My journey from Apple II to the internet
Yesterday I mentioned being online for many years, but before the Internet was a thing, I was already using computers.
My first computer was an Apple II clone. I used it for a long time, and then I upgraded to a 386, if I'm not mistaken.
That Apple II was a clone because Brazil, where I lived at the time, had what I would call in a direct translation a "Market Reserve". It was a combination of very high import taxes and prohibitions. I'm not sure if it was only computers. I think it was related to all IT stuff, everything tech related.
The idea was to boost the local industry. But what I remember from that time were all the clones. We had Spectrum clones, we had Apple clones, and so many others. So I'm not really sure that worked as intended. It ended up ending in the 90s.
But back to my story, in 80s, my Apple II Plus had a case pretty similar to what was an Apple IIc in the United States, but it was an Apple II Plus. It would have many ports like the IIc but it was II Plus. I did a lot of things on that computer. A lot of covers for my homeworks. I now remember a teacher... oh, that was not a good experience.
It took me a long time creating this cover for that homework, which was handwritten. It was just a cover that I did on the computer, but it took me a long time to understand the software and be able to print that cover. Then the teacher showed that cover to everyone in the class. He didn't tell it was mine but he showed it to everyone and said, "this is something that I'll read with a grain of salt."
Of course I didn't say anything, but I felt bad. It took me a long time to create that and I thought he would like it. In hindsight I probably spent too much time on the cover but I actually did the homework. We didn't have the Internet back then, so I had to do it myself.
But most of my memories about that computer are good. My Internet experience started on a 386 running Windows 3.1 or maybe 3. I think it was 3 and then I upgraded to 3.1.
I had a very slow modem... BBS*, I first started on a BBS. That was actually my first online experience even before the Internet. And that's why I say I've been online for so many years.
---
*The BBS experience happened on the Apple, not on the 386.