I bought my first computer in 1981 while I was stationed at Naval Shipyard Mare Island, CA. It was an 8080A based computer with 16K of RAM and a cassette drive for storage. This was back when you had to know how to program a computer before you could use it because there was little software available. But my introduction to microcomputers came in 1975 when Popular Electronics ran a two issue DIY article on how to build and program the Altair 8800 which was based on the 8080 microprocessor. At that time I was taking a course titled, 'Basic Digital Logic' and had to design and build a 1 1/2 adder which is the fundamental building block of the ALU or Arithmetic Logic Unit of a central processing unit, or CPU. Remember in those days CPUs were being built out of discrete components or LSI (Large Scale Integration) micro chips (logic gates). Intel was building the 4040 uCPU for calculators, which was a 4 bit processor. Intel just beat out rival Motorola to the 8 bit processors with the 8080, Motorola soon followed with the 6800. The 8 bit microprocessors or uCPU were never intended as the CPU for a computer but a bright bunch at MIT designed the Altair 8800 around the Intel 8080.
I then migrated to Commodore Business Machines VIC 20 and TRS-80 Pocket Computer, then to the C-64, then the 128D which was my favorite 8 bit machine. I bought my first Amiga (A500) when I was the lead ET of an LCAC detachment. When I was on instructor duty I taught a Time Domain Multiplexing system the Navy developed for it's UHF satellite communications system. That system was based on three 6800 uCPUs. When I was working on the LCACs they used a modified AN/UYK-20 minicomputer, called a YUK-20, for the PIP to raster scan converter for the LN-66 radar system, and communications and navigation integration system.
After I retired I bought my A3000D from a guy who upgraded his videography business to a A4000T. I was working for a medium sized electronics firm in San Diego until my undiagnosed hypothyroidism made it impossible for me to keep working. From my understanding of the symptomology of hypothyroidism I now know my thyroid started failing on me while I was working around tactical nuclear weapons in the early 80s. Until I had to drop out of college (thyroid) I was working on a triple major in computer science, electronics, and accounting. When my ANSI C professor asked me why I hadn't taken the BASIC Programing course, I told him I taught myself how to program in BASIC and assembly in 81 and had been working on Pascal back then also but couldn't afford a Pascal compiler.
Up until my brain stopped working I was learning AmigaE, which I liked, but now I'm working on Pure BASIC. I really want to get my A3000 working again as it is much easier to program for than Windows, which is why I like Pure BASIC as it is a cross platform programing language. I'm still learning where it deviates from BASIC, but I can study it using the free Windows demo, then I can buy the system and install in on my A3000 (OS3.9).
I wish we could track down the source code for Final Writer and get it into the GNU open system. I really liked it. I used it in my Business Communications class, even though we were supposed to use Word(Star??? at least that is what I recognized it as the first time I used Microsoft Word, it really looked like my WordStar program I used on my 128D).
