For just messing around, I suggest a C64. That one has games, demos, and is a lot of fun to program. An Apple 2 is also good, but for different reasons. Gami

For just messing around, I suggest a C64. That one has games, demos, and is a lot of fun to program. An Apple 2 is also good, but for different reasons. Gaming can be fun, but the real benefit to that machine is that it is completely documented, with schematics, and almost entirely software driven. It's a lot like an early PC, with slots, etc... Both machines have lots of cool devices that make them easier to work with today. Once you have a machine, you can program it, make some hardware for it, interface it to various things, write programs, and do so in a small scale environment. Marvel at what people actually got done! Have fun.