-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Grigoni <msg(a)computerpro.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Wednesday, 24 February 1999 15:18
Subject: Re: Vax! (and epilogue on teledisk)
>Jim Strickland wrote:
>>
>> Whee! it's finally here! I got my vaxstation 3100 from Tim in the mail
today!
>> It's a Vaxstation 3100 model 42 a-bd with a mighty 8 megs of ram.
>>
>> It works, too! Tim thoughtfully loaded VMS 6.01 on the rz23 ...
>
>We've had to keep our clock set back to preserve our VMS and TCP/IP
>and NFS and numerous other packages...
>
>Anyone have a clue as to how we can preserve the software without
>moving to some 'hobby' license of a newer VMS?
They have expiring licenses then?
I must have got lucky, all my VMS boxen have everlasting ones.
The only expiring license I ever saw on any of my systems was one for RDB (I
think).
Cheers
Geoff Roberts
Computer Room Internet Cafe
Port Pirie
South Australia.
netcafe(a)pirie.mtx.net.au
Sorry for the long, yucky forward, but I thought I'd save folks time negotiating
with these people. I basically feel they're being petulant about how nobody
registered teledisk (which I understand, I guess, but can't understand why
they won't *sell* me a single user copy). Note that this is in reverse
chronological order, with the most recent note first.
My reply to this was "thank you for your time, I will be deleting teledisk from
my system." I can't fault Ms St. Clair for being unfriendly or unhelpful,
just her company for being stupid.
And I'll be damned if I'm going to pay $150 dollars for a 25 user site license
of software that has to run in a DOS window.
-Jim
> From miriam(a)sydex.com Mon Feb 22 11:45:01 1999
> Message-ID: <199902221038530000.00B8538A(a)10.0.0.254>
> X-Mailer: Calypso Version 2.40.40
> Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 10:38:53 -0800
> From: "Miriam W. St. Clair" <miriam(a)sydex.com>
> To: jim(a)calico.litterbox.com
> Subject: Re: Information Request: general
>
> 22 February 1999
>
> Dear Mr. Strickland,
>
> TeleDisk was removed from shareware precisely because fewer than 1% of
> its (often hobbyist) users were willing to purchase a registered
> copy--but all of them were quite willing to call for support. Version
> 2.12 was the last available shareware release, and it will not run
> properly in an MS-DOS session under Windows 95/98 nor on most Pentium
> systems. Sydex discontinued the distribution of Version 2.12 in early
> 1991 when TeleDisk was dropped from our shareware product line. We do
> not offer any kind of support for this release. Quite frankly, we're
> surprised at the number of people who expect a 1990 hardware-sensitive
> DOS product to run under Windows 95 on Pentium systems.
>
> The 25-user license for TeleDisk Pro is a site license, and it may be
> used only at one specified location.
>
> As I mentioned earlier, CopyQM will handle a number of unusual formats.
> You need to work in MS-DOS command-prompt mode, with DIRECT hardware
> access, and in BLIND mode. We've made numerous copies of various CP/M
> diskettes here using CopyQM in the manner described, so please give it
> a try.
>
> That's the best we can do this time. Again, we regret the
> circumstances that make it impossible for us to offer TeleDisk Pro for
> shareware registration fees.
>
> Regards,
>
> Miriam W. St.Clair
> for Sydex, Inc.
>
> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
>
> On 2/22/99, at 11:07 AM, Jim Strickland wrote:
>
> >> 22 February 1999
> >>
> >> Dear Mr. Strickland,
> >>
> >> What you found is definitely hacked, so all bets are off. 22DISK
> has
> >> the less expensive price since it's still a shareware product, and
> >> since its users have pretty much supported it by registering
> (although
> >> we've seen big negative changes in this practice over the last
> couple
> >> of years). TeleDisk was removed from shareware distribution in
> 1991,
> >> and we've sold it ever since as a commercial product. I'm very
> sorry
> >> that we cannot offer a single-user price now.
> >
> >How unfortunate. Considering the general standardization of disk
> formats in
> >the last couple years - ie macs read PC disks, pcs read mac disks and
> not much
> >else is out there - I would have thought the hobbiest market was one
> you would
> >pursue with this product. A question. If I went ahead and bought the
> 25 user
> >license, would it then be legitimate to share it with 24 of my
> hobbiest friends
> >?
> >
> >
> >
> >> You might try one more thing before you give up the hobby entirely.
> >> Pick up the evaluation copy of CopyQM from our Web site. Use it
> under
> >> straight MS-DOS (no Windows, please for this particular use), and
> see
> >> if it will make copies of your Kaypro diskettes in BLIND mode. This
> >> might work, and CopyQM can still be purchased for a shareware
> >> registration fee.
> >
> >Thanks for this information. I'll give it a try. Unfortunately the
> de-facto
> >standard for this kind of thing seems to be teledisk 2.12, which won't
> run
> >properly on my windows machine.
> >
>
>
> ==================
> Miriam W. St. Clair
> Sydex, Inc.
> P.O. Box 5700
> Eugene, OR 97405
> USA
> Voice: 1 541 683 6033
> FAX: 1 541 683 1622
> Email: miriam(a)sydex.com
> WWW: http:/www.sydex.com
>
--
Jim Strickland
jim(a)DIESPAMMERSCUMcalico.litterbox.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Vote Meadocrat! Bill and Opus in 2000 - Who ELSE is there?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Does anyone have any information about a Data Products Portacom terminal?
This is a very old printing terminal (i think it was purchased in 1973)
that weights over 30 pounds and is built into a black carrying case
(sort of like an attache case, er, make that more like a American
Tourister...)
It has a teletype like ribbon, and it prints in a strange manner. the
printhead is behind the page of paper, with 8 rows of 8 characters on
a hexagonal horizontal rod. Its very hard to describe, since the entire
device is full of somewhat bizarre mechanical parts.
I really wish I had a expensive camera that could take closeup shots
of stuff like this.
-Lawrence LeMay
<with my network is to have another machine that talks both DECnet and TCP/I
<Apparently, there is a Linux DECnet, but Zane has been having trouble getti
<it to work. Another possibility is a VAXstation that talks both DECnet an
<TCP/IP.
<
<So, is this possible? Will the hobbyist VMS do it? Or will Ultrix do it?
<What is the smallest *VAX* that will do this? Note that I don't think I
<require any routing between the protocols. I would be happy just to be abl
<to transfer files to/from my TCP/IP network to the *VAX* and to be able to
<independently transfer files to/from my Pro using DECnet.
Yes it's possible. A vs2000 with a RD54 and VMS 5.3->6.1 and CMU-IP. and
you have what you need. VS2000 is about the smallest vaxen made at around
.5cuft.
The alternate is a copy of ultrix with decnet but finding that may be
harder.
Routing is not an issue if they are both end nodes in the same DECNET area.
Generally this is something VAXen do well.
Allison
<It works, too! Tim thoughtfully loaded VMS 6.01 on the rz23 it came with,
<after hooking it up to my apple2GS with spectrum (also a classic computer :
<I got the thing to boot up into VMS. VERY cool. :)
<
<Wishing it had TCP-IP, but heck, if it had *everything* I want on it,
<where would the challenge be? :)
Get the CMU-IP stack off the net. You may have kermit in the basic 6.01
install.
Allison
Does anyone have any information about the modem test set listed in
the subject line?
This unit is dated from 1980, and uses 3 Nixie tubes for displaying
an error count, or blocks analyzed. It can go as high as 9600 baud,
or as low as 75 baud, including popular rates such as 134.5 and 150...
-Lawrence LeMay
Well, thanks to everyone with good suggestions, and especially thanks to Don
for providing the boot disk image, I've been able to get the kaypro 4/84 to
boot! It came up in conversation that there were later versions of teledisk,
and after some heavy web searching I found one on a page for synthesiser users
that works with my computer in a dos window, even. I guess I'll have to
register it now. For reference, it's version 2.16.
So now it's off to Oak for nifty apps, I guess. :)
I do have another question: the image on my kaypro's screen is somewhat
cockeyed. Is there an easy fix for this?
--
Jim Strickland
jim(a)DIESPAMMERSCUMcalico.litterbox.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Vote Meadocrat! Bill and Opus in 2000 - Who ELSE is there?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>I have the clasic...
>
> _introduction to programming_ 1972
I have several copies of that one, along with several copies of
the second classic book (the yellow-covered one, I forget the
title right now). I also have the thin Focal programming book.
Most are not out of boxes right now, but I have a few within reach.
_pdp11 handbook_
This isn't the oldest one, since it mentions both the
11/20 and the 11/10, but it is old - 1970.
_processor handbook_ (pdp11/20,15,r20) 1972
_processor handbook_ (pdp11/45, 1973
signed by Gordon Bell
_peripherals handbook_ 1973-74
_pdp11/60 processor handbook_ 1977-78
EB-06498-76
_pdp11 processor handbook_ (pdp11/04/24/34a/44/7-0) 1981
EB-19402-20/81 (copyright 1981)
EB-19402-20/85 (copyright 1985) (slightly thinner book)
_peripherals handbook_ 1981-82
EB-20443-20
_pdp-11 Architecture Handbook_ 1983-84
EB-23657-18
_pdp-11 MICRO/PDP-11 Handbook_ 1983-84
EB-24944-18
>Actually I have a good selection of the late 70s throuth the 80s PDP-11
>hardware books.
At one point, I got myself on an automatic distribution list for
any new handbooks... it was great.
>One set I have it the two volume white books:
>
> LSI-11 Systems Service Manual (for field sevice)
Yep, I have that also...
Plus, the three binder set:
LSI-11 Systems Service Manual
Volume I - Systems Options
Volume II - Module Options A-K
Volume III - Module Options L-Z
EK-LSIFS-SV
And the seven volume set (currently in my office) on
communications devices...
I have an old DOS/Batch manual (the 8.5" by 11" by 2.5"
thick manual and some old pdp-10 manuals as well (from 1970).
I'm going to have to catalog them...
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 |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
On Sat, 20 Feb 1999, Cameron Kaiser <ckaiser(a)oa.ptloma.edu> wrote:
> This made me think of something. How many AMOS (Alpha Micro OS) users are
> there in the audience? The Salvation Army for years used 68K AMOS-based
> servers for local corps networks (with dummy terminals in the offices).
> AMOS
> BASIC, yech!
>
I've rescued an Alpha Micro 1042E. It's S-100, 68K, multiuser, running
AMOS. I don't have any docs and the only software is what's already
installed on its hard drive. In fact, I don't see any obvious way to get
software into or out of it: there's no floppy drive. But there is a board
to backup files to a vcr (yup, a video cassette recorder). Interesting.
--
Arlen Michaels amichael(a)nortelnetworks.com
