test-drb April 1999

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

170 participants
1190 discussions

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

In a message dated 99-04-12 20:29:05 EDT, you write: > >picked up two neat items at the hamfest today. the first was two clean > amiga > >500s and a IBM diagnostic cassette ver 1.02 with a part number 6081562. > looks > >like it only has 5 minutes of tape on it. i presume its only for the 5150. > >how would one run this tape? > > > > Do you have an extra power supply for those 500 that I could some how > aquire? The flea market special I have didn't come with one. > unfortunately i only got one power supply. the ps seems fairly simple though. 5v 4.5a 12v 1a -12v 100ma perhaps one could be adapted to work.

25 years, 9 months

Fw: Getting rid of old stuff...

by fauradon＠pclink.com

Reply to the guy directly. If shipping is a problem I may be able to help... But first contact should be to Peter Seebach >----- Original Message ----- >From: Peter Seebach <seebs(a)plethora.net> >Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers >Sent: Saturday, April 10, 1999 2:18 PM >Subject: Getting rid of old stuff... > > >> First off, if I owe you a copy of the 3b1 system software, let me know - I >> have a list of people to send this to, but I've been swamped and I may >have >> lost entries. >> >> Secondly, anyone (especially in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area) want a >bunch >> of old hardware? I have a passel of sun 3/80's, a 3/60, a 3/50, a couple >> of 4/110's, and two 3/160's, in varying states of disrepair. The 3/80's >> mostly need new NVRAM. I have memory for most of them, but not >necessarily >> all. I have a couple of monitors, and a handful of high- and low- >resolution >> graphics cards for the 3/80's. I think I even have a couple of early >color >> frame buffers. Also, about six of the old shoebox drive/tape bays. (The >> gray metal ones.) >> >> Cost: Free for the taking, or you pay shipping. My goal here is to get >> this stuff to people who will use it, or who can at least use it as spare >> parts, instead of having it recycled. I no longer have the time to play >> with as many old computers as I'd like. :( >> >> -s >> -- >> Copyright 1999, All rights reserved. Peter Seebach / seebs(a)plethora.net >> C/Unix wizard, Pro-commerce radical, Spam fighter. Boycott Spamazon! >> Will work for interesting hardware. http://www.plethora.net/~seebs/ >> Visit my new ISP <URL:http://www.plethora.net/> --- More Net, Less Spam! > >

25 years, 9 months

IBM diagnostic cassette <?>

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

picked up two neat items at the hamfest today. the first was two clean amiga 500s and a IBM diagnostic cassette ver 1.02 with a part number 6081562. looks like it only has 5 minutes of tape on it. i presume its only for the 5150. how would one run this tape?

25 years, 9 months

stepping machanism of Apple Disk ][ drive (was Re: Heatkit 51/4 floppies)

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<You're certain right . . . it is a dead horse . . . killed by the insistenc <that 750 ns < 250 ns. < <Dick Meaningless incorrect drivel, now give it up. Allison

25 years, 9 months

WTTA (Want To Throw Away): DEC PMAG-AA

by paulk＠microsoft.com

Does anyone have any use for a TURBOchannel monochrome framebuffer -- a PMAG-AA?? I feel guilty just pitching it, but I'm tired of packing it up every time I move. Free for the asking. Paul Kearns paulk(a)microsoft.com

25 years, 9 months

[RANTISH] Programming Stupidity

by DSEAGRAV＠toad.xkl.com

Wonderful quote from my boss, who's (supposed to be a professional programmer for Caterpillar): "You should use strings instead of integers. You can put bigger numbers in a string." [Large progressive rant here, nevermind me...] This came up while I was being forced to write a Visual Basic program. You see, he saw me playing with BASIC on one of the UNIXen, and he thinks "BASIC = Visual Basic!". It doesn't. Visual basic is almost entirely worse. You guys think BASIC is bad? How about BASIC that automagically writes bad Windows code for you! This thing couldn't make optimized code if Billy-boy's monopoly depended on it. On top of that, the bad code that it DOES generate doesn't even work. We build the .EXE on a Win98 machine - Now it refusues to run on 95. Microsoft's wizard for making install programs for your software sucks worse. It replaced some DLLs it wasn't supposed to have on our (one and only, thank Goddess!) NT server, and NT crashed like you wouldn't believe. I'm gonna have a hell of a time putting THAT back together... On top of this, the installer doesn't run under 95, either. It starts just fine, makes a pathetic attempt at copying files, then blows up horrbibly with Error 0x16E. Wasn't Billy saying they were supposed to make our error messages make SENSE? With an error message like that, a dialog box reading "YOU LOSE!" would be better. Not to mention a damn sight funnier. We're going to reformat one of our 95 boxen and start from a clean machine - My bet is the installer will find some way to do nasty things to the partition table. The sad part is, this has become the status quo. And I hate it. I can't stand it. This is progress? If progress is like evolution, I'd sure like to jump back in time and see what we came from, it's probably a lot better than the here-and-now... Another quote from my boss: "In programming, it doesn't matter how well it runs or does it's job. The bottom line is, 'can we sell it to someone?'" Is it just me, or is that just plain wrong? Please say it's not only me... I hate being alone, 'cause that means I'm right and everyone else is wrong. Sorry for that, I just needed to vent. Do with it what you will... -------

25 years, 9 months

Don Lancaster was Re: Ebay Mark-8 Plans

by rigdonj＠intellistar.net

At 01:15 PM 4/12/99 -0700, Sellam wrote: >> VCF has a generous travel fund, fueled by Intel, Paul Allen, and >> auctions of antique computer wiring harnesses on eBay. In fact, >> any member of this mailing list is eligible for grants of up to >> $1,500 for travel and lodging purposes, if you wish to attend. > >Well, this is certainly news to me, and I'd love if you would explain this >in private e-mail :) > >(for the record, no I don't know what he's talking about so please don't >e-mail me asking where to sign up). Shucks! and I was all set to go! Joe

25 years, 9 months

Therac-25 (was: microcode, compilers, and supercomputer architecture)

by yakowenk＠cs.unc.edu

That's the same URL that I have bookmarked. I very strongly recommend that every programmer read through it, at least once. It is long, but enlightening. Correctness is a lot more than "seems to work". Bill. On Tue, 6 Apr 1999, clintw(a)colorado.cirrus.com (Clint Wolff) wrote: ] > ::Actually, the THERAC-25 radiation therapy machine is a good example of ] > ::poor hardware AND software design which killed a number of people by ] > ::giving them too high a dose of radiation, either for too long or ] > ::without the proper screen in place. ] > ] > !?! ] > ] > Has this been documented anywhere? Where did you find this out from? ... ] Take a look at http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~cs3604/lib/Therac_25/Therac_1.html ] This is a reprint from IEEE Computer (might even be the original article ] I saw :) ] ] clint

25 years, 9 months

What if,... early PCs (was: stepping machanism

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<You've got two tracks mixed up, I think. True, the Apple II was quite <plentiful in 80, but not in businesses the way it was in 82-83. I even ha <several of them with people to man them as well. I hated the Apple but <loved the 6502. In the meantime, I noted that the RS Model 1 was a piece o <junk, and, in fact, so much of one that I never bought one, even for <experimentation, and I had nearly every other sort of box around the shop. OK, maybe where you were that was true. However despite the TRS80s shortfalls (most corrected with mods or outside hardware) I knew of businesses using them, and I may add same for the apple II. <The model 1 was quite common, but the model 1 was in too many pieces to be <of much interest to most folks. What's more, it was pretty weak-kneed. Th <model 3 held out hope, though that was later dashed when the model 3 turne <out to be not much better. My slant was the M1 was close but people wanted something more "one box". The M3 was never more than a blip on the screen because when it hit the streets there were plenty more choices and all of them deemed (if only subjectively) better. In the business worlds in NY and eastern PA S100 crates were the rule as most were seen as the business strength machines and the apple/trs80 as toys. This was by people that didn't care what cpu only that it ran! <The initial impact of the PC was to get people to stop buying non-PC's for <their businesses. They were extremely costly at first, and didn't have a <few serious problems worked out. People had to mortgage their houses to bu <one (a basic PC on the gray-market cost nearly $2k). Not really. If you were invested in apple then PC was a non-player as nothing was compatable and you lost your investement going over. For the z80 crowd (TRS and S100 crates) that was slightly less a concern but PCs needed to get up to speed with applications first. Keep in mind when the PC was introduced the only 8086 stuff out there was ISIS based and mostly as development tools. It was the spread sheets and graphic programs that caused the great sucking sound of people going PC but, that would take more time than your indicating. Yes, I remember getting a bonus check becuase of the PC in 82. IT wasn't for implementing as a useful system it was for FIXing the design. Seems one of the design bugs was it would only run intel chipsets. As to the cost of a PC... equipped as a useful machine that could run production it was far from $2k! Allison

25 years, 9 months

Restoring an 8/E

by danburrows＠mindspring.com

>> I agree but for front panel switches and things that you want to look good >> without and drips I use the syringe. Then to I have them down to 2 >> microliter. The 50 microliter one is huge for my usual work. > >2 mm^3? That's small... Yes and the sample never makes it into the barrel of the syringe. The plunger is a long wire that is stepped is size. The large part is in the body and the small part goes the length of the needle. > The normal injection volume for GC/Mass spec is 1 or 2 microliters. The usual syringe used is 10 microliter. The plunger is the approx size of 26 or 28 gauge wire. They are stainless and they do bend and kink easily. I long ago lost count of the # I have messed up. Dan

25 years, 9 months

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test-drb April 1999