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Your First Computer

Everyone Should Have a First Computer. Do You Remember Yours?

old-computerFloppy disks that held 1.2MBs of data. Monochrome screens with 512 x 342 pixel resolution. External CD-ROM drives. A 56K modem (and the sound of it “dialing up”). A Dot Matrix printer. Windows 3.1. CONFIG.SYS and *.*

What do all these embarrassingly out-of-date things have in common? And why would a company that fashions itself as innovative remind you of them?

Well this month we’re going back in time to remember our first computers. Big desktops with 48MB of RAM, 133MHz processors and Windows 95, dial up modems, 5-minute boot-up times, endless games of Solitaire, clunky keyboards and screens that weighed 15 pounds.

As out-of-date as these computers sound, they probably changed your life and introduced you to a new world in one way or another. It’s a major moment in life when your mom or dad brings home your first computer. Or maybe you bought it yourself, picking out the specs you wanted from the COMP USA catalogue. Remember Gateway?

vintage-computer2So let’s to go back in time. Take a minute to remember the first computer you ever had in your home. Think about where it was in the house. Think about what the screen looked like, what sounds it made (those 8-bit sounds are hard to forget). Remember the games, the word processor, the hours of SimCity or the chatrooms of the 90s. Computers have been around for a long time, and they have certainly changed a lot.

We’re taking this time to go back to our first computers not only because it’s a fun exercise but also because we want to draw attention to the fact that some households can’t afford a computer in the home. When there are kids in the house, not having a computer can be a real problem. It’s called the Digital Divide. As we’ve written before, digital literacy is a basic part of any education these days, and not having access to a computer puts students at a real, measurable disadvantage.


By asking everyone to remember their first computers we hope to draw attention to the importance of giving all students a chance to have their own first computer. Through our Shape the Future program, we’re trying to do just that. In collaboration with Microsoft, Shape the Future is a program that donates free computers to families in need in the districts that we serve.

So go ahead and recall what computing was like for you in the 90s… or was it the 80s? We want to hear all the specs and the funny details. We’ll be posting memories from our employees. And we want to hear from you, too. Post your stories to our Facebook page, or tweet us! We’ll use the conversation to help get the word out about our donation program. And with that we’ll help to give every student a chance to thrive in school and at home… because everyone should have their own “first computer” story.

By: Compugen Education | Category: Education and Technology

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