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My history with computers
I have been around a computer ever since my brother brought home an Apple II (or
][ ) in 1980. I was eight years old and I was fascinated with it. I
read most of the books my brother got, although several were over my head (machine
code programming) and he didn't have any compilers for anything other than basic.
However, I am not an uber geek. I didn't take it apart to find out how it
works. I didn't get so into the programming language (BASIC) that I became
an expert. I learned how to be a good user and the basics of programming.
I couldn't do much with his computer, anyway.
I really loved the games. I think we had an Atari 2600 by then, and loved
to play games. So, suddenly, here is something that allows games and word
processing! It was fascinating. I remember Wizardry and an Olympic games
game that he had the most.
When I was older and had some money, I got myself a Commodore 64. I skipped
the old Vic 20. Looking back, it was a good choice but for some bad reasons,
and some good ones. The good thing was that my (then) best friend had one
and we could share stuff. He knew some people that had them as well.
So, I had a nice network.
The bad is because I did learn some about the hardware of the C64 and did programming
with it but not very deep. Just enough "to get by." (Probably the story
of my life.) Further, when I was ready to "upgrade" instead of getting an
IBM, I got an Amiga. It was awesome for it's day! Great computer.
If I had done some more research, though, I might have realized it wouldn't last.
Again, I knew some people who had Amigas and was able to get lots of software for
it. But, I didn't get very far into the technical side of it.
I used this through high school and a few years in college. It died on my
in college and so I went without for several years. I borrowed or played on
other's computers during this time. It wasn't until 1996 that I was able to
save enough from my job to get an IBM clone.
Ever since then, I have had an IBM type PC. Every time I upgraded, I saved
my previous hard drives and all of my email and other things. (I lost a lot
from a hard drive crash two years ago, which I am still not happy about.)
So, now, I have a good system. It's a PIV3.4GHz, 1 Gig of RAM, three hard
drives with a total of over 500 Gig of storage, and an nVidia GeForce 6800 video
card. I am not looking for a new computer soon, although eventually I will
probably need a dual core. However, I am looking at upgrading my RAM and video
card, if I can, which will make a big difference.
About the reviews
My reviews are pretty informal. I talk about what I liked or didn't about
the particular item. I do use a grading system of A, B, C, D and F, with A
being the best and F is failed. I used +'s and -'s for some variation.
In general, something receives an A is something I enjoy a lot. I either play
it a lot, have read it more than once, or really enjoy doing it. Something
with a B grade means that it was very well done but there are a few things I didn't
like about it that have held it back. A C grade is something that there were
only one or two cool things about it and the rest of it wasn't very fun. A
D grade means that I am sorry I wasted my money on it as there is barely anything
I liked. A F means I wasted my money on something I got no enjoyment out of
at all.
The problem is that these don't always mean the same things. I bought many
of the DND games to try them, especially in the mid 1990s. A few probably
got Fs, like Ruins of Myth Drannor, but I spent more on that game then some games
that got Bs! I really wanted to like some games, RoMD being a good example,
and spent time on them but the more time I spent, the more I felt I wasted my time.
Some of these reviews I have saved from a web site I originally did in '98!
And I haven't even come close to reviewing all of the games I have played in the
past five years, much less ever played. I don't think I will review Commodore
64 games!
As always, if you have any questions about the content, email me! |