>>> Most people I knew who bought a home computer then had experience of
>>> them from work.
>>
>> Really? Interesting... I'm not old enough to know, but I didn't think
>> that was actually the case in the 80s.
>
> From my memory.

That's not how I remember it, but hey, OK...

>> The possible answers include:
>> - Play video games.
>
> There weren't any then. Text games or wireline graphics.

I certainly remember knowing several people who owned a C64 or a ZX 
Spectrum or something similar exclusively so they could play games on it.

>> - Type letters without having to retype the entire thing if you make one
>> tiny mistake.
>
> Most people used pen and paper. Most people could not type and the ones
> that could probable learned how to at commercial lessons or typing classes.

Again, I certainly remember us owning a typewriter. Me and my sister 
used to type stuff on it just for entertainment. Having a word processor 
made life so much easier. And then my parents got a dot matrix printer 
to go with it...

As late as 1995, one of the people at school paid hundreds of pounds for 
an "electronic type writer" that was basically a computer keyboard, dot 
matrix printer and a tiny LCD all in one unit. So, like a real 
typewriter, but computerised. (I don't think you could even turn it off 
without losing your work, mind you...)

>> - Store large amounts of information without filling your filling
>> cabinet. [Assuming you write the software to load and store this stuff
>> and don't mind waiting 2 hours for it to load off cassette tape.]
>>
> I don't think that there was any need back then. Paper ruled!

Yeah, I'm having trouble thinking of any large volume of information 
that you'd actually bother keeping that would be too large to hold on 
paper... The contents of your filofax maybe.

> You probably don't realise how much things have changed just in my
> lifetime.

I know how much they changed in *my* lifetime, but I'm not quite as old. ;-)

> Cars were for the rich, children could play in the street without fear
> of getting knocked down. But collecting number plates (I don't mean
> ripping them off cars) had just gone out of fashion but adults thought
> that it was a suitable hobby. Ballpoint pens were banned in schools, we
> used dip pens. (That changed when I went to high school). The first
> check book I got cost 1/2d per check for stamp duty. People used to go
> out to the airport to see planes taking off and landing for
> entertainment. Foreign holidays were unheard of for most people.

As I say, I'm younger.

When I was a kid, almost everyone had a TV, most people had a knackered 
old car that they spent months per year fixing, and some but not all 
families owned an 8-bit home computer of some sort. I can distinctly 
remember being utterly addicted to Space Invaders, so much so that I 
didn't want to leave my friend's room when mum said it was time to go home.

My parents bought a ZX Spectrum so they could run "educational" type 
games on it for me and my sister. Later my dad had a Commodore Plus4. 
That died spectacularly; left on his bed, the air vents apparently got 
blocked, and I came back to find that the tape hadn't finished loading. 
Instead, the screen was now pink with diagonal white stripes and random 
flashing glyphs. It never worked again, so we got a C64. Pitty; the 
Plus4 was better.

>>> Every laptop I have bought has come with either a CD/DVD manual or a
>>> manual installed on the HDD.
>>
>> Really?
>
> Yes, the ones I've bought. This one is number six. My first was bought
> around 1997.

I haven't seen that one yet. Then again, I've only really got experience 
of one brand - Acer.

Unless you count that IBM thing I was allowed to use, way back in 
1990-something. You know, when only business executives, accountants and 
professional programmers could such things. Cyan and magenta screen that 
rippled when you touched it. VGA graphics FTW! :-D

> Yes, plug it in and clean with a damp cloth but not at the same time.

During boiling, the outside of the kettle may become hot. This does not 
indicate a fault condition.

>> What, you don't know any gamers? ;-)
>
> Only you. My brother-in-law plays some sort of fantasy football game but
> that is a solo thing, I think. I don't play games myself I'm not any
> good at them.

Solo games are still games. ;-)

>>> * And we are special (I know because I went to a special school) ;-)
>>
>> Vehraaay thpesshul. :-P
>
> You got the reference (I thought that the language may have changed).

Oh, I'm sure it has. But what would I know about that? ;-)

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