So what was the first computer you bought / played / used
First computer I personally bought : C64 ( followed by Sega Megadrive/Genesis, then a PC )
Edit : Loved the C64 - first games played - Outrun and Ghosts n Goblins. Still play the C64 games on C64 emulator sometimes. California Games was great. Too many to list but you get the idea. Oh, also it had SEUCK (Shoot Em Up Construction Kit) where you could design your own sprites etc...that was fun
First computer I played : First real computer with keyboard and memory that our family had was a SEGA SC-3000. Before that, we had various little battery powered hand-held electronic games. And before that, I remember one time somebody lent us a gaming system for a few weeks, don't know what it was called. It had 64 pre-selectable games, blocky as heck but loads of fun. Games like Tank, Pong, etc... Probably some others that I'm forgetting.
What did you do before you had a computer?
Was it just watching TV or more non screen activities like sports and board games?
Sports, Board Games, Army men, physical toys/figures (Transformers, Masters of the Universe (Skeletor and He Man!), Match Box cars), TV, listening to records / cassette tapes / radio. Skate boarding, roller skating, riding bikes, climbing trees, playing in the creek, swimming, going to the beach, camping, throwing a ball around, playing random stuff with friends after school. Reading books. Watching movies, renting BETA/VHS video tapes to watch at home. More time spent being bored. Having to follow the programming schedule of the TV Channels, for example, Sunday night was MacGyver night, Friday night was Knight Rider, Saturday was "What movies will be on the box tonight" day. Having to spend an hour watching a 45 minute TV show filled with 3 or 4 ad breaks. Compared to recent times where everything can be downloaded/streamed on demand/binge watched whenever we like.