Originally posted by MotleyCH
My first Sim was on the TRS-80. It had vector graphics which blew my mind at the time.
TRS-80!
Back in 1986 Soviet "Radio" magazine issued blueprints and schemes of how to build an "RK-86" personal computer. A TRS-80. Thousands of people have taken their soldering irons and made it. A first personal computer sold in the USSR for public was a BK-001, it appeared in 1987 and cost a 6 month salary of an engineer. Apple-II clone called "Agat" cost 2 times more.
In 1986 I first saw a PDP-9 clone called DVK-1, and then studied for three years at school to become an IBM/360 operator. At that time we played Startrek.
First IBM/PC machines I saw were Bulgarian PC/3270 clones called ESTL (ES-1839), with 5Mb hard drives and 15" CGA monitors (green-monochrome). It was in the Uni in 1989. Kinda hard to imagine a personal machine with 640kb RAM when we studied on ES-1022 (IBM/360 clone) that had 128kb total and handled 20 terminals, while calculating it's main job, with punch-cards and so on