about a hundred disks (5.25" of course), each contained at least 3-4 games. All in all I had hundreds of games to play with - and I never got bored.
   
   
8. Oh so quiet: No fan noise whatsoever. How much do you pay for that kind of stillness these days?
   
   
9. It had a voice: There was an actual speech program for the Apple ][e, and it worked rather well. Of course, we mostly fed it curse words, but it gave us hours of fun. My personal favorite was entering "jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj". I still find it funny, for some reason.
   
   
10. Karateka: Need I say more?