In 6th grade, i had to make a presentation and the teacher claimed "the smaller your notes, the better your grade!" I typed everything into my vtech and printed to a tiny cashier-like receipt printer. Teacher's mind: Blown.
@AbbieOates4 жыл бұрын
I’m confused what this teacher’s logic was, why would small notes equate a better grade?
@kwirro4 жыл бұрын
@@AbbieOates you would have to have more memorized if you had smaller notes
@johnstreetman14034 жыл бұрын
@@kwirro that was the idea
@penfold78004 жыл бұрын
With thinking like that you should be a company director, or a tax avoidance constant
@cystonks53744 жыл бұрын
@MomoTheBellyDancer I think he mistyped "consultant"
@dwaynezilla4 жыл бұрын
"Little Dwayne wanted a computer that looked the same as his Mum's at work" I'm feeling personally attacked right now
@anotheruser98764 жыл бұрын
Heck, they even put VTech in Honda engines.
@JonManProductions4 жыл бұрын
BWWWWWWWWAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MO POWAH BABEH.
@aniketsahu93164 жыл бұрын
Shingo moment
@blakegriplingph4 жыл бұрын
@@aniketsahu9316 【cool vibrations】
@letsgobubblegum4 жыл бұрын
Vtec yo
@N3gativeChill4 жыл бұрын
Fuck you lmaoo this is a golden comment
@shelby38224 жыл бұрын
Daleks: "SELECT AN ACTIVITY SELECT AN ACTIVITY"
@joshwizinsky19794 жыл бұрын
My exact thoughts!!
@fwoppydwisk4 жыл бұрын
*SELECT AN ACTIVITY* *SELECT AN ACTIVITY* *SELECT AN ACTIVITY* *SELECT AN ACTIVITY*
@timberwolf01224 жыл бұрын
Eeeeduucate! EDUCATE!
@Arbiter0994 жыл бұрын
Where did you learn to fly?
@joshwizinsky19794 жыл бұрын
@@Arbiter099 Where did YOU learn to fly?
@hotkeymuc4 жыл бұрын
I developed a proof-of-concept CP/M for the PreComputer 2000/4000 last year, which got featured on hackaday :-) Got ZORK to run on it! I just love those VTechs! :-D
@Alakazzam094 жыл бұрын
There is not enough beer in the world to give me the patience to do this.
@hotkeymuc4 жыл бұрын
@@Alakazzam09 I'm from Bavaria, near Munich, so there is PLENTY! :-D
@sirflimflam4 жыл бұрын
Link to article? Actually interested to see that.
@mattnova184 жыл бұрын
I remember trying to write games like zork in high-school in programming class.. in turbo pascal. LOL.
@penfold78004 жыл бұрын
That sounds interesting. Could you put that up on your channel please?
@shaunclarke944 жыл бұрын
"Why would you want to listen to this through headphones?" That's probably exactly why it exists, so parents didn't have to 🤣.
@maskettaman14884 жыл бұрын
I thought the exact same thing after he literally said this in the video
@imqqmi4 жыл бұрын
Yep, my father at the time hacked a headphones on the apple itt 2 and had bleeps in stereo 😉
@imark77777773 жыл бұрын
I know when I was younger I certainly liked being able to listen with headphones to things and wished everything had a headphone jack. and it also had the wonderful benefit of being able to be connected to other things like PA systems. No I wasn't that devious that I'm wishing I thought of it when I was younger to connect some arbitrarily annoying device. although I did come close by connecting my non headset capeable modified with a headset Jack weather radio to a sound system..... I had a mini keyboard that I always wanted to put headphone jack on too but never got around to it instead I ended up using a induction Loop. Sadly I'm going to have to buy that thing off eBay because it didn't make one of the moves apparently.
@Sem56264 жыл бұрын
parents bought me a pre-computer 1000 back in like grade 3... it blew my mind that i could write code on it, didn't even realise it was basic at the time i was that young now i'm a software engineer... thanks to my parents and v-tech
@santiagoqr14 жыл бұрын
What kind of code could you write? I’m very curious
@santiagoqr14 жыл бұрын
Ok wait he is explaining on the video. Lol I asked the question at the beginning of the video
@adamhooper24764 жыл бұрын
16:12 "Jimmy!" "Select an activity already!" "I swear to God if I have to come up these stairs..."
@darkprinc9794 жыл бұрын
And everyone wonders why nobody has an attention span these days. "Do the next thing Jimmy! Jimmy, why haven't you started the next thing yet? Jimmy, it's been two seconds since you last started doing something new, I'm starting to worry."
@energymaster224 жыл бұрын
SELECT AN ACTIVITY
@jbeamer11tv4 жыл бұрын
LOL that made me laugh
@pabochi91054 жыл бұрын
4:35 "What does Popeye eat to gain extra strength?" Yo mama
@itshugh67504 жыл бұрын
I lost it at shit.pic . But, nice catch 😂
@NightRidersUrbex2 жыл бұрын
My first computer was a VTech Laser 310. And it was a proper one. Dual disk drives and a fully blown green monochrome monitor. With that thing I learned to code in basic at the age of 10 back then in 1988. Two years later I knew it's capabilities by heart, poking in machine commands and even writing my own little textadventures and small "graphical" games (although those still consisted of text characters flying around and interacting with each another). What a time to have been alive in. Truly UNDERSTANDING what a computer does. With a manual that really teaches you. I was pretty annoyed by Windows 95 at first - never ever knowing why that HDD-LED was flickering. Never ever again having the full control of what my own machine is doing. Right now that RAM-stuffed massive multicore machine beneath the desk is computing thousands of things I don't want it to do - and of course despite its giganteous amount of RAM it is still working hard to degrade the ssd drives in it, without me actually saving anything to them. What happened ?!
@JordanHowellMusic Жыл бұрын
Hey man I appreciate your comment! I just wrote some thing sort of similar on here. Well, about an iMac but, still! I saw urbEx in your name and thought I’d see if I was correct in assuming it was what I thought it was… 😎 I’m gonna check out a couple of your videos!
@renakunisaki6 күн бұрын
Capitalism happened.
@bluekewne4 жыл бұрын
8:59 That computerized "CHOOSE AN ACTIVITY" brought a wave of flashbacks for me - thank you.
@tomclanys4 жыл бұрын
Same. My first years of life were filled with that sound.
@largeroliker4 жыл бұрын
OMFG. I had one of these, they were called "Pitagorín", here in Spain. Fun fact, they included an external cartridge that allowed to change the language from spanish to english :D
@shangrilai19904 жыл бұрын
When he first showed it's box I paused and sat here for 10 minutes taking it all in thinking "nah it can't be.." 8:49 I saw that face and knew but when "choose an activity" was said holy crap the feels.
@VectraQS4 жыл бұрын
My parents got me one when I was like 4, they couldn't get it out of demo mode. I ended up with their old Pentium system soon after. Real computers are far more entertaining anyway.
@RockstheSquirrelMobian3 жыл бұрын
You played Doom soon after didn't you?
@presidentkiller2 жыл бұрын
@@RockstheSquirrelMobian I know I'd have.
@FreeManFreeThought4 жыл бұрын
As a kid, I swear everyone I knew had one of these shoved in a closet. Impressive as they may have been, I don't believe any of the ones I ever saw had more than a use or two. Most kids would rather pest their parents until they could play on the family's actual computer.
@popculturedon4 жыл бұрын
Pat Meyer Nah. I had a 1000 and I wore that thing out.
@mcrecordings4 жыл бұрын
@@VincentGroenewold They were, page 456 of the 1999 Argos catalogue, most models were £80-£120 with the top-end model nearly £200, by comparison a N64 & PS1 were £100: issuu.com/retromash/docs/argossuperstore-1999-springsummer I remember the odd kid had them but even back then I thought they were expensive and crap, and we still had an Amiga 500 so were hardly on the cutting edge of technology.
@jd-py5nm4 жыл бұрын
we didn't have a family computer so I used mine quite a bit actually
@pelgervampireduck4 жыл бұрын
@@mcrecordings I thought they were a scam, no kid wanted this, everybody wanted a console or a real computer. only clueless parents could think this was a good idea. for the same money you could get something more useful and that would make the kids a million times more happy. I'm lucky it didn't happen to me, but I can imagine the disappointment of kids that got this.
@bluekewne4 жыл бұрын
I remember taking mine on family trips more than anything.
@dRevnik4 жыл бұрын
That Platinum thing gives me an idea to make my workstation shout at me "SELECT AN ACTIVITY!" in order to prevent me from procrastination.
@Hachiae4 жыл бұрын
*When Vtech Kicks in*
@Corei144 жыл бұрын
Yo
@jSyndeoMusic4 жыл бұрын
The comment I was looking for 😆
@germaineliew20124 жыл бұрын
Expected VTEC jokes. Not disappointed.
@The-Cat4 жыл бұрын
♥️❤️️
@TorutheRedFox4 жыл бұрын
*_Y O_*
@AstralPhnx4 жыл бұрын
"Slowed to that of the British Government taking action in a pandemic" Holy shit that got a belly laugh outta me
@timjacobs58704 жыл бұрын
United States - "hold my beer!" 🤣😭
@thestigmister4 жыл бұрын
@Dank Kimmy Don't you mean Nigel Farage
@bangerbangerbro4 жыл бұрын
British rail would be slower though.
@imark77777773 жыл бұрын
No what's bloody relevant is that this was at the beginning of 2020 and it's still relevant it's still bloody relevant. I was thinking after I heard him say that this video must have been put out a few months ago.... NO. Hopefully that was the correct use of the word bloody?
@jonathansoko53683 жыл бұрын
What pandemic ?
@Yukicanis4 жыл бұрын
I had the Pre Computer 1000 back in the day and learned typing and BASIC on it. Today I'm a professional C++ Software engineer. Thanks VTech! :)
@90adriaan4 жыл бұрын
This video is such a nostalgia trip that before it even ended i already had 74 pages in my browser history about personal memories with Vtech products.
@kpanic234 жыл бұрын
Am I the only one to automatically try re-angling my head so I can better read the display? Although I know it doesn't help on video?
@rickyrigatoni4 жыл бұрын
when i make a wide turn in a racing game i move with the curve to see better even though it does nothing. can't block natural reflexes.
@georgiehogman20014 жыл бұрын
I was moving my iPad about...
@KuraIthys4 жыл бұрын
@@rickyrigatoni lol. Well, that does actually work in VR... Also if you have a head tracker, though the non-linear response of those will probably mess you up until you get used to it...
@pqrstzxerty12964 жыл бұрын
The backlit ones are the best ones, hard to find these days, and lots faulty on the 2nd hand market. Xtra Pro Laptop pink only blue has no backlight.
@MirekFe4 жыл бұрын
17:33 "I'm Barry Scott, and this is the new, kitchen gun." 😂😂😂😂😂
@ches744 жыл бұрын
Nostalgia Nerd edited and uploaded this entire video on his "new" VTech laptop. He is a martyr to the cause!
@jamesslick47904 жыл бұрын
Since I am on Concast internet, A VTech would be much too powerful for the upload speeds I get. -- --Sent from my TI-81 -
@n1k32h4 жыл бұрын
I would open it up and link it up to a Alaska and see
@ToenS4 жыл бұрын
17:30 .. "Hi!!" .."i'm barry scott".. i couldn't stop laughing for minutes.. hahaha brilliant 😆
@legoferrari143 жыл бұрын
It would've been even better if he chose "I'm Derek Bum!"
@jamesslick47904 жыл бұрын
Being damned near 60, I obviously didn't grow up with these. To me, VTech is a cordless phone brand.
@mattnova184 жыл бұрын
I'm 40. So I just used my family's real computers. I basically taught my dad [who would be 74 by now] how to use the computer and then how to send emails. Haha
@CommodoreFan644 жыл бұрын
@@mattnova18 I'm 39, and while I had the Vtech 1000 Pre Computer as a kid given to my by an aunt, It rarely got used, as I had a Commodore 64(later 128) with dual disk drives, and an Apple II IE also with dual disk drives both sharing an Epson Printer lol! Speaking of VTech cordless phones I still have them at home with a dect 6 3 unit digital answering machine setup using it as a backup to my family's cell phones with a MagicJack, and at work with a dect 6 2 unit digital answering machine setup connected to our ISP's VOIP service as cell phone backup, and business line. Both units have been very reliable for well over a decade now, and when the batteries do eventually go bad, they are cheap as dirt to replace, so as long as Vtech keeps making them, they will be the only brand I'll buy.
@CommodoreFan644 жыл бұрын
@North American KZbinr It'd be interesting for sure, they could target the budget market with decent hardware, and make Chromebooks, or some systems that came with Linux(anything but Ubuntu would be great) preinstalled.
@jamesslick47904 жыл бұрын
@North American KZbinr They could have, They DO make good phones, SO they do "get" electronics. But I guess they: 1,Saw a crowded PC market and 2, They virtually OWNED the whole "kiddie" sorta-computer market, I imagine it was a profitable enough market for them.
@jamesslick47904 жыл бұрын
@@CommodoreFan64 I started out with a TRS-80 Model III in the early 80's (learned Z80 assembly language on it) I also had other Z80 based machines (Including the US market Sinclairs!) If I had known that the early VTech toys had Z80 CPUs, I might have bought one just to hack the hardware for ?!? IDK, Just for fun.😊
@jolesco4 жыл бұрын
"Vtec Vapor", so they intended it to be "vaporware" at first, but then it got released ;)
@trippymchippy85864 жыл бұрын
We all keep a "cleaning rag" next to our computers. ;)
@kaitlyn__L4 жыл бұрын
something I've never understood is, what's the reluctance to just squirt onto your tummy or chest ?????? seems like far less of a hassle. or is the thing about tissues and socks and stuff just elaborate in jokes? like I've always just taken it at face value but. now I think about it. maybe it's like "haha yeah as if" idk man. please enlighten a poor girl who has been baffled by this ever since teenage boys in school
@YetAnotherJohnSmith4 жыл бұрын
It's too early for this conversation
@li5up64 жыл бұрын
Tbh I'm in the stomache squirt camp
@FlyboyHelosim4 жыл бұрын
@@kaitlyn__L 😳
@userPrehistoricman4 жыл бұрын
Kaitlyn L ahhh... so you're offering?
@tookeydookey2 жыл бұрын
I had plenty of Vtech computers and laptops back in the day (although none were any of these shown), but man, out of all your videos, this one hits the hardest far as nostalgia. If only I can turn back time and relive these memories again! Thanks for the great content!
@Mireaze4 жыл бұрын
22:01 that's not a bad design, I'm pretty sure that's where Microsoft got the idea for the best laptop ever, the surface book.
@GozuTenno9624 жыл бұрын
Ah I see you're a person of culture. I too believe that the surface book is a masterpiece
@MegaTerryNutkins4 жыл бұрын
Well they pinched the original Surface design from the Compaq Concerto so why not VTech?
@Charky_Creations4 жыл бұрын
Asus released the original Transformer tablet a year earlier than the surface, in 2011, with the same design but running Android. That was the first I knew of the format.
@SimonBuchanNz4 жыл бұрын
But but but, the surface book uses SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY and is thus superior! Right?
@GreenLantern8144 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the introduction to Cillit Bang commercials, I looked the one up and laughed out loud. It's always interesting to me to check out past tech I wanted, but never got my hands on. Thanks for this walk down the tech toy isles of my childhood.
@bangerbangerbro4 жыл бұрын
I swear cillit bang has become some kind of meme without me. I used to recite it as I thought it was funny but apparently it caught on with other people too and they probably understood what I was on about and thought I was referencing a meme.
@rebmcr4 жыл бұрын
I had the IT Unlimited (though it was called PreComputer Unlimited) and I found out something extremely odd about it. The two bundled "expansion" cartridges (1 and 2) are almost completely empty, and each bridges the exact same pins on the connector slot. The machine somehow knew which one was inserted, so there must have been a resistor hidden inside somewhere. The documentation told of cartridges 3 and 4 available seperately, which I never had. I wonder was the content for those also burned into ROM, and accessible with some experimentation?
@LNSLateNightSaturday4 жыл бұрын
lol on-disk DLC before it was fashionable...
@the8bitzed4 жыл бұрын
Truly ahead of their time.
@toastie72754 жыл бұрын
Robert Ray well now we know who to blame.
@elverjimenez4 жыл бұрын
Someone needs to investigate!!
@renakunisaki6 күн бұрын
Nowadays bootleg game systems do that to hide the copyrighted ROM files. But I wonder why do it back then?
@jamiecullen90754 жыл бұрын
The Barry Scott bit caught me so off guard 😂😂
@jamesslick47904 жыл бұрын
"resemble the real deal"? In 1988, my PC didn't have even a FAKE 3.5" floppy drive! LOL. Only a 5.25".(not fake though).
@djcsdy24 жыл бұрын
I'm pretty sure that's supposed to be a representation of a 5.25" drive, but scaled down because it's a toy.
@jamesslick47904 жыл бұрын
@@djcsdy2 My comment wasn't supposed to be serious. It was scaled down to be a joke. In 1988 I had an IBM PS/2. They, of course had 3.5" FDDs.
@djcsdy24 жыл бұрын
@@jamesslick4790 My mistake, it sounded like you were being serious 🤷
@jamesslick47904 жыл бұрын
@@djcsdy2 My bad🤦♂️. My odd humor doesn't work well in text. 😊
@pokepress4 жыл бұрын
Despite the limited functionality, we considered getting one of these for me in the 90’s because my handwriting was so abysmal I practically needed something that I could type on in class for basic schoolwork.
@lustechsource51974 жыл бұрын
I would've enjoyed some of these as a child. Disappointing they didn't include BASIC in their later models.
@philtkaswahl21244 жыл бұрын
The captions are delightful. [Jazz sustains us.] Yes, yes it does. "WHAT THE CRAP, VTECH?!" Dear god, I lost it. [Jazz. It feeds your soul like a million wet pickles.] Mmmm.... pickles.
@DaRoach58824 жыл бұрын
18:55 who was the artist that decided to illustrate camel toe on the astronaut?
@neddreadmaynard4 жыл бұрын
Being very old I sure do remember VTech having this kind of stuff, but I never realized how deep this Well of Plop went. Thank you for stinking up my day with this very good vid. I must now go unto the water closet and have an enormous VTech.
@cncsmarty4 жыл бұрын
I'd love to see someone bring one of these to their college or high school classroom! Oh that would tickle
@bangerbangerbro4 жыл бұрын
I've though before it would be cool to bring a spectrum in if I got a TV80 to use with it.
@Glitterandcoffeexoxo3 жыл бұрын
😂
@RetroSegaDev4 жыл бұрын
Great to see the video on this subject finally coming to fruition! Seems like ages ago since we spoke about it :). Why did they evolve so much but the screen never get much bigger than a couple of credit cards in size!
@Noname304y2u24 жыл бұрын
I remember adults always acting like these things were real laptops and then giving them side eye.
@kaennatunes91103 жыл бұрын
I'm feeling very nostalgic now. Back in the day we had a Precomputer 2000 (or Genius Leader 2000 in Germany).I played with it a lot but never understood what "Basic" was about. Learned something new today. I'm determined now to find me a Precomputer 2000, just for the sake of nostalgia (and maybe giving "Basic" another shot). Great video!
@DavidWonn4 жыл бұрын
These look like vastly more modern versions of a Speak 'N Spell from my youth.
@squirlmy4 жыл бұрын
key word: "look". They actually are very much on the level of Speak n' Spell. Still are. The form factor is more PC-like, not any better or more sophisticated in any other way.
@collinkelly24204 жыл бұрын
I think I had the endeavor. Edit: I definitely did, those sound effects are bringing some memories back from the deep recesses of my mind.
@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep4 жыл бұрын
Man, I (22) remember my little V-tech toy laptop with the pets. One of them went "hungry, hungry" and my mom and I still reference that all these years later
@amberdean12634 жыл бұрын
I had a VTech Pre-Computer Prestige circa 1995, when I was in kindergarten. I begged my parents for a laptop and this was an affordable compromise for the time, and aimed at kids. It came with BASIC and a full word processor, even a serial port you could hook up to any generic printer of the time. I so vividly remember checking out BASIC programming books from the public or school libraries, and I'd type in the programs from the books line by line. It was what opened my world to computing and programming, and what would become my future career.
@Muzer04 жыл бұрын
The Barry Scott thing really caught me off guard, hahaha, amazing.
@bjornroesbeke4 жыл бұрын
They've made so many different laptops that i can't find my one anymore. It had so few quiz questions that i could memorize all of them. Oh, and the computer voice was SO IRRITATING! "Uijtsteeeejkeend" ("uitstekend" or "excellent" in Dutch). Sometime in 1999 or 2000 i unscrewed the thing because i needed resistors for a (not even blinking) led project.
@djcsdy24 жыл бұрын
6:02 So many jumper wires! It's really interesting to see that doing that much extra soldering, which would have been done by hand, must still have worked out cheaper than just making a double-sided PCB.
@ncot_tech4 жыл бұрын
That “My First Computer” literally was my first computer.
@BilisNegra4 жыл бұрын
More like a pre-computer, as they more suitably labelled these things later on.
@ncot_tech4 жыл бұрын
BilisNegra I think I played around with it for maybe a month or two before an Acorn Electron magically appeared one Christmas.
@BilisNegra4 жыл бұрын
@@ncot_tech Just to picture how glad you must have been back then getting so much more of a real thing makes me get emotional, like you were an '80s kiddie character in a retro movie.
@adews72044 жыл бұрын
I found one at a thrift store for $5, it had basic on it!
@StormkeeperPU4 жыл бұрын
I had a similar experience, in that it was in one of my local charity shops. It was 20 quid, and I initially didn't think much of it until I checked it to make sure there were no batteries in the compartment, just to make sure they weren't leaking, and then I discovered it had BASIC on it! I also ended up getting it for 12 quid instead, partly because it was on the shelf for weeks and I was probably one of the few people that would have bought it! I ended up buying a printer for it eventually too, but both are now in storage, as I need to organise my flat for space purposes!
@ChrissehCat4 жыл бұрын
My grandma had a PreComputer 1000 at her house for the grandkids to play with. We all loved it, didn't have the manual so we didn't know anything about what the BASIC function was. None of us had computers at home at that time, I was the only one who was school aged at that time with access to computers, but we were already in GUI territory with macs. Had no idea that little thing was so capable though!
@deterlanglytone4 жыл бұрын
I had the PowerPad... in my house, I recall just missing around it when I was young and not understanding what I was going on with it. Since, I was like... 3 or 4 when we had it in the house.
@chrismcghee48674 жыл бұрын
The Precomputer 1000 is where I discovered my love of programming. I didn’t know it then, but it had set me upon a wonderful path that would carry me into the universe of software development. I owe a great deal to that little PC.
@redpheonix10004 жыл бұрын
My favorite thing about the "Desk Station" is how the back is shaped as if it had a CRT monitor!
@Kylefassbinderful4 жыл бұрын
Having been a long time graphing calculator nerd I'd say having a 8 line display should be the minimum in a kids "pre"computer toy. The TI-82, TI-83, TI-83+, TI-83+SE and the TI-89 were my introduction to programming. I would spend an incredible amount of time programming the intro to a game. Like 8hrs of using the challenging keypad and navigating all the sub menus just to make a 3-5sec intro with pieces falling into place to make up the word Tetris. To this day I still have fun writing code for my TI-83 only I ditched TI-BASIC years ago and now do everything in assembly. I was always curious about the HP series of graphing calculators. I heard they were more capable but used a different programming language than BASIC. I never knew anyone who had one though because of the stranglehold Texas Instruments has on the educational market.
@tjhebblethwaite4 жыл бұрын
I had a sesame street branded VTech in 1994. I remember that was fun. It had plastic disks for the programs that were just plastic with holes punched in them.
@ros_sauce Жыл бұрын
I had a little vtech laptop as a kid & trying to find more info on it led me here :) love old tech like this, and your commentary is top notch!
@thoreberlin4 жыл бұрын
The title is misleading. They are exactly as crappy as i thought. Those things were expensive. A far superior used PC was always far cheaper.
@pelgervampireduck4 жыл бұрын
only stupid parents would get this for their kids. I can imagine the disappointment of those kids that wanted either a real computer or a console and got this useless crap instead.
@Spillerrec4 жыл бұрын
I think it is fitting, they are not just crappy, they are hilariously bad.
@kilrahvp4 жыл бұрын
This was turn on and use, back in the early/mid90s parents were unlikely to even have a PC themselves so there was no chance they'd buy/scavenge an old one for their kids, even if just because they would have no idea how it works and how to help then set it up. Also no internet to get software, so way too much hassle. Nowadays yes, they're kinda pointless.
@CricketEngland4 жыл бұрын
Your better off getting your kids a Commodore 64 and some educational software and some games they would have made far more use of it than anything V-tech made
@lewisfilby23944 жыл бұрын
I have fond memories - mine offered math and English learning games -- but I never used those. all I ever used was the BASIC mode and the included basic manual. those set me on a course for life - all from a kid's cheap toy in a time when computers were prohibitively expensive for normal families.. yes i had the 4 line version and it was cheap as chips in the 90s
@Skeeballman649 ай бұрын
This video inspired me to start collecting VTECH computers. I now currently have 8 (one is in transit as of writing this) and the collecting shows no signs of stopping any time soon.
@the_peefster4 жыл бұрын
Every christmas as a wee lad I would ask for a laptop. Every year v tech would strike again :(
@stapuft3 жыл бұрын
i LOVE how you sarcastically say "whopping" and "kilobytes" in the same sentence.
@User.6654 жыл бұрын
I had no idea vtech made computers like this. I would have loved one of these in the 90's.
@squirlmy4 жыл бұрын
No. You wouldn't have. Most were pretty bad. TI-84 Scientific Calculators were more fun and interesting.
@LingTinaTV4 жыл бұрын
I learn to program in BASIC on the Pre Computer Thinkbook back in the day. When my brother, who was going to university for his computer science degree, saw me making my own games, he politely then plopped the real BASIC manual in front of me. So, i learned it back then and we made a couple games together. Thanks for stirring up the good memories!
@bisalwayswright884 жыл бұрын
'Your interaction is slowed as to like the government taking action during the pandemic' that got me. Stay safe Nostalgia Nerd ❤️
@bluespartan0763 жыл бұрын
who ever made the closed captions... thank you. had a very good laugh!
@MarcoMazziniYT4 жыл бұрын
_"Like playing a Gameboy in the car, in the 80s"_ You mean the 90s.
@Benzona4 жыл бұрын
It dropped in 1989, so for eight glorious months you could play Gameboy in the car in the 80s lol.
@MarcoMazziniYT4 жыл бұрын
@@Benzona dropped in 89 in the US. We silly Europeans had to wait until 1990.
@Benzona4 жыл бұрын
Oh right, I forgot Europe existed for a minute there lol
@stevesstuff14504 жыл бұрын
@@Benzona : Yeah...and we haven't gone away... Remember; the World is round: A Globe. Ignore the Flat earth lunatics. They don't count. Europe is some 6-8 hours ahead of you as far as scientific reckoning of Time goes; yet a lot of tech and gaming stuff happens later for us in the UK/ Europe by a few months.... I guess it's down to logistics, or some sort of twaddle..... ;-)
@Hypher69beedeetea3 жыл бұрын
I used to have a PreComputer 1000! So many hours spent with that thing. Thanks for the nostalgia hit!
@calvinrempel4 жыл бұрын
I wonder: did anyone ever make custom ROMs for the older VTechs?
@userPrehistoricman4 жыл бұрын
One of the commenters here opened up a cartridge and didn't find a ROM inside it. Might be the same for many of the VTechs.
@nemoskull22624 жыл бұрын
i want to. bought a 1000 and rom cart for this.
@app0the4 жыл бұрын
There's a guy above in the comments who seems to have done that, with a whole CP/M OS nonetheless
@userPrehistoricman4 жыл бұрын
Perhaps they have it both ways. The carts can either provide additional memory or just tell the internal memory to do a special mode.
@brianw40504 жыл бұрын
I used to have the pre computer 1000. I had completely forgotten about it until seeing your video. I remember loving that thing.
@Howch1254 жыл бұрын
When your childhood friend says they have a computer too... :)
@rhdevelops60233 жыл бұрын
I remember the "Rumbling Ranks" card game, and now I feel like playing it again thanks to this video. Thanks for the nostalgia!
@DetectiveThursday4 жыл бұрын
Kid: mom I want a Nintendo Switch Mom: you have a Nintendo switch at home 20:53 the Nintendo switch at home.
@cyb3rp0nk4 жыл бұрын
I gave my son his first Laptop now as a 5 year old. An old bulky Thinkpad R51 (that he can throw around) with XP on it plus all those cheesey XP applications, games and themes. He loves it and have learned allot how to navigate, power on and off the right way etc. Allot more common computer knowledge than just using his iPad for games and kid shows. I wouldn’t even buy any of those ”education fake laptops” when there are much more needed real and cheap laptops today to install the right stuff on for a kid.
@WoollyMittens4 жыл бұрын
I still remember my first one of these: It was a Commodore 64.
@LiquidDIO4 жыл бұрын
Mine was a Vic20.
@katho84724 жыл бұрын
Same here, at around 10 years, I first had a C16 and after two weeks, I got a C64 :) Never had that VTech s...tuff^^
@Bamaca_B589 ай бұрын
I'm on a nostalgia trip. I can't find the one I had when I was kid. The narrator was male, it was silver and blue, and the shape was rectangular with hexagonal corners. When I turned it off, the narrator would say "See ya soon!" And the closing animation was a person getting inside a tent and turning off the light. I remember it being camping/outdoor themed. 2003 ish.
@TheAssassinLoverYT4 жыл бұрын
Me: Why did he spell color wrong? Me 10 seconds later: I'm an idiot 🤦
@neroaction4 жыл бұрын
My cool uncle who was really my introduction to a lot of things (like model kits and retro consoles) gave me his old the Precomputer 2000 as a kid, I was obsessed with it and seeing it there gave me a flush of memories of a device that I could ever vaguely remember, especially in the sea of VTECH products that exist. I very vaguely remember doing BASIC on it I think but I had no idea what that actually was and thought it was just another part of the games on there.
@StrangelyIronic4 жыл бұрын
I learned a lot about computers and started programming on a Apple IIgs in the mid to late 90's when I was learning to read at around 4 and 5 (learning faster than others because I wanted to learn basic and assembly not long after). Sure I built IBM PC compatibles with my Dad's spare parts at his office but I always had a soft spot for the IIgs Woz Edition I got from my Uncle as a gift. I still use that computer a lot to program fun projects to take up time with. It kind of follows what you said about learning the limitations of your system and learning to work around and even with them at times.
@mikeynjs944 жыл бұрын
aw man. i had the vtech style pad in green & i thought that was the coolest thing ever. i took it everywhere we went (along w/ my dandelion yellow gbc) be it family functions, vacations, & even to the babysitters over summers. the games were the best & i really felt like an adult w/ it. good times. i wish i still had (wish is still had the gbc too)
@LittleRichard19884 жыл бұрын
I got an Alphabet desk as a christmas present in 1994 when I was about 6 but back then even an Alphabet desk was exciting and something to be grateful for. To be honest by 2001 most homes had a computer and by then toy computers had their day. I never saw the point in V Smile when you could have educational games on the PS2, DS or Wii. My mum also found me a Grandstand "My first computer" in a charity shop in 1998 and I liked it's touch pad buttons, I think the Grandstand came out in the late 80s.
@iana67133 жыл бұрын
Seeing that Pre-Computer 2000 dredged up a forgotten memory as soon as you turned it on... That start-up melody reminded me that my parents bought me one of those things!
@looneyburgmusic4 жыл бұрын
My youngest two LOVED their V-Tech "computers", even after we bought them actual desktops and laptops as they got older.... They were totally hooked on these things for some reason.
@danielstephenson75584 жыл бұрын
Man I wasn't expecting a Cillit Bang reference amidst a review of Vtech machines, but I'm bloody glad its there. I never realised that Grandstand was the same as VTech for the UK. I used to have a WhizKid and part of me wants to get one again for nostalgia's sake.
@MiguelRodriguez20104 жыл бұрын
wow I remember having a blue vTech laptop my folks bought me at Toys R Us. I credit that laptop to my PC skills today!
@Kylefassbinderful4 жыл бұрын
I'm not sure I had a V-tech, I think it was a knock off but I remember it came with 6 or 8 little plastic "disks" that when you inserted them you could draw, do math, write something, a couple different games. But the funny part was at that age I took everything apart and when i popped it open after tinkering around I realized that the "disks" contained no information. Instead the unit had all the applications and each disk had corresponding punch holes in specific patterns so when you inserted them in the unit it just triggered a specific application. I remember it kind bummed me out and as a result I didn't put it back together. I think I just stripped parts out to make cool circuits. ahhh the early 90's was a fun time.
@MrDannyDetail4 жыл бұрын
I had the PreComputer 2000. Two of them in fact. The first one met its demise within a week of arriving at Christmas, as I was using it on the dining room table and forgot the thing had a power cord coming from it and fell over said cord, which sent the PreComputer plummeting. My friendly local retailer gladily exchanged that one for the second one (being unaware of the full circumstances that led to it becoming non-functioning). The second one also met it's demise sooner than I would have liked, when untidyness on my part led to the screen finding it's way under something heavy, and thus getting wrecked. A really amazing machine though, that I absolutely loved using. I could have sworn you could save multiple Basic programmes though, as I used to use the Basic function to save text about things I needed to remember for whatever reason, and I don't think I'd've done that if doing so had wiped my previous programming. Anyway years later (about 7 to be precise) I began Computing A-Level and we were all asked to inform the programming lecturer what our previous programming experience was, so I wrote that I could program in Basic on the PreComputer 2000 (and didn't see any kind of irony or shame in telling him that).
@albertcornstarch86072 жыл бұрын
I had a silver VTECH laptop with a blue stripe down the bottom of the lid, and it had the coolest music!!! Nothing copyrighted, but still fun!!! I don’t have it anymore but it was the best thing to do when I was bored. I do remember it had a silver V on the front as well. Looked like a MacBook with a small green display…what a waste of all that space.
@trajectoryunown3 жыл бұрын
I had a Vtech laptop as a kid and it was fucking awesome. Brain busting puzzles, educational quizzes, extremely fun games. Really wish I could get ahold of one of those things again. It was great. Even the sound effects and little tunes they had were amazing.
@vyperii4 жыл бұрын
My little sister had the PC notebook, 1993, and a couple of cartridges- It's still at my Mum's somewhere. It was a great little machine when we were on holiday in the car!
@Junkman4444 жыл бұрын
Your videos make me cry ... with laughter ! Keep up the good work.
@WhatHoSnorkers4 жыл бұрын
Lovely stuff sir. I had a word processor with 4 line screen. I can't imagine coding BASIC on one line!
@sourgrapekate10034 жыл бұрын
I had the Pre Computer Power Pad from 1995. I recognized it the minute I heard the wrong answer beeping. My Grandma loved buying me that kind of stuff. I also had a Vtech learning robot.
@Viteaification4 жыл бұрын
i had one that im sure was from a thrift shop when i was a kid. didn't have a family computer so this and an old typewriter was all i had. that little horn noise near the end of the video brought back a lot of memories.
@NewsmakersTech4 жыл бұрын
Awesome video. You have an amazing collection of VTech kids 'computers'. We have a few of these and recently put out a video on a Laser 486 which was part of the VTech family. We would really like to try out a CreatiVision if we can ever find one.
@silverspy184 жыл бұрын
I had the PowerPad as a kid and it was my first introduction to the world of BASIC. Great video!
@Siddif4 жыл бұрын
My older brother had a VTech laptop in 98/99 that looked like it was based on the Endeavour and was aimed at KS3 curriculum. It had a word processor, spreadsheets, the quiz thing and I think a drawing pad. I can’t find the exact model anymore but it looked more like an actual laptop than a toy and I would use it more than my brother, I was obsessed with making spreadsheets and graphs. I had used it long before I had access to a Windows PC but had grew up with Acorn Archimedes terminals in primary school.
@ThatOneGirlThatPlays4 жыл бұрын
@6:40 that screen refresh soft key typing is satisfying. I missed that alot from my old one.
@aphidian4 жыл бұрын
Back in the early 90s vtech also made "electronic dictionaries" for the Asian market, those were like tiny palm size laptops for adults / older students without any toy-like design. Great replacement for paper dictionaries, but I used it mostly to play games. Some also integrated functions such as organizer, calendar, book reader, unit converter, calculator etc. Google search vtech cv6880 you can find photo of one of the models.
@JohnHoggard_aka_DaddyHoggy4 жыл бұрын
I remember a lot of these - but some are completely new to me. Fascinating.
@Zedek3 жыл бұрын
2:03 - We had a vTech Leader2000 for Christmas '94. When I saw the box in the video I remembered the clicking sound of the keyboard myself. I typed so much on that as a kid..EDIT: 6:20 - the Bootup sound. My childhood. OMG, yes, that is the keyboard indeed.
@mercster Жыл бұрын
When I was around 10 or 12, I had a Laser 128, an Apple IIe compatible computer by VTech (it was sold at Sears.) It was my first computer. Many years later, I got my young daughter one of those little toy computers with different programs on it.