For those sad they lost their childhood computer

[Starglider 2]

When it boils down to it, our nostalgia is partly a wish to recreate/relive wonderful childhood memories of our beloved first computer systems that we spent so many hours/days/years on, forming those same memories.

But I came to be sad that my actual old computers were given away, sold, or otherwise lost.

A thought occurred to me that I wanted to share. When we purchase a similar computer on eBay, it will never quite be "our" childhood computer. It is easy to think that one shipped to us from another city, county, or country, is completely unrelated. It looks the same, feels the same, but it is decades away from what we owned, and sometimes comes from hundreds of miles away.

But the thought that occurred to me is, that replacement we buy on eBay, isn't really that far removed at all. It started life in the same factory. It could have been assembled by the same person. It may even have sat right next to your exact childhood computer that you feel you lost. Possibly even touching it.

So really, although we feel we have lost the actual objects of our affection, those replacements aren't so different after all. And who knows, one of us out there probably even ended up with the exact actual unit they owned as a child, thinking it to be a different unit, and they'll never know. Maybe it's you.

So enjoy your nostalgia as if that unit was your actual one. Because if it wasn't touching yours on the assembly line, it just might actually be yours...

[Predseda]

Starglider 2 has one of the best cover box illustration ever and one of the most funniest background story, written in novella by James Follett

[Starglider 2]

I can't take any credit but I can agree! One of my favourites.

[s2325]

My second Amiga 500 have much louder disk drive so I know it's not my. But inner child is the same, I have same fun playing today.

[Predseda]

During all those years, I changed motherboard, keyboard, case, floppy and all the other components of my main A1200. Now tell me: IS IT my childhood computer, or isnt? 8)

BTW: congratulations to your 14.000th post, s2325!

[jimbob]

I gave away the innards of my original A600 with a crappy case as it was incompatible with ACA630. I kept the nice case of my original, put a new mobo and bunch of IC gadgets in it, it's still mine -

[ Show youtube player ]

[UberFreak]

I'm sad I lost my childhood, does that count?

The very first computer I ever bought, a C= 128D, still sits proudly on my desk and seeing frequent use.
Yes its old & started to yellow a few years ago, but still works as good as the day I got it new.

What I do miss are many hand-held & table-top games I had as a kid, and were given away by my parents when I lost interest in them.
Some of them became collector's items & cost a fortune these days, cant justify buying them all back...

[Paul_s]

I've sort of given up trying to replace my child hood computer! I prefer the memories over trying to replicate what I had back then (I only end up selling or trading off the replacements! )
I'd imagine my original 500 is now well yellowed... she was always sat in the sun getting a tan back then!

I do like collecting favourite games from back in the day - miss 'my' original game boxes/disks though...

[modrobert]

My own Amiga 1200 from back in the day never looked as good as my current one, and I thank fitzsteve for that, just awesome.

[hansel75]

I still own my original computers and will never sell them or throw them away.

My original A600 is still working but unfortunately our original C64 from 1984 is stuffed, the motherboard rusted out on it.

I bought a replacement breadbin C64 recently but i know what your saying, it's just not the same.

As for my original C64 that is stuffed, i still have it and will never part with it for that one simple reason, it was my first computer!
It now sits on my shelf as a showpiece!!

My biggest regret though was parting with all my C64 and Amiga software, i had a lot of pirated stuff plus a lot of originals, but after moving house a number of times it was just to much to keep it all so i got rid of it about 20yrs ago and just kept the computers, it's a huge regret of mine now though that i didn't keep all the original games i had

[modrobert]

Yes, the floppy boxes would be nice to get back, feels kind of weird looking for sources to buy "new" DD floppies knowing I used to have over 400 of them.

[Starglider 2]

UberFreak, set a search alert on eBay at your target price. Someone might list one who doesn't know the collector value. Worth a try.

I'm currently buying 'my' old C64 tapes my parents gave away to a child less fortunate when I upgraded to the Amiga. What I can't find is the L shaped grey curved tape rack though! Yet...

[gimbal]

I'll just stick to my memories and WinUAE. Whenever I actually get in contact again with something that had previously been fond memories only, it tends to diminish the memories.

I loved my A500 back in the day in a time period where I had a whole lot more patience, as an example

[Michael]

I had to part with my beefed up A500 for an empty A1200 when it came out since money was limited at the time. I know that it was stripped and sold apart in the end, so no chance of getting that back.

[kamelito]

My A500 did have a homemade DF0/DF1 switch; another switch to disable slow mem and an NMI button and an ADSpeed. I should have kept it!
I still have my A3000 and 8bits machines though.
Kamelito

[Adrian Browne]

Still have my original A500 from 1990. It needs repairs but should run fine again in the future. I donated my original a1200 from 95/96 to a natami team member many moons ago.

Now I have a new a1200 and am slowly expanding it.

[Cobe]

You know, what you're saying isn't impossible at all. Similar thing happened to me with my first guitar. I sold it in high school, I kind a "really" needed some money... even didn't tell my parents I did that, I always had some other guitar lying around borrowed or similar. I was always telling that I borrowed or left mine at someone's flat or studio so it wasn't "too" suspicious. As years passed I got better guitar but regret I don't have my first one just at least to hang it on a wall. And in college, ones I went to a friend living in other town. I stepped into his room and saw my first guitar standing there! He bought it from some kid, maybe the one I sold to, who knows so I bought it back and returned home so it still hangs in my parents flat like nothing never happened. Luckily or more unfortunately it cant speak to tell us about its journey

[Starglider 2]

Cobe, that's amazing. See, you just never know.

[Cobe]

Oh if I could only know where my A1200 is now... If only she* could hear my cry, forgive me and come back I'd do anything just to please her. Who knows, maybe she's with one of you guys. That would be consoling, just to know that she's well and in good hands

*(Slavic languages have noun genders, Amiga is of course feminine, so using feminine personal pronoun isn't awkward as it might sound in English but in this case I use it on purpose and I think it suits

[Starglider 2]

Maybe Adrian, above, has her ;-)