The Gray Box from the Future: My First Computer

The year was 2004, and I was in 7th grade when a piece of the future arrived at my doorstep — quite literally.

Back then, computers weren't the ubiquitous companions they are today. In my small Indian town, they existed more as whispered legends than everyday objects. The word "computer" itself carried an almost mystical weight, a promise of something extraordinary just beyond reach.

A Father's Gift

The story of how our family came to possess this marvel is one of fortunate connections. My father, through some twist of fate, earned a favor from a close relative whose business spanned continents. This relative happened to have a spare laptop sitting in Mumbai — a Toshiba Satellite, big and substantial, waiting for a new home.

When my father brought it home, I could barely contain my excitement.

There it sat: a gray box that looked like it had traveled from tomorrow. I opened it with trembling hands to discover a screen, an array of buttons, and mysteries I couldn't yet name. A family friend who worked in the computer industry came over to help us navigate this strange new territory. The laptop hummed to life, and we all stood there, collectively puzzled about what to do next.

"Where's the mouse?" someone asked.

We searched around the device until we discovered it — a small rubber nub nestled between the keys. When pressed, it moved a pointer across the screen like magic. I was mesmerized. My fingers began their exploration, clicking, testing, learning.

The Specifications of Wonder

Looking back, the specs were humble: an Intel processor, 1 GB hard drive, 16 MB of RAM. But to me, it was limitless.

A Self-Taught Journey

From the very next day, I retreated to my room with a computer book and began my education. Page by page, I learned how to operate this machine, what it could do, how to summon the command prompt. The operating system was DOS and Windows 98 — interfaces that demanded understanding rather than offering intuitive guidance.

I found an HTML book and began crafting web pages, line by line. I wrote batch files that automated installations and managed images through the command prompt. In my young mind, I was building software — and in a way, I suppose I was.

Connecting to the World

Computers were scarce in our town then, and internet access was rarer still. But I was determined. Mobile phones with GPRS were just emerging, and I managed to connect one to my laptop, using it to share that precious trickle of data. My first browser was Netscape Navigator — the gateway of that era.

Pages loaded with glacial slowness. What would take seconds today took minutes then. But the wait only amplified the wonder. Information, appearing on my screen from somewhere far away, felt like pure magic arriving at incomprehensible speed.

The Deep Dive

While my peers played games and browsed for images, I dove deeper. I learned about system settings, software installation, drivers, and hardware. I discovered how to burn CDs and DVDs using the laptop's detachable drive. I swapped it with a floppy disk drive, storing files and tiny games on those small, satisfying disks that clicked into place.

My obsession wasn't with what the computer could show me — it was with how everything worked, with understanding every layer of this remarkable machine.

An Unfinished Story

This is just a glimpse of the journey. There's so much more before this moment, woven throughout it, and extending far beyond. The full story remains untold, waiting for the right time when I can sit down and unravel all those threads properly.

But this is where it began — with a gray Toshiba Satellite and an insatiable curiosity that would shape everything that followed.