Props to the C-64

Time Magazine's Top 100 Gadgets of All Time justifiably mentions the old Commodore 64.  Although it listed at $595 when it came out, I bought mine - my first computer - for $139 in 1985 or '86, specifically to play Ultima IV, a game I could still argue as the best ever made.

I was also a user of Quantum Link, an early bulletin board that I connected to at 300 bps.  That's 0.3 kbps.  If you're on a cable or DSL connection today, you're probably at 1000 kbps or more.  Anyway, the C-64 had a good sound chip for the time, and you could download these weird synthesized versions of '80s pop songs, which is mostly what I did with it.  I probably still have the disk.

Other personal favorites that make the list:

• Speak & Spell
• TiVo
• iPod
• And, for sentimental reasons, the Altair 8800