Dear list members,
I am writing to this list as I am concerned about J. Noel Chiappa.
I have noticed that the Computer History Wiki has been locked for
maintenance ("Spam issue") for some time now. As Noel is the primary
administrator and heart of the site, this persistent lock, combined with
the fact that he hasn't responded to my recent emails, makes me worry about
his well-being - especially knowing that he has been facing health
challenges.
Does anyone on this list have recent information on how he is doing or if
there is any update regarding the status of the wiki? I am not looking for
private details, but simply a sign that he is okay or if there is anything
the community is currently doing to support his projects.
You can of course send me a PM if you like.
Thank you for any insights you might be able to share.
Best regards,
Ulli Hölscher
aka "VAXorcist"
Okay, third attempt at this, this time with the appropriate
Subject header.
--lyndon
------- Forwarded Message
From: Adam Thornton <athornton(a)gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 2024 09:55:30 -0700
Message-ID: <CAP2nic0E=0dLT2JaDJv0OCBQUBaqKd6+2hy30hpKjowPVc76BA(a)mail.gmail.com>
To: The Eunuchs Hysterical Society <tuhs(a)tuhs.org>
Subject: [TUHS] Re: Pipes (was Re: After 50 years, what has the Impact of Unix been?)
List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list <tuhs.tuhs.org>
On Thu, Dec 5, 2024 at 8:20=E2=80=AFAM Dan Cross <crossd(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Unix pipelines, on the other hand, tend to be used in a manner that is
> strictly linear, without the fan-out and fan-in capabilities described
> by Morrison. Of course, nothing prevents one from building a
> Morrison-style "network" from Unix processes and pipes, though it's
> hard to see how that would work without something like `select`, which
> didn't yet exist in 1978. Regardless, Unix still doesn't expose a
> particularly convenient syntax for expressing these sorts of
> constructions at the shell.
>
>
Rick Troth has recently published xfl, which is pretty much CMS Pipelines
for Unix.
https://github.com/trothtech/xfl
He's got a slide deck on it at
http://www.casita.net/pub/xfl/pervasive-vmws-2024.pdf .
There are a lot of really cool things you can do with fanin/fanout.
Adam
I have a bunch of what looks to be 7" 9 Track 1600 BPI tapes based on the
labels. I have no use for them, before I trash them is anyone interested in
them for the princely sum of S&H/prepaid label or you can pick them up for
free in Upland, CA. I will hold on to them until 2-20-26 at which point I
will toss them. Thanks.
https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php?threads/9-track-1600-bpi-7-tapes-free.1256
372/
-Ali
Hmm ... the list manager apparently stripped the MIME attachment.
Here it is again inline.
--lyndon
------- Forwarded Message
From: Adam Thornton <athornton(a)gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 2024 09:55:30 -0700
Message-ID: <CAP2nic0E=0dLT2JaDJv0OCBQUBaqKd6+2hy30hpKjowPVc76BA(a)mail.gmail.com>
To: The Eunuchs Hysterical Society <tuhs(a)tuhs.org>
Subject: [TUHS] Re: Pipes (was Re: After 50 years, what has the Impact of Unix been?)
On Thu, Dec 5, 2024 at 8:20=E2=80=AFAM Dan Cross <crossd(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Unix pipelines, on the other hand, tend to be used in a manner that is
> strictly linear, without the fan-out and fan-in capabilities described
> by Morrison. Of course, nothing prevents one from building a
> Morrison-style "network" from Unix processes and pipes, though it's
> hard to see how that would work without something like `select`, which
> didn't yet exist in 1978. Regardless, Unix still doesn't expose a
> particularly convenient syntax for expressing these sorts of
> constructions at the shell.
>
>
Rick Troth has recently published xfl, which is pretty much CMS Pipelines
for Unix.
https://github.com/trothtech/xfl
He's got a slide deck on it at
http://www.casita.net/pub/xfl/pervasive-vmws-2024.pdf .
There are a lot of really cool things you can do with fanin/fanout.
Adam
Hey all,
I was trying to track down some kind of image/photo of "what IBM VM/370
looks like" (the operating system)
I tried looking also in the IBM manuals - I'm just not finding much. Some
kind of image of what maybe a remote login looked like, a task process
list, or maybe basic file/folder management commands, or how an editor or
programming worked on that system.
There is a bit of media with a VM/370 emulator, but I wasn't sure how
accurately representative it was of a kind of "look and feel" of that OS.
What I'd need is maybe photographs of teletype printouts? This was still
early 1970s. Which is understandable not much of that was probably kept
around.
Thanks, just digging around - like wasn't sure if VM/370 was still
six-character filename limited like earlier 60s era OS's, or whatever
characteristics it had in operating it.
-Steve
The next Glen Ellyn CCC chat and repair meeting will be held on March
28th, 2026.
Anytime after 2PM until we all get to tired to solder and talk.
We will order Pizza around 5:30pm.
As usual Beer and Pop will be provided.
385 Saint Charles Rd
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137
+1 (773) 414-1044 (Cell)
https://tinney.net/in-memoriam
Robert Frank Tinney, of Washington, Louisiana, passed away peacefully
at River Oaks Nursing & Rehabilitation Center on February 1st, 2026,
at the age of 78.
Born in 1947 in Penn Yan, New York, Robert moved at a young age with
his parents, Ellis and Ruby, and his younger brother, Bill, to Baton
Rouge, Louisiana. From Istrouma High School, Robert took with him a
diploma, life-long friendships and a focus on artistic expression to
Louisiana Tech University to study illustration and graphic design in
commercial art. After graduating, and after a tour of service during
the Vietnam War, Robert began a career that would see his artwork don
the covers and pages of some of the most well-known computing
publications in the world, most notably BYTE Magazine. Due to his
signature artistic style, the name Robert Tinney soon became
synonymous with the rapidly-growing world of computing technology, and
remains so to this day.
A deeply caring husband and family man, Robert is survived by his
devoted wife of 48 years, Susan, three children, nine grandchildren
and one great-grandchild. Married in 1978, Robert and Susan lived and
worked in Baton Rouge until 1987, when they moved to Washington,
Louisiana, where they would restore an historic landmark home, the
Crawford House. For over four decades, Robert and Susan served and
nurtured their beloved community with open arms, and were rewarded
with priceless family memories and an exuberance of rich, cherished
friendships. Robert’s philosophical intellect, refreshing humor and
profoundly sympathetic nature will be sorely missed by his loving
family and a wealth of loyal friends and admirers.
A celebration of Robert’s life will be held in May, 2026. For more
information, RSVP to illustrations(a)tinney.net.
Short version - I'm looking for copies of the PDP-8 software for the DEC
MPS, MIcroProcessor System.
Longer form, since it wasn't very well known - DEC made an 8008 (yes,
8008, not 8080) microprocessor based system on a set of three quad sized
modules, plus a really nifty looking lights and switches front panel. It's
not clear what DEC expected customers to do with it; I guess use it to build
an embedded control system for things that were too simple for a PDP-8 or
-11.
In any case, DEC made a whole software development toolchain for the MPS
and 8008 using a PDP-8 as a host computer. There was a cross assembler (aka
MPA), a downloader (aka MPL), a specialized text editor (yes, MPE), a
debugger (you guessed it - called MPD), a EPROM programmer, and several
other miscellaneous tools. They were all distributed on paper tape and I
believe they were intended to run on a basic 8/E and Teletype, without mass
storage and without OS/8.
If anybody has these, I'd love to get copies of the tape images.
Thanks,
Bob