alt Hacker NewsYes, thank you C64 and all the brilliant people that made it happen.
I also want to thank my mother for giving me a C64 for Christmas in 1983. My single mother worked 2 jobs most of my childhood (corporate gig by day, waitress in the evening); our family always struggled with money. I have no idea how she paid for the C64, plus the 1541 disk drive and 300-baud modem. I also didn't know the C64 would be so pivotal in my life - I was just some nerdy kid who loved to tinker with stuff, but Mom knew. So, thanks Mom; I owe you everything. Oh, and sorry for tying up the phone line all the time.
I have a similar story. Single mom, early/mid 1980s C64.
I recently found the framed receipt for this purchase. My mom still had it and framed it when she found it years ago, as it became clear that purchase led to my prosperity (until recently) as a software engineer. I found it in a box out in my garage, where it now sits next to my C64 (the original case, but not original motherboard).
The whole purchase - C64 + 1541 and a few other things, adjusted for inflation, would be around $1200, which is a lot for a single mother with 2 kids. It makes me appreciate her wisdom in seeing the importance of that purchase.
>Oh, and sorry for tying up the phone line all the time.
Also sorry for the $300 phone bill ($900 today), the month after I got my first 300 baud modem. Phone calls were way more expensive back then, calling across local counties cost more than numbers closer to me. And out of state charges were ridiculous. And file transfers were sloooow. I got into trading warez right away, so it got expensive. And then I became a phone phreak, but that's a separate story.