What age did you get into Techie stuff?

woo

70's child, started around 6 mainly playing games on atari 2600 moved onto Acorn electrons got interested in programing so i could hack the football manager game to my advantage .
seemed to have followed similar progression paths and ended up doing Java development as a day job, with a sideline in .NET

question is are you ever too young? trying to get my 3 year old into development - but she only wants to play with MS paint for some reason

Bloke

Yet another 80's child here (1980), now a software developer. Had computers around since I was born due to Dad being in the same career, started programming on a £7000 (yes thats not a typo) 386 with 4MB of RAM and a double-spaced 40MB hard drive!

To think kids are walking around with 80GB in their pockets now, bought on the high street with Christmas money!

tobyosbourn

Started when I was about 10 with a C64 - never looked back.

Astaroth

I guess I was 9 or so when I got my Amstrad CPC 6128 - whilst it did actually have a disc drive!!! none of the shops round me sold anything on disc for amstrad so ended up using a tape player anyway.

Properly got into Tech when I started to BBC Basic programming at school - really basic "fighting fantasy"/ RPG type text based games.... unfortunately even though one of them did extend to over 10,000 lines of code I never finished writting one (and ended up with lots of options that never went anywhere

superscaper

Astaroth wrote:

(and ended up with lots of options that never went anywhere

So you were simulating real life then

iwanttosave_2

I have mainly self taught myself since the age of 14 when my dad built me my first computer, but I mainly started to be really intrested in it about a year or so ago at 21, I can do loads with a computer that some don't even know is possible. I can now diagnose many problems and know how to fix it, I have set up, fixed and helped people with their computers. I learned how to master excel in about 2 weeks, can do graphics ect.

I used to be cool, now I am a nerd

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWs1FF-BS7c

Zahc

I'm 40. First computer was a BBC acorn. Got back into PCs when I had kids so I could answer their questions when they started using them. Aircraft engineer now.

Zahc

Astaroth

superscaper wrote:

So you were simulating real life then

No, it was much better than real life as it told you it couldnt find line 1516 rather than just letting you continue wandering round

Ken68

When I was 63, Student phil., the info from the net is phenomenal, can research in an instant, communication is immediate, tv is fiction and losing, phones are free, and computer is ideal when you are retired. What's next!! Can't wait.

WestieFan

I was a 50's baby and love messing about with pcs.

Started out as a typist using old Remington/Adler manual typewriters - the ones you only see now in old films! Then they went all 'electric'. Progressed to IBM "memory card machine" whereby you typed your stuff and saved it onto these plastic card things which you then put into typewriter and pressed 'read'. No screen though, so the typewriter looked like it had a mind of its own, rattling out text with nobody near it!

Progressed then to pc with word processing program on it, very basic though (made by Hartley Computers -Australian I think). Then moved to stand-alone word processor, then from there to the wonderful world of Microsoft and Windows!

When I remember back all the different 'modern technology' stuff I used to use, people look at me as if I am crazy! Gestetner, Bandamaster (sp)which were the forerunners to photocopiers. Telex machines (early version of fax) and even a switchboard with all the wires and plugs - they were great fun when you got tied in knots. Oh gawd, really showing my age now!

Even better, my dad is 88 and has recently started to learn at his local library - he can now send emails very confidently!