My boys love 1986 computing

In the mid-90s, we picked up an used Mac Plus for our 5-year-old. He loved it, had no problem playing the heck out of the games, negotiating menus, etc. (Although I did get irrationally mad when, as he was playing Spit on Saddam -- a local Apple guy had written it, so I'd loaded it for kicks -- he actually spit on the screen.)

So great, maybe I can start working in some HyperCard, give him some control. No interest whatsoever. I even hacked some of his games, to show him the possibilities of coding. He was amused, but still had no interest.

He got older and got the thrill of modem WoW with friends, but he still had no interest coding -- althoug I did catch him learning the warez culture.

About this time, I became addicted to browsing the state surplus equipment lot, and found that they had, literally, a pile of computers they sold at auction for essentially the cost of hauling it all away. In each pile, there were always some Macs. So I got to know the computer scrap guys and would buy discarded Macs for $10 a pallet -- and they thought I was a sucker.

To the point, the kid loved taking computers apart -- especially after discovered a PowerMac uprgrade card in a half laptop that I'd told him to toss. Nothing like an elementary kid earning $200 on eBay to keep him interested. He also helped me refurb/clone a bunch of Macs for his brother's preschool.

Bottom line: He learned how to handle the guts of computers, and to build networks from surplus routers so all his friends could come over for game nights, etc. But he never wrote a line of code through high school, despite my best efforts.

Then he got to college, decided he wanted to do CompSci. He was way behind in coding, but -- since it was a small liberal arts school -- the department was glad to have him and was patient. Plus he had some hands-on hardware skills that few others had (because the family computers were too expensive to tinker with, or no one knew anything about the innards).

He's now a gainfully employed SysAdmin, with a wife and mortgage and personal projects on the side -- and all his old pals still get together for game nights.

Maybe I wasn't a skilled or patient instructor, or maybe kids are just going to be what they are.

Out of curiosity, are you describing NJ and Rutgers? One of my close friends talks about computers auctions at the NJ state school with great fanfare when I met him in college and alas after his HS experiences in the early 2000s with his professor dad he discovered they had stopped.

I refrained from getting internet in my apartment for the first few months and found I was often more productive at home than I was at work.

As an extra bonus, my complex had a gym with free wifi. That meant, if I wanted to watch something from my streaming subscription, I had to work out too.

All this talk of it makes me thing maybe I should give it a try again...