Toshiba MSX - HX-10

My first computer, a Toshiba HX-10 64k system was bought in 1985. It had an integrated RF modulator, three channel audio, a ROM cartridge slot and an audio cassette based data storage system.

 

Based on the Zilog Z80 processor it was a far superior system to the Spectrum +2 which was more popular at the time, and was one of the first attempts to introduce a home computing standard across a range of companies.

 

Featuring an adapted version of the Microsoft Basic language and a DOS very similar to MS-DOS, it was commonly thought that MSX was the abbreviation for MicroSoft eXtended, in truth it was the abbreviation for “Machines with Software eXchangeability”

Atari 520STFM

 

The Atari STFM was my second computer, based on the Motorola 68000 CPU running at 8 MHz

 

It had 512KB of RAM and a double sided, double density 3½" floppy disk drive, with a capacity of 720 KB.

 

Built-in TV modulator offered three screen resolutions, 320x200, 640x200 & 640x400 dpi, an integrated MIDI, RS-232 serial port, centronics parallel printer port, RGB monitor port, extra disk drive port and 2x 9 pin MSX standard joystick and mouse ports.

The operating system was TOS v1.00, with a

Graphical Environment Manager (GEM) and WiMP (Windows, Mouse, Pointer) GUI.

Apple Macintosh Performa 400

My first computer with an integrated hard disk was purchased in 1993 Prior to starting an undergraduate degree in chemistry at Staffordshire University. It featured a motorola 68030 processor, running at 16MHz, with 4MB, of RAM, a 3½" floppy disk drive and an 80MB hard disk built into the compact case.

 

Rear-mounted Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) adapters for keyboard and mouse, a SCSI port for Hard Disks and Zip drives, a serial printer port, serial Appletalk and audio in / out were also included.

 

An apple VGA monitor port was used to drive a 14” apple display supplied with the system.

Apple Macintosh Performa 5200

Purchased in 1996, the Apple Macintosh Performa 5200CD was an update on the Apple concept of enclosing both CPU and display in a single unit.

 

It featured a PowerPC 603 processor running at 75MHz, 8 MB of RAM, a 4x CD-ROM drive and a 800 MB hard drive in an attractive all-in-one case with a 15" colour monitor.

 

Rear-mounted Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) adapters for keyboard and mouse, a SCSI port for Hard Disks and Zip drives, a serial printer port, serial Appletalk and audio in / out were also included.

 

A special feature of this system was the inclusion of model also came with an integrated TV Tuner card and remote control.

Apple Power Macintosh 5500

Purchased in 1998, the Apple Power Macintosh 5500/250, was based on the Gazelle architecture, features a 250 MHz PowerPC 603e processor, 32 MB of RAM, a 2.0 GB hard drive, an 8x CD-ROM and 2D/3D graphics acceleration in an attractive all-in-one case with a 15" colour monitor.

 

Rear-mounted Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) adapters for keyboard and mouse, a SCSI port for Hard Disks and Zip drives, a serial printer port, serial Appletalk and audio in / out were also included.

 

The availability of a TV tuner port allowed for transfer of the TV tuner card from the 5200 to the 5500.

 

Additionally, I connected a Traxdata SCSI CD-RW (2x2x6x) to this system.

 

Purchased in 2000, The Apple iMac SE "700" features a 700 MHz PowerPC 750cx (G3) processor with a 256k on-chip level 2 cache, 256 MB of RAM (PC100 SDRAM), an 80.0 GB Ultra ATA hard drive, a slot-loading 24X CD-RW drive, ATI Rage 128 Ultra (2x AGP) graphics acceleration with 16 MB of SDRAM, and an integrated Harmon Kardon Odyssey sound system in a sleek, translucent "graphite" all-in-one case with a 15" color screen.

 

It is convection cooled and shipped with an apple Pro USB keyboard and optical mouse. Built in 10/100 ethernet, 56k Modem and Firewire 400.

 

OSx 10.1 and 9.1 were pre-installed, with the machine initially booting into 9.1 automatically.

PowerBook G4 667MHz

My first Apple laptop was a gift from a friend (Mr Josh Osbourne) when he upgraded his system in 2004.

 

The Apple Macintosh PowerBook G4/667 (Titanium) featured a 667 MHz PowerPC 7440 (G4) processor with the AltiVec "Velocity Engine" vector processing unit and 256k on-chip level 2 cache, and 1Gb of PC-133 SDRAM.

 

Included in the stunning 1-inch thick Titanium case was a 30.0 GB hard drive, a slot-loading DVD/CD-RW drive , an ATI Mobility Radeon (AGP 4X) video controller with 16 MB of DDR video memory, and AirPort wireless networking.

 

The 15.2" TFT widescreen display, a full-size keyboard, and a lightweight power adapter completed the package.

 

Mac OSX 10.2 was installed on this system, and updated to 10.4.7 - This system is currently still in use as a home media system - connected to our TV.

14” Apple iBook G4 - 1.42GHz

Purchased in 2005, the 14” Apple iBook G4 features a 1.42 GHz PowerPC 7447a (G4) processor with a 512k on-chip level 2 cache, 1.5GB of RAM (PC2700 333 MHz DDR SDRAM), and an 80Gb Hard Disk.

 

Built into a 1½" inch toughened white polycarbonate shell are a 24X DVD±R/CD-RW SuperDrive, a 4X AGP ATI Mobility Radeon 9550 graphics card with 32 MB of DDR video memory, and a 14.1" TFT XGA active-matrix display.

 

The 10/100 Ethernet and built-in 56k modem are complemented with a FireWire "400" port, two USB 2.0 ports and audio out.

 

VGA video mirroring, S-video, and composite video out is achieved using an Apple mini DV adapter - a single port with multiple interchangeable adapters.

 

A full size keyboard and scrolling trackpad are included as standard, as is Airport Extreme and bluetooth.

Apple 24” iMac Intel 2.33GHz

Based on the Intel Core2Duo Processor, the iMac is my latest Apple Computer - purchased in 2007.

 

Marking a return to a desktop system, this configuration  boasts a top of the range 2.33GHz Core2Duo Intel CPU, 2GB PC3200 SO-DIMM RAM, and a 500GB SATA Hard Drive.

 

The 24-inch widescreen display is capable of a screen resolution of 1900 x 1200 pixels, as a result of the 256Mb NVidia GeForce 7300GT graphics processor.

 

Running OSX 10.5.11, and Parallels desktop enables Windows XP to run simultaneously within OSX.

It is stunning, and everyone who sees it comments on this.

 

Interfaces include three USB 2.0 ports on the system, one Firewire “400”, one Firewire “800”, Audio in and out, and a mini DVI connector for video mirroring and desktop extending.

 

Finally,  there is a 10/100 Ethernet controller, Airport Wi-Fi and bluetooth 2.0 included.

Computers Galore - November 2007

Whilst building two systems at work, my office began to look like a geeks paradise. - Here is the picture to prove it.

My latest Mac is the MacBookPro (2009), with a 2.53GHz Intel Core2Due Processor, 250Gb Hard Drive and 4Gb RAM.

Again, I use Parallels to run any Windows software i may need, but in general I run Snow Leopard (OSX 10.6).

The aluminium unibody enclosure, advanced longer-lasting battery, and enhanced LED-backlit display means that the MacBook Pro has been precision engineered down to the smallest detail.

It is perfect for desktop and mobile working - suiting me down to the ground.