Yep. You had: 1) Completely stand-alone machines with just enough expansion to then get some form of connectivity (or added data storage) 2) Self-contained, i

Yep. You had: 1) Completely stand-alone machines with just enough expansion to then get some form of connectivity (or added data storage) 2) Self-contained, instant boot systems without an "OS" as we know it today (instant on is much more fun than it might seem), and that you explored until you could learn literally what every single register/port did. 3) Single-box systems with almost everything under or behind the keyboard, that you had to plug into a TV to get anything done with. There was a purposefulness and immediacy to using those machines that is absent from today's bloated, over-connected, highly distracting and ADHD-inducing systems. It was, in short, a more civilised time :)