On Apr 14, 12:04, Tim Shoppa wrote:
> > ISTR an article on alt.folklore.computers a year or so back, giving the
name
> > of the lawyer who sent the first officially-recorded unsolicited email
spam.
>
> I think you're talking about Canter and Siegel, right? While this
> wasn't the "first" spam, Canter and Siegel's "GREEN CARD" postings
> are among the best well-known, and in many ways the most irritating.
> (Canter went on the talk-show circuit after the spam disaster to
> promote his book which claimed to show others how to succeed in
> internet marketing.)
Thanks, Tim, that's what I was thinking of. And thanks to whoever dug out the
posting (sorry no attribution, I hit "delete" a bit too quick). Seems my
memory was close but not wholly accurate. How unusual :-)
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Dept. of Computer Science
University of York
On Apr 14, 23:07, Tony Duell wrote:
> Ouch!!!. Even my standard test for floor loading wouldn't have found that
> (= Jump up and down hard. If the floor doesn't give way, put the machine
> on it and jump up and down again. If it's still OK, it'll probably stay
> that way).
Jim now has the flooring from our Department's old machine room -- and now I
know why those floor panels are so heavy :-)
> > BTW, the little DX11-alike in the 11/73 was accompanied by a "Camtech
> > Ethernet QBus Interface".
> The only thing that reminds me of is the Camtech JNT PADs and iso-ether
> PADs used in UK universities as part of the JANET network. I've not got
> any, alas (I'd quite like one...), but I seem to remember that at least
> the JNT pads were Z-80 based and had a synchronous serial port connection
> to the outside world talking some kind of X25...
We had several, but they all got cannibalised. They were indeed Z80-based, and
had lots of SIOs, DARTs, and a few PIOs in them too. Neat cases as well.
> I have no idea what it talked instead of TCP/IP, but it'll probably be
> something that was common in the UK at the time. Any ideas? I can look
> back through PERQ and Torch XXX manuals to see if anything leaps out..
I've no idea. I imagined that Camtech made other ethernet stuff, and if they
could make such a good-looking QBus ethernet i/f I thought there must be more
around. I've never found any, though, nor have I ever found anyone who could
tell me much about long-gone Camtech (apart from JNT PADs).
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Dept. of Computer Science
University of York
I looked at the pictures, and double checked my Olivetti M24, recently
obtained from Andrew Davie. They are the same machine.
This one also has a dead power suppy but none of the corrosion. The fan
works because it is mains powered, 240v in this case.
Hans Olminkhof
-----Original Message-----
From: David Williams <dlw(a)trailingedge.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Tuesday, 14 April 1998 15:40
Subject: AT&T 6300 PSU Question
I went to power up my AT&T 6300, which hasn't been up for about 4
years, and noticed that the PSU fan was coming on but the drives and
motherboard didn't seem to be getting power. I opened up the system
and was surprised to find the power supply was corroding. Now I'm
not a PSU expert by any means so this was unexpected. The upper
motherboard appears to be ok but I haven't checked the lower
motherboard yet. It appears I can pull the PSU out and replace it
but I'm curious as to why it began corroding in the first place. You
can see pictures of it on my web site on the AT&T 6300 page or at:
http://www.trailingedge.com/~dlw/comp/images/attpwr1.jpghttp://www.trailingedge.com/~dlw/comp/images/attpwr2.jpg
[SNIP]
>shortwave radio.
Speaking of shortwave, imagine if the FCC authorize commerce on
ham radio! Ugh...
I am completely unfamiliar with S-100 systems, so could you please
explain... were S-100 technologically superior to PCs (i.e. IBM
PC 5150), or just aesthetically? As far as I know, they used an
older processor...
Was it just an issue of being used to them?
As for laissez-faire, I never have believed in it. It makes society
too concerned about money. This is proven when complete crap hardware
is released now, and people don't care because it's good _financially_
>And just to bring it back on topic...when consumer PCs came out (IBM,
>PET, Atari, Apple, etc.) those of us who built and used "real" micros
>(S-100s of course) lamented that fact that the microcomputer market was
>being overrun by large corporations bent on destroying the
laissez-faire
>market of the mid 70s. Sound familiar?
> Jack "I use an IMSAI, not those toy computers" Peacock
>
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
I have a minor problem with a dot matrix printer, and its feeder.
It is an Epson LQ-500. It has a removable set of tractors, which
mounts on top. However, they mount on the output end. This means that
there must be paper in the tractors that is beyond the print head,
which means that about a sheet of paper must be wasted. Could someone
explain to me what is the idea behind this system?
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
> And to make matters even worse, it was a husband and wife lawyer team!
Birds of a feather, um, make that vultures, flock together...
Jack "birdbrain" Peacock
> From: Max Eskin [mailto:maxeskin@hotmail.com]
> there must be paper in the tractors that is beyond the print head,
> which means that about a sheet of paper must be wasted. Could someone
> explain to me what is the idea behind this system?
At one time nearly all tractor feed printers pulled instead of pushed.
Demand documents (i.e. tear off right above the print head) was not a
concern for most printers. Reports were printed in batches, then
separated by operators. Also, the paper was less likely to jam if you
pull it through the paper path, rather than try to push it through.
Ever see a paper jam on a 1200LPM chain printer? The operator could
spend a good 15-20 minutes clearing out bits of shredded paper.
Computer time was more expensive than the paper, no one cared if a few
pages got wasted for form feeds.
Jack peacock
On Apr 14, 11:06, Allison J Parent wrote:
> Try about 5-6 years and it was there before but you could get the offender
> tossed before that. Also When AOL opened to the net it seemed to add to
> the fray.
ISTR an article on alt.folklore.computers a year or so back, giving the name of
the lawyer who sent the first officially-recorded unsolicited email spam. IIRC
he lost his account. I can't remember the details, so it might be hard to find
(and I'm not sure of the details, but 5-6 years ago sounds about right).
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Dept. of Computer Science
University of York
On Apr 14, 0:40, David Williams wrote:
> Subject: AT&T 6300 PSU Question
> I went to power up my AT&T 6300, which hasn't been up for about 4
> years, and noticed that the PSU fan was coming on but the drives and
> motherboard didn't seem to be getting power. I opened up the system
> and was surprised to find the power supply was corroding.
> You can see pictures of it on my web site on the AT&T 6300 page
Jason's comment about liquid sounds about right. It looks more like something
was spilt onto it, than as if something self-destructed. Anyway, it's usually
electrolytic capacitors that self-destruct in that way, and that normally
happens when there's a voltage there.
> Any ideas? Also, anyone have a spare PSU? I don't really want to go
> buy another AT&T 6300 just for this but suspect the PSU won't be easy
> to obtain otherwise.
I'd attempt a repair, or at least some further investigation.
The case looks pretty yucky but from the pictures, the physical damage might
not be that great. I'd take it apart and attack the case with a wire brush or
steel wool, and a very light touch of oil or WD40. The terminals don't look
too bad at all, a little brushing (stiff toothbrush preferred, or a brass wire
brush or fine steel wool) and a little WD40 should work wonders. Make sure you
wipe off any excess WD40, though.
Depending on how bad it is inside, it might be worth washing, but do make sure
that (1) any capacitors are discharged before you get it wet, and (2)
everything is *completely* dry before you try applying power! Again, a
toothbrush is a useful tool.
In many similar PSUs, the fan is driven from the 12V line. If that's the case
here, it implies that at least part of the circuitry is working, which is very
encouraging. Perhaps only the 5V line is dead. It's hard to suggest much more
without more information, and without seeing the inside.
If you do try anything, apart from the obvious precautions, be aware that there
are some very high voltages inside switch mode PSUs, as high as 300V. Also,
many PSUs won't operate correctly without a load on at least the 5V line; at
best, they won't regulate properly, at worst, they can be damaged.
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Dept. of Computer Science
University of York
today at goodwill I found a Advance Micro Device AM2900 Evaluation &
Learning Kit in the it's box (very nice design on it) with one worksheet.
the unit was only $5.
