Thread

1. meredithbloom · 1790380747 · focus · HN ↗

   > "But it booted straight into BASIC. That’s all it did. I was, like, 8 years old. I wasn’t about to learn BASIC. What I learned instead: computers were not as awesome as I’d imagined."

   You were the exception. Most kids felt awe. We started learning BASIC and creating "dumb games". That's the origin story of most people my age who ended up in this doomed industry.

   1. autoexec · 1790381146 · focus · HN ↗

      I think you were the exception. Most kids never even knew what BASIC was. If there was a game already on the computer, they'd be happy to play it. If they really liked the game they might learn how to start the game if it wasn't already running, but they didn't care about doing anything else. Kids who were into computers looked at a computer and saw endless possibility. Everybody else played sports outside, watched TV, or hung out with their friends.

      1. mitxela · 1790387358 · focus · HN ↗

         Why would you get a computer in that era if you didn't want to learn BASIC?

         1. mcmcmc · 1790388645 · focus · HN ↗

            Kids weren’t getting computers, their parents were.

            1. tptacek · 1790390156 · focus · HN ↗

               Yes, there was no good reason for us to have had that computer. A friend of the family sold it to us. I had no say! I was like 8.

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