Black Friday Print Ads......... in 1996....

[lxskllr]

I know of the Vic20 and C64, it was about 6 times $100 in 1982 unless you got it off the back of a truck.

That's what I was thinking. If I remember right, the Timex Sinclair could be had in the neighborhood of $100, but you get what you pay for...

 

[alkemyst]

That's what I was thinking. If I remember right, the Timex Sinclair could be had in the neighborhood of $100, but you get what you pay for...

I played with the Timex...I really wanted to like it for some reason when I was a kid (maybe the advertising). It was terrible.

I really wanted an Atari 800 too.

My progression vs my brothers:

Me.

Apple //e to PS/2 Model 60 then 80, then 95, regular boxes


Him:

Apple //e to Amiga 3000, to 4000, to SGI/Sun machines, to Apple

He went the *nix route, me DOS/Windows.

I was running the IBM PS2 FAQ from about 1992 through 1999 or so. I started it when I was just 21.

 

[Train]

I know of the Vic20 and C64, it was about 6 times $100 in 1982 unless you got it off the back of a truck.

Eh, maybe it was 83, and looking at the history of it, maybe it was $200, still, nowhere near $2600 and well within reach for most families.

 

[lxskllr]

I really wanted an Atari 800 too.

That was my first. I got it in 81 or 82. I then got out of computers for a few years, and got a beige box 486DX50 around 91?. I used that awhile, donated it to work, and got out of computers again until I got the Dell in ~02. I modified that, then built my own in 04. My last build was in 06, and I'm still using it. It does everything I need, and I don't really game anymore, so I'll just run into the ground. I saw a bulging cap on the mb last winter, but so far it's hanging in there.

 

[Remobz]

In all honesty, your family probably couldn't afford a computer.

I was given an Apple //e, 80 column card, 300 baud modem, Apple DMP printer, Grappler+ card, and dual drives in 1983ish. It was around $2600 I believe.

My brother and I would play outside until dark, we were in soccer, baseball, flag and then tackle football, later wrestling, martial arts. We skateboarded, my brother was active in BMX and we did things at the beach when we could.

We'd learn the computer at night and on rained out days.

Back then computers really weren't for nerds, they were for those that had the disposable income and usually had many lining up to play with them.

Let me put it this way. One of my Uncles bought a Commodore 128 for my cousin back in 1989. We were always better off than them. Especially, in the 1980's.

My Dad was old school in many ways and COMPLETELY computer illiterate and practically oblivious to Computers on a whole. It was never a topic of discussion back then. Heck, I didn't even get cable TV until 1990. We had a VHS machine and rented many movies.

Rainy days were like a death sentence for me And going to your room when grounded had a WHOLE other meaning to me back then. Did a lot of reading back then though.

Yes, I know my past sucks here when it comes to the latest in technology and computers while growing up but I was extremely fit back then and in solid condition.

Fast forward to 2014 and I am total mess It's my fault I know but I still miss the 80's in many ways. I was an 80's metalhead (glory days of metal) as well but that is a WHOLE other story right there.

 

[alkemyst]

Eh, maybe it was 83, and looking at the history of it, maybe it was $200, still, nowhere near $2600 and well within reach for most families.

Well that purchase included a ton of extras that added to the price. My dad wanted a color monitor but at the time it was excessive. We stuck with green phospher because doing it with a TV was blurry.

We also had an Ensoniq soundcard or something like that (I would look it up but I am tired).

Full MIDI capability.

 

[alkemyst]

Let me put it this way. One of my Uncles bought a Commodore 128 for my cousin back in 1989. We were always better off than them. Especially, in the 1980's.

My Dad was old school in many ways and COMPLETELY computer illiterate and practically oblivious to Computers on a whole. It was never a topic of discussion back then. Heck, I didn't even get cable TV until 1990. We had a VHS machine and rented many movies.

Rainy days were like a death sentence for me And going to your room when grounded had a WHOLE other meaning to me back then. Did a lot of reading back then though.

Yes, I know my past sucks here when it comes to the latest in technology and computers while growing up but I was extremely fit back then and in solid condition.

Fast forward to 2014 and I am total mess It's my fault I know but I still miss the 80's in many ways. I was an 80's metalhead (glory days of metal) as well but that is a WHOLE other story right there.

So you were always a mess, we can now move on.

 

[Bateluer]

4MBs of RAM for 30 dollars!


Cripes, I feel old.

 

[rh71]

Think about what today's "low" prices will look like in the future. TB of RAM will be what we're paying today. And look at our ridiculously large and bulky smart phones! LOL we needed devices that had to be carried around in pockets.

I can't wait till we only need to have 1 item on us that serves as keys, wallet, and phone. Fingerprints for the first two but you still need something to communicate with.

 

[mmntech]

First family computer we had was a Macintosh LC. It wasn't cheap for the "Low Cost" model either. IIRC, they were around $2000. My dad was an engineer, so he got it to do CAD drawings. He threw it out a few years back. Really wish he had kept it.

I got my first computer in 1998. Was a Pentium II 233mhz with 64mb of RAM. I remember installing the original ATI Radeon in it and being blown away. I actually don't know what happened to that card. I still have the PC, but it's missing.

I also lined up one boxing day for a DVD burner.

 

[Kaido]

First family computer we had was a Macintosh LC. It wasn't cheap for the "Low Cost" model either. IIRC, they were around $2000. My dad was an engineer, so he got it to do CAD drawings. He threw it out a few years back. Really wish he had kept it.

It's funny how budgets change. My wife's aunt called up and said she needed help picking out a new computer, but "only" had $1,000 to spend on it. Ended up getting her setup for around $850 with a 28" LCD, wireless keyboard & mouse, and a nice laptop. Ten times better than what she had previously, plus with the option to go portable (HDMI cable to the LCD & "no sleep on lid close" setup).

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Him:

Apple //e to Amiga 3000, to 4000, to SGI/Sun machines, to Apple

Smart man!

 

[shortylickens]

People seem to forget how expensive games were back then.

Final Fantasy II was NOT the norm. It was double all the other SNES titles.


People seem to forget THAT!!

 

[shortylickens]

Do any of you remember these? CD ROM, 28.8k modem...etc.

http://guff.com/what-black-friday-looked-like-in-1996/

I was about to say a 28.8 modem was hardly cutting edge in the year 1996, then I saw the ad and realized it was a Macintosh.

 

[dawp]

I can remember buying my first 1gig drive a year or two before that for $400. it was a western digital.

 

[slag]

good times!


I think I got a 200mhz mac clone on BF that year. Ran Windows on it with virtual PC and I would force quit the OS and it ran PC software faster than any pc made at the time.

Duke Nukem 3d
Diablo
Quake

Great year for video games!!

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Packard Bell... lol. They were always crap.

Ahh, those were the days when building your own computer meant spending less than half the price for 40-50% more performance.

 

[Sonikku]

It's ironic that getting sent to your room back in the day was like the worst. These days a comparable punishment would be to be sent outside. (sans electronic devices)

 

[poofyhairguy]

Lol, the good ole days. I remember back when 4mb of RAM was a lot seeing a mobo that could take 512mb. Dad and I joked suck a machine would last you forever, and never need a hard drive as everything could be stored in RAM.

I remembered that day back in 2006 when I bought Vista machines from Dell with 512MB ram that run like crap.

 

[shortylickens]

It's ironic that getting sent to your room back in the day was like the worst. These days a comparable punishment would be to be sent outside. (sans electronic devices)

It used to be that getting sent outside was a punishment.
Now with smartphones it really doesnt matter.

 

[soccerballtux]

Do any of you remember these? CD ROM, 28.8k modem...etc.

http://guff.com/what-black-friday-looked-like-in-1996/

these were the days when you could actually get good deals by showing up a couple hours early. lining up the day before and being given a ticket takes away all the fun and mystery. It's much more exciting when everyone acts civil but you're all let into the store at the same time. Does everyone want the deal you do? Will you get there fast enough?

I bought my gamecube first day it came out. I called all around town and took public transit to the ToysRUs that had some still in stock for whatever reason.

 

[alkemyst]

It used to be that getting sent outside was a punishment.
Now with smartphones it really doesnt matter.

If you are paying the bills, easy to turn data off, minutes off, etc. If you own the Wifi, easy to block the MAC. Turn the cable off in their rooms too.

I'd recommend self-study.

 

[soccerballtux]

when I got my 56k winmodem to work in Linux that was an incredible day

 

[poofyhairguy]

when I got my 56k winmodem to work in Linux that was an incredible day

That sounds like hell.

 

[lxskllr]

when I got my 56k winmodem to work in Linux that was an incredible day

You're a better man than me. I could never get it working(3 different winmodems, and a hardware modem). I had to wait until wireless to start running GNU/Linux.