Favorite old computers?

[Dan Locke]

Just list your favorite old computers here, preferably with your reasons for liking them. Here are mine:

16-bit systems:

1985 - Amiga (of course).

The original Amiga brought together the structure and features of a modern home computer for the first time, and was an incredible technological leap beyond anything that had come before it, outdoing even the arcade machines of its day. The Ranger chipset would have given it a similar technical advantage in 1988, but it was never released.

1987 - X68000

The X68000 is a bit of a consolation for those who wish that the Ranger chipset had been released - it has many of the same features, and was released around the time that the Ranger's design had been perfected. It was essentially an arcade board inside a computer case, and it had massive power, considering the year of its release. Sadly, it was never sold outside of Japan.

1986 - IIGS

The IIGS should have been a success. Boasting a state-of-the-art 32-voice synthesizer chip (designed by Bob Yannes, the man behind the C64's famous SID) and graphics rivalling the Amiga's, it was technically advanced. In addition, it was fully backwards-compatible with the original Apple II, an advantage only matched in the 16-bit world by IBM's PC-AT. Strangely, though, it was a flop in the marketplace and saw almost no original software development - probably due to Apple's near-exclusive promotion of its Macintosh line.

1984 - Mindset

Few people have heard of this professionally-oriented computer, and it wasn't well-known even when it came out. Still, it's an interesting piece of computer history. It was released in 1984, but incorporated many features that would later be incorporated into the Amiga and ST - it had the Amiga's high-quality sound and animation capabilities, and it had the ST's graphic modes. It could also run MS-DOS, thanks to its 80186 processor. Interestingly, its modular case design (which ended up in the Museum of Modern Art) was almost identical to the one originally planned for the Amiga.

8-bit systems:

1979 - 800

Atari's first home computer was perhaps more revolutionary in 1979 than the Amiga was in 1985. It was the first home computer to use custom chips for its graphics and sound, giving it a massive technical advantage over its closest competitor, the primitive Apple II. While later computers eclipsed some of its capabilities, it remained competitive well into the '80s - something that can't be said of its contemporaries.

1982 - C64

An icon in computing history, the C64 offered unparalleled graphics and sound in 1982. It was designed primarily as a game machine, and its specifications reflected that: its hardware-accelerated sprites and scrolling, synthesizer-like sound chip, and high-resolution graphics in 16 colors were unmatchable by its competitors. Many of its design features were later included in Nintendo's NES - a machine that would become virtually synonymous with video gaming in the following years.

1989 - SAM Coupé

One of the last 8-bit computers released, the SAM Coupé was a powerful system. Its graphics were nearly as good as the ST's, and its 6-channel stereo sound put the ST to shame. It was a commercial failure, but a community of dedicated enthusiasts produced high-quality games and utilities for it.

Honorable mention:

1991 - C65 (unreleased)

In 1991, Commodore's engineers completed development of a new 6502-based computer to replace the C64, which was laughably outdated by then. It had 256-color graphics, equaling most 16-bit computers and consoles - a mind-blowing achievement for an 8-bit platform - and its dual SID chips provided impressive stereo sound. It looked like it would be a winner, but things didn't quite go as planned. The C65 was meant to occupy the same low-end price range that the C64 had, while offering backwards compatibility with the older model's software, but it failed miserably at both tasks - its VIC-III graphics chip was prohibitively expensive to produce, and its backwards compatibility was unreliable at best. 500 prototypes were made before Commodore canceled the project.

Well, I've rambled on for quite a while now. Your turn.

[Biscuit]

Having only owned a Plus4, A500, PIII, and G4, not sure I know that much to say.

But in superficial terms I have to say the Kaypro II is a damned good looking machine.
C'mon - you know you want it.


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[Predseda]

Looks much like SX-64.
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[HoraceAndTheSpider]

Amiga

Sinclair ZX-Spectrums
- even the Amstrad models arent too bad really

Game Boy Classic

i dont particulalry feel the need to justify any of them!
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[neuroflip]

c64 because i love the sid sound, and without doubt, Amiga classic.

a special mention about zx spectrum, amstrad cpc and gameboy classic... but not as special as C= machines listed above.
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[sage2-d2]

In order of ownership:

Commodore VIC 20 - My first 8-bit computer, loved it because it was my first computer, got me into BASIC programming when I was about 5, yes 5. Ran on 5k of Ram with the MOS 6502 processor (the same as the Commodore PET).

Dragon 32 - I'm from Wales and this was produced by Dragon Data out of Port Talbot so had to have one. After the 5k of Ram on the VIC this was superfast at 32k. It was really just a Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer (or CoCo) which ran on the Motorola MC6809E processer.

Sinclair ZX Spectrum +3 - I say Sinclair but this was after Mr Sugar had bought them so technically it's an Amstrad, but I loved it, first computer I ever owned with a Disk drive, actually got burgaled and they stole my Speccy, worst day of my life! This was the last 128k spectrum model produced which ran on the standard Z80A CPU.

Amiga 500+ - Bought with the insurance money from the Speccy, changed my outlook on Life!! that's why I love it!! not much else to be said about the best computer ever made!! (IMO)

Amiga 1200 - Well, I'd got a taste for the Amiga so why bother with anything else, just got a better one!! (IMO)
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[TurricanX]

My Amiga 500 with all those big box games taking up way too much space in my flat! Awesome...
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