<Are you saying that, 10 years ago, the military had machines that could car
<out calculations with the speed of a Pentium II -300? (I hesitate to mentio
<the Alpha 5-433, because I think the alpha project was originally funded b
<the military)
No! the military had the best available technology of the time and only for
applications that needed it. However P-II or alpha level perfomance was
hard to come by ten years ago as that was your BIG cray and CDC type
machines. Actually much of military technology was super rugged and not
always the most modern. The computer(s) for F16 fly by wire are not very
exotic save for they are absolutely fault tolerent, after all an error
there can kill the pilot and destroy the aircraft at the maximum or cause a
mission abort at the minimum.
I say this as in the 71-72 time frame I had a friend that was a computer
hacker and was able to get the then surplus Minuteman missle computers.
Compared to the PDP-8I we both knew it was terrible! All transistor, no
core (it used a 65kw disk for all storage). It was a major programming
challenge to make it do anything even though it was in pristine condition.
My understanding is a similar computer was used in the Intruder
fighter/bomber which was then the current military inventory.
Allison
Alpha was not funded by military or even military business which formed only
a small part of total DIGITAL bisiness. Alpha was DEC trying to figure what
they could do to out VAX their VAX. The basic design had to address three
problems, bigger numbers, super huge memories and indexes than might fit in
32bits and a need for more speed than even the most scaled and piplined vax
could deliver.
If anyone lives in the northern N.J. area and can help this person
out, please contact him and copy me.
> >I have a number of 5.25 disks that were created on a Franklin. They
> >contain the memoirs of my late Uncle. The computer is no longer
> >available. How can I access the information on these disks?
>>I live in Wyckoff, NJ (Bergen County -about 15 miles from NY). I have
>>not a clue what type of software was used. Can they be converted to
>>Word, Wordperfect, or Prowrite?
The subject of his message was ACE 2200. I have a working ACE 2200,
and ACE Writer software, but I prefer not to have him risk his disks
in the mail ("the truth and the first Altair are still out there").
This is one of the reasons I collect computers. Again if you can help
him copy me too.
The address is David Merdler <saxon12(a)bellatlantic.net>
=========================================
Doug Coward dcoward(a)pressstart.com
Senior Software Engineer
Press Start Inc.
Sunnyvale,CA
Curator
Museum of Personal Computing Machinery
http://www.best.com/~dcoward/museum
Attend the First Annual Vintage Computer Festival
See http://www.siconic.com/vcf for details!
=========================================
In a message dated 97-11-05 11:54:09 EST, you write:
<< Speaking of reference manuals, does anyone have any information / insights
into a Visual Technologies Commuter? Manf in 1984, it uses two Intel chips
(8086 and 8088) with a plethora of RAM chips not to mention at least four
program subroutines. The manufacturer seems to have disowned this
particular
unit since two people in their tech department have not heard of it.
Thanks in advance
Sam >>
I wonder how many non - PC compatibles have used Intel 8088 or 8086 chips. I
have heard of a machine called an "ACT Apricot", which is said to have had
voice recognition and a GUI. Could someone tell me about it and others? My
reasoning is that there are lots of neat things that could be done on an
8088, but not with a DOS system.
I have the Commodore 64C manuals, and some disks. I also have the Commodore 64
Programmers' guide. I could probably get some manuals and disks for an Apple
II, as well. I am not in the habit of shipping, though.
__________________________________________________________
Original Message:
Hi,
I am a collector and classic enthusiast. I'm looking for copies of the
original operating manuals for the following computers:
Amiga 1000
Apple ][ plus
Apple //e
Apple //e Platinum
Commodore 64
Apple DuoDisk
Apple Disk II
I also need original boot and os disks for these computers. If you have
such materials, and they are in good-excellent condition, please email me
at:
mark(a)cyberlightstudios.com, and we can work out a price. I'd be very
anxious to obtain these documents, particularly the Apple specific manuals.
Thanks again,
Mark
At 12:40 11/6/97 -0800, you wrote:
>....all sorts of lusers will start crawling out and insisting
>they *need* a Nova, price is no object, just like happened with my
>Altair's, IMSAI's, and Apple I's.
Apple I's, like, _plural_??
__________________________________________
Kip Crosby engine(a)chac.org
http://www.chac.org/index.html
Computer History Association of California
Does anyone have any systems that they could sell me? Anything... all I've
got is an XT that dosn't work.
----------
From: Tim Shoppa <shoppa(a)alph02.triumf.ca>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Subject: Classic Computer Rescue Squad
Date: Thursday, November 06, 1997 8:45 PM
> > After signing up for the Classic Computer Rescue Squad, I started
> > thinking, if a big old machine actually needed a rescue, what
> > would we do? I mean, maybe we should collect info on how big
> > these old things are, in terms of floor-space, tonnage, time to
> > dismantle, and so on.
My recommendation is to get a truck with a lift-gate, especially if
you don't have real loading docks at each end of the journey. A
substantial amount of time and effort is saved if you can simply
move entire racks onto the truck rather than having to unwire all
the boxes and remove them from each rack. A liftgate that can handle
the two- or three-bay racks is even better.
I've made many rescues without liftgates, and usually I regret
it! Moving 5000+ lbs of stuff with only a heavy-duty applicance
dolly and a ramp wears you out quite quickly!
Tim. (shoppa(a)triumf.ca)
> From: Bill Yakowenko <yakowenk(a)cs.unc.edu>
>...
> After signing up for the Classic Computer Rescue Squad, I started
> thinking, if a big old machine actually needed a rescue, what
> would we do? I mean, maybe we should collect info on how big
> these old things are, in terms of floor-space, tonnage, time to
> dismantle, and so on. Then, when a rescue call comes in, we
> could maybe decide if we can feasibly deal with it, and if anyone
> actually wants the thing. If only three guys show up to dismantle
> 200 tons of vacuum tubes, it isn't gonna happen on-schedule. And
> it's one thing to keep a mini in a corner, but not all of us can
> arrange space for, say, a 360. So there are legitimate (if sad)
> reasons that we might have to pass up a find.
There are a small number of serious collectors and at least one museum
who will make space for a big machine, depending on what it is. Any
vacuum tube machine and most discrete transistor machines are a
no-brainer, someone will want them. They are extremely rare and will in
essentially all cases have been dismantled already. More recent machines
may or may not be worth saving. In all cases with a big installation
make sure there will be a home for it before carrying through with a
rescue.
Except for a few enormous installations like SAGE or Harvest, all gone
now, a large mainframe will consist of (or can be taken apart into) no
more than 10 large units each of which should fit in a medium size
freight elevator. (Cray's are an exception, the CPU won't come apart.)
There will also be a larger number of smaller peripherals such as disk
drives, tape drives, console, printer, maybe card machines.
One or two people can disassemble and pack a modern (e.g. IBM 370
series) air cooled mainframe in one (long) day. Other cases could take
longer but generally not more than a week. More people is not
necessarily a good thing. Some machines will benefit from specialized
help from the manufacturer or a rigger or specialty moving crew.
Always save all the documentation and software you can get.
Paul
At 17:44 11/5/97 -0800, you wrote:
>Bill Yakowenko wrote:
>> Hey all. I think its about time I de-lurk and introduce myself.
>>....
>> We had a couple SwTPC 6800 systems in my high school way back when,
>> and I'd love to see one again (or own one!).
>
>Hi Bill, welcome to the list! BTW, what is SSB stuff? I think of SSB as
>Single-Side Band....
Smoke Signal Broadcasting, SS50-bus micros -- SS50 was like oversize Molex.
I also wanted to say that, Bill, that was very elegant of you; I can't
remember having seen a properly executed <delurk> in years. The Net today
has no time for the little graces.
__________________________________________
Kip Crosby engine(a)chac.org
http://www.chac.org/index.html
Computer History Association of California
