Doug Yowza <yowza(a)yowza.com> wrote:
> I don't remember ever seeing a desktop PC coming from them. Anybody know
> how rare this box is? Sounds like a keeper.
Yup, they made desktop PC-compatibles for a while. I remember a
dealer in College Park, MD selling them (Software'n'Things if anyone
else out there remembers them; to the best of my knowledge they aren't
operating under that name anymore if at all).
One of the big selling points was that they were upgradable by virtue
of the passive backplane. Buy an XT-compatible now, later on you can
upgrade to an AT-compatible just by swapping the CPU card for the '286
flavor.
BTW Doug, is that your face I saw gazing up at me from this morning's
San Jose Mercury News? If not, there's some guy calling himself
Doug Salot who has some stuff in his collection that's an awful lot
like things you've mentioned on this list.
-Frank McConnell
Sam Ismail <dastar(a)wco.com> wrote:
> Yes they were dot matrix. I always equated line printers with dot matrix
> printers. Is there a difference?
When someone says Line Printer I think of something with the type
on a chain (or a drum) and the ribbon in front of the paper, and then a
bunch of hammers behind the paper. When the right character is in
front of the right position, the printer fires the hammer for that
position and pushes the paper up against the ribbon and chain/drum.
But the real definition is in how much data you have to send to the
printer to get it printing. If you have to give it a full line to get
it going then it's a line printer. If you only have to give it a
character to make it print then it isn't.
-Frank McConnell
>Unless the Z80 option includes a pod that attaches to a Z80, then you
Is this "pod" something that clamps over an installed CPU? There is a test
socket for something like this. May attach to an edge connector at the back
marked "Microprocessor Probe".
Dave Jenner has bowed out on all items in the list I posted. Sam has
claimed the DEC books. The programming card and Everex book are still
available, as are all the hardware items.
Caveat emptor!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272)
(Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin(a)jps.net)
"Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own
human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."
Sam Ismail has claimed the books I'd offered. The other items are still
available.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272)
(Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin(a)jps.net)
"Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own
human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."
Hi,
----------
> From: J. Maynard Gelinas <maynard(a)jmg.com>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
> Subject: WANTED: MC68[34]0 programmers reference manual
> Date: Sunday, April 26, 1998 10:02 AM
>
> Hey folks,
>
> While I've got a 68000/08/10/ book, I'm in need of some
> documentation for the 68881 which comes built in to the 68030.
this was new to me ;-))
serious: 68881 is a co-pro for 68020
68882 is a co-pro for 68030
most parts of a 68881 are built in 68040
68030 has the MMU built in (not all types !!)
> I checked at Quantum books (next to MIT - _THE_ place to check
> around here) among several other technical book stores.
> Unfortunately, I can't seem to find it for sale
> anywhere... seems like the 68k like has really died the hard
> death. Soooo, if anyone has an extra copy they're interested
> in selling please contact me.
check the motorola semiconductor webpage. You should find all information
you need there.
cheers,
emanuel
Had a pretty good week getting more items for the museum, from ebay I go
Newton messagepad model H1000 with all the manuals, stickers, video, and
other items that came with it when new; a Magic Mike II Robot from 1984
model-8; from ebay a Mac Portable with carrying case not working at this
time, put in new batteries and still nothing;two items I got at police
auction Saturday Mac PowerBook Duo230 and Duo Dock, and A US Robotics pilot
5000 missing a few item but powers on these are not 10 years old yet but I
got them anyway as they will be someday;HP 4940A Transmission Impairment
unit, SUN 3/50 loaded; HP98785A monitor not tested ($5); early Mac mouse
M0100; Mac Plus manuals;HP 150 model 45611A; Apple RGB model A9M0308 used
with IIe or IIgs a odd shaped model; Time-Life The Personal Computer book
with lots of nice pictures of classic units; also their Computer Basics
book; HP 100/Personal Card file manual; HP 150 Terminal Users guide; HP
Personal Computer Owners guide; IBM PC an Introduction by Larry Joel
Goldstein and Martin Goldstein 1984; Making the Most of Your ZX81 by Tim
Hartnell 1981; The ZX81 Companion by Robert Maunder 1981; 49 Explossive
Games fo the ZX81 by Tim Hartnell 1981; Microcomputer Experimentation with
the Intel SDK-85 by Lance Leventhal and Colin Walsh 1980;Socrates KB not
tested yet; AT&T 6300 mono monitor; a complete set of manuals for the 6300;
Commodore Buyers guide; Atari Logo reference manual; MAI systen cartridges;
Daynafile guide and diskettes; Timex Sinclair 1016 memory module; Sinclair
ZX81 basic programming manual; Commodore 1541C users guide; Sorates voice
cartridge users manual 1988; Upgrading and repairing PC's by QUE 1988;
HP87; and many other items that do not meet the 10 year rule but the prices
were right get them now and hold until they do. Well that's my short list
so Keep Computing John
<> I missed a few... D11, T11, 68030, HP Saturn, 7811 (if we're counting
<> embedded chips that we've never programmed :-)), 8x305, Z8, probably
<I didn't quite mean that :-) I was just interested to note that some
<micros that were once well-known aren't well-represented in your list, o
<Allison's, or mine. Only one occurrence of the 9900, no F8, only one
<Cosmac, ... Perhaps three people is just too small a sample to show al
<of the ones that faded from popularity (and maybe nobody else here is
<interested :-)) Not a lot of DSPs either, though of course they're more
<"modern".
Well the F8 while known was not hobbiest fodder being aimed at embedded
systems. Same can eb said for z8. The 9900 as I refer to it was not the
TI99/4a(have those too) but a Technico SBC, due to a lack of TI support it
was not that popular. However the TI99/4a is still quite popular.
Others I've worked with 78pg11(uCOM78) were aimed at embedded
applications. I might add that my time as a product engineer at NEC in
the early '80s had me designing in that part as well as supporting it
along with ucom4 and ucom75 4bit micros.
The RCA1802 was sort of a square egg. It had popularity for a short
while. People lost interest after that, partly as RCA discontinued
it by the mid 80s. Also because it was slow and had a relatively
poor(primitive) instruction set and a total lack of high level languages
other than tinybasic.
The advent of more complete systems like apple and trs80 and decreasing
prices helped focus the market on two key players 6502 and z80 and it
would remain that way until the 68000 and 8088(x86) would displace them.
Allison
