Nostalgic computer lovers, watch this Apple IIc booting up

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Those who truly love computers and can recall the first game they bought on floppy disk, will geek out over this viral video of an Apple IIc being booted up.

Quinn Dunki recently set out to preserve the contents of her floppy disk collection and the motherboard of her Apple IIc computer. Dunki rescued the items from her parents' house and documented ^[1] the recovery process.

"Over the holidays, I took the rare opportunity to dig through the stockpile of childhood belongings in my parents' basement," Dunki wrote on her blog, Blondihacks ^[2]. "Thanks as always, mom and dad, for judiciously moving that stuff from house to house and storing it carefully all these years."

Dunki took apart the floppy drive, which hadn't been opened in 30 years, and shared photos of the circuit board and chips.

The video that caught the attention of the internet was of Dunki booting up the game "Gemstone Warrior" on her Apple IIc computer. From the clicks of the floppy disk being read in the drive to the pixelated start-up screen of the game, the video led to many on Facebook posting about their own first computers.

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Caption

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Jan. 8, 1983: Kim Cohan, the 18-year-old founder of Micro Timesharing Co., wows the press by unveiling a floppy disk, as he introduces the San Francisco library's first public computer.

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Here's a close-up of the computer, a Franklin Ace 1000. I learned to type on Mastertype! Which explains why I only use my index fingers and top out at 40 words per minute.

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In 1983, most of the library's computer literature was aimed at users who knew nothing about the device. RIP WordStar. The word processing program dominated the market before WordPerfect emerged.

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I looked, but couldn't figure out where this computer station was located in the library. Note the double disk drive. I'm guessing the most common use in the latter half of 1983 was copying "Lode Runner."

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I believe this woman was library personnel. The library allowed Cohan to install the computers without charging, in return for an hour of free computer time every day.

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Cohan drops a token into the Zenith Data Systems monitor, which looks a lot like the black and white televisions they used to have in bus stations. Note the timer on the bottom.

Photo: Fred Larson, The Chronicle

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An Examiner article featuring the first coin-operated computer at San Francisco Public Library. The article focused on problems, although many were caused by computer-clueless users.

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June 18, 2013: Three of the 40-plus free personal computers available for library patrons now. There are also even more popular areas where users can plug in their laptops. No tokens necessary.

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Note that I'm not making fun of this guy. In 1983, I was a 12-year-old Kim Cohan. Prescription aviator glasses, calculator watch, cords belted up to the navel. The geeks shall inherit the earth ...

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