MY LIFE BEFORE YOUTUBE (StoryTime) - Computers & Careers | Andre Black Nerd

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Andre Black Nerd talks about life before KZbin and the fascination with computers both in school and in work, including playing Oregon Trail, Number Munchers, and Carmen Sandiego, joining the school comptuer club, being part of a special science and technology program, using classic computers like the Texas Instruments TI/99-4A and early Apple Macintosh laptops, getting a computer science degree in college, working on computer programming and web development as a career, and the balance between those jobs and starting KZbin.
Disclosure: This video is part of a paid sponsorship with New York Institute of Technology.
"Black Nerd Comedy" is Geek Entertainment, Nerd News, Rants & Reviews, Pop Culture and 80's-90's Retro Nostalgia from Andre "Black Nerd" Meadows. www.blacknerdcomedy.com
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[@BeefMonster]

I love hearing stories like this from KZbinrs. It helps remind us that we all start from somewhere different than where we end up.

[@BlackNerdComedy]

+What Biif Truth.

[@IngaHicks]

Very inspiring to young people you are!! Keep doing it!! You and @Lamarr Wilson great inspirations for black children👍💯 and yes, I’m a mom who’s a black geek and nerd with grown ass children who always got down with tech from an early age. And they’re good at it!!

[@McCammalot]

Inga Hicks ❤❤❤❤❤ to our black geek moms!

[@deezy81]

We need more of us to make ourselves known. There are plenty of us. Most blacks are just too afraid to come out as nerds because we are worried about being thought of as corny. No shame in being black and loving geeky stuff!!!!

[@DrWub]

I don't know what Andre did before KZbin but I assume it involved Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers.

[@leggomytoku8029]

well.....kind of....i think......i think he was just given random programing jobs

[@MoejiiOsmanTV]

Ahahaahha

[@galaxywarrior4437]

edwin serrano me too

[@riseofloganxlogan4230]

it's called watch the video!

[@andrewgoode7640]

edwin serrano and gremlins. Can't forget the gremlins😂

[@SoCalCollector]

That is an inspiring story. I always love your videos. Greeting from Southern California :)

[@BlackNerdComedy]

+SoCal_Collector Thank you!!!

[@Moonbeam143]

I remember getting a Sega Genesis back in the day for Christmas. It was nice.

[@50digitsfidget61]

Moonbeam hahaha! Our cable company offered SEGA Channel! We only needed the console and controllers, and could rent the games like pay-per-view. I miss SEGA.

[@geminiwolfe]

Hey Andre!! I loved that video. Two weeks ago I graduated with a Bachelor of Information Technology degree. I grew up in the time where we were learning about computers. I was in a computer club and remember having a computer when I was younger and learning things on it, like Jump Start or School House Rock games even Carmen San Diego games like you have. I really enjoyed them. I was really into video games as well so I learned more about computers and started playing things like Diablo and World of Warcraft. Computers have always been a passion of mine because of how much it has been in my life. I just built my first 1500 dollar computer last year! I am excited to be starting my first IT job in December at the computer I work at now. I am being moved into the IT department and get to learn a lot of new things!

[@bandotaku]

Technology and computers are something that has always been in my life that I can remember. My dad is a system analyst and he would always bring home pc's and monitors that he was working on or that the company just wanted to give up because they got something more advanced. My earliest memories with technology in general was an Atari that my dad set up in our living room with a black and white TV on the floor. After that, I remember playing computer games on Windows 95, then 98. We had gotten a Super Nintendo when it came out and my sisters and I would play it for hours. Things just kept progressing from there. I owe much of my computer knowledge to my dad. He was also the influence behind my love of video games.

[@sosteph5548]

I don't remember my first tech gadget but I do remember the first time my household got wireless internet and I thought it was the coolest thing ever! No more " get off the computer, I need the phone!" lol I was so happy!

[@artisticcrossbreed]

I remember when I got my first computer. It was an old IBM from my father's work. They were updating their computers so they were selling their old computers for dirt cheep. It was massive and old and couldn't connect to the internet. I was allowed to have one but my dad had only one condition, I had to take care of it myself. That meant using DOS to install Windows 95 myself. He taught me how to partition my hard drive and what bits and bytes were. I was maybe 11 at the time and I only used that machine to play Roller Coster tycoon and Commander Keen. (Most of the games at the time were too new to work on that machine) So Its thanks to my dad and his strict computer rules that I am able to do my own computer maintenance. Go nerdy dads!

[@defftony]

As someone who completed a High School electrical engineering program, I have a much broader definition of computer and technology. I do remember having a 300 in 1 electronics kit as a kid as well as some sort of children's electrical engineering book with designs you could do at home, like using a cup of water a cork a battery and a metal needle to make a compass.

[@marcjasonali]

My first computer experience was a Dragon, my Dad had one for work. Years later I had a Commodore 64 where I was coding in BASIC and the moved on to Mac's at home, I had the laptop you had Andre, then PC's for a bit at School and then as a designer I settled ack into Mac's, and for the last 17 years I have been exclusively Mac and designing both Web and Graphics design.

[@derektorres6260]

My dad was like the original OG Mexican Nerd,. He got us an Atari 2600 for Christmas 1982, and the two earliest computers I remember in the home was a TI-99 (The Black and chrome version) and a TRS-80

[@9124Nove]

I wasn't fortunate enough to have went to schools with well-funded computer labs. So my journey into the world of computer technology didn't start until the beginning of my college years. I had an old Dell Inspiron desktop that I wanted to update from Vista to 10. So long story short, my curiosity for computers grew as I spent my time teaching myself how to update my desktop. I eventually achieved my goal, and as of today, I'm working on my Bachelor's in Computer Engineering.

[@AfoteyAnnum]

Love these looks into your personal life....watching now... PS: I too am a computer programmer...specifically a web developer...

[@AfoteyAnnum]

Absolutely!

[@angelique1508]

Thanks for posting this. It seems a lot young people think all they need is a camera. They don't hear about the time and hard work behind the scenes. They aren't told to embrace the suck.

[@adrian24142]

this video has proven Andre is a Certified Nerd

[@peridot29]

Man...let me tell yall!!! Andre hd some very creative comic strips and hyperstudio stories in high school. Yes...this brings back memories with the gray laptops and hypestudio program. Dudley Science, Math, & Technology Academy Class of 96!!!Continue to do well, Andre.G.D.A. Class of 96.

[@1rv1n000]

Nice Andre, im also a programmer here in mexico! Greetings

[@spadesofpaintstudios1719]

Irvin Olaff greetings

[@alanmcnee4093]

Andre you are such an inspiration for people who want to get into the IT industry, i recently just got a bachelors degree in Computer Security and Forensics and i was totally hooked on your story learning all the programming languages. I've done some C#, C++, Python and web server programming and wish i continued with that. I recently became a Network Operations Centre analyst but hearing your story has inspired me to continue going for certificates to get further in the industry. Thanks for sharing your story and keep up the awesome videos :)

[@ronathan7827]

My first computer was a "portable" computer that my Dad got as part of a grant that he won (my dad was an astronomer). I use the word "portable" in quotes because this thing was the size of a Samsonite suitcase and weighed 50 lbs. It had a keyboard that detached from the front, which hid the screen and the two 5.25" inch floppy disk drives. It had one of those old monocolor green screens, and couldn't do more than very basic programs. But man, I spent hours playing games like Battleship and Carmen Sandiego on that thing. I then joined computer club in junior high school, where we had access to the good old Apple IIe, and used that to do basic programming in Logo. But mostly to play Oregon Trail. :-) We also had a Commodore 64 with a tape deck hard drive, that was ancient even then.

[@nathanspradlin8570]

I freaking LOVED the Munchers PC games at school. I was so thrilled to find Andre also played the same educational games.

[@DougyFreshGames]

Number Munchers...wow blast from the past. I remember getting printshop early in the day with the icecream logo on the front. It was just basically black and white clip art browsing, fell in love with technology since.

[@ptardy1]

Man some of that sounded quite familiar to me. I started when I was young, being exposed to computers with the first being an old Tandy 1000 and Commodore 64s. I loved playing all kinds of games , from Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego , asteroids, a knock of Mario brothers, jeopardy and so on. Back in the 80s , I recall a big wave of BBS , and that was the beginning of the internet as we knew it. Games, messages, downloads at our fingertips. Trade wars was classic. My dad started a BBS and lasted a little while, until Prodigy, then began the days of AOL, and other Dial services to connect the world. While playing my games , i'd love to write little batch files to get to my games quicker. Even diving into Basic and HTML programing. By middle school the computer labs went from old Commodore 64s to those awesome IBM PS2 pcs that I so loved. Every Friday was free game day, you know what that meant :D . I also found a way to run play network doom at school with me and 3 other guys. Those were the days. Now I'm in IT , I liked working on PCs and fixing their problems. And of course who could forget about gaming too. Thanks for sharing your story, I really enjoy your channel.

[@Shadeas24]

I couldn't say exactly what my first piece of technology was... probably my old Sega Genesis and that just stemmed into computers and other electronic devices which led me to getting my first job at Radio Shack (RIP) though working electronics retail and the struggles of Computer Majors that I attempted in college just ended up me abandoning those aspirations so now working on computers has become more of a hobby now than a career option.

[@brickinterviewertv]

we took computers home when i was in school

[@purewitz]

Showing my age here, but.... the first computer I ever used was the Commodore 64 and the first console I ever used was the Atari 2600. Both in 1982 and I was 4 years old. So yeah... I've been playing video games since I was 4 years and I will be turning 40 years old in February 2018. First video game I played on Atari 2600 was the infamous E.T. movie game among other classics like Pac-Man, Pitfall, Adventure, Space Invaders, Asteroids, etc. On the C64 I played games like Underwurlde, B.C. Quest for Tires (Based on the B.C. comic strip.), the Back to the Future movie game C64 version, Batman: The Caped Crusader, Fleet Feet, etc. Then years later moved to SNES, Genesis, Dreamcast, Windows 98, Windows XP, original XBOX, XBOX 360, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. Now-a-days I'm purely a PC gamer playing modern games on Windows 10, but I have been thinking about getting a XBone or PS4. Oh almost forgot to mention I used to program games back in the 80's as a kid by copying C64 programming code out of the back of 3-2-1 Contact magazine. Each month had a different game to program. Then I'd format the programming code onto a 5 inch floppy to load the game whenever I wanted to, so I didn't have to type out the programming code every time, I wanted to play any given game from any given month. Load "*" ,8,1 anyone?

[@yoshifannick4581]

Andre I am glad you are on KZbin you sure know how to make people laugh with your references

[@RebeDrawsStuff]

I want to see your old drawings Andre please :D. Such an inspiring story and thank you for sharing it.

[@alejandromolina7270]

I remember taking a Computer Science class during High School. But the teacher was so preoccupied talking about Star Wars and Star Trek with the two students who were already knew more about the subject that no one learned anything, including me and I sat next to him. To add salt to the injury for the low grades, the guy often ridiculed us for not learning anything.

[@KJandSpud]

I remembered playing the Oregon Trail! Thanks for the picture of it ! Does this hint at our age!😉

[@rlh289]

This story was inspirational. Thanks Andre!

[@Dudeonwheels]

Aaaaaand now you talk about cartoons and movies for a living. Living the frickin dream, man!

[@strikeromega]

Man I had no idea how deep the rabbit hole went. I have had computers in my life since I was a kid. When my mom updated to a 286,she gave me her old Commodore. I was never the best programmer but my time with Basic on that C64 was about as deep as I got. I will note that talking about the Muncher games really resonated with me, lol. I currently do internet tech support, and although it is a stressful job, it let's me be around computers and also help people, which are things I enjoy.

[@ImAFatNerd90]

My dad spent his whole career as a computer engineer. My first computer ran on Windows. The first video game I ever played was The original Mortal Kombat on that computer. My first non-violent game was Sonic 2 on the same computer. I wanted A career in video game designing, but my math was terrible and my coding skills sucked, but that didn’t stop my love for computers. It fascinates me how far we’ve come in 24 years.

[@Samus2564]

3rd grade - Oregon Trail was my first experience with a computer at school. My most memorable moment was when I hacked the computers in the computer lab ( Windows 2000 Professional) to avoid the proxies for open internet. Eventually got a job in the field and a degree from ITT Tech. Now I am a Security Engineer specializing in Data Loss Prevention. Work with major companies in the US and around the world. Work from home in my pajamas. 😁

[@Mattteus]

My dad taught computer literacy to the black community back in the mid 80s. We had a Commodore and a "word processor" back then. I remember playing Zork and (on one of the word processors) the Jeopardy home game. We later got a home computer and a laptop (which smelled like baby piss (but that was normal)) all in black and white (green and amber were things of the past!). after that was the transition to colour and the days of Encarta... and severe Tetris addiction. After my brief stint into animation, the internet happened and my sexuality blossomed. I was introduced by my dad to one of my favourite games - Little Big Adventure during the early 90s. I remember listening to the disc because the music was *that* good... I've rambled long enough.

[@markthompson6040]

Hi andre im still in school so i dont have a job but my first experience with technology was playing the N64 and just last year i got to travel to disney world and stay at the waldorf astoria there because i made it to nationals in video production for BPA it was really tun and it taught me a lot about editing videos

[@j-zap]

Seeing that screenshot of what your page used to look totally takes me back as a fan.

[@kekambas79]

Thank you for sharing your computer life background!!

[@brendansrambles9464]

The part about making choose your own adventure games on old programs that weren't really made for them sounded like my own childhood. I used to make point and click games, number guessing battle games, and choose your own adventure games on Powerpoint and HTML. Usually they involved Megaman, but I made a Castlevania point and click game too.

[@petiecruz2907]

I'm proud of you brother, true Hustler to the end. Right on and congratulations with your KZbin as well. You're an Unstoppable force my brother.

[@jamesroseii]

Love this. Thanks for sharing this with us.

[@seikokobashigawa1527]

im chris up in washington state, my first experience i didnt really get to do much with computers but i did watch my friend dale get into computers and i learned a lot from him, he and his best friend now both work at microsoft, my first family computer i at least used to play doom, and now im at a technical college studying to be an IT guy, so all those years of watching paid off.

[@PixelatedH2O]

When I was 12 or so I was in a summer program that was completely dedicated to that LEGO programming. I loved the heck out of that. Also, in elementary school we had a computer lab of Apple IIs and we did the same thing. For some math classes we'd go to the lab to play math games, for history we'd play Oregon Trail and Carmen Sandiego, etc. We also learned a little bit of BASIC. This was around '90-'92.

[@naimrancier8197]

one of my favorite youtubers just because

[@vgsquirrel]

Loved hearing your story Andre! Just worked a Halloween gig and now trying to find some other job while I continue to work on this KZbin thing. Always love hearing about how people got their start on KZbin and what they had to do to get to where they are today. Thanks for sharing! :)

[@AtHomeWithAGeek]

I was an IT guy for years. Five years, two certs and I still want to be a KZbinr! I started with the Apple II e, and the NES was the first console I owned, BUT my cousins had an Atari 2600 and ET! This video makes me feel like we have even more in common, and I need to spend more time editing videos! Thanks for sharing this, and I will keep watching.

[@spicyjuniormint]

Fascinating! I love your videos and it’s great to hear about your journey. As someone who’s also trying to make it in a creative field, working freelance and trying to find some stability, I can relate to the struggle. Glad you found your way to KZbin :)

[@gentatsu9]

cant wait till you hit a million. I've been watching since I'm Gonna Buy Me a Wii, my dad showed me that video, and it's been so cool to see your career expand the way it has.

[@theonetoruletheworld]

How I learned about computers was one day I was home alone from school because I was sick and I was bored so we had an old computer and I am talking windows 98 and dial up internet so my mom came home to find me on the dinning room floor with the computer in peices and I was putting it back together having a photographic memory helps so glad forward to years ahead I built a super fast computer for my grandma I called the spsdc and to this very day she still has it I read many books and watched many people I worked at an old computer store in my home town for six months so I learned from there now a days I am not so much into computers but I did take apart my wii u just to put it back together again just because I could

[@joshuaficklin147]

Cool to see what you did before this, nice to see what you did before your youtube channel began to grow. #ROAD TO 1 MILLION

[@c.o.n.collectingofnostalgi889]

I was the same mate here in Australia growing up with the tech we grew up with man and yes we have come along way since then.

[@Junius120068]

Yo, the struggle was real bro! Good Job persevering. I love your content and really connect with your personality. It feels like you were hanging with me and my cousins and I love that. Even a lot of the vernacular you use matches ours. When I first saw one of your videos and you outro'd with "I'm outtie 5000" I was hooked and subbed immediately lol. Thank you so much for what you do and I pray for many more years of success and fun. God Bless and see ya around.

[@BossKnightFilms]

I remember that some kids hated computer class, and I had no clue why they hated it because I loved playing on the computer and learning how to do things on them. Now I'm working as an IT tech and no one was really surprised when I chose this career path, lol. If we completed Number Muncher, or Where in Time is Carmen San Diego, or this flight simulator game that you had to fly and land, or whatever it was for that day the teacher would allow us free-play for the remainder of the class time and I remember finishing the level, chapter, or whatever very easily and my classmates getting very upset at the time because that meant I could play real games on the computer, lol.

[@happyhappyjoyjoy9795]

I had the Texas Instruments computer too 😃

[@maclicious2008]

Love to hear story from you. And those screen shot of old KZbin layout hit me with nostalgia

[@lunafreeman1]

I've always loved cameras and being able to capture images, so when I found my mom's camcorder at (maybe like) 8 years old and recorded my first video, literally just me jumping on my bed I was so proud, I had my family sit in the living room and watch it...they were being nice and supportive at the time, but years later we all were laughing at it because it's literally what KZbinrs are doing now and just seeing me and my 8 year old self on the tv and just loving every second of it was so awe-inspiring and profound, I think i was destined to be in the film industry XD

[@chocolate-pyrus8916]

My dad is a computer programmer, so I've always been involved in technology. I think I was about three when I got my first computer. My sibling and I shared it, and we played on it ALL THE TIME. I think my fave program on it was MS Paint. Ik. Lame. But I loved to draw on it. Draw characters, and family members. Which is funny to think about now. It makes total sense, because now I am a digital artist, I make my money off of commissions and selling my art.

[@jadestar1273]

I love your story Andre, so inspirational. I just want you to know... you're one of my top role models 😊

[@squizzy6143]

awesome video Andre... so cool to hear how somebody started out doing what they love

[@vincentpaolini]

I still have a ton of floppy disks in my house

[@Commander_Shepard.]

I have an entire box and have file in em. Don't remember what because my last floppy driver broke years ago. lol

[@McCammalot]

Vincent Paolini I have all mine from college and god knows how I'll ever get the info off them...

[@DoJoTron]

Can we just look at the chaos Carmen San Diego has made in her wake. Carmen left the whole staff of the cover of Where in Time, shook. Dude has a sword out, and woman fainted...

[@JohnnyREB1977]

Great video. All that talk about Oregon Trail and Number Muncher, etc., brought back a bunch of memories. I loved computer lab in elementary and middle school. We had Apples sand Commodore 64s. My first home comp was a 64 - got it in the 3rd grade. I used to love doing basic coding on it; making that dang ball bounce around the screen provided hours of entertainment lol.

[@theguy36]

My first computer was my Mom's computer. It had DOS, but I don't remember the specs. I do remember constantly playing a game called Street Rod....or maybe it was Hot Rod. I just remember the goal of the game was to race cars, and upgrade your car. I played that game constantly and I'm relatively certain I never beat it i, ha.

[@mageofice]

My first dive into tech was in 1993 at the age of 5 playing arcade rips on my dad's Commodore 64 like Centipede, Dig Dug, Blitz Ball and Frogger back on good old 5 inch floppy disk. Yes my dad completely ignored the "Don't copy that floppy," PSA. Eventually I upgraded to a C128 around the age of 9 and took up the PC RPG classic Ultima IV and used some old issues of RUN Magazine to try to code some basic games, leading me down the path of trying to write my own RPG narratives as a Co-DM in a heavily modified Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 campaign. While my dive into computers didn't go anywhere with my career it had a huge impact on my social life and who I wound up friends with.

[@hellmekun]

@7:44 The Guild!! when i saw you at The Guild i was like.. WHAAATT!! LOL

[@zackatk77]

I really appreciate learning about other creators' lives. We might all have KZbin in common, but there are so many other interests in the world. My first technology that I physically held was probably my former GameBoy Colour. I remember spending hours playing Pokémon Red and Blue, Disneyland Racers, some pre-Wario Ware mini game collection, and MegaMan. I'm not working towards a career in technology, but I'm always up for learning as much as I can to help with my passion for KZbin.

[@KRYSTALREADS]

Love these kind of videos from you

[@SimplisticallyDigital]

You took me back Andre! Oregon Trail and Carmen San Diego! Loved computer time at school too. I did not choose to go into technology in college, but I do enjoy it and I am the go to tech person at my job for iOS accessibility for the blind. Thanks for sharing your journey!

[@wanupgirl]

Thank you for sharing with us andre. I knew some of this since we've known each other for many years but I still feel like I'm learning more about ypu. We used to go to the computer lab when I was a bit younger and we had the computers with those tracking balls built into the keyboards. We playsped alot of the games you mentioned. My first at home computer was I think a Tandy 200 or 2000 I can't remember

[@AfoteyAnnum]

The nostalgia is STRONGGGGGG with this video, Fam! LOLZ #TeamPascal

[@MrMustBNice]

Afotey Annum ALL THE WAY!

[@AfoteyAnnum]

Brings me back to my college days, learning FORTRAN and Pascal LOLZ

[@TheyCityisMine]

You do great work @blacknerd you def inspire my family and me to use a hobby and become professional at it, do what you love

[@ccraneem7894]

We had those old school macs in our elementary school computer lab, with Oregon trail and FREEDOM, that banned game about being a runaway slave. No lie. I have no idea how my district didn't get in trouble for that to this day, and I gotta say I have a lot of fond, dark, but fond memories of playing it.

[@MoonSpiritChannel]

Cool story Andre. I could never get into computer programming b/c it was so complicated. Good to see how you evolved from that to where you are today.

[@kevinnorris6558]

It’s crazy because I’m actually studying at NYIT in Long Island for a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Nice to see that they sponsored you!

[@sigasopater]

I love this new content andre! More storytime pleeeeasseeeee

[@toxicsightgaming7664]

im a computer engineer and computer tech. and just recently picked up youtube to record games for

[@FlashthePreacherGuy]

My childhood sounded much like your’s when it came to the computer days. That was the best day of the week or even month sometimes. Outside of school one of my cousins who is older than I am , her husband would build computers and he would show my brother how to build and rebuild them and I would watch as he did that. It was my secret thing that I loved growing up. Then in college I was a graphic art major and then I started for fun repairing computers and phones. I also was a digital photographer at this time.This was all while studying to head to Seminary. Which now the extent of my computer usage is as a Pastor writing sermons or making bulletins or bible study PowerPoints. Though the knowledge I have has benefited me well. I recently have been able to fix a couple computers to give to students in need at the seminary. Thanks for sharing your story Andre.

[@therealfodder]

Excellent video Andre! My first tech experience was aged 11 - using a friends ZX Spectrum (in the UK - I think there was a version of this by Timex in the US). I worked out how to change the coordinates of an asterisk on the screen when pressing a certain key - giving some rudimentary game-like movement. It was at that point I realised I would be a colossal nerd for life.

[@R0n8urgundy]

So many people think the world owes them a favour. Props to Andre for putting in the graft.

[@WillHollandstorytime]

I worked on Macs when I was in high school. I was on the newspaper staff. I also played on my grandmother's Calicovision 2600 growing up.

[@undefinedromance89]

I remember the computer lab having those different colored Macs, and everyone getting hyped over which color computer they got. And I for whatever reason enjoyed the smell of 30 overheating computers packed into one room.

[@marisaorland2073]

That's so cool!! I'm so glad that your hard work payed off Andre!! I myself have been talking a lot of digital classes at my college because I would like to be an animator, and get my own animated tv show someday! I really like learning all of these Adobe digital programs! I didn't think I had the right kind of mind for them, but I'm picking it up pretty fast,and enjoying it so much!

[@marisaorland2073]

*taking

[@Amerikinz14]

That's really cool, Andre. I'm in high school and I'm really into electronics and technology. I like playing video games and learning about mobile devices. I've always been the techie of my family and I'm a teenager. Currently I'm doing a computer elective and now I'm using SNAP circuits to learn how circuits work. I'm even doing Hour of Code. Thanks for inspiring technology nerds everywhere!!! ~A.Kinz

[@damienlyles6272]

I LOVED those games. I even went to my public library to play them!

[@MoejiiOsmanTV]

Probably one of the best story times.

[@calebbennetts3559]

Here's my history with computers: My dad was an IT guy. He taught my brother and me the PC basics; how to install games on our own computers, how to ignore minigames on websites that are actually ads, things like that. My brother and I used to play tons of PC games together, taking turns watching over each other's shoulders and giving each other advise on how to play better. I went to college for engineering but was also interested in the same university's computer science degree with a minor in game development. I took Computer Science 1, which was required for my major, and CS 2, which wasn't required. I almost switched majors but ultimately stayed with engineering. During this crisis of majors, I discovered Construct 2, a program that lets you make 2-D HTML5 games with an entirely visual, event-based coding process. Now I make games in my spare time. With the help of a user-made extension for Construct 2, I'm currently making a 3-D hybrid of a platformer and a beat-'em-up.

[@PseudoCherry2495]

This is so cool to hear about! I'm currently finishing my master's in Computer Science (a 5 year bachelors/masters thing) and trying to get a job as a software engineer since I'm graduating in May. I think my love of computers started with middle school when I decided to join a Math/Science/Computer Science magnet program that taught us BASIC and old school web development (anyone remember Adobe Dreamweaver lol). It's been hard being 1 of a small handful of black girls (or lbr, black people in general, and often the only 1) in any class or internship I've had but I'm gonna make it happen! It is so interesting hearing that you did a lot of freelance because all my classmates went to work for a big tech company (or big companies with large tech divisions like capital one) and are planning to stay for at least a year or two. Not many people are taking the path less traveled by

[@PuppetEProfessor]

Awesome stuff, Andrew! I just watched this. My first game system was the Atari 2600 and I also had the floppy disks and Old Oregon Trail games on a black and green screen, in school. Good times XD I wish I had gotten into computer back then, though. I do a lot of drawing and digital work now, but man I wish I would have devoted more of my time back then to what I know now :/

[@PJSteele22]

Hey Andre, you are such an inspiration! my first experience with computers early 90's when i was toddler was a Vtech computer the VZ200 that you had to hook to your TV you could paint on it and some typing. Then Later on Nintendo,Nintendo Sup,Nintendo64 and so. 1998 we got a HP with the windows98 which back then blew mind, and I went to college for graphic design and was scared to do the web design class that i had to take, and because of a great teacher i had, i did well in coding. but it sucks that i didn't keep it after graduating . but anyways in spite of my learn difficulties and social issues (Dyslexia) Mild Asperger I have my little Associates degree in Graphic Design. But now I hope Could have the courage to start my own Yt videos.

[@adonisg7138]

My first comp was back in middle school...which I didn’t even use until after I graduated high school. Reason being, mom made a choice cable or internet. Didn’t have the money for both lol. I chose internet, had to watch my shows back in the early beginnings of Toonami and other shows 😂😂. Edit: plus, I had my notebooks to draw on so I was good lol

[@HopeOrDoom]

Thanks for sharing! The first piece of tech put in my hands was an Atari 2600 controller, prob ‘86-‘87. It’s was my parents. We didn’t get a home computer till the early ‘90s: had to be a windows 3.0 computer. I played a lot of those games at school: Super Munchers, Oregon Trail, Carmen San Diego. I also remember playing Ken’s Labyrinth for the first time at school. So my first taste of an FPS was at school, which eventually led to me getting into Doom. So school got me into Doom. 😝

[@TMNTfever]

Cool to hear you’re a programmer too! I’m currently a flight software engineer for jets. My first piece of tech I used was the OG GameBoy. I remember wanting to know how it worked, and later on I used Windows 93 to make my own text adventure game lol.

[@RyanNStorm]

Dude, you are the greatest

[@DaniDacey]

Oh, man, you are taking me back with that Hyper Studio mention.

[@miguelarellano3011]

YES!!! HYPERCARD!!! I used that in junior high to make a Highlander game. Depending on where you clicked it would lead you to a different action which was considered a sword slash. Damage was accumulated and either you wore down the enemy or the neck was slashed. Then it would then lead to a quickening. Ah, fun times...

[@xLOVEMimi]

Love hearing about your background! Big fan of you :-)

[@juliablack13]

I never got into computers like you but I definitely didn’t get confused watching this video 😆 My mom was a programmer and my dad was a website developer/designer. Your school was way cooler than mine 😲

[@Undrave]

Man, you earned those sponsors! Enjoy them and live the dream! :D

[@brandonwilliams18]

My earliest memories are sitting on my dad's lap playing Road Rash for Windows 95.