<Absolutely true. I do hope that the "classiccmp" mailing list doesn't
<go in the direction that Sam suggests, i.e. limiting discussion to
<computers considered "collectible" in the popular press.
Yes there are many machines that are quite interesting but aren't sexy by
the LA times standard. I will not argue that altair, Imsai, Apple, tandy
and IBM to name a few weren't povital. I may add that most of those names
do not attract my attention as I know some of the backroads and alleys
where I did application engineering and design work.
Maybe that's why I have an intel Intellect MDS 8080 development system
that is circa 1976 manufacture and of vastly superior construction than
the altair.
<That reminds me, Allison, I've got a couple of Motorola 6800 Exorcisor
<boards that I promised to try to sneak in through US Customs for you...
When they arrive I will be thankful.
Allison
On Thu, 6 Nov 1997 14:03:12 -0800 (PST), we heard Mr. Ismail utter:
> The Nova will never be featured in the newspapers because it is not a
> socially significant computer.
Two words, one of which is not printable, but the lead-in is
"Bull".
The Nova was one of the early minicomputers which came to be used
by schools in the early '70s. The other one, and slightly earlier in
origin, was the PDP-8. The pdp11 post-dates these by some time.
The Nova was a seminal machine even if it was a "widened/en-
hanced" PDP-8. One of the founders of Apple, who lots of those
here hold in very high esteem, was captivated enough by the Nova
to keep a picture of one tacked to his bedroom wall. (Kids,
sheesh! :-) )
> In the great scheme of things, it is but one of many.
So are lots of things, including many of the machines manu-
factured in the last two decades. Like the TRS-80, the Apple II,
the Commodore <whatever>, the ubiquitous PeeCee, and, yes, even
the revered IMSAI.
> Drop the rant already.
Yes. Please do.
There's more to life than microprocessors and tiny boxes.
Of course, I may have been trolled here, but if that's the case
I'll learn to deal with it.
______________________________________________________________________
| | |
| Carl Richard Friend (UNIX Sysadmin) | West Boylston |
| Minicomputer Collector / Enthusiast | Massachusetts, USA |
| mailto:carl.friend@stoneweb.com | |
| http://www.ultranet.com/~engelbrt/carl/museum/ | ICBM: N42:21 W71:46 |
|________________________________________________|_____________________|
>have a bunch of wyse 60 terminals, a couple of 386's, an old printer
>and various boards etc. Anyone interested.
>"Janet Paganelli" <info(a)msnyc.org>
What's a wyse 60?
What kind of boards do you have?
Is it a dot matrix printer?
At 23:18 11/7/97 +0000, you wrote:
>I am conviced that a lot of people (probably not on this list) wouldn't
>know a well-designed or well-built computer if it was dropped on them...
Naturally not, they'd be too busy limping around howling.
____________________________________________________________
Kip Crosby, honcho, mechanic and sole proprietor, Kip's Garage
http://www.kipsgarage.com: rumors, tech tips and philosophy for the trenches
Coming Spring '98: The Windows 98 Bible by Kip Crosby and Fred Davis!
At 23:13 11/7/97 +0000, you wrote:
>A true story.... I was at a radio rally (hamfest) about 7 years ago, and
>there was an Altair on sale, and alongside it....there was an
>Intel MCS8i 8080 development system. Well, it was late in the day, my
>money was running out, so I could only buy one of them.
>
>I picked the Intellec. And I am not sorry. Sure it's not going to make me
>rich, but it is _beautiful_ inside.
Damn, Tony, I always knew you had taste!
__________________________________________
Kip Crosby engine(a)chac.org
http://www.chac.org/index.html
Computer History Association of California
Ive got a non working imagewriter model I available for cost of shipping from
NC if anyone wants it. i've the original box to ship it in, although the
packing material is missing. printer is complete except for plastic top
cover, and it gets power, but wont print. i think it's probably some logic
component inside which has failed. i have a wide carriage model to keep
anyway. interested?
david
At 21:00 11/6/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Maybe that's why I have an intel Intellec MDS 8080 development system
>that is circa 1976 manufacture and of vastly superior construction than
>the Altair.
Damn right, pop a case on an Intellec and you'll just sigh. They're like
little minis inside. You know what else is just as nice the same way? The
Tektronix boxes built around the LSI-11....
It's like having a '56 or '57 Mercedes. The whole world knows how sexy and
pricey a 300SL is, be it the Gullwing or the roadster; but it takes a
_real_ connoisseur to appreciate, even to recognize! the same year's 300SC.
__________________________________________
Kip Crosby engine(a)chac.org
http://www.chac.org/index.html
Computer History Association of California
WHat kind of floppies does an RD-53 (? Is that it?) expect?
I've dropped in 360s and 1.2Ms, but all it does when I tell it format is
pull the head in and out, in and out, like bad sector error. It this like
RX02s where they need some wierd format before they work?
BTW, I tried imaging the harddisk already, but my XT doesn't like the
drive for some reason. These are just standard MFM drives, right?
On Thu, 6 Nov 1997 19:10:21 -0500 (EST), Mr. Donzelli was heard to
say:
> [...] military electronics has always been way ahead of what the
> industry [...] like spread spectrum communications (incidently,
> invented by the most unlikely of people) [...]
Thank you! My faith has been restored.
How many can name the individual in question? Hint: The name
appeared in a fairly recent "Invention & Technology" issue.
______________________________________________________________________
| | |
| Carl Richard Friend (UNIX Sysadmin) | West Boylston |
| Minicomputer Collector / Enthusiast | Massachusetts, USA |
| mailto:carl.friend@stoneweb.com | |
| http://www.ultranet.com/~engelbrt/carl/museum/ | ICBM: N42:21 W71:46 |
|________________________________________________|_____________________|
I 'd like to commend and thank Matt Pritchard for shipping the Hard Drive
Bibles. I know he went to a lot of trouble to purchase, pack and ship
several heavy volumes...and asked no profit for himself.
If he ever needs a favor, I hope everyone will bend over backwards to help
him!
Thanks, Mr. Pritchard,
manney(a)nwohio.com
