I remember getting my fist computer for my 8th birthday.
It was a pristine brand new atari 800xl with a tape deck and a cartridge slot. (blow on the cartridge to fix bugs

)
We had to go into town to buy games (between the moor and arundal gate where redgates used to be for anyone else from portugal :p)
to Games workshop to buy games for it before microfun opened up in hillsborough.
Great labels like mastatronic, imagine, ocean all supported the atari 800xl and life was great with a tape deck, a copy of chop suey by the english software company and 64k memory
I also remember getting my mum to ask the local news agent if they could get any atari related magazines.
The local news agent kindly agreed to get us a regular supply of atari user i think it was.
After I ditched the 800xl and bought other systems I used to get C+VG from the same newsagents. (Julian Rignall was and still is a god.)
I have since owned zx48, c64, nes, snes, n64, master system, megadrive, ps1,2,3, xbox, xbox 360 my first pc was a mega pc.
a 386 (or was it 486?) with a sega megadrive slot in the front.
Thats just naming a few and not including hand held systems.
times are changing in the world of computers just like they are in every area of life and will continue to do so.
I'm not saying the changes are all good.
I fired up an atari emulator the other day while I was killing time and I realised (not for the first time) just how far the games industry and computers have come.
from bedroom developers to huge teams.
from 8 colours on screen to millions.
from sitting next to your mate to play multiplayer games to being connected to a network of thousands of players.
One thing has remained constant.
That bit of print in the inlay of every tape/floppy,cartridge,cd,dvd,blueray I have ever inserted into a computer that says....
no lending, hiring, public broadcasting of this product (or words to that effect)
I don't agree with it 100% but I suppose they want some cash from every game thats played which in a way is only natural.
developers have to eat too.
they now have the technology to cheaply enforce that rule over the internet and I suppose they think the time is right.
It will be broken.
Every system is eentually from typing in page 4 paragraph 3 word 7 before the game runs (never seemed to bother cracking groups like fairlight) to more sophisticated ways of securing digital media.
Examine the ethos 'I bought it I will run what I dam well choose on it' which leads to most systems being 'hacked'
I suppose to sum up, I'm trying to say it's a natural progression.
It doesn't bother me.
I'm about done playing games.
I used to buy records and sit on the bus home.
Take the record out of its paper bag and read the inlay/look at the cover the entire journey home.
Now I load itunes and click sync.
I know which I would prefer to do.
Some changes are good, some bad.
I'm rambling...(Blame John smith)
pogo: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/65597655/pongo.zip
Breakout clone: http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=185535&b=6