The discussions of Xeroxing and de-acidifying are interesting, but
I'd like to hear any experiences of preserving documents by
electronic means - scanning, OCRing, and tools for doing that,
problems encountered, workable means of viewing and reprinting, etc.
The guys at <http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~itda/frames.html> have
made an admirable effort. They've converted a number of documents
to Adobe PDF format. They're waiting on permission from DEC
to post some old docs - wasn't there a mention on this list recently
>from someone who received permission to redistribute old docs?
- John
Appearing quite stylish at work this week in my 'Geek' t-shirt from the
VCF, someone approached with a somewhat unexpected question:
"So, what does 'Geek' mean anyway?"
Ummmm.... (nervous pause)...
G enuinely
E nthuastic
E lectronics
K eeper
(best I could come up with on short notice)
Any other 'takes' on a definition for this? (word rather than concept)
-jim
---
jimw(a)agora.rdrop.com
The Computer Garage - http://www.rdrop.com/~jimw
Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174
< Didn't Motorola make a 1-bit cmos microcomputer? Cannot remember it's pa
< number. I remember Turning machine articles in various places. One is "T
Yes the 14500 industrial control unit. It did not do serial arithmetic
but did do logical operation based on two single bit operands. It was
intended to be a controller to replace simple relay trees.
That however, is far different from systems that were bit serial as that
was done to reduce the number of redundant logic elements needed (at the
expense of speed) and often these serial machines had very long
instruction and data words with 31bits not unheard of.
Allison
Hi Tim and all,
At 04:51 PM 10/3/98 -0400, you wrote:
>Why not go for a bit-serial (aka 1-bit) CPU? It's an extremely classic
>design, and is certainly the way to go to minimize total transistor
>count.
Didn't Motorola make a 1-bit cmos microcomputer? Cannot remember it's part
number. I remember Turning machine articles in various places. One is "The
Armchair Universe" by A.K. Dewdney. It is a collection of "Computer
Recreations from the pages of Scientific American Magazine".
>
>>I've got some plans of designing a computer this year. I'll probably
>>get my feet wet with a simple 4-bit design, but I'd like to do a 12-bit
>>computer (since my "inspiration" is a PDP-8).
>
>The PDP-8/S is a -8 done in a bit-serial implementation. 78 microseconds
>for some instructions!
>
>If you don't mind making about a 15-year advance in the electronics
>you'll be using, you might also seriously consider making a CPU via the
>state machine route, using an EPROM and some counters. All math and logic
>operations can very easily be done via table look-up in the EPROM. This
>is a rather common assignment in lower-level computer engineering courses,
>as it's something that can be easily wire-wrapped in an afternoon or two,
>and it is extremely easy to try new microcode revisions.
Do you recommend any texts that did a neat state machine computer with a EPROM?
This sounds like fun, but would like to see some examples of what people
actually did first to help start a design.
-Dave
>
>--
> Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com
> Trailing Edge Technology Voice: 301-767-5917
> 7328 Bradley Blvd Fax: 301-767-5927
> Bethesda, MD, USA 20817
>
>
Here are the questions & answers that were used in Nerd Trivia Challenge
at the VCF this year.
The three contestants did a very good job of answering 90%+ of the
questions correctly. The final question had the answer displayed along
with it by accident, so we had to choose the second one, which none of the
contestants got.
Also, one of the questions here has an incorrect answer which one of the
contestants (Kip Crosby of the Computer History Association of California)
corrected on the spot. I forgot which one that was. Sorry.
Otherwise, every question and answer was researched thoroughly, and the
Nerd Trivia Challenge committee did a great job of coming up with a good
mix of questions. The intent was to come up with challenging questions
that would also serve to educate the audience on computer history.
Think you have what it takes to win at next year's VCF? Start boning up
on your computer history and come on out and give it a try!
Note: NERD in Round 1 and SUPER NERD in Round 2 designate a wagering
question (i.e. like Jeopardy and Double Jeopardy).
Round 1
COMPUTING PIONEERS
These two guys started their company
in a Silicon Valley garage too, but
way before Jobs & Wozniak.
William Hewlett and David Packard
started Hewlett-Packard in 1938 at
367 Addison Avenue in Palo Alto,
California
--
Before their operating system became
the de facto standard for the PC,
these two early pioneers of micro-
computer software founded Traf-O-Data.
Paul Allen and Bill Gates
--
He wrote the technical manual for
the Intel 4004 processor. His
publishing company was later merged
with McGraw Hill.
Adam Osborne
--
NERD
Two of the three engineers who are
credited with the invention of the
transistor.
Dr. John Bardeen, Dr. Walter Brattain,
and Dr. William Shockley
--
Which German is now recognized as
having invented the first stored
program computer in 1937.
Konrad Zuse
-----
PORTABLE COMPUTING
Although not the first to market a
portable IBM PC compatible computer,
this company is best known for it.
Compaq
--
This portable computer, while not the
first notebook, was very popular among
members of the press.
Tandy Model 100
--
The only portable computer ever sold
by Commodore International.
The Commodore SX-64
--
This relatively unknown portable
computer, which integrated the display,
keyboard and storage unit into one
luggable case, beat the widely regarded
"first" portable by almost 5 years.
THINK!
IBM 5100, released 1975, included a
CRT, tape drive, and featured BASIC and
APL interpreters
--
This computer is regarded as the first
notebook computer.
Epson HX-20, released November 1981
-----
ACRONYMS
The "TRS" in TRS-80 stands for this.
Tandy-Radio Shack
--
Xerox PARC is not a place where you go
to have picnics, but actually stands
for this.
Palo Alto Research Center
--
The Sun company name is derived from
this college acronym.
Stanford University Network
--
What does the PDP in PDP-8 and PDP-11
stand for?
Programmed Data Processor
--
What the "KIM" of the MOS Technologies
KIM-1 single board computer stands
for.
"Keyboard Input Monitor"
-----
LANGUAGES COMPUTERS SPEAK
This language is named after a great
16th century philosopher and
mathematician.
Pascal
--
Dr. Grace Murray Hopper was involved
in the development of this still widely
utilized business programming language.
COBOL
--
The cursor in this graphically
oriented language was replaced
by a "turtle".
LOGO
--
This language is stack based. Its name
does not designate what order it came
in.
FORTH
--
APL stands simply for this.
A Programming Language
-----
COMPUTERS IN THE MOVIES
What computer system did the character
David Lightman use in the movie
War Games?
IMSAI 8080
--
What palm-top computer did John Conner
in Terminator 2 use to hack the bank's
ATM and then later the Skynet door
locks?
Atari Portfolio
--
What computer did Flynn use to hack
into Encom in the movie Tron?
An Apple ///
--
The computer that was used to render
the graphics in The Last Star Fighter.
Cray 1
--
The computer that was used to render
the graphics in Tron.
PDP-10
-----
Round 2
KILLER APPS
Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankson invented
this killer app.
VisiCalc, released December 1979
--
It usurped VisiCalc's grip on the
spreadsheet market by riding on the
success of the IBM PC.
Lotus 123
--
This was the first in Infocom's long
line of text-based adventure games.
Zork
--
This popular program by Broderbund
allowed you to print your own greeting
cards, posters and banners.
Print Shop
--
SUPER NERD
Broderbund means this in Norwegian.
"Brother bond" (the company was founded
by two brothers, Doug and Gary
Carlston).
-----
OLD IRON
The computer game "Space War" was first
programmed on this old iron.
DEC PDP-1
--
When it was introduced in 1976, this
legendary supercomputer was the fastest
computer the world had ever seen.
Cray 1
--
The first English computer to implement
the stored program concept.
The EDSAC, completed in 1949
[Note from Sam: This was the one. The correct answer was, um, er, uh,
"BABY" in Manchester...right? :) ]
--
After their involvement on the ENIAC
project, J. Presper Eckert and John
Mauchly went on to build this early
dinosaur of computing.
UNIVAC, 1951
--
This system developed by IBM and
derived from the SAGE project was used
by the airline industry to handle
reservations.
SABRE (Semi-Automatic Business-Related
Environment), developed for American
Airlines
-----
HISTORICAL UNIX
Korn, Bourne and C are all versions of
this.
Unix command shells
--
Bill Joy authored this (in)famous Unix
text editor.
vi
--
These two programmers developed Unix
on a PDP-7.
Dan Thompson and David Ritchie
--
What does the "BSD" in the BSD flavor
of Unix stand for?
Berkeley Software Distribution
--
This was the first computer not
manufactured by DEC that Unix was
ported to.
Interdata 8/32
-----
OPERATING SYSTEMS
This was the first computer to feature
a graphical user interface.
The Xerox Alto, created in 1973 at the
Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, or
PARC.
--
Before being acquired and modified by
Microsoft for the then nascent IBM PC
in 1980, MS-DOS was formerly known as
this.
QDOS (Quick and Dirty Operating System)
by Seatle Computer Products.
Also 86-DOS and SCP DOS
--
Multiplexing Information and Computing
Service is better known as this early
operating system.
Multics
--
The policy of this operating system was
"No advertising, no support, no bug
fixes, payment in advance".
Unix
--
The first microprocessor-based computer
to run Unix.
The Z8000-based Onyx C8002 in 1980
-----
NERDPOURRI
This first mass-marketed kit computer
was named after the planet the crew of
the starship Enterprise were visiting
in that week's episode of Star Trek.
Altair 8800
--
Apple's GUI-based predecessor to the
Mac. While advanced for its time, it
was extremely expensive, costing
upwards of $10,000.
Apple Lisa, released in 1982
--
Of the Apple ][, the Commdore PET and
the TRS-80 Model 1, the computer which
was not exhibited at the first West
Coast Computer Faire.
TRS-80 Model 1, introduced in August
of 1977
--
This computer measured 12" wide by 12"
high by 12" deep and was all black,
except for the multi-colored logo.
NeXT
--
SUPER NERD
The year and month the IBM PC was first
introduced.
August 1981
-----
FINAL QUESTION (voided due to technical foul-up :)
COMPUTER INNOVATIONS
Originally invented by IBM as a way to transfer microcode updates, this
medium can be either hard-sectored or soft-sectored.
Floppy disk
-
FINAL QUESTION (actual)
SERIAL NUMBERS
It was the serial number of the first Apple ][ off the assembly line.
2001
Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ever onward.
Coming in 1999: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0
See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details!
[Last web site update: 09/21/98]
< But neither the 11/10 nor the /34 nor the /44 were, by any stretch
< of the imagination, "microcomputers". Definitely minis.
Since you put it that way true, but I see that as marginally significant
as they are still PDP-11.
Sorta like running OS8 on a 6100... Smaller CMOS and still a PDP-8 for all
intents.
What would be the first NON-PDP-11 micro to run unix? that would be
significant as it's a truly distinct port.
Allison
< Actually, there is some value in experimenting with strange CPU
< architectures, parallel machines, reconfigurable hardware, etc. Not
< everything has been done before.
Sometimes things that have been done before can be done more cleverly
or economically making it worth doing again.
< > No, I'm not. How many people are there in Boston who do this stuff?
< > 5? That's not much information. And a web site inspires no one.
More likely 100 times that. First off you have all those nutty MIT
students. The those like me and I've met a few people that are in the
running the last few months.
Web site that provice inforation, tools, tricks abound and are not to
inspire but to assist. Inspiration is is an internal event.
< dispute this. It's a lot easier to get information now than it was 10
< years ago. I've had to try to convince a semiconductor company that they
< should send me a data sheet on a microprocessor. Now I just grab it off
Information was always available, just had to get off ones bottom and go
look. I was in the local library and picked up three books on VAX
archetecture and left another few behind regarding VMS. Books on
electronics and circuits easily filled 20 linear feet of shelves. All
free.
Allison
>>In fact, when I was a student at WPI in the mid-70's, we had a version
>>of Unix running on an 11/10 in the CS department (off RK05s)...
>
>But neither the 11/10 nor the /34 nor the /44 were, by any stretch
>of the imagination, "microcomputers". Definitely minis.
Sorry, I was actually responding to the 11/34 vs. 11/44, since they
were later computers than the 11/05,10... I wasn't responding to the
question of the first microcomputer. I should have made that clear...
Megan Gentry
Former RT-11 Developer
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | Internet (work): gentry!zk3.dec.com |
| Unix Support Engineering Group | (home): mbg!world.std.com |
| Compaq Computer Corporation | addresses need '@' in place of '!' |
| 110 Spitbrook Rd. ZK03-2/T43 | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ |
| Nashua, NH 03062 | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler |
| (603) 884 1055 | required." - mbg |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
D
David:
I am short on time now, and much of what you have is not known to me,
so I can not now be of much help. I will try later.
Still, I would be interested in the CDC equipment you mention.
Where are you located, etc. I am in Southern California.
William R. Buckley
-----Original Message-----
From: SUPRDAVE(a)aol.com <SUPRDAVE(a)aol.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Thursday, September 24, 1998 11:16 AM
Subject: new DEC additions
>drove out to the country the other day and picked up this load of dec
stuff.
>some of you dec hotshots can tell me if it was worth the trip. lol
>
>i already have a microvax II, but in a tower unit form factor, almost like
a
>pc. (ba123 i think) the 3 i got are shaped different. two of them are big,
>probably over 200lbs each easy. the first one has a sticker on it showing
>model 63006. its a big unit, with a hood that opens up top and a big tape
>drive <?> that slides forward. the machine says TS05 on the front. one
model
>came with two hard drives. the other unit 'named pugsly' is the same,
except
>it has a small tape drive and the backplane has cables going everywhere and
>the side panels are off. thankfully they have wheels. the 3rd uvax is a
much
>smaller unit but wider than the one i have here in the computer room. it
has a
>dual vertical floppy drive and two hard drives.
>i also got two vt220 terminals
>about 40 orange binders about vax/vms. programmer's guide, reference, and
who
>know what else!
>a letterwriter 100
>external drive RD54
>a tape drive (tk50?)
>a rat's nest of cables to hook everything up.
>some blank dec 5.25 disks
>about 20 compactapes. half are backups. last bu was nov94.
>also got these system tapes:
>microvms 4.6 full bin
>vax fortran 4.5 bin
>decnet mvms v4 net bnd/n
>tsv05 driver bin
>microvms v4.7 bin
>vhs lic key bin
>microvms 4.6 bin mand update
>mvII diag cust
>rel:1.2.1 install microvax II (handwritten)
>
>
>heh, if anyone can explain all this, that would be most welcome. it was
hard
>work having to unload those off a truck by myself. i might keep the smaller
of
>the 3 i got, but the two big monstors, i'm unsure of. the people i got
these
>from also want to give me a CDC machine that's even bigger...
>
>david
>>< I believe the first microcomputer to run Unix was the DEC PDP11/03 and
>>< 11/23 at At&T's Bell Labs (see the papers on mini-unix).
>>
>>I believe that is wrong. Unix was running on PDP-11s long before the
>>LSI-11 or the 11/23 by many years. I think the 34, and 44s were teh
>>popular hosts.
>In fact, when I was a student at WPI in the mid-70's, we had a version
>of Unix running on an 11/10 in the CS department (off RK05s)...
But neither the 11/10 nor the /34 nor the /44 were, by any stretch
of the imagination, "microcomputers". Definitely minis.
Tim.
