"first" computer on the internet

[Ethan Dicks]

On Sun, Jul 20, 2008 at 10:45:45AM -0700, C. Sullivan wrote:
> 
> On Jul 20, 2008, at 10:29 AM, Tony Mori wrote:
> 
> >REAL old-timers will remember that there was even an AOL client for  
> >the Apple ][GS!
> 
> Nah.  REAL old timers remember AOL as that Atari 2600 cartridge modem  
> thingy called GameLine.

We never had an Atari 2600 back in the day, but when I moved up from
a PET to a C-64 (1982), the first thing I stuck on it after a disk
drive was a VIC-MODEM.  It came with some sort of CompuServe promotional
offer (a few free hours or free sign-up or something), but the simple
character-echo program in the back of the VIC-MODEM manual was too
simple to be really useful.  I ended up having to write my own to
support CompuServe and the BBSes I used to call (AppleII-based, mostly,
IIRC).

When QuantumLink came along some time later, I pretty much ignored it.
Most ironic that I eventually worked for them for a couple of years
after they became AOL (though I was originally employed by CompuServe
as they were being digested - about half-way through my time there,
my badge changed over, my payday changed, the sign on the building
changed, etc...
 
> *shudder*  I still think I owe my parents for some hours I racked up.

If my mother had written things down, I might yet owe her for more than
a few $6/hour (offpeak) hours at 300 baud from those days.  It was really
easy to rack up quite a bill, especially after one finds the CIS on-line
shop with posters and other paraphernalia (my first on-line shopping
experience, as I expect it was for many people).

-ethan

-- 
Ethan Dicks, A-333-S     Current South Pole Weather at 20-Jul-2008 at 20:10 Z
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Ethan.Dicks at usap.gov            http://penguincentral.com/penguincentral.html