OMG we have a computer!
Part 1 — A look back at my life with computers
It was the summer of 1985. No-one said OMG back then. I can’t remember exactly what anyone said, but the feelings of awe and excitement are still vivid. The ZX Spectrum home microcomputer had been out for 3 years and I was 8 years old. It came in a strange cuboid box made from strong black, matte cardboard. The lid was almost as deep as the box, which meant you had to shake it to get the two halves to separate. I remember this because every time I used it I had to set it up and put it away in that box.
What is this thing?
Within, snug inside its moulded polystyrene indentation, sat a small black computer with rubber keys and a rainbow stripe in one corner.
The only computer I had seen by that point had been the BBC Micro stationed in the Headmistress’s office in my primary school. We were invited one at a time to play a simple resource management game to do with farming rice paddies, and I only got to use it once.
I had no idea about the potential applications for computers, very few did, but I was fascinated by what I took as a fun and intricate toy. I experienced the rewarding feedback loop that social media companies exploit today, albeit in the form of keystrokes making beeps, simple colours, and…
