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Refticus:
i used to leap from laptop to laptop after they kept on breaking.
the earliest laptop i can remember is a second hand one my parents got me from ebay or something.
marketed as a "gaming" laptop, but it couldn't even run the portal demo at the time; this piece of stuff looked like a grey slab and it had those chunky keys.
one of the laptops i really remember is this thin one with a shiny red top, lasted about 5-6 years before finally giving up on me and i still have it somewhere

after like my third or fourth laptop, i got a desktop pc which i then managed to convinced my parents to buy a graphics card for so that i could play some minecraft; it ran like donkey stuff compared to modern machines today, but the performance increase was exactly what i was after.
that tower was then replaced by a prebuilt gaming desktop which i still use today, the only thing changed in it the GPU, which was upgraded from a gtx 660 to a gtx 1050ti.

never really been in the High-End Gamer Performance Water-cooled Razer Pro kind of market as i don't play triple a games that often.
i'm also not into hardware, so i didn't log down every single computer i have owned

McJob:
Machine C: Dell Demension E520 - Windows Vista

As my Mum's accounting work became more and more computer-based, and my brother and I were spending more time on the 8400 machine (at some point the 2171 was thrown away in a skip), we opted to grab a new machine for her to do her work on so my brother and I could game on without interference. This poor Dell machine would recieve quite the beating from me over the next few years, as I swapped out its graphics card to put in the XP, and proceeded to hammer it with stuff like Halo 2 Vista (one of my first forays in AAA games on PC), game development and maintenance (that ultimately culminated in the machine's death).

I wasn't lucky enough to grab the service tag of this machine before it also was thrown in a skip (or if I did, I don't know where I saved it). Going to have to rely on good old research for this one.

* The release run of the E520 was between 2006 - 2007, with several configurations that could match up to the machine we had.
* Windows Vista for Business was released November 30th, 2006. The files on the Dell OEM reinstall disc I still have match up to this date.
* The Manufacture Date on the E207WFP monitor (which I still use) is listed as December 2006.
* The Manufacture Date on the ATI Radeon X1300/X1550 card I swapped into the 8400 was listed as 2006.
* The E520 came packaged with a load of Roxio crap. Of these discs, the latest modification dates for the discs are 2007.
* Halo 2 Vista released on May 17th, 2007. I did not play H2V for years after its release.
* An email printout exists in a folio of old papers for a CD/Registration Key for Nero 8, which we used to produce DVDs (both for Dad's funeral business, as well as my brother and I goofing off). The email lists the purchase date as May 19th, 2008.
* My first video game which was mainly developed on the E520 was produced for my Year 9 Commerce class in September, 2009. This is backed up by the game using the E520's background wallpaper (including the taskbar) as one of the screens.
* One of my posts regarding the UAC system (on another internet forum), as well as a number of old working files I had, all were created in 2010 on the E520.
Based on what we know so far, the most likely year of acquisition is 2007.

I plan on doing game consoles very soon. I just need to find more evidence, since I don't have as much to pull as my computers. I might also be able to draw some more concrete conclusions on the PCs soon, as I dig through more shreds of evidence previously left unfound.

McJob:
Console A: PlayStation

My first ever digital experience was on a PlayStation, and figuring out anything about this bastard has taken quite a long while. My original console was thrown in a skip when my Dad figured we didn't use it any more, and my replacement is a very different model. I'm still not sure on all the facts of the original, but I can lay them out here.

* I called up my Dad yesterday to try and get some info out of him. All he remembers was getting console after getting married. His best guess was 1995.
* Dad's speculation is wrong, based on the BIOS. Our PAL console had the standard Blue Menu that you're all familiar with, but all PAL PS1 consoles produced before 1998 had this ugly grey bastard instead. I have no idea why the switch, but it does help clarify the date a bit.
* Another known fact is that my console did not have the FMV skipping issues present in earlier models, due to the position of the laser and the PSU causing overheating problems. I don't remember the exact position of the laser, but movies played smoothly on my console as far as I remember.
* My console def. had the parallel port, as I remember freaking out when I took off the cover, thinking I had broken it.
* The console absolutely came with 1x DualShock controller.
* The console had symbols on the open and on buttons on the console, as opposed to words.
* The two valid configurations matching all this information are the SCPH-7002 (May 1998) and the SCPH-7502 (April 1999) (which released months after their NTSC Japanese/American variants. I'm inclined to believe we got the console later (see the next section on games we owned).
Based on this list of PS1 models, the most likely candidate for console I owned is the SCPH-7502, purchased at some point through 1999.

If that wasn't bad enough, there's now another problem, which is regarding the games. I remember a number of PS1 games, but we want to focus on the games I first remember having, before I started renting or purchasing games (keep in mind, I was just a kid so there wasn't a lot of that). Quite a few of these are demos, and they're the major issue.

* Gran Turismo: We had a demo edition of this game, but the trouble is determining which one. Wikipedia states that in Christmas 1998, console sales all came with a demo version, but I've seen no other evidence of this supposed demo. As far as known demos, there are two specific menu designs I recall, and it could be either one; the unlikely candidate is the Official UK Playstation Magazine Disc 17: Vol 2 - 1998 disc, given that I seem to recall the 1998 version of the Demo 1 disc's fish menu a lot better. Every PS1 console came with Demo 1, but the contents of the disc were changed every so often for more relevant game demos at the time of printing.
* Destruction Derby: I def. remember playing a demo of the Destruction Derby pit level, as that Psygnosis owl image stuck with me, and I got a huge nostalgia flashback when I tried the demo on my PSP some years later. Super confusingly, the most likely candidate for the demo disc I played this one from is the 1995 Demo 1, which would fit in with my Dad's idea of the console in 1995. It's possible he did buy the console in 1995, and had it replaced for some reason, or this disc was given to him by somebody else (like my Aunt). Confusing.
* Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace: I still own this disc. SLED-02044's main method of distribution was the August 1999 Edition of Australian Playstation Magazine. I don't know my Dad to be big on buying video game magazines, so it's possible this was given to him or something.
* Formula 1 '98: Released on October 30th, 1998. I still have this disc. Funnily enough, another Psygnosis game.
* Ape Escape: This was released on the 31st of May, 1999. Somehow, I don't believe my Dad purchased this one himself (He is a racing fan, not so much a platforming fan, and I don't think he had any intention of buying games for Toddler McJob at that stage).
Based on what we know so far, the most likely year of acquisition is 1999.

Console B: PlayStation 2 - SCPH-70002 (Slim)

Because I still own this console, finding information for it has been significantly easier, and the case was blown wide open by some certain facts. Ratchet & Clank 3 still serves as my favourite game of all time, given those fond multiplayer memories and how hard the singleplayer campaign pushed me. It also helped me overcome my singing delusions by letting me see how bad I was at Singstar. I know I got this game for Christmas and lorded over my brother with it. The real question is which Christmas.

* The SCPH-700XX series, also known as the PS2 Slim, was first released on October 29th, 2004. The 02 Variant (Oceania) was first released specifically on November 1st, 2004. There some recalls at the beginning of 2005 for known defective batches, but they were America-specific.
* As previously mentioned in the evidence of my 8400, a photo in our various albums had my brother and me in shot with both our PS2 Slim as well as this Dimension 8400. The photo's developing date says April 10, 2006.
* An odd bit of evidence, but I specifically remember having a conversation with two people I didn't like regarding Ratchet & Clank in Year 6 of Primary School, 2006. I doubt I would know that franchise without having played it first
* Ratchet & Clank 3 was first released on November 18th, 2004.
* Ricky Ponting Cricket 2005, another title I got with the PS2, was obv. released in July of 2005.
Based on what we know, the year of acquisition is Christmas, 2005.

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